Split Fiction Review - Everything Everywhere

I think at this point it’s safe to say that Hazelight Studios (who are still hot off their recent success of It Takes Two) is the king of the co-op genre, and that couldn’t be any more evident than my time with their latest adventure, Split Fiction.

It’s a game that has pretty much anything you can think of, and some things I’ve never seen in a game before. It’s a massive achievement across multiple genres packed into one, and it’s something that became perfectly clear the longer I played the game.

But I didn’t always feel that way, and those feelings changed after my initial preview, as well as with the full version of Split Fiction. As someone who generally isn’t too keen on co-op games, this one has me changing my tune.

From the start, Split Fiction doesn’t mince words. The story kicks off with its two main characters, Mio and Zoe – two writers down on their luck and looking to get their work published. They’ve both hit it off with a company known as Rader Publishing, who promises to bring their creations to life.

Unbeknownst to the pair, that means literally. As they get wrapped up in a simulation of their stories, Mio tries to back out, but as she resists, she’s thrown into Zoe’s simulation, which then kicks off the rest of the story.

In some ways, it's a race to get out, as Zoe and Mio will have to work together to leave their respective stories – the bulk of which involves living them and chasing after a glitch in the system in hopes of returning to the real world.

Without giving away much in the way of spoilers, the overarching story is fairly straightforward – ironically, that part isn’t really anything to write home about since it’s the main vehicle for Mio and Zoe. They’re the stars here, and it’s their character development and eventual growth that is the highlight of Split Fiction’s narrative.

It’s certainly a lot more emotional and heavier than I expected, but their individual stories hit in a way that’s both touching and round out what is otherwise a fun adventure.

The actual adventure, or gameplay part of Split Fiction is essentially a non-stop 20-hour thrill ride that will have you doing all manner of mechanics and traversal paired with your co-op partner for the full duration of it across sci-fi and fantasy worlds.

Split Fiction covers such a wide range of genres, it’s beyond impressive what the team has pulled off here. And again, it’s something I didn’t fully grasp until I played the entire game. There are platformers, shooters, puzzles, adventure, farm life, role-playing, and even a dancing quest with rhythm mechanics.

On top of that, Zoe and Mio aren’t just doing the same thing the whole time. They each get their own individual abilities in each level. For example, in one of the sci-fi levels called Neon Revenge, Zoe is equipped with a whip that can grab objects, while Mio has a gravity-changing sword. Both characters will have to work in tandem to get across each area in the level.

Another example is a level known as Isolation and has Mio in control of a pinball machine, while Zoe takes the role of a ball that must escape a fast-paced boss encounter. It’s all very well fleshed out, and the capacity for replaying Split Fiction extends well past its initial run-through with these two different styles at play.

Split Fiction has eight main levels, and some 12 different optional side stories to help mix things up between Zoe and Mio’s sci-fi and fantasy adventures. I found the side stories a nice break from the action, especially in Mio’s levels.

They’re all markedly different, but they’ve got some fun ideas like riding on land sharks, exploring a world filled with birthday sweets, and even a wacky game show.

While the gameplay shines throughout Split Fiction, it’s not always smooth sailing. The difficulty curve can ratchet up unexpectedly, and some controls, particularly with vehicles, can feel clunky and cumbersome. I also felt like some of the main levels do go a bit overlong, but your mileage may vary on that experience.

That said, I found that the reliance on my co-op partner added to this challenge, and there was often a lot of trial and error involved as the game doesn’t offer much in the way of hints or how to work things out. It’s a proper old-school experience in that way, but at least when Zoe or Mio die, they can come back right away.

In fact, that part of Split Fiction is very forgiving, and there’s a lot of accessibility options to ease the experience as well. In addition to the usual button prompts, you can swap them around, modify camera rotation, reduce enemy damage, and even enable an option to skip to the next checkpoint should a particular puzzle be too challenging.

Otherwise, it feels safe to say that the challenge is part of what makes Split Fiction feel like a rewarding experience. There were quite a few segments where I ended up dying or failing, but it was still in good fun to get back up and try it again.

Sure, it can get frustrating, but the feeling of success is sure hard to beat.

On the visual side of things, Split Fiction has a clean, stylized look that suits both its sci-fi and fantasy aesthetics. There are a lot of bright colors that really stand out, and there’s a defined contrast between the two types of levels.

Performance, even when playing online on PlayStation 5, felt very smooth, and connecting with my co-op friend was easy enough. There will also be a feature at launch that will let you share the game with any of your friends, even if they don’t have a copy. This feature was unavailable during my review time.

Split Fiction Review | Final Thoughts

After 20 hours, I can safely say that Split Fiction is a wonder of a game, and I still can’t get over just how much is packed in there. Not only that, but the Hazelight team has pulled it off flawlessly.

Gameplay is smooth across all levels, it looks and runs great, and – most importantly – it’s fun to play. While there are a few clunky mechanics here and there, the very breadth of everything Split Fiction has to offer more than makes up for those shortcomings.

The narrative as well – sure, the vehicle for it is rather simple, but the core friendship of Zoe and Mio is worth experiencing. I’m glad I got to spend time with them, and I look forward to seeing what crazy ideas Hazelight comes up with next.

TechRaptor reviewed Split Fiction on PlayStation 5 with a code provided by the publisher. All screenshots were taken during the process of review over the course of 20 hours of playtime.