It Takes Two is an incredibly well-designed game. Every level in the 2021 co-op platformer follows an exciting progression of introducing ideas, developing them in fascinating ways, then dropping them entirely. In the first trailer for Split Fiction, the long-awaited follow-up from Hazelight Studios, that build-it-then-dump-it approach hasn’t changed.
Narrating a bit of gameplay, director Josef Fares highlighted one level where Split Fiction‘s dual protagonists find eggs which hatch into baby dragons that ride on the heroes’ backs, allowing them to glide and shoot fire. They continue to grow during the level, eventually becoming full-sized dragons our heroines can ride through the air. Given the game is structured to follow each fantasy level with a sci-fi level and vice versa, those dragons will likely be dropped as fast as we pick them up. That means the structural magic that made It Takes Two such a blast to play is back. But the trailer also revealed that the bizarre, dark humor that occasionally reared its sardonic head in that game has also returned.
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Though It Takes Two’s gameplay was impeccable, it was sometimes unclear how much control Hazelight had over the tonal dial. Is this talking book who sounds like a stereotypical Latin lover supposed to be this annoying? Are we supposed to think Cody and May have a terrible relationship and should get divorced? And, most crucially, was the elephant scene supposed to be that dark?
Remembering The Elephant Scene
If you missed It Takes Two, here’s a brief primer: At one point in the game Cody and May need to track down a talking elephant toy, Cutie. She’s their daughter Rose’s favorite toy, so they think that if they kill her it will make Rose cry, reversing the spell that transformed them into dolls.
So, they find Cutie, who is incredibly sweet and innocent. She invites them to play with her and gives Cody a hug. But when she gets wise to their plans, she runs, hopping aboard a toy rocket and attempting to fly away. May throws a projectile at her, causing Cutie to crashland in a claw machine. Once inside, they fish her out. All the while, Cutie is pleading for her life. Cody and May don’t give in and, in the process of dragging her to a ledge, Cutie loses her leg and her ear. Despite it all, Cody and May keep going until they can give her the old Mufasa treatment.
It’s a ridiculously dark scene for a game that won Best Family Game (!) at The Game Awards. It feels like Hazelight momentarily transports the player to the torture scene from GTA 5, except with Sid from Toy Story subbing in for Trevor. It feels wildly sadistic, and it made me feel gross afterwards. I adopted a rescue dog earlier this year and that has made me way more sensitive about violence against helpless creatures. Rewatching the scene on YouTube for this article was actually a little upsetting.
Hazelight Is Bringing Back The Dark Humor In Split Fiction
And yet, it’s undeniably kinda funny, too. It feels like a commentary on what couples who “stay together for the kids” are actually doing to their kids. For the greater good, Cody and May are trying to traumatize their daughter and mangle her favorite toy. Obviously, they need to become human again so that they can take care of her, but in the pursuit of that worthy goal, they’re sorta making her life a mess.
If it was unclear whether that scene in It Takes Two was supposed to be darkly comedic, Split Fiction is here to clear it up. After showing off the dragon level, the trailer goes on to highlight a level where you’ll play as pigs. How does that ability evolve, you might ask? In answer, the trailer cuts quickly to hot dogs rolling on a grill. In voice over, Fares says, “Anyway, let’s not talk about that level for now.”
This bit doesn’t reach elephant scene levels of messed up, but it’s clearly demonstrating the same kind of dark humor. Whether this is an organic expression of the team’s sensibility, or Fares and co. leaning into the reaction to the elephant scene, I’m into it. Games are often ultra-violent or completely cozy. A generally nice game with occasional detours into dark humor isn’t something we’re getting anywhere else and I’m here for it. But… I still probably won’t rewatch the elephant scene anytime soon.
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