Split Fiction review: Hazelight’s latest is a worthy companion to It Takes Two

It’s fair to say that not even the headstrong Josef Fares could have predicted that his studio’s game It Takes Two would become such an astronomical success.

Due in part to a large boost in popularity in China after winning a prestigious Game of the Year award there, It Takes Two sold around 23 million copies, a figure that some of the industry’s most notable household names would kill to achieve.

With such a remarkable accomplishment under his belt, Fares now faces the daunting task of either replicating or somehow surpassing It Takes Two’s sales with his next game, Split Fiction. While such a milestone may prove to be too far to reach, it won’t be due to a lack of effort from Fares and his team at Hazelight who have once again delivered a top quality co-op adventure.

Split Fiction tells the story of Zoe and Mio, a pair of wannabe authors who attend an appointment at Rader Publishing with the view to getting their books published. It soon emerges that something more sinister is afoot at Rader, because rather than contracting them the company’s CEO instead plans to use a special machine to steal their ideas from them.

This doesn’t quite go according to plan and Zoe and Mio find themselves in the same machine. They’re then transported to a fictional world in which their stories have come to life. Now the two strangers have to work together to make their way through their respective storybook worlds in an attempt to escape and hold Rader’s top dog to justice.

Anyone who previously played It Takes Two will be immediately familiar with the setup in Split Fiction. Once again the game is usually presented in a split-screen view even if you’re playing online. The reason for this is because numerous puzzles in the game require synchronisation between both players, and the ability to see your partner’s screen is invaluable in some of the timing-based challenges that are encountered.

Because Zoe writes fantasy novels and Mio instead specialises in sci-fi, the game’s stages generally alternate between these two wildly varying types of environment, helping to ensure things remain fresh – at least initially. Over time, as the game continues to switch from fantasy to sci-fi and back again, it does start to feel a little repetitive.

This is lessened somewhat by the way the game constantly throws new gameplay mechanics at the play to keep mixing things up a bit. This was one of the most enjoyable aspects of It Takes Two and it’s replicated successfully here for the most part.

Both characters are usually armed with a double jump, a dash move and a grapple gun, and these remain present throughout the majority of the adventure except when newly earned abilities make it impossible. These new skills are usually granted to the player when they enter a new level, and are then replaced with something else when that area is cleared.

One stage, for example, gives both players machine guns and differently-coloured remote bombs – one red, one blue. These are then used to damage forcefields and enemies of the same colour, meaning players have to work together to ensure their respective obstacles are cleared. This mechanic only lasts about 45 minutes before it’s gone, replaced with something else entirely.

One minute you could be in a high-speed section racing a jet ski as if it were a new Wave Race game, the next you’re in a flying section where one person steers a plane while the other controls a large gun, the next you’re in a shapeshifting section where one player can turn into a fish (to swim) or a giant ape (to climb and wreck things) while the other can transform into a fairy (to fly) or a powerful tree monster (to control nature).

Naturally, with so many different ideas thrown at the player things can get a little hit or miss at times, but the ratio leans heavily in favour of ‘hit’, with flat moments thankfully being relatively scarce.

Visually, Split Fiction is streets ahead of It Takes Two. While part of its predecessor’s more basic look was down to the fact that the two protagonists were handmade dolls, the environments in Split Fiction are also significantly more detailed than those of Hazelight’s previous game.

The fantasy worlds of Zoe’s stories are lovely enough to look at but the sci-fi worlds of Mio are particularly impressive, often presenting the player with vast neon-lit environments and occasionally allowing them to zoom through them in some sort of high speed chase or another.

As noted, given that the two protagonists are humans rather than dolls this time, they’re also substantially more detailed with excellent facial animations. These still sadly aren’t enough however to improve on the one aspect where we felt It Takes Two was most lacking – the plot.

While Split Fiction has an undoubtedly interesting premise, most of their interactions are about how they love their world and don’t get the appeal of their newfound partner’s. On top of this, however, both characters are also dealing with baggage that we wouldn’t dare to elaborate on for fear of spoilers, but deal with fairly grim situations.

It’s clear the game wants the player to empathise with the protagonists and maybe even shed a tear or two at their plights, but something about it – whether it’s the writing, the performances or something else – just falls slightly flat, and try as we might we couldn’t emotionally invest ourselves in their respective tragedies.

Nevertheless, in the grand scheme of things Split Fiction is still a thoroughly entertaining game, mainly because of the sheer amount of diversity offered throughout. While the fantasy and sci-fi environments do get a little samey by the end this is salvaged by the numerous side stories that can be found hidden throughout the adventure. These enable Hazelight to let down its hair a little and experiment with more original ideas.

“While the fantasy and sci-fi environments do get a little samey by the end this is salvaged by the numerous side stories that can be found hidden throughout the adventure. These enable Hazelight to let down its hair a little and experiment with more original ideas.”

This could include as a giant kite race in the sky, a wonderfully abstract stage involving two sausages or a lovely hand-drawn section which takes place inside a notebook. It’s these side-stories that ensure Split Fiction’s length of around ten hours doesn’t begin to feel like a chore by the end, something that may have been the case had players only had access to the two main environments.

Fares and his team are also not afraid to drop as many references to other games and popular culture phenomena as they can. Our playthrough eventually turned into a game of Spot the Reference as we shouted “Dark Souls!” “Akira!” “Contra 3!” at each other throughout. You don’t need to get these references to enjoy the game, but they’re fun nods to those who understand them.

Ultimately, for a game that relies on surprising the player at every turn, our verdict on Split Fiction is somewhat predictable. While it looks significantly better than It Takes Two, both games clearly share the same DNA and as such fans of the previous game will be immediately at home with what’s on offer here too. The opposite is of course true, then – if you and your partner struggled with It Takes Two for whatever reason, there’s not much here to change that.

In particular, despite the clear appeal of local co-op with other family members, if you’re playing with someone who may not be as experienced at video games there are practically no concessions to be found here – either your partner has to ‘git gud’ or you can expect numerous frustrating moments.

By and large, however, Split Fiction is well worth your time if you’re looking for another co-op adventure that is varied, entertaining and filled to bursting with ideas, most of which land successfully. It may not blow It Takes Two out of the water but – somewhat fittingly, given the theme of both games – it’s certainly a worthy companion.