Opinion: Split Fiction Has One Of The Best Final Levels Of Any Game

Ever since I completed Split Fiction with my wife a few weeks ago, I've been eager to tell anyone I know about how incredible the final level is - but at the same time, I haven't wanted to spoil it too much and ruin the surprise.

There haven't been many final levels that have left my jaw on the floor over the years - sure, the story might have been incredible (I'm looking at you, Walking Dead Season One), but not the actual gameplay that makes up the level. Split Fiction's story is nothing to write home about, but the gameplay... it's absolutely spectacular at times.

So, I'm going to get into this and try to not ruin everything about the final level, but I still want to warn you that spoilers are ahead and if you're planning to play Split Fiction at some point, it's probably best to avoid what I'm going to say!

Alright, so when you get into the final level of Split Fiction, you're both teaming up against the big baddie that's been causing trouble throughout the game, and I initially just expected it to be a drawn out boss fight, but it's actually something really creative that implements a stunning series of camera tricks throughout its 30 minute-ish duration.

Without going into too much detail, the opening parts of the level feature two different worlds on each side of the screen, and both of you can cross the barrier and enter each of them without any kind of loading times or stutter whatsoever. Essentially, it splits into two games in one, but every action you take still applies to both worlds.

For example, you might both need to ride hoverboards on the left to avoid a fire-breathing dragon on the right. Or, perhaps you need to swim underwater on the right and then make a quick leap to a spaceship on the left to avoid getting eaten by a shark. There's actually a bit where that spaceship turns into a dragon as it carries you from the left to the right of the screen. It's ridiculous.

Then, things start to get really crazy - the big vertical line that has split the screen for the past 15 hours suddenly starts to move around, cutting it into diagonals and rectangles, and even splitting itself into multiple screens and little screens. There's a bit where it splits into four constantly moving screens with four separate worlds being rendered at once!

You know when Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart was being marketed as a next-gen powerhouse because of its ability to "jump between action-packed worlds" instantly with no loading screens? That's what segments like these remind me of. I just can't fathom how they're doing it - the frame rate remains buttery smooth on Xbox Series X during this as well.

That's not the end of the madness either. There's a bit where one of the players falls into a phone, and the other one has to tilt the phone to help with the platforming and allow them to escape. There's another part where the big boss tries to break the split-screen effect by pushing it away from the middle, and it's your job to stop him from doing so.

I know I'm not describing all of this perfectly, but I don't want you to know everything. If you really want to see it all, I'm going to throw the video down below, but I highly encourage you to check this out for yourself. It's littered with so many cool moments - astonishingly ambitious gameplay tricks that I've never seen attempted in a video game before.

When you play games as much as all of us do, it's somewhat rare for a level or story moment to leave such an impact that you know you're going to cherish it forever, but Split Fiction's final level is definitely one of those for me. I don't think I've ever played a game that's left my jaw on the floor for as long as Split Fiction's final level did - we're talking half an hour of just constant "wow" moments that both of us enjoyed so, so much.

If you're still reading this and you're intending to play Split Fiction soon (you ignored my advice at the top!), I hope you enjoy the game and its final level as much as I have. This is the best co-op adventure from Hazelight Studios yet in my opinion, and that's very high praise considering A Way Out and It Takes Two are both amazing games as well.

What do you think of Split Fiction? Let us know down in the comments section below.