Split Fiction Review: Gameplay Impressions, Videos and Top Features

Split Fiction from developer Hazelight Studios and EA boldly stands nearly alone in its effort to bring quality local multiplayer to the forefront of an engaging game. 

Granted, this unique effort stems from the folks behind cooperative multiplayer heavyweights such as It Takes Two, so no game could be better positioned than Split Fiction to accomplish the task in top-of-industry ways. 

That paints some huge expectations out of the gates, but Split Fiction looks poised to deliver with engaging storytelling, finely crafted gameplay around an interesting narrative and that tried-and-true cooperative experience. 

If it all comes together, Split Fiction could set the new benchmark others aspire to in a niche but often-requested multiplayer experience amid the days of live services and MMOs with empty-feeling player hubs and checklists resembling work. 

Graphics and Gameplay

Split Fiction is a vibrant, heartfelt experience with an impressive variety to its stages that commands attention. 

The visuals walk the line between realism and an almost animated style. Characters emote realistically and impressively in scenes, while out in the many locales, attention to detail and sometimes the sheer depth of scale to bigger levels impresses often.

Each spot is as detailed as necessary in a good way. Meaning, for example, cityscapes in the background of a big level look good and clearly take some horsepower to accomplish. Levels where players take part in a pinball machine or simulate being a…hot dog…aren’t as detailed by any means but still pop off the screen.

Accompanying the great visuals is equally good sound design. Actions pop in interesting ways at all times, but the stellar voice acting that really sells the clash of personalities between the main characters (more on that in a bit) stands out. The game’s user interface (UI) does some helpful color-coding specific to each character to help players out, too. 

Split Fiction is an adventure told through a third-person perspective and generally feels good to control, which is impressive given the scope of different things players will end up doing. 

The game is heavy on platforming and light on combat, but it feels like the same amount of care went into making both feel smooth. Ditto for the unique gameplay wrinkles on a per-stage basis.

That might be underselling the variety to an extreme degree, too. Some levels feature weapons like whips and others, not so much. Traversal can change on the fly, too, be it wall-running, grapples or something else unexpected. 

It’s actually very impressive how refined and polished all of these different gameplay elements are across the levels. While it’s easy to expect some to feel lesser than others because of the sheer scope of the variety, the majority feel well-crafted and rewarding. Side missions within stages throw out unique twists, too, adding even more variety to the experience.

The bouncing of responsibilities and tasks from player to player is silky smooth. More often than not, when one player happens to be “stuck,” it’s by design—and a cue that their partner is the one that can help them past the roadblock. 

The result is a game that really puts an emphasis on the co-op aspect of the game. That sounds obvious, but based on the ups and downs of similar games over the years, it’s not so simple to pull off. 

Split Fiction often feels like a collaboration in the best way. As a bonus, actual outright frustration seems minimal while otherwise being fun to play. 

Story and More

Mio and Zoe are—get this—aspiring fiction writers with two very different ideas on how to get their work to the world.

That creates some fiction friction, as does the fact Mio’s stories are more science fiction-based, while Zoe’s are laced with elements from the fantasy genre. The two get a little stuck and need to find a way out and away the entertaining narrative goes.

Hence, the mashup of visual and gameplay elements across the board.

While the game dubs itself a sort of buddy adventure, the vibe is off at first—the two main characters aren’t all that fond of each other, though the relationship vibes start to thaw naturally in a way that is fun to experience. 

It’s worth taking a moment to praise how the narrative explains video game tropes, too. Those mentioned side missions during levels? They’re technically the simulation attempting to steal story ideas from the characters, which include tales they came up with when much younger, explaining the wild and surprising pieces of side missions. 

The game matches the overall cooperative energy with a refreshing feature called a Friend’s Pass. 

That is an innovative way to get a player’s friends involved in the experience. It’s effectively a “demo” of sorts, but if a player owns the game, they can invite a friend who doesn’t own it to download the pass and experience some early levels together. 

Also included to keep that theme going are some next-generation staples such as cross-platform play and a large suite of accessibility options to round out some robust player agency found in the menus. Overall, Split Fiction seems to run well, too, despite some of the bigger, obviously intense scenes. 

Conclusion

Split Fiction stands out for many reasons. The narrative and its marriage with gameplay is impressive, with the latter attacking and impressively nailing so many different elements in a satisfying manner.

Just as big, though, is the careful commitment to actual cooperation in a day and age when multiplayer lobbies often feature no voice chat, even in team-based games, and social hubs in MMO-lites are completely silent, save for repeating NPC chatter. 

While Split Fiction might not resonate globally enough to take down Game of the Year honors, its impact will prove to be massive the longer it ages. 

And before anything else, it’s just fun to play—and especially so alongside somebody else.