Did you play It Takes Two? I’m sure you did. If you haven’t, you should resolve that and come back to this review. Because Hazelight Studios’ Split Fiction shows how building on one game and injecting adrenaline into it can elevate it into something unexpected.
Split Fiction starts at any typical point in a Hazelight Studios game. A fantastical world thrusts two contrasting characters, each facing personal conflict, into a journey of mutual understanding. And in this case, it’s amateur writers Zoe and Mio who take on this journey.
The Rader Group contacts Zoe and Mio for a publishing contract, introducing them to…THE MACHINE. The Machine being a convenient name for a vessel representing capitalism and artificial intelligence in an even more convenient package. Mio questions why and what it is, while Zoe’s peppy personality decides to just “trust me bro”. Vis-à-vis, we end up splitting fiction as they end up in worlds filled with their ideas and glitches in the system which may be their only way out.
Back to It Takes Two. If you have, or have just finished this title, then picking up Split Fiction feels like snorting Red Bull and peaking until 3AM in the morning. From the first mission, it’s a clear elevation of what Hazelight wants to evolve their games in to. While they’ve always been about the ability for two players to work together, there’s a visceral rush from the outset in Split Fiction. Whether it’s being thrown across a chasm of futuristic cars or navigating a world of giants, it all takes place at a speed which demands swift reactions and even swifter communication.
Yes. It may just be teetering on the edge of being Soulslike without being a Soulslike game.
Thankfully the controls are forgiving for such things. Your analog sticks control movement and camera, X is both jump and a double jump. Square is a dash, which applies to both running and climbing. Triangle interacts with the environment, R1 is a grapple and L2 and R2 finally manage any actions your characters may have and/or wield. From there it’s up to collaboration between the two parties to succeed in completing the puzzles Split Fiction throws at you. And emphasis is on ‘throws’. Because you may feel like you need to throw up after certain puzzles.
Flipping screens on their head while colliding willing parties together, there’s times at which the swiftness and action on-screen is moving in such discombobulating ways that you’d be forgiven for not keeping up. Amplifying the platforming of It Takes Two and adding more side-scrolling action sees worlds and tech used in ways you wouldn’t even think a co-op game would do. And this is what Hazelight really excels in. They develop and find ways to make the audience trust them, and the skills they’ve developed playing their games. And when you’re placed into a wholly co-operative experience, you kind of see the world of multiplayer for what it could be.
It’s not the toxic-filled moments of rage in massively multiplayer games. It’s similar to when you played Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System with your siblings. Or it’s renting out the latest console to play with friends. Or it could be placing a coin on the arcade machine to say you have the next game while you enjoy the atmosphere around you. And it captures this by having you either share the same space, or cyberspace, to connect through this experience. Yes it can be overwhelming. Frustrating. Anger-inducing. But it’s also fun. Awe-inspiring. And filled with so many laughs you can’t help but relive your youth for the briefest of moments. Even if it’s in the guise of farting pigs.
Split Fiction is the kind of title video games need right now.
You don’t need 2 copies to play the game. It can be played locally or online. And playing with friends guarantees 14 hours of fun and frustration which is rarely this well packaged. While Friend’s Pass players miss out on trophies and achievements, the low price and replayability means this can likely be afforded in future. And to throw back to It Takes Two one last time. And other titles which games director Josef Fares has worked on; It’s filled to the brim with rewarding references you and your co-op partner have hopefully experienced in the past.
Game of the year? Split Fiction might just be it.
Simplistic in play, but wildly advanced at the same time; Split Fiction takes what No Way Out and It Takes Two have learnt and makes it even better. Fulfilling co-operative gameplay, humour-filled moments everywhere, and an incredible ride in such a small yet concise package, it's hard to not recommend this game to friends.
And it's even harder to not recommend it as Game of the Year.
