Next Level Split Screen
HIGH Amazing set pieces and co-op gameplay
LOW Simplistic storytelling, predictable character beats.
WTF Pig body horror.
Split Fiction is the latest game from Hazelight Studios, the studio behind It Takes Two and A Way Out.
Their most recent offering happily builds on the foundations of its predecessors to create what is possibly one of the best two-person co-op (especially couch co-op) action games around. Similar to It Takes Two, Split Fiction is mainly a split-screen cooperative 3D action-platformer with puzzle-solving mechanics, but it pushes collaboration further than we’ve experienced in virtually any other game. It also looks and feels as though it intends to tell a more mature story than the studio has done in the past, though the script isn’t as successful as the gameplay.
Split Fiction centers on Zoe and Mio, two aspiring writers of fantasy and science fiction, respectively. They are invited to get their work published by a tech CEO named Rader, but instead of a traditional book deal they’re told they must first relive their stories in his VR bubble machine called, “the Machine”. Such a naming convention is, sadly, indicative of the storytelling complexity here.
Mio and Zoe become trapped in the same VR bubble and must figure out how to work together to escape. Naturally, the two women are polar opposites, with Mio preferring action and dark sci-fi stories, while Zoe enjoys escapist happy-ending fantasy. Over time, the two learn from each other and find common ground as the experience develops them and reveals their formative traumas.
Having a predictable story structure like this one is not necessarily a problem, but my partner and I felt that the character conflict felt forced, with Mio written to be unrealistically immature considering that both characters seem to be writers in (at least) their 20s. For example, Mio initially claims that she’s never thought about whether she puts a part of herself in her stories, which we found implausible for an adult writer. We also found that the character development of their respective inner conflicts to be fully unsurprising, and that their development never grew past the stereotypes they appeared to be from the start.
Fortunately, outside of the narrative, Split Ficton has much to offer.
In terms of aesthetics, Split Fiction dabbles in existing genres and themes — the worlds and stories aren’t wholly original and often seem referential to other games — but the gameplay and setpieces are exciting, and the co-op integration and variety are extremely well-executed.
Like It Takes Two, Split Fiction excels at pushing players to collaborate to solve puzzles. Typically, the players are given distinct abilities that work together in interesting ways, and both are needed in conjunction to move through an environment or defeat bosses.
In one of the fantasy sections, Mio had the ability to create platforms, while Zoe could rotate them. This division of skills meant that we had to plan when and where we would place them. In one of the sci-fi areas, we were super soldiers infiltrating a high-tech chemical base, and we had color-coded shooting mechanics integrated with puzzle solving. My partner and I often had to talk through overcoming obstacles that were more complicated than simply trying to coordinate pressing a button at the same time.
In addition, I see one of Split Fiction’s strengths being that it breaks up the campaign through the use of shorter “side stories” which give players a temporary detour from whatever’s happening. These allow the introduction of new mechanics and generally don’t outstay their welcome. In one case we spent a short time as (literally) magical pigs which farted rainbows or extended like a slinky.
Overall, while the individual gameplay mechanics in each section are not novel, the way that co-op and the “split” part of Split Fiction is executed is highly original and impressive, and the roles of the characters were often distinct enough that there might be some replayability in swapping characters for a second playthrough.
The difficulty of Split Fiction seems intended to be approachable to the average gamer, and we found the difficulty to be calibrated just high enough to present an enjoyable challenge. That said, people who do not play many modern action games might have more of a learning curve. However, the penalty for dying is minimal, there are generous checkpoints, and as long as one player is alive, the other person can rejoin within seconds. We also appreciated that accessibility settings like reticle on/off or button mashing on/off can be adjusted for each character individually.
Overall, Split Fiction exceeded our expectations when it came to co-op action-puzzling — we just wished the story had more nuance and depth. If Hazelight Studios were to focus the same level of attention to both gameplay and writing, their narratives could serves to be more than vehicles to experience their action through, and that would be something like no other. However, even as it is, Split Fiction remains something special and one of the best cooperative experiences out there.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Buy Split Fiction: PC – PS – XB
Disclosures: This game is developed by Hazelight Studios and published by Electronic Arts. It is currently available on XBX/S, PS5, and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PS5. The game was completed in approximately 15 hours, and the entire game was played in split-screen co-op.
Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated T and contains Language, Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, and Violence. There is swearing, shooting guns and welding swords, mild violence, explosions, and scary situations like dental procedures and prison are depicted.
Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. All audio can be shown in subtitles and closed captions are available. Audio cues have visual indicators as well. The subtitles can only be altered to add a background, but not resized. This game is fully accessible.
Remappable Controls: This game offers fully remappable controls.
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The two things that ruined It Takes Two for me was every single bit of dialogue, and vertical split screen. From the trailers of Split Fiction, it sounds like the style of dialogue remains unchanged. I was going to ask whether I should try playing it with all voices off, but then I remember the characters (sometimes helpfully) always shout at each other what they should be doing at any given time, so turning off dialogue might create new frustrations.