Split Fiction is Hazelight Studios’ newest co-op-only adventure game. It follows the success of the gamemaker’s previous co-op entries: 2021’s It Takes Two and 2018’s A Way Out. Frankly, the most challenging aspects of those games was often the fact that you had to search hard for a willing partner if you wanted to play them at all.
But even though this entry follows the same you-gotta-have-a-teammate-to-play format, the gamemakers have made Split Fiction so creative, fresh and flexible that the partner-finding problem should be less of an issue this go ‘round.
The story centers on the Rader Publishing company, a forward-thinking organization that’s calling together wannabe writers for a chance at their first big break. Two of those hopefuls are a pair of young women: Mio, a dour, chip-on-her-shoulder sci-fi writer; and Zoe, a bubbly novelist who loves fantasy fiction.
It’s clear from their first meeting, that these two women aren’t going to get along anytime soon. (Oil and water ought to be their respective middle names.) Not only that, but this publishing group’s approach is a bit odd. For one thing, the company’s CEO and founder, J.D. Rader, demands that this gaggle of writers dress in special suits. And then he states that they’ll all be connected to “simulations” of their submitted storylines via a device called “The Machine.”
Mio balks at the idea of being caught up in The Machine’s glowing bubble stasis pods. But when she attempts to back away, she’s accidentally swallowed up by Zoe’s bubble and finds herself in Zoe’s fantasy tale.
The bubbles weren’t designed for this double occupancy, so Mio and Zoe begin glitching back and forth between each other’s stories. But this malfunction also allows the women to listen in on Rader’s true plans to steal all of the unpublished writer’s creative ideas. Only Mio and Zoe know the truth. But before they can warn the other writers, they’ve got to find a way out of this glitchy mess they’re caught up in.
Oh, and they have to be able to stand each other enough to cooperate.
To that end, the two Split Fiction gameplayers mash controller buttons cooperatively, too. And the stages and stories are constantly changing, giving players new abilities and fresh genre challenges to work their way through.
Some scenes are focused on splashy sci-fi shootouts or a cyber train heist, while others deal with raging trolls and gigantic dragons. Players encounter inventive dance-offs, shapeshifting quests and platforming sidescrollers. And in each segment, environmental puzzles and obstacles must be overcome cooperatively.
This is a game that can be played online with a connected stranger or friend, or locally offline in split screen. And if one player falls, is zapped by lasers or blades, or dies in some other manner, he or she will rematerialize back near their partner to continue on.
Along with a wide variety of game genres and creative challenges to work through, Mio and Zoe have some personal issues in their own lives that they’re wrestling with, too.
And as the two characters slowly become friends and learn to work together, those well-scripted struggles (and the subsequent emotional healing) make Split Fiction a much more emotional journey than you might expect. The game then becomes rewarding and smile-worthy on several levels.
On top of all that, the exotic sci-fi/fantasy worlds that Mio and Zoe play through are all colorful and enjoyable. And game replay is enhanced by the fact that the two characters take on very different skills and abilities. So, switching roles to play through the challenges again gives the game a fresh feel.
There are perilous situations and combative play in the mix—including battling robots, large beasts, soldiers and other fantastical creatures. Gun turrets, laser-blasting spaceships and explosions are part of play. (Though, the conflicts very often avoid trigger-pulling shoot outs and instead rely on other cooperative solutions.) In some scenes foes fall with spattered blood and cries of pain. For instance, a huge hydra foe is felled by cutting off its heads.
Mio and Zoe’s personal emotional struggles involve sick and deceased loved ones paired with the hurt and personal guilt one can feel in such situations.
Foul language isn’t constant, but there are uses of the s-word and exclamations of “d–n,” “h—,” “crap,” “a–” and misuses of both God’s and Jesus’ names. There’s also some mild toilet humor in the story, such as poo-tossing monkeys and flying pigs that propel themselves through bursts of gas.
There are a few T-rated messy bits to step in. But all-in-all, there’s a lot of fun to have here. If you enjoy (or endure) co-operative partner games, Split Fiction is a fun game you won’t want to miss.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
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