Hazelight Studios’ latest co-op adventure Split Fiction (Published by Electronic Arts, rated Teen, $49.99, reviewed on PlayStation 5) delivers a colorful palette of hyperrealistic graphics and a genuinely heartwarming story perfect for a pair of players to bond over a dozen hours within the genre-crossing, action-packed levels.
The tale follows Zoe, a whimsical fantasy writer, and Mio, a no-nonsense sci-fi author. Having never met, the pair were invited by Rader Publishing to work out book deals.
However, each quickly learns that they will be pilot testing “The Machine,” a virtual reality device that allows the pair to enter their own stories.
Zoe hops right in, but Mio hesitates. While trying to leave and during a fight with the scientists, Mio falls into Zoe’s pod, to the horror of the publishers.
Mio is now in a magical realm, very Tolkien-esque, with brutish ogres and a very confused Zoe. Mio and Zio then find a glitch in the world, which transports them from Zoe’s fairytale land to one of Mio’s gritty cyberpunk sci-fi stories.
As the game progresses, Mio and Zoe must work together to survive their stories, fighting off various enemies and navigating dizzying environments, to ultimately stop Rader Publishing from stealing their work.
Along the way, Mio and Zoe can enter side stories involving shorter adventures. Parallel to the frenetic gameplay, Mio and Zoe, two complete opposites, begin to find common ground in their love of writing and their own struggles.
Players will be immersed in various settings throughout the action, from a magical valley of giants to a gritty cityscape run by robot overlords.
Similar to Hazelight’s previous games, each character has a distinct function in each setting, and two players must work together to vault over obstacles and solve puzzles.
Split Fiction also exceeds expectations with the expansion of the characters’ avatars and plunging them into wild, very bizarre, predicaments.
For example, one of Zoe’s side stories begins with Mio and Zoe turning into a flying and farting pig and a spring-loaded pig. They must navigate a farm full of environmental obstacles that look like straight out of “Charlotte’s Web,” but as players look around the scene, there are disturbing twists.
Specifically, players first find a group of pigs praying in front of a spit with another pig roasting on it, pretty dark. However, and far worse, the side story culminates in our characters entering a meat grinder, becoming sentient hot dogs and jumping into buns.
Who comes up with this stuff?
Each level and side story is so entertaining, they could be entire games in themselves. Hazelight also strikes a good balance between the two lead characters, ensuring that players get to experience both sci-fi and fantasy stories of equal quality and length.
The stories that players traverse also help to further flesh out the personalities of the protagonists.
On one level, Mio and Zoe are cyber ninjas moving through a rainy, futuristic city while fighting against and running from a mysterious floating orb-shaped evil overlord spewing a massive laser beam. Given Mio’s stoic and serious personality, it was a surprise when the ominous villain turned out to be a robotic traffic attendant hunting her for unpaid parking tickets.
These small details add some depth to Mio’s character, showing that, underneath her tough exterior, she’s capable of being just as quirky as Zoe.
The game also has numerous homages to popular IPs, including a cheeky bonfire sequence a la “Dark Souls”; a colossal sandworm straight from “Dune”; motorbikes reminiscent of “Tron”; and even Easter eggs from Hazelight’s other popular game, “It Takes Two.”
Split Fiction seamlessly transitions between cutscenes and split-screen gameplay and is constantly ramping up both the intensity and creativity of the story, all while the bond between Zoe and Mio grows and they become a true team.
Hazelight Studios has become a household name when it comes to couch co-op, and Split Fiction is packed with nostalgia, intense boss fights and charming side stories that will keep players engaged for hours.
Players have the option to play locally on one device or online. The game supports cross-platform play and also has a “Friend’s Pass” system, where only one player has to purchase the game and can invite the other player for free.
The developer clearly prioritized performance, quality and accessibility when designing the game, making Split Fiction a worthy successor to its award-winning “It Takes Two.”
• Noelle Henein contributed to this report.
• Joseph Szadkowski can be reached at jszadkowski@washingtontimes.com.
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