Review: Split Fiction

Split Fiction Story Friend's Pass Steam Deck Friend Edition Review

Developed by Hazelight Studios and published by EA, Split Fiction is a brand-new co-op adventure game that challenges the boundaries of what a video game should do. Known for Game of the Year winner back in 2021, It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios is not new when crafting amazing co-op titles. With Split Fiction, the developer has taken everything good from It Takes Two, multiplied it by four, and delivered an experience that combines every video game genre known to man inside a single game and somehow manages to completely nail every single one of them. This is our review of Split Fiction on the Xbox Series X in which we fart some rainbows as pigs and jump from one truck to another in a space highway.

The story of Split Fiction revolves around two writers, Mio and Zoe, who meet at a tech company that is interested in publishing their work. As new writers who have never been published, both Mio and Zoe arrive at the company only to find out that the company is trying to experiment with their newly created machine, which apparently allows the writer to experience their stories themselves. However, as the writers enter their respective simulations, Mio becomes suspicious of the firm’s motives and refuses to enter. This leads to a scuffle, and Mio accidentally falls inside the sphere with Zoe, which causes a glitch, and both of their stories become intertwined. From here, both of them try to escape the digital world and return to the normal world in order to confront the organization that is actually trying to steal everyone’s ideas for their own gains.

As you enter the digital worlds of Mio and Zoe, you will encounter gorgeous worlds that were previously only in the minds of the two writers. Mio loves writing about sci-fi, so her bits revolve around futuristic cities, space highways, and cyber ninjas, while Zoe loves fantasy, so her bits revolve around trolls, rainbow-farting pigs, and colorful locations. Basically, you are inside another world inside another world. So, you can consider it inception or whatever, but the story is pretty decently paced, and at key locations, you will get to know more about the evil corporation and their motives as well. This gives both Mio and Zoe a goal, and they make it their goal to return and have them stand responsible for their actions.

Split Fiction’s gameplay is a combination of a lot of mechanics, but at its core, it is a platformer, so you can expect basic platforming moves at your disposal. You can double jump, wall run, and sprint right from the start of the game. You also have a grappling hook with you to help you navigate around the locations. Depending on the location, each character will also get specific tools and weapons, which they will need to use in order to help the other player and progress in the story.

As you would expect, the puzzles are designed in such a way that each player will be solving something that aids the other player. For example, at the world level, Mio has a sword while Zoe has a whip, so Zoe will push and pull objects for Mio to progress while Mio will be on enemy control and hit switches for Zoe to progress. Nearly the entire game is based around this concept. The puzzles themselves are not very hard to solve, and you can figure out what needs to be done in a few minutes. Most of the puzzles are fairly straightforward, with only a few requiring some time to figure out what needs to be done in order to progress in the game. Most of the levels are linear, and there are no branching paths for progression, but the levels themselves are fairly huge in size. One level could take a lot of time to complete, with multiple boss battles, platforming sections, side stories, and easter eggs to find. Overall, the story is about 15 hours long, and this time could drop or increase based on how quickly you complete certain levels and side stories. This is quite a decent time for a co-op game

Coming to the main protagonists of the game, both Mio and Zoe are excellent characters, and you will love spending time with them. The character development and how the bond between them is formed throughout the story is evident. You begin to see changes in their behavior toward the other character and their work near the end of the game, which shows how much both characters have grown throughout the story. Mio is always a little closed while Zoe seems like the life of any party, but the story takes them through such experiences that they both start to trust each other and look after each other, something that was a little difficult to say when the game begins. This little mechanism adds depth to both characters and how you start to like and begin investing yourself in them throughout the story. There is humor and seriousness in the game’s tone, but the writing is exceptionally good and balances both out perfectly.

Naturally, with games such as It Takes Two and Split Fiction, one problem may occur for you, and it is the level of skill difference between the two players. Split Fiction is heavily dependent on both players, and certain sections will require a certain level of skill from both players for progression, such as boss fights. If one of the players lacks skill, you will have a hard time completing the game. As for me, I played the game with my wife, and while she plays plenty of games, she is still a little behind me when it comes to video games.

It was not difficult for us to complete the game, but we did struggle in certain platforming sections and boss battles. It is still manageable, and Split Fiction does an amazing job with accessibility with features such as aided platforming, which ensures that you land at the right spot. This will not bug you much, but if you are a perfectionist and want to ace the game, you will need someone to be at least as good as yourself or even better.

Then again, Split Fiction is not overly difficult in any way at all. Even the death penalty is not too harsh in the game. If one player dies during a platforming section, they will respawn next to the other player when there is flat ground. During boss battles, if one player dies, they will get a button-smashing mini-game they can spam to respawn quickly, and as long as one player remains alive, the other one can continue dying as long as they want just to button-mash their way back, and the game will not be over. The checkpoints are not that far as well, and even in boss battles, there are frequent save spots, making Split Fiction a breeze to play. It does get a little frustrating in certain situations, but it is all part of the fun. If your partner is sitting with you on a couch, you can always swap controllers to help them out, as with the good old days.

Of course, I do not want to spoil too much from the game in this review because games like Split Fiction are something that needs to be experienced personally to cherish them. If you played It Takes Two and liked it, you are going to absolutely love Split Fiction because of its amazing design, cool mechanics, and dependency on other players’ actions for progression. Each world has its own charm, and each side story is a wild ride. I also love the fact that side stories in the sci-fi world take you to fantasy worlds, and side stories in the fantasy worlds take you to sci-fi worlds. It is such a good pacing of both universes that it is impossible to get bored in the game.

Related News:

Final Verdict:

With Split Fiction, Hazelight Studios has continued its streak of delivering yet another Game of the Year contender. It is very hard to find something negative about Split Fiction. It features gorgeous levels, excellent gameplay design, and a co-op experience that only Hazelight Studios can deliver. It is baffling to see how Split Fiction delivers specific genre experiences better than AAA titles that are specifically built for those genres. It not only shows how dedicated the developer is to promote healthier gaming activities but also manages to create experiences that just show the entire industry how it is done. With a free Friend Pass, Split Fiction is a no-brainer for every fan of co-op games, whether they love action games, shooter games, wacky games, or everything else.

Final Score: 9.5/10

An Xbox Series X review copy for Split Fiction was provided by FortySeven PR for EA for this review. Read our review policy.