Split Fiction Review (Xbox Series X|S)

When the credits rolled on Hazelight Studios' Game of the Year-winning co-op adventure It Takes Two back in 2021, my wife turned to me and asked when the next one would be out. She utterly adored what that game had to offer, and aside from the odd round of Mario Party in the years since, no other video game has really captured her interest.

Split Fiction drew her back in though. Just like with It Takes Two, I've been bugged to play this game during every spare moment over the past couple of weeks, and by the time the credits rolled after around 15 hours, we were both in agreement that we'd just experienced the most astonishing Hazelight game yet...although also the most frustrating one.

As with It Takes Two and 2018's A Way Out, everything in Split Fiction is co-op focused, which means you're both required to work together to solve puzzles, destroy enemies, jump from platform-to-platform and a whole lot more. There's so much variety that goes into all of this, with the gameplay constantly changing things up - we're talking big chases, side-scrolling sections, gravity-bending scenarios, multiple ways to manipulate the environment, tons of creative weapons... the list just goes on and on.

The story really lends itself to this level of variety, focusing on a couple of aspiring novelists called Zoe and Mio who find themselves caught in a machine that aims to turn stories into reality. Mio's ideas are primarily sci-fi focused whereas Zoe's are fantasy-based, and the game switches between the two worlds on a semi-regular basis. Neither gets priority over the other - we're talking many hours' worth of amazing ideas that appear to take inspiration from all kinds of IP, complete with a surprisingly large number of mini-bosses and actual main bosses along the way. There are times when these main sci-fi and fantasy sections do feel a little drawn out, but on the whole they're both extremely impressive and highly enjoyable to play through. For anyone curious, I'd say we enjoyed the fantasy gameplay just a little bit more overall.

One of the things I really want to highlight in this review is how much ambition has gone into Split Fiction, even compared to the other two games. Clearly, the success of It Takes Two has led to a higher budget this time around, and none of that budget has been wasted - some of the gameplay sequences in Split Fiction are genuinely breathtaking and will leave you questioning how they've managed to pull them off. The final stretch of gameplay at the end is so good that we couldn't stop exclaiming "this is incredible" throughout its duration, and we pretty much had to pick our jaws off the floor by the time it was over!

The Side Stories are just magnificent as well. As you progress through the game, you'll come across these little balls of light that lead to side-missions known as 'Side Stories', and these can offer up significantly different gameplay experiences. I don't really want to spoil any of them, but one that's already been publicly revealed involves a couple of pigs (one of which uses the power of flatulence to get around) that we both enjoyed a lot, while there are loads of other examples that you're sure to get a kick out of. Some will probably go viral, too!

You get the point, then - Split Fiction is an absolutely fantastic co-op adventure. We have to talk about the "frustrating" part though, as we found ourselves getting pretty irritated with the game at times, as well as each other! This is simply because Split Fiction is harder than It Takes Two, so you'll both be required to engage in tricky platforming, tough combat and a few puzzles that may leave you scratching your heads. There are ways to mitigate this, such as a toggle in the menu that reduces enemy damage for one or both players (and there are generous checkpoints too), but ultimately there are times where a casual gamer may feel like they're being asked to do too much.

We were debating throughout our time with Split Fiction whether to give it an 8/10 or a 9/10 when all was said and done, but both came to the agreement that despite the occasional instances of frustration, it's been such a mind-blowing and memorable experience that we can't give it anything less than a 9 - especially after that incredible ending. She really liked the story as well, whereas I thought it was decent but nothing spectacular, although I'd say the writing and character performances felt more natural than they did in It Takes Two.

Just to put a bow on it, we reviewed Split Fiction on Xbox Series X and found it to be a flawless experience in terms of visuals and performance (although we were using a VRR-supported TV). The level of presentation is simply stunning, and even though Hazelight Studios isn't technically a 'AAA' studio, it certainly feels like a 'AAA' release.