Captained by the ever-charismatic Josef Fares, Hazelight Studios have been on a journey since their inception to reinvigorate the couch co-op genre. This desire was fully realized in 2021 with the release of their commercial and critical smash hit, It Takes Two, which claimed the title of that year’s Game Of The Year award.

After a quick turnaround from a game reveal in December 2024 to full release in March 2025, Hazelight is back again with another entry into their rich two-player history with Split Fiction.

Let’s just get this out of the way early — Split Fiction does look and feel like It Takes Two in more ways than any of the studio’s previous games before. While the two games are completely unrelated by story, there is clear shared DNA in the feel of the platforming, the general style of gameplay, and even the button prompts and other UI decisions.

For most of you, this will not be an issue since It Takes Two is so nearly universally beloved, but it should also be acknowledged at the very least.

Influence from a previous title aside, Split Fiction is still a wholly unique co-op experience that never stops amazing, absolutely oozes with creativity, and is consistently a joy to complete with your favorite playing partner.

A Love Letter To Video Games

By the broadest definition, Split Fiction is a platformer. To simply label it as such without further explanation, however, would be a grave disservice to the scope of what Hazelight’s level designers have crammed into the 17-ish hours of gameplay that are present here.

Yes, the main premise of Split Fiction is getting from Point A to Point B by running, jumping, climbing, and grappling, but this formula is injected non-stop with pockets of other genres and mechanics at a break-neck pace of distribution.

As you and your partner control main characters Mio and Zoe through separate science-fiction and fantasy-themed worlds of their own creation, you have to adapt on the fly regularly to whatever gameplay twist is next up.

Every single gameplay style that’s implemented is done so with expert polish, feels great, and always leaves you wanting more despite the wonder of what the team is going to show you next.

This idea was present in It Takes Two as well, but Split Fiction ups the ante this time around. You’ll seamlessly swap from platformer to side-scrolling twin-stick shooter to bullet-hell shoot-em-up to several types of puzzler to co-op pinball with each new subchapter, just to name a few of the gameplay ideas Hazelight has packaged together.

Every single gameplay style that’s implemented is done so with expert polish, feels great, and always leaves you wanting more despite the wonder of what the team is going to show you next.

At one point in the story, there was one single lockpicking mini-game I played as Mio that I absolutely loved. Sure, I was a little sad that it was the only example of this feature in the entire game, but I didn’t care at all with the knowledge that something equally as exciting was likely just around the corner.

Different power-ups are doled out in each section as well, from a large collection of weaponry to Metroid-style spheres to animal transformations and much more. Once again, every option here is fun and feels wonderful to control, regardless of if you’re playing as Mio or Zoe.

…what can only be described as the most joy-bringing collection of nerd references housed together since Scott Pilgrim.

As with most games, some bosses in Split Fiction are better than others. None are bad, just moderately generic at times. Others account for some of my most memorable boss fight experiences ever and are ones I’ll be talking about with my friends for years.

Easter eggs and gameplay nods to other titles are a constant thread throughout as well, each one a grin-inducing, elbow-nudging moment between you and your partner.

I won’t get into the specifics of how they’re all implemented, but picking up on references to a bevy of beloved titles like Dark Souls, Assassin’s Creed, Contra, Donkey Kong, and SSX in addition to movie franchises like Dune and Jaws all culminate in what can only be described as the most joy-bringing collection of nerd references housed together since Scott Pilgrim.

Worlds Designed With The Utmost Care

In addition to the title’s engrossing gameplay, Hazelight has also solidified themselves as possible front-runners for best art direction in the entire medium. The level of detail and polish present in each and every level is simply astonishing.

The sci-fi portions of Mio’s narrative are full of punchy neon, Blade Runner-esque skylines, and top-tier vehicle, spacesuit, and character design.

Similarly, Zoe’s fantasy world looks like a stitched-together version of World Of Warcraft, Harry Potter, and Game Of Thrones while still managing to feel like its own unique spin on the genre.

Every single one of the eight main story levels is stuffed to the brim with painstaking levels of detail and obvious love for the craft. Worlds are full of life and dotted with moment after moment of breathtaking vistas and tiny items alike.

In addition to the main levels are twelve side stories, each with a creative, sometimes shocking direction, just in case the pre-existing back-and-forth of the game’s two genres wasn’t already enough.

Several of these side stories are true standout moments in all of Split Fiction. From becoming a pig that flies with the power of farts to hopping around as a front tooth climbing a birthday cake, Split Fiction is never afraid to get weird with it.

Many levels also have pit-stops a bit off the beaten path with various activities like throwing some skipping stones, lounging in a swimming pool, or testing your luck at a slot machine. These are all tiny moments that Hazelight definitely didn’t need to include, but they just want to make sure you’re taking time to breathe along the way.

The soundtrack of the game is incredible, the voice acting is on point and believable, and I never experienced any noticeable frame rate issues during my entire experience. It’s evident that the level of polish here is very high.

