After winning multiple Game of the Year awards with It Takes Two in 2021, it seems like developer Hazelight Studios has done it again — with a game that not only meets the lofty heights of its predecessor but even exceeds it. Split Fiction feels genuinely innovative for the very idea of co-op games, but more than that proves that there’s a real hunger players have for these kinds of experiences. In an industry that seems to endlessly pursue live service games and multiplayer universes, Split Fiction feels like a heartening breath of fresh air.
The single defining trait of Split Fiction is actually surprisingly simple — it’s joy. This is a game meticulously built around the idea of eliciting joy from players at every turn, constantly surprising you with new gameplay ideas and twists, while providing a fluffy story that keeps the action moving. In this way, the core design philosophy of Split Fiction is shockingly similar to one of last year’s best games, Astro Bot.
Split Fiction has a light story that may not be the most well-written, but does a good job of keeping you in the action.
Both games use a breadcrumb trail of gimmicks to make the entire experience feel varied, but crucially use those gimmicks to innovate on the formula people expect from platformers. Astro Bot achieves this through its power-ups, like a bulldog that lets you rocket ahead or a monkey that claps cymbals together to stun enemies. Split Fiction achieves this by giving both players unique skills that have to be used in tandem, like one player having a sword that can teleport them on walls and ceilings, while the other has a grappling whip that can throw items.
But what’s so crucial about Split Fiction, is how that idea of keeping players invested is inexplicably intertwined with interacting with your co-op partner, and the relationship you have with them. Split Fiction is the kind of game that will strain your relationship, then strengthen it when you overcome things together. It’s genuinely incredible how two people, playing the same game, can have such wildly different experiences.
For example, in one section my partner was driving our getaway motorcycle through a cyberpunk city as officers chased and shot at us. Meanwhile, I was sweating bullets over trying to unlock a phone so we didn’t explode — having to pass a security test that had me pick which boxes in an image contained a giraffe and accepting all the terms and conditions. I literally had no idea what was happening outside of that phone, and I was stressed.
Split Fiction’s biggest achievement is how remarkably different the game feels for each player.
That’s an experience that can only be achieved in a co-op game like this, and the tension ratchets up significantly when it’s just the two of you sitting side-by-side. Big multiplayer-focused games have to have some kind of baseline experience for players to understand in order to play together — but a game like Split Fiction can give both players wildly varied tasks that practically feel like two different games, even if it's two halves of the same whole.
It’s that exact reason that Split Fiction feels so refreshing, and like such an important game for this specific point in time. Before the advent of online multiplayer we saw countless unique co-op experiences on the likes of Nintendo 64 and PlayStation 2, or further back. Even single-player games had unique co-op elements, like Star Fox 64, Diablo, or Legend of Mana. But over the years these experiences have become scarcer and scarcer.
But what’s really interesting is that we consistently see this hunger for co-op games, but there’s still only a handful of developers trying to deliver on the genre. It Takes Two was a phenomenal success that won awards, and Split Fiction has already sold a million copies. Co-op Mario games consistently perform well, and indie darlings like Overcooked, Cuphead, and Lethal Company have turned into viral hits.
Games like Overcooked are made all the better by couch co-op modes, with chaos that can only be experienced in-person.
There’s copious amounts of evidence that co-op games, especially couch co-op games, do well. So why aren’t we seeing more of them? The real answer is likely profits. Even as well-made as most co-op games are, a one-time release doesn’t have the same money-making power as live service games that go on perpetually. That’s why we continue to see so many studios and companies pursue things like hero shooters and survival games — because so much of the industry has become hyper-focused on being a money-making machine. In the pursuit of endless profits and growth, some of the art of video games has been lost, and the idea of true innovation.
It’s vitally important to recognize achievements like Split Fiction, games that truly innovate and build on what video games do best, connect people. In an industry that so often feels like it’s stagnating, Split Fiction is a stark reminder of the joy that games can bring, and why we all love them in the first place.
