If variety is indeed the spice of life, then Split Fiction must be a bottle of fiery tabasco sauce, mixed with a hefty dose of cayenne pepper and topped off with a generous portion of scotch bonnet chilli flakes. Oh my goodness, this game is one hot piece of variety packed goodness, from its environments, its gameplay, its abilities and even its camera angles. Actually, I am sitting here trying to remember every different thing I experienced during my hands-on preview with Split Fiction, and you know what, I don’t think I can just off the top of my head. There was so much packed into the four hours I got to play, and the result was an absolute hoot that kept me on my toes throughout.
What developer Hazelight has essentially done here is build on everything it’s done so well with its previous co-op games A Way Out and It Takes Two, and dialled up its ambitions even further. Before I get too carried away, however, let me go back to the start, which is very conveniently where my preview began. Split Fiction kicks off by introducing Zoe and Mio, two writers looking to get published and whose dreams are seemingly answered thanks to a tech company known as Rader Publishing. But there’s more to this place than your average publishing house. For starters, both writers are asked to enter a simulation of their own stories via a machine known as, erm, The Machine.
Zoe, an eager, wide-eyed fantasy writer from the countryside, is hyped up and ready to go, but the slightly cynical, leather jacket-wearing Mio is less convinced. There’s a feeling Rader’s intentions aren’t quite as honest as they appear on paper, and when Mio refuses to enter her own simulation, Rader’s head honcho (also called Rader) won’t take no for an answer. In the resulting kerfuffle, Mio gets pushed inside Zoe’s simulation bubble and transported to Zoe’s fantasy world.
Understandably, Zoe’s a little surprised to see the sci-fi loving Mio suddenly appear in her story, and even more surprised by the strange purple, glitchy void that’s torn through her once cosy lodging. Before they have time to question it, though, both of them get pulled into a dusty sci-fi world full of metal structures and warring crafts – a stark contrast to the rural wooden beams and roaring hearth of Zoe’s world. So begins their quest to resolve this little mix up – and this is where the fun truly begins.
In this opening section, Split Fiction teaches you all of its platforming basics – double jumping, wall running, dashing to avoid getting blasted by incoming projectiles, shimmying up poles, grappling to cross chasms, and, of course, much like It Takes Two and A Way Out before it, the importance of doing all this co-operatively (a big thank you to David Jenkins from Metro for being the Mio to my Zoe).
For example, as Mio used a switch to turn off a rather ominous shield-like laser wall, Zoe was able to grapple to a safe ledge before returning the favour on the other side. Minutes later, co-ordinating key turns on a console pad allowed us to commandeer a ship, and then in yet another craft, Zoe had to shoot down advancing enemy ships while Mio piloted them both to (relative) safety and another glitch portal. All of this happened in just the first 15 minutes, and while yes it was a tutorial, it did an excellent job of throwing me into the action and sucking me in.
Speaking of getting sucked in, that’s exactly what happens next to Mio and Zoe. As soon as they touch the glitch in Mio’s sci-fi story, they’re transported back into Zoe’s fantasy world… only it’s a slightly different place from the story she gave to Rader Publishing. Hmm, yes, something nefarious is definitely going on here…
I won’t go into too many story points here, as I wouldn’t want to spoil too much. But I will say this: each of the main story levels I played through felt wonderfully creative. From the more combat-focused sci-fi sections to the puzzle-leaning fantasy sections, everything felt original and unique and like something I’d never seen before. Far from rehashing old, well-worn fantasy and sci-fi tropes, I felt like Hazelight kept the surprises coming at all times.
For instance, over the course of four hours, I got to play as a Cyber Ninja with a gravity whip (which was very handy for pulling enemies off ledges like a futuristic Indiana Jones), I ran away from a massive, orb-shaped ‘parking attendant’ boss who thought throwing cars and firing lasers at me was a fair punishment for some unpaid parking tickets, and I was turned into a metallic zorb-like ball which could emit a magnetic aura that allowed me to roll up walls. Elsewhere, there were gravity pads that allowed Mio to run across the ceiling, and at one point I even felt like I was in Tron as I threw pool toys (yes, pool toys) at airborne vehicles, all while riding on the back of a motorbike. Another time I took on the form of a ball in a massive pinball-inspired level as my co-op partner operated many, many levers to launch me up shoots and (on occasion) into the abyss.
The highlight of the main sci-fi portions for me, though, was a section from a level called Final Level. Here, both Mio and Zoe had blaster guns as well as shield buster grenades, but they were colour-coded to only damage certain enemies and items. Zoe was on blue duty, while Mio was all about the red guys, though there were also other enemies in the mix who could be shot by both. The result was effectively one big futuristic side-scrolling experience, with shades of both Portal and Metroid. I felt like I was Samus Aran diving through portals to reach other areas within the level, before we eventually faced off against a giant robotic boss known as the Overseer who tried to eviscerate us with lasers in various forms. He was one tough cookie, let me tell you.
Meanwhile, over on the fantasy side of things, I gambled along on the back of a dragon which had the ability to roll up into a tight ball to push heavy objects – essentially like a Goron from The Legend of Zelda. I also shapeshifted into a tiny fairy who could chain jump through a luscious woodland glade, as well as a towering Ent-like tree creature which could extend its arms to grab onto far off edges. It was all suitably enchanting.
