Split Fiction (2025, Playstation 5) Review

REASON TO FIND A FRIEND

A lot of Split Fiction's enjoyment comes from the co-op. I'm not saying that to diminish the game's other achievements - it is a genuine delight from start to finish - but the game's combined qualities of humor, simplicity and breakneck speed wouldn't land the same way if you played alone. Togetherness in gaming is a lost art that Hazelight, and Josef Fares in particular, has successfully sought to revive for three consecutive games. If you haven't got a friend, Split Fiction is a good reason to find one.

The story is a loosey-goosey excuse to throw the characters into ever-changing situations. I played it with my younger brother. We assumed the roles of two young women, Mio and Zoe, who have been invited to try out a new storytelling experience at a high-tech corporation. All participants enter a virtual reality bubble that reads the user's minds. Based on the findings, it then generates a fully interactive world, story and all.

Problem strikes when both women accidentally end up in the same bubble, causing several glitches to the system. They have to co-operate to escape the situation. Meanwhile, the technicians outside try to resolve it on their end.

Just like Hazelight's award-winning previous outing, It Takes Two, it's a buddy movie setup. The women are polar opposites, bickering like a married couple. Mio is an introverted sci-fi writer. Zoe writes fantasy and is more outgoing. They warp back and forth between their respective fiction genres, where the stories betray their deepest psychological issues.

The neat setup allows the women to explore all manner of gameplay genres and beautiful environments. One moment you're casting spells and riding dragons high above medieval castles. Next you're advancing up a futuristic skyscraper in the night, avoiding laser beams with a dystopian metropolis in the background. Suddenly, a side story has you entangled in a rhythm-based dance battle with a funky gorilla.

I find it both bizarre and logical that the game got nominated (at the Game Awards) for best narrative. One of the game's strengths lies in the lightweight, whimsical plot. But it's not your typical award-fodder. It lacks depth, even when it gets serious towards the end. On the other hand it constantly plays to the strength of the co-op situation. It never gets in the way, but rather elevates the experience by appealing to the lowest common denominator.

Every world has its own silly arc that serves to put the players in a pickle. Knowing they're part of a story, the women let slip corny oneliners whenever the moment calls for it. The comedic moments happen so fast, and in such rapid succession, that it's hard to remember them all. But I loved the situation where we had to escape enemies on a motorbike. My brother drove the bike while I had to go through step after step of user authentification - face recognition, image confirmation, disclaimer reading - to disarm a bomb.

The pace is thrilling; it feels like being stuck inside a prolonged Peter Jackson action scene. You wallrun, jump over a chasm, grapple, swing and land on a slide that breaks into a freefall. These characters fall a lot. Then you need to steer your character through the air, aiming for a deep pool. You dive and swim through an underwater obstacle course. Stuff like that.

The camera constantly changes, going from isometric to third-person or a sidescrolling view. It's confusing in a fun way, especially when you take a glance on your partner's side of the screen and lose your orientation. My favorite section comes close to the end. Here, Hazelight demonstrates some nice creativity regarding the border that separates the playing fields. I can't spoil exactly how, but I've not seen anything like it before.

A one-word summarization of the game would be "busy". Busy on the soundtrack. Busy on the screen. Busy gameplay. Although the screen is brimming with visual detail, it rarely feels overdesigned. Some of the fast-paced tunnel sections are unclear about where to go, which led to a few deaths, but it was never frustrating. Belly laughter is a way more common gut reaction, thanks to the forgiving respawns.

Although the screen is split in two, one player can't get far without the other's help. A gate always requires two to open. Or one character might need to use her special power to guide the other. Exploration usually doesn't yield anything substantial. Usually you can only mess around with something - ride a water slide, paint a lewd picture on the ground - that'll reward you with a Playstation trophy.

However, it's worth going out of your way to find the optional "glitches". They lead to full-fledged mini adventures totally detached from the main plot. You might suddenly control a couple of pigs in a barnyard adventure (wait till you see the ending to that one), or crude sketches in a medieval, half-improvised escapade.

Josef Fares has strongly recommended that you play there. And he's right - they're amazing. The imagination and creativity put into them has to be seen. This leads to my biggest complaint. You might miss them through no real fault of your own. Both players must reach the glitch to activate it. If one character progresses too far the other way, she might reach a point of no return. A gate might close behind her, and she's locked out of that side content. Your only way to reach it will be to replay the level from scratch. It happened twice in our playthrough.

These levels are long (by god they never end). But that's not a bad thing, because they constantly reinvent themselves. Hazelight finds ways to evolve simple premises into myriads of different challenges. The environment changes constantly, but thanks to the simple control scheme you never feel dumbfounded.

Split Fiction is a great way to spend time together. I can't see anyone getting bored by it. Very little time is spent dilly-dallying, and when you do it's in a fun, creative way. Sure, it lacks narrative depth but anyone looking for narrative depth in a co-op action game should perhaps re-examine their priorities.