Hazelight and EA have come together again to continue their efforts to bring bigger and better games to players with their next co-op adventure, Split Fiction is a co-op adventure that cannot be played alone, as the studio has made it clear that one of its main goals is to bring players back to how games are played best: with friends. While it’s not always a popular decision, Hazelight goes above and beyond to ensure that this decision does not exclude anyone from enjoying the game.

Split Fiction follows the story of Zoe and Mio, two aspiring young writers who are being brought into Rader Publishing, along with other young hopefuls, for the chance at getting one of their stories published. However, things go south pretty quickly as the girls are told that they’ll be placed into simulations of their stories, something Mio is outwardly uncomfortable with. While trying to fight to avoid the simulation, Mio accidentally stumbles her way into Zoe’s instead, beginning their journey together to escape a combined simulation of both of their stories before Rader Publishing can hijack their creativity and steal their ideas.

Yet Another Stunning Co-op Adventure From Hazelight

Hazelight Continues To Do What It's Best At: Making Games For Friends To Enjoy Together

When comparing Hazelight’s first major co-op adventure, A Way Out, to its The Game Awards GOTY 2021 winner It Takes Two, it was astounding to see how much the team's unique style of game had grown. Now, years later with Split Fiction, the same can still be said. Split Fiction showcases once again that Hazelight not only understands how to maintain the quality of its co-op games, but raises the bar each time

Whether you’re drawing a picture with flowers together or laughing hysterically as your friend drives you both off the road for the millionth time, every detail about Split Fiction is better with someone else. Nearly every aspect of Split Fiction feels intentionally designed around the co-op gameplay to provide the best experience two players can have together in the easiest way possible. Despite its shorter run time compared to other big releases dropping this year, Split Fiction never feels short. In contrast, it’s rather ingeniously designed to give the illusion of being long.

Since it can be hard for friends to find 60+ hours to complete an RPG together, a 12-hour completion time ensures that the majority of players will be able to find the time to play. Levels are even segmented into what are around 2-3-hour blocks, the perfect amount of time for a quick session that still feels like a complete experience. This, combined with the fact that Hazelight offers a free friend which allows players to share one copy of the game, and a Discord matchup system for solo players, it's hard to argue the studio isn't doing everything to accommodate players without compromising on quality.

Split Fiction Is An Homage To Gaming

In Addition To Fun References, Split Fiction Combines The Best Aspects From A Variety Of Games

The biggest standout for Split Fiction, however, is that it plays like a celebration of level design. Other than being a game taking place in two different genres, it also seemingly manages to be several different styles of game all perfectly wrapped into one. Through the ever-changing level designs that pay clear homage to gaming history, nothing ever feels out of place and is instead as visually interesting as it is fun.

While exploring the worlds through Mio and Zoe, you play through everything from side-scrolling shooter levels like Contra to vine-swinging platformer levels like Donkey Kong Country. This not only adds to the overall enjoyment of the playthrough but also allows things to continuously feel fresh while maintaining a sense of familiarity. At no point during this game is boredom on the table. Changes are quick and unique, keeping both players on their toes at all times. Every chapter offers Mio and Zoe different but compatible abilities, ranging from futuristic weapons in Mio’s first chapter to shapeshifting in Zoe’s.

One is never better than the other, and both are needed to work in tandem to accomplish the goals of the level. While this isn’t the only type of co-op experience in the industry, it’s nice to see something designed with such clear intentions that knows what it is and contains what feels like a genuine love of all kinds of games behind it. Hazelight could’ve easily delivered a variety of games, each catering to these different styles or niches, but instead it's given us Split Fiction, one game that seemingly feels like hundreds, in the best way.

A Simple Story Is The Perfect Balance For Elaborate Gameplay

Split Fiction’s Childlike Humor Is The Perfect Compliment To Its Intense Gameplay

In of the story, one of the biggest concerns was whether Split Fiction would resemble It Takes Two’s playful and seemingly childlike dialogue, which was one of the heaviest critiques that the game received. While Split Fiction is wacky in the same ways, it’s hard to say it feels childish, given that the main characters are still so young, and thus their dialogue feels comparatively fitting. While there’s no definitive mention of their age, details about their lives that are revealed throughout the story mark them as being - at most - in their early 20s.

Given that the young women are still clearly trying to discover who they are and grappling with real-world responsibilities, the cheesier dialogue is significantly less out of place here than it is among two divorcing adults being forced to work together like in It Takes Two. Additionally, the story itself justifies the use of its childlike humor purely based on the fact that, as players, you run through more than just these writers' primary story pitches and instead explore stories they’ve written throughout their lives, particularly in childhood.

For example, one of Zoe’s side stories from childhood follows her attempting to process the newly acquired information on how sausages are made, so for this level, Mio and Zoe become pigs with quirky abilities before ultimately ending up as sausages on a grill. So, if the question is whether Split Fiction takes on a more serious tone than It Takes Two, the answer is no. However, that should in no way be a deterring factor as it works better in this story with these characters than it does in the former. All that being said, don’t take the sillier feel of the game to mean that this is a simplistic experience, because it isn’t.

While the plot is pretty straightforward, the gameplay itself is chaotic and able to shine even brighter because the story takes more of a backseat to the overall playthrough. Every two or three hours, players will swap back and forth between alternating Fantasy and Sci-Fi levels, each with unique abilities. In addition to that, each level is sprinkled with 2-3 optional side-stories of the opposite genre, also with unique gameplay, just to shake things up even more. The story may be simple, but the action and adventure are non-stop, so you’ll hardly have time to notice.

Final Thoughts & Review Score - A Perfect Game

ScreenRant Gives Split Fiction A 10/10

Split Fiction is an adventure unlike any other. There are hundreds of games that can be played with friends, but few are going to deliver as memorable an experience as this one. While exploring the fantasy worlds of Zoe and the sci-fi worlds of Mio, there is a balance of high-stakes events and wacky chaos that blends seamlessly. Whether or not you found A Way Out or It Takes Two interesting or enjoyable, don’t write off Split Fiction.

Hazelight continues to evolve and improve with each game it's produced, and Split Fiction is its best masterpiece yet. The short run time is insignificant in comparison to the quality of what you’re receiving in that time, and you won’t be disappointed that you gave it a chance.

Screen Rant was provided with a PS5 code for the purpose of this review.