I do have a soft spot for developer Hazelight Studios. While I enjoyed A Way Out, I simply adored It Takes Two. Having played through it with my wife, who I must state does not play games of any sort, and for her to love it as much as she did is a true testament to how good that game actually is.
Enter their latest project, Split Fiction. After explaining to my wife that the team behind It Takes Two was making a new game, it didn’t take much else to get her on board. And here we are.
Split Fiction is undoubtedly some of the most fun I’ve had with a game in quite some time. The story rolls along at a breakneck pace, and while it’s not necessarily as emotional or as moving as It Takes Two, it more than makes up for it with unique gameplay elements and some set pieces that had us jumping out of our seats with excitement.
It’s a game that’s banking on cooperative play, either locally or online, but given the experience is so tightly entwined from both a narrative and gameplay perspective about each other, it’s something I can recommend to almost anyone.
Your Story or Mine?
Players take control of Mio and Zoe, two aspiring yet struggling authors who have been given the chance to get their work published by an emerging tech company. The company encapsulates the authors in a simulation of sorts, where the authors get to experience their stories first hand while the ideas are extracted and eventually published. While Zoe is initially on board, Mio has doubts about the entire process and, in wanting to leave the experiment, accidentally falls into Zoe’s simulation bubble.
Now bound to each other, Mio and Zoe must work together within the simulation to finally escape. The catch is, however, that our two protagonists must jump between and endure each other’s stories. Mio loves science fiction, while Zoe prefers fantasy. Bouncing between the two stories is a blast, but as they dig a little deeper, they soon find out things are not as they seem, and their ideas are being slowly stolen from them.
Working through each world is an absolute blast, even if the game’s villain, Rader, feels a little cookie cutter at times, in the sense that his overall development and subsequent goals feel a little direct and somewhat shallow. While the game lacks the emotional hook of It Takes Two, which immediately puts players in a situation where they must progress to save their marriage, Split Fiction plays things a little safer.
It might touch on a few tropes when applicable – of course, the duo that couldn’t be further apart in terms of personality soon realise they must put their differences aside and come together. But it utilises these tropes in some exciting ways and rarely ever lingers long enough for it to become forced or jarring. It’s surprisingly charming to see a game actively poking fun at or praising its influences at any given turn, with a sense of balance and direction.
That being said, Split Fiction does take certain opportunities to expand upon its characters and add some depth as we dive into the motivations behind their stories. While it does take a little longer to drive its point home, it comes together quite nicely in the end.
Two-gether
From a gameplay perspective, Split Fiction will feel rather familiar to anyone who has played It Takes Two before. Each level usually dishes out some new toys for both players to mess around with, each of which contributes to traversal, puzzle-solving and occasionally, combat.
While I would rather not spoil the game’s various mechanics and levels, I can say that the controls and overall gameplay feel incredibly satisfying. You will have some basic traversal skills like the double jump and dash that stick with you throughout the entire game, and this helps platforming feel buttery smooth.
For the most part, Split Fiction does a great job at making things feel accessible for players of all ages and skill levels. While things can get a little tricky at times, the game does a great job at diversifying tasks and generally allowing players to grasp its mechanics throughout the level before things get a little tougher towards the end.
Throughout it all, Split Fiction simply has you doing so much. Be it slashing and whipping enemies as cyber ninjas in Mio’s stories or shapeshifting between a giant Groot-like tree monster and a gorilla in Zoe’s fantasy-driven adventures, there’s always something exciting to do and mess around with. Shooting, slashing, climbing, swinging, driving, flying, swimming, sliding down the side of a building, the list really could go on.
The game occasionally graces players with some awesome set pieces as well, and while these are generally a little more exciting in Mio’s stories, do make use of the newer hardware as there’s generally a bunch of stuff happening at any given time. Each level will also throw a couple of boss battles at players, each with its unique puzzles to solve based on the mechanics and abilities you have been given.
While these portions are generally a little tougher, like in It Takes Two, the game allows a player to come back if they die, as long as the other player is still alive. Even then, should both players die at the same time, checkpoints are always forgiving enough that you aren’t set back a great deal.
But throughout its 15-hour runtime, it’s worth noting that each world presents its own story, meaning things are constantly made to feel fresh the entire way through. I lost count of how many times the game manages to pull you from one world to another while maintaining a constant sense of pace and excitement.
Look the Part
Split Fiction is only available on current-gen consoles, and it’s pretty easy to see why. Even though its art style is not entirely realistic, it’s still incredibly gorgeous.
What does stand out, however, are the jaw-dropping vistas and environments the game has you playing around in, each of which boasts some seriously pretty lighting effects, polished textures and vibrant colour palettes. There’s a scene a few hours in where Mio and Zoe simply take a seat on a rooftop bench in Mio’s Cyberpunk-inspired futuristic city, and my wife and I truly had to take a second to soak it all in, gawking in silence.
Even on the PlayStation 5, Split Fiction managed to run at 60 FPS pretty much the entire time, which is certainly solid given how chaotic things can get.
Finally, it’s worth noting here that the game only needs to be purchased once. While the game can be played locally with two players on the couch, a friend can also download the Friend’s Pass for free to play online with someone who already owns the base game.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Split Fiction is nothing short of an incredible cooperative experience that manages to pack in an engaging narrative, fun gameplay, and moments that rival those of It Takes Two.
While the main villain is, at times, a little bland, it in no way detracts from everything else this game is doing so well. Given how much I love It Takes Two, I am floored by just how well they followed up on things, and I can’t speak highly enough of Director Josef Fares and his team at Hazelight Studios.
This is one of the best games of 2025 so far and something I would recommend to almost anyone from all walks of life. Go and play Split Fiction.
FIVE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights: Fantastic gameplay with a variety of mechanics; Well-paced and engaging narrative; Gorgeous set pieces
Lowlights: The main villain feels a little bland
Developer: Hazelight Studios
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PC
Available: Now
Review conducted on PlayStation 5 with a pre-release code provided by the publisher.
