Every now and then in life a perfect storm happens. This happened to me a bit more than a year ago. Through gaming I met someone with whom I had fun from the start. We met because of mutual interest in Helldivers. Far from this type of game. Soon we grew tired of it and began to play other games together forming a friendship. Then we started playing A Way Out which was an awesome coop experience which I truly enjoyed. Then we went for It Takes 2 changing the whole dynamic between us. We started cursing at each other, laughing for the others' stupid mistakes and of course trolling each other. It took us months to finish it eventually but we needed to hurry because we knew we had to play the new game from Hazelight Studios. Enter Split Fiction.
Some say I can't see Split Fiction as a spiritual successor to It Takes Two but I'm doing it anyway. The reason why I do this is the fact that the gameplay mechanics feel instantly familiar if you have had the pleasure of playing ITT. But there are also BIG differences which I'll adress further down.
Meet Zoe and Mio. 2 aspiring writers looking to get a publishing deal at Rader Publishing. A high tech company capable of extracting stories and ideas using a simulater which makes their stories come to life. Something goes wrong when Mio tries to back out at the last moment and she stumbles into Zoe's pod causing their stories to be intertwined. This sets up the story for Split Fiction and one Hell of an experience!
Because they both have different styles of writing they will find themselves in both stories which couldnt be more different.
Mio is the introvert one who writes Science Fiction while Zoe is the outgoing one with a love for Fantasy.
You will be jumping worlds through glitches which you'll find at the end of each chapter. From lush medieval environments to cyberpunk traffic racing around you. It's quite something. But now without a few caveits. But these are minor.
There is much to talk about so let's just start with the basic stuff. The overall presentation of the game is fantastic all round. The gameplay is rock solid and will make you laugh, grind your teeth and pissed off all in one neat package. The evil geniuses at Hazelight Studios know their stuff and that's not strange considering their track record so far. So when Split Fiction was announced, it was a no-brainer for me. My gaming buddy owned A Way Out and It Takes 2 and I managed to play these with him for free with the Friend Pass. So this time I returned the favor.
Friend Pass lets you play with anyone who owns the game regardless of platform. The invitee so to speak can download the Friend Pass version for free. They can only play the game on invite basis. It doesnt matter with how many people you want to play it as long as they own the retail version.
I finished the game with my friend and he played partly on PC and partly on Xbox. It's a feature which adds generosity to cross platform and in a time where the smallest DLC trinkett costs you money, they basically give 50% off if you buy it together. In this day and age it's something which gives me a good feeling. Knowing that there are devs out there who actually put enjoyment above anything else.
Immersion wise they nailed it once again. The game has 0 hud elements. You'll get the occasional prompt for interaction and a little non-intrusive marker that shows the position of you buddy/ pain in the butt. The camera can be a slight issue every once in a while but this is minor and easily adjusted by a flick of the thumbstick and usually doesn't happen during traversal.
This is as much HUD as you're gonna get. Apart from boss battles which feature a boss health bar.
Now then. Onto the important stuff. I need to get a few things off my chest after which I'll come with the good bits. First of all the protagonists. While both Zoe and Mio have their own certain charm me and my buddy just couldn't connect with them the way we wanted.. Sure there were a few touching and "oof" moments but it never grabbed us. Don't get me wrong they are very well done and their interaction is genuinely funny at a lot of times. But still we felt a bit disconnected which is a bit of a shame. Did it take away from the general enjoyment? No! But it would have added to the experience if we managed to connect a bit more. But this is a personal thing and won't affect the outcome of this review.
Above 3 images courtesy of @Gediminas
Right, the important stuff. Split Fiction manages to throw you straight into the action as soon as the first cutscene ends. You'll find youself in Mio's world in all it's Cyberpunkey neon glow awesomeness. It kind of caught us off guard how fast you are handed the controls. But the moment that happens, is where the magic happens. It sort of just clicks. I'm pretty sure newcomers will find no problem whatsoever with playing the game straight out of the gate.
There is no hand holding of any form, no tutorial, nothing. And the game doesn't need it. The mechanics are as simple as they are awesome and at a certain point with the right partner everything will feel fluid and seamless. Like you're dailed in to each other and running fully synchronised. This makes some puzzles/ activities feel like a rush at certain points. I can't count the number of times we thought "F@#$ yeah, that was awesome!" There were just too many of those moments.
But there is also a "negative" to this when you're NOT in sync. It turns into a clownshow of dying players dropping into an abyss or getting crushed/lasered/ fried/ whatever. Which is hilarious to 1 but can get frustrating for the other. I vividly remember my partner NOT pressing a button on purpose to save me and he hoped I'd drop to my death. But Hazelight Studios knows not all people are teamplayers and backstabbers exist. So there was a failsafe built into place which prevented me from dying. Much to my partners disappointment. There is more then enough room to mess with each or and there are moments when you have to properly be in sync. See the below videos...
Crystal clear what's happening here.
As you can see here we first didn't do well. But after we got the hang of it.
And some general trolling and gameplay moments.
All great gameplay, fun challenges and graphics aside the audio is just beautiful. The soundtracks match the environments and moments perfectly. Sounds effect are plenty and very well done. At a certain point in the game you have to kill a parking attendant. Yes. You read that correctly. The scene of him biting the dust audio wise just made us laugh out loud! It comic relief like this which complements the whole lightheartedness of the game.
The side missions are something else as well. They range from Prince of Persia inspired to the downright absurd in every way. They are presented as ideas of Mio and Zoe but which were never meant as publishing material. They are superfun to do and whacky as hell! It just wants to be fun. And it is bigtime.
But there is 1 sentiment me and me buddy shared next to the characters not clicking...
It's the variety in environments.. Of course with 2 settings you can only do so much but in the beginning the purple and greens feel a bit overused. Up to a point that it becomes a bit of annoying.
Later on in the game, say halfway the colors vary more and there are far more diverse environments within the 2 settings. It's a bit of a shame that this wasn't a constant all the way through. It doesn't take away the fact that the game is still very impressive to see in action but it could have gotten just that extra... But I'm nitpicking a bit. The overall package is fantastic and doesn't outstay it's welcome.
All in all I had a great time playing it and enjoyed every minute of it. So I guess it's time to come up with some hard numbers.
Graphics: 90 It's impressive that this game uses Unreal Engine 5 and manages to run stable all through with all technical mumbujumbo going on. It doesn't set standards but looks beautiful with all little details and crisp presentation
Gameplay: 90 Solid as a rock. 'Nuff said. Tight and responsive controls, no intrusive HUD or constantly failing camera. Easy to get into for non gaming casual players who just want to try it. Almost welcoming.
Sound: 90 Beautiful soundtrack which just fits. Gorgeous and very clever use of sound effects and solid performance of Zoe and Mio
Replayability 85: Since you can't see each others screens you can easily replay it and it feels like an almost new experience gameplay wise. But there are some parts that can feel like a chore the second time.
A must play for anyone who's looking for a good time. And the Friend pass is just a Chef's kiss.
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