I can confidently say the entire final sequence blew my mind from a performance and design perspective in ways I hadn’t felt in a long time.

As a lifelong sci-fi fan myself, I was personally surprised to note that in the first half of the game, I was more drawn to the art and gameplay of Zoe’s fantasy story. By the second half, Mio’s sci-fi sections improve greatly, but there is a slight pacing disparity early on that had me initially wishing I was back in Zoe’s fantasy world whenever the game took me out of it.

This is a minor gripe, however, as by the conclusion of Split Fiction, all aspects of the worlds explored reach masterful levels of co-op game design.

The cherry on top in this regard is the final level of the main story. While I won’t go into details that spoil the experience, I can confidently say the entire final sequence blew my mind from a performance and design perspective in ways I hadn’t felt in a long time. I can’t wait to see players’ reactions to it.

A Serviceable, Timely Narrative

A story about two struggling, aspiring writers, Split Fiction delves into topics of content ownership, creativity, original ideas, and possible hints at the dangers of artificial intelligence learning in today’s world.

All of this does, ultimately, begin to feel a bit too meta and specific to a smaller general audience of writers, which could limit the narrative’s broader appeal overall.

As a writer myself, I still cringe a bit when a character dramatically utters a phrase like, “I write to keep myself sane.” We get it, Hemingway.

Regardless, the story is still interesting enough, and the personal journeys that each of the main characters are on, why they choose to write, and their own personal motivations make sense in the context of the over-arching story.

Personal traumas are dealt with on the way to healing and forgiveness, and there are plenty of story beats towards the end of the experience that are satisfying resolutions to each individual’s own life journeys.

Mio and Zoe are both written in a way that brings their personalities to life. While there are minor examples of the dreaded Marvel-style dialogue present throughout, it thankfully never reaches egregious levels.

There exists a minor disconnect in the story of Split Fiction being slightly too melodramatic and self-serious that, at times, feels a little at odds with the whimsical and weird gameplay content you’re experiencing one moment later.

Overall, while relevant to the landscape of modern writers, I do think the story ultimately won’t click quite as well with the majority of gamers who are familiar with Hazelight’s previous work, but it’s entirely serviceable as a device to get you to your next chapter nonetheless and has plenty of high points along the way.

A More Challenging Co-Op Approach

One last thing to keep in mind when considering whether to jump into Split Fiction is the fact that, from the very beginning, it’s a co-op title that’s a little less beginner-friendly than most.

For example, once again, It Takes Two partially became such a success because it perfectly threaded the needle of making a title approachable for less experienced gamers while still offering an amazing product for those of us who already know our way around a controller.

Ultimately, this will come down to your own personal co-op situation and preference. My playing partner was already a pro at these types of games, and my counterpart for It Takes Two, so we were able to handle this ramped-up difficulty and intensity present in Split Fiction without too much trouble.

That said, if your particular co-op partner is less sure-footed or more easily frustrated, you’ll want to make sure you both understand what you’re getting yourselves into with Split Fiction.

While It Takes Two eased players into the mechanics of its gameplay, Split Fiction doesn’t hold your hand for long. It’s not a hard game, but it is more challenging at points than you might expect.

The platforming can be intense, combat sections are occasionally filled with tons of enemies, certain puzzles are taken up to a higher degree of difficulty, and the bullet-hell nature of numerous sections and bosses are not to be taken lightly.

For anyone concerned about this, the good news is that Hazelight has taken a very generous outlook with checkpoints in this title, so you don’t ever need to worry about losing too much progress if someone on the team isn’t pulling their weight. There are unlimited lives, and boss fights even feature checkpoints with each new phase.

Additionally, there’s an option to reduce the damage a player receives from enemies, and this can be toggled on for just one player if they’re the only ones that are struggling, keeping the game balanced appropriately for both desired user experiences. This is a genius-level option to include.

For the extremely desperate, there’s also an accessibility option that allows players to skip to the next checkpoint in the game whenever they please. While I would not recommend anyone use this feature unless absolutely necessary, there is technically this option available if you truly cannot get through a particularly challenging section with your buddy.

Closing Comments:

Split Fiction has proven that Hazelight is simply the best modern studio in the co-op business. Constantly full of excitement, beauty, joy, and downright absurdity, this title earns its place alongside its spiritual predecessor as arguably the best two-player experience on current-gen hardware. Split Fiction is a technical marvel that pushes the boundaries of design without ever sacrificing the notion that video games are fun and should be experienced alongside our friends and loved ones. The narrative isn’t always perfect and doesn’t climb quite as high as I may have hoped, but the fact remains that there is so much love and care poured into this title, and it’s infectious as each subsequent chapter is completed. With a slightly higher level of difficulty, duos of players will have to stay on their toes. The reward for this perseverance and collaboration is a gorgeously presented, bizarre, creative video game that pulls from an unprecedented number of genres and is sure to win you over by its masterful final act.