When you ask Hazelight Studios game director Josef Fares why he likes to make co-op action-adventure games, he’ll tell you it’s because no one else is doing it. On the one hand, it is strange that other studios aren’t chasing the success of Game Of The Year-winning It Takes Two. But on the other, I can see why no one’s in a rush to make a game that would invite comparisons to Hazelight’s work. You can make an inventive co-op adventure game, but could it ever be as good as a Hazelight game?
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After spending a few hours with the studio’s next project, Split Fiction, I’m pretty confident I know the answer to that question. Split Fiction takes all of the variety, innovation, and charm of It Takes Two and cranks it up to 11. It’s bigger, more energetic, and faster-paced than Cody and May’s broken marriage story, with a focus on cinematic set pieces and precision platforming that makes It Takes Two look like Taking It Too Slow. It pushes the boundaries of co-op beyond the split screen in some clever and surprising ways, proving Hazelight not only understood what made It Takes Two work, but still has plenty of good ideas left in the tank.
You Got Sci-Fi In My Fantasy
In Split Fiction you and a partner play as Zoe and Mio, two writers competing for a job at a tech megacorp that has invented a VR device that turns stories into fully simulated worlds. We immediately discover that the company would rather steal their ideas than pay for them, if you can believe that of a tech corporation. Hijinks ensue, and the two writers find themselves trapped in their own stories and forced to work together to find an escape.
Development on Split Fiction started when It Takes Two launched, so it’s almost prescient that Hazelight is tackling themes related to AI and the replacement of artists. When asked about those themes during a roundtable interview, Fares gave an uncharacteristically passive answer. “Yeah, there’s definitely like, you know, with the AI and everything that’s going on today,” he says. “But I will still argue that the core of the story is about friendship. That’s the actual core.” If Fares isn’t willing to put much stock into Split Fiction’s critical commentary then I won’t either, so let’s get to the good stuff: laser swords.
During the first hour the controls felt sluggish and delayed, especially when moving the camera. After a while someone from the studio came over and changed a setting on the TV. After that the controls were smooth as butter. If other previews mention sluggish controls, they may have been having the same technical issue I was.
Levels alternate between a sci-fi and fantasy setting, with the sci-fi story set in a cyberpunk future with the writers all geared up like a couple of cyber assassins. Sci-fi levels tend to be more action-focused, with platforming challenges that are noticeably more demanding than the ones in It Takes Two.
I don’t think it’s too punishing for non-gamers, given it uses the same forgiving death mechanics from It Takes Two, but it’s worth noting that your novice spouse/friend/child might find some of the traversal mechanics to be a little overwhelming. You’ll be dodge-rolling away from missile silos, navigating tightropes while hovercraft rain down fire on you, and wall-running into double jump air dodge into grapple hook to clear gaps. This is an evolution of It Takes Two, which means if you played that game, you’ve already developed a lot of the skills that will help you get started in Split Fiction.
The fantasy levels tend to be more puzzle-focused. I got to play through two of the sequences shown in the reveal trailer, one that has the writers transforming into mythical creatures to create pathways through a magic forest, and another where they have to use the unique abilities of two fledgling dragons to restore the soul of a dragon spirit in an ancient tomb. These are slower, more exploratory levels that balance out the fast-paced sci-fi levels nicely. That’s going to be the general gameplay loop of Split Fiction, but Hazelight has a reputation to uphold now, so you can expect a ton of gameplay variety from level to level.
Variety Is The Spice Of Virtual Life
Now the part where I have to resist simply listing all of the cool gameplay moments I got to experience during the preview, because I don’t want to gush or ruin too many of Split Fiction’s surprises. Suffice to say there was never a stale moment in my three-hour session. Every time I decided a level was going to be my favorite, the next one would be even cooler.
I’ll mention just a couple of standouts, but remember this is nowhere even close to being an exhaustive list of all the different things you get to do in Split Fiction. One of my favorite sequences is an Akira-inspired motorcycle chase through the cyber city, where one player drives the bike while the other shoots down flying pursuers.
We’ve seen plenty of sequences like this in other games, but the way this one plays with the action beats, camera angles, and even the way the split screen is presented elevates it to something unique and impressive. By the end of the sequence the shooter is trying to deactivate a ticking time bomb via touch screen while the driver dodges in and out of flaming rubble, trying to keep the bike as stable as possible. It ends with both players with their own bikes on a mad dash across the city, and an impromptu race you didn’t know you were in until it already started. That’s a perfect Hazelight moment.
There were so many more moments like this. One sequence I particularly enjoyed had one player controlling a magnetic pinball while the other operated a series of flippers used to propel the ball through a course and create pathways. This is one of those challenges that can ruin a fragile relationship if you can’t be patient. But if there isn’t the risk of a break up every time you pick up the controller, what would be the point of playing a co-op game?
This is my second preview of Split Fiction, and though I’ll need to play the whole game before I can decide if it’s a worthy follow-up to It Takes Two, everything I’ve so far indicates that Hazelight has outdone itself. The shallower elements of It Takes Two, namely narrative and dialogue, continue to be a weakness for the developer, but when it comes to approachable and compelling co-op gameplay with an absurd amount of variety, I’m pretty confident Split Fiction is going to deliver everything fans want, and more.
Action
Adventure
Sci-Fi
Fantasy
- Released
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March 6, 2025
- ESRB
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T For Teen // Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
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Hazelight Studios