Split Fiction is the latest game from Hazelight Studios. They are also the creators of A Way Out, and It Takes Two. Just like their first two games, this game is a co-op adventure, so it required me to play with a friend in order to finish. Thanks to my friend Razorblade Mango, I was able to be a part of one of his playthroughs and experience the game.
Synopsis
The story starts off with two writers by the names of Mio Hudson and Zoe Foster. They were both invited by a company named Rader Publishing to try out CEO J.D. Rader’s “The Machine.” A machine that lets writers experience the stories that they’ve written through a simulation. During the preparations, Mio and Zoe get trapped together and have to experience each other’s stories through simulation. As they progressed forward on their adventure, they realized that collecting glitches can help them escape. However, they also find out later that it damages The Machine, and that Rader’s main objective was to steal the ideas of all the writers. After finding out about Rader’s main objective, they both decide to keep going through the simulation in order to collect more glitches.
Gameplay
Just like Hazelight’s previous games, this is a co-op game. So it requires you to play with another person. Thankfully, only one person needs to own the game while the other person can just download an app from either the PSN Store or Xbox Marketplace. The app comes in handy for those that don’t own a copy of the game. I downloaded the app since Razorblade Mango bought it. I’ll probably buy it later down the line in order to have something to play with my cousin whenever she comes over.
Each level you go through is based on either of two themes which are Sci-fi and Fantasy. The sci-fi levels are based on Mio’s stories while the fantasy levels are based on Zoe’s stories. As someone who grew up with 3D platformers in the N64 era, I think the platforming in this game is smooth and satisfying. The parts in which I was able to run, jump, and explore gave me that sense of freedom that I felt whenever I would play a 3D platformer.
The puzzle-solving in this game is also very good. They do require cooperation between both players, and they can be challenging to solve if one player ends up messing up on their part. Even if you and your partner mess up, I feel like you both can still have fun. I say that because during my playthrough with Razorblade Mango, whenever either one of us screwed up, we still laughed and made jokes towards each other. Its moments like that that brings people together. Hazelight likes implementing teamwork into their games, so that people can bond together.
Weaknesses
One of the biggest weaknesses that this game has is that Mio has the better transformations and abilities. While I can’t really speak for what playing Zoe was like since I didn’t play as her in my playthrough, Razorblade Mango can confirm this. Since he played two different playthroughs, he had a better idea of what it was like to play as each character. Even though if I didn’t play as Zoe, just by looking at her abilities and transformations, I was able to tell that Mio got the better treatment. This is all opinion based of course. After realizing that Mio got the better treatment, it made me wonder if the team had trouble giving Zoe better transformations and abilities. I only bring this up because I can see on how difficult it must be to create games that require co-op.
Conclusion
Split Fiction is a great game. Despite Mio having better transformations and abilities than Zoe, both players will still have fun. However, the person playing as Zoe might have the feeling of wanting more.
For more on Split Fiction, check out Razorblade Mango’s review.