As mentioned above, the fantasy levels I played were more puzzle-centric than the fast and frantic action sequences found in the preview’s sci-fi sections, but I’m happy to report that they were no less engaging for their more cerebral objectives and settings. For example, in one level known as Rise of the Dragon Realm, the two authors had to unlock magical gates by using a combination of force and a dragon’s acidic breath to reawaken spirits within a temple. This took a lot of planning with my co-op partner, as we had to use our dragons to climb up grassy cliff sides, create ethereal platforms for the other to scramble across and manipulate a series of golden balls down temporary and really rather rickety shoots.
This change of pace was welcome after some of the sci-fi sections, which, I won’t lie, left me with a slight cramp in my hand due to gripping the controller so tightly from the rising pressure. I jest (slightly), but I really did appreciate being able to take a bit of a breather here, and I know I keep saying it, but the amount of variety on offer just added to the overall experience. After each section, I was excited to find out where I would be going next, and just what I would be doing when I got there.
Away from Split Fiction’s already packed main story, there are also optional side stories which can be found tucked within the narrative as small portals that transport you away from the core game. These are a big evolution on It Takes Two’s mini-games, as rather than being a small side-attraction plopped within a level like everybody’s favourite ‘Whack-a-Cody’, these side stories are more like bitesized levels in their own right.
During the preview, I played through two of these side stories. The first was based on a story Zoe had written when she was younger, and was set on a farm. But the best thing about it was how it re-cast each author as a ‘Super Pig’ in the story, rather than keep their more familiar human forms. Let it be known “Hold Y to wallow” is now my favourite video game prompt.
In the bodies of these new porcine pals, Zoe and Mio had to make their way through the farmyard area and find apples to feed to a number of hungry doors. Of course, co-operative platforming was essential here once again, with Zoe’s pig able to extend into a giant spring which allowed her to jump higher, while Mio’s pig was able to expel a large amount of gas to propel her through the air like a very windy set of bellows, causing much hilarity between myself and my co-op partner. At one point, I (as Zoe) jumped down onto one end of a spade, launching Mio – who was on the other side – into the air. Mio then farted to propel herself onto an otherwise unreachable ledge to obtain an apple for that rather peckish door.
As well as just general laughter at our ludicrous pigs, this area also had so much additional humour tucked into it. We came across a giant pig, and jumping into its belly made it break wind complete with a gaseous green fug. We also found the homes of the Three Little Pigs of nursery rhyme fame, and were able to knock down their houses. “I didn’t expect that farting force,” cried out the brick house pig as Mio and Zoe trotted around the wreckage. This side story ultimately ended in a rather darkly-funny Hazelight fashion, with shades of that elephant scene from It Takes Two, though again, I won’t say too much here because I want you to have the same moments of giddy joy and surprise as I had. Let’s just say this: this story is perhaps not one for vegetarians.
The second side story was a Mio number, known as Slopes of War, and it saw the two authors competing for the highest score by performing jumps and tricks while snowboarding down the side of a mountain. Oh, and there was also the small detail of a battle going on around them, as well! A futuristic SSX with guns, in other words, and I zipped, flipped and – on more than one occasion – tripped my way down the slope as blasts erupted around me. Quite simply, I loved it! (And by the way, I got the highest score).
With so much to see and do here, it was essentially impossible for Split Fiction to feel monotonous or repetitive during my time with it, and I only hope the rest of the game can maintain this rapid-fire gauntlet of ideas to keep the twists and turns coming. Indeed, even though each level resides in clear science fiction and fantasy territories, each new portal took me to a place that felt totally its own thanks to the diverse environments and fun mix of abilities. I already want to go back and replay the sections from the preview, this time as Mio.
I’m also intrigued to see how and if the game develops its interesting-sounding back stories for each writer. Zoe often spoke of her sister during the preview, while Mio spoke of her father (though I do hope that we aren’t going to get another ‘daddy issue’ storyline in the vein of Lara Croft or even Chloe Frazer in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy). Still, I’ll be interested to see how Hazelight continues to flesh out its characters beyond just their written works. While the two leads are strangers to begin with, it’s clear that a friendship is going to blossom between them as the story progresses, and I’m excited to see how things play out.
Another point worth mentioning – and this is more of a heads up than a critique, per se – but Split Fiction is noticeably more difficult than It Takes Two. There were more than a few moments when timing and co-ordination were paramount, and it was sometimes quite fiddly to keep an eye on everything going on and who was doing what. I died a fair amount, I won’t lie. On the plus side, though, Split Fictions seems pretty generous with its checkpoints, so even though I was dying more often than I did when playing It Takes Two, it was never an arduous slog to get back to the task at hand. What’s more, the steeper difficulty curve just made the end results that much more satisfying. Finally getting everything just so in order to advance left my co-op partner and I elated as we patted ourselves on the back for a job well done. I imagine it being akin to a runner’s high.
Ultimately, even after spending such a short time with it, it’s clear that Split Fiction is shaping up to be something special. At a time when it can often be hard to get a game to stand out from the crowd – especially when it comes to something new and unfamiliar – I have no doubt that this one will do just that. Split Fiction is creative, funny, clever, it’s just… oh, it’s just great! I really can’t wait to play more.
This article is based on a preview oppurtunity for Split Fiction based in Los Angeles, for which EA covered travel and accomodation.
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