Published , by TJ Denzer
Published , by TJ Denzer
Opposite attraction, or the unlikely pair, might be a bit of a cliché, but there’s still charm and solid storytelling in there if it’s weaved with good hands. Hazelight Studios have been masters of cinematic co-op experiences for years now, so it should come as little surprise that Split Fiction is in good hands. This is an interesting platforming journey into fantasy, sci-fi, corporate greed, unlikely friendship, alongside a massive variety of interesting worlds that barraged us with interesting gameplay, and it ends up being another Hazelight instant classic.
Split Fiction takes us on a journey to a massive corporation under the control of excitable, but pushy billionaire JD Rader. He’s brought a wide collection of unique writers to his business to have them take part in a new technological advancement through a massive system known as The Machine. The writers are bubbled up where Rader tells them their stories and ideas will be realized in virtual reality adventures and recorded as content for a unique approach to an interactive fiction product. The outgoing, outspoken country girl and fantasy writer Zoe is excited and jumps in right away, but the cautious and introverted city sci-fi writer Mio has reservations that ultimately make her panic and try to back out. Rader shows to be a little shadier than he initially lets on, trying to force her to go through with the procedure, but their struggle knocks Mio into Zoe’s bubble where Mio invades her virtual story space.
The two of them find themselves trapped in either full length versions of their stories (Mio’s stories being mostly sci-fi and Zoe’s being mostly fantasy) where they have to make their way through the narratives and discover glitches that they hope will help them find their way out of The Machine.
Split Fiction’s story sets a wonderful set of grounds for all sorts of themed worlds between Zoe and Mio. In one stage of the game, we played through a sci-fi ship battle on a desert planet where we had to weave our way through broken cruisers as fighters were actively destroying it. Off in the distance, larger ships battled in the sky, getting blasted to bits as we jumped and whipped our way through precarious confines. In another space, we were townsfolk in a kingdom being ripped apart by trolls. We had to run for our lives through the village in segments that reminded me of the boar levels from Crash Bandicoot back in the day. Still, another segment saw me and my partner play as cyber ninjas where he had a sword to cut enemies and switches, and I had a power whip to nab enemies and objects and throw them.
Every glitch obtained meant a jump to a new story and universe full of its own beautiful environments and set pieces, as well as the unique mechanics we needed to get through them. The worlds Split Fiction presented to us were as grand as anything in Hazelight’s history, sometimes silly and sometimes disturbing, but they were always interesting. There are even some Hazelight easter eggs throughout the game that longtime fans will probably appreciate if they’re perceptive enough to find them. All of it is accompanied by an excellent musical score that transitions just as smoothly as the stories do between genres, offering a great backdrop to Zoe and Mio’s journey.
As is often the case in Hazelight Studios games, this game must be played co-op. One player has to play Zoe and one player has to play Mio. You can also play online or local, and there’s even crossplay so you don’t have worry about platforms, but unfortunately that means there’s no playing solo. Thankfully, Hazelight once again makes it easier with the Friend's Pass, but you’re still going to have to line up that friend if you want to take this journey.
The journey itself is quite fun, though. Mostly, Split Fiction plays like a platformer. In most areas of the game, players will have a jump, double jump, a dash that can be done on the ground or in air, a whip for grabbing swinging spots and appropriate ledges, and a sprint toggle to run faster. There’s a healthy amount of platforming with these features alone, such as jumping through pneumatic presses on the sci-fi ship or climbing and jumping between poles to outrun the trolls in the fantasy village.
Different segments of the story are filled with all sorts of unique gameplay and mechanics. As mentioned prior, in the cyber ninjas story, my partner had a sword on Mio while I had a whip with Zoe. However, Mio could also use the sword to jump to pink colored pads and change her gravity, running on walls and ceilings to reach places I couldn’t. Meanwhile, I could use the whip to throw objects through breakable sections, or grab important switches to pull them from afar. Heck, one part demanded my partner get in a portable toilet and then I grab that toilet with the power whip and throw it for a solution. It’s not just unique gameplay, but fun and intuitive application of what you can do at any time that makes Split Fiction great.
I will say Split Fiction has some frenetic pacing where you just never know what kind of energy it’s going to bring due to the variety. My partner, in general, found the cyberpunk side of it to be far more intense than most of the fantasy side, leading him to prefer playing in Zoe’s stories. I definitely felt like Zoe’s fantasy stories were a bit more relaxed and puzzle-heavy than the often frenetic do-or-die pace of Mio’s sci-fi romps. I suppose tastes will differ on how much you like one or the other, sci-fi or fiction and action or puzzle-solving, but be ready for a bit of whiplash as the game throws you brusquely into one or the other in quick and sometimes jarring transitions.
Despite the pacing, I feel like Split Fiction does a good job to deliver on accessibility features that make it easier to handle and navigate the game at any given time, and you can create different settings based on if you’re playing as Zoe or Mio, which is another nice touch for personalization. The options include everything from turning button-mash events into held button presses, stick wiggles into direction holds, toggles for sprinting, automatic success on certain events, and more that join general features like color-blind settings and visual and audio cues. It’s a nice suite of features that should make it easier for everyone to enjoy the game regardless of skill levels.
I really like what Hazelight Studios has done with their handle on co-op gaming in Split Fiction. It doesn’t necessarily feel like a drastic evolution from It Takes Two the way that game was from A Way Out, but it refines what Hazelight does best and straps it to an interesting duo of characters with wide imaginations that create equally compelling worlds for us to explore. Hazelight fans probably know full well that the emotions get heavy in Split Fiction, but it’s balanced out with a wealth of quirk that will have you giggling and gasping as much it warms you. This is some of the best co-op platforming around and another must-have for those who want to take a fun journey with their bestie.
This review is based on an early digital PlayStation 5 copy supplied by the publisher. Split Fiction comes out on March 6, 2025, and will be coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.