With a track records that touts beloved modern classics like A Way Out and It Takes Two, Josef Fares-led Hazelight Studios has earned itself a healthy amount of goodwill, and now, excitement is climbing ever higher for the team’s next outing. Split Fiction was formally unveiled just a handful of weeks ago, but the co-op title is already right around the corner- and looking increasingly promising as launch approaches. To prepare ourselves (and hopefully you) for Split Fiction’s imminent release, here, we’ll be going over a few key details that you should know about the game.
STORY
Split Fiction will see players playing as Zoe and Mio, two authors visiting the HQ of Rader Publishing as the game kicks off. Things at Rader, however, are shadier than ideal, and the two find themselves caught in simulations of each other’s fictional worlds, all while Rader works to steal their ideas behind-the-scenes. Now, Zoe and Mio must work together in order to foil Rader’s plans and find a way to escape back to reality.
LEADING DUO
Zoe and Mio might both be writers, but they’ll differ from each other in fundamental ways. Zoe, played Elsie Bennet, is a fantasy author, and described by Hazelight as a cheerful, optimistic, and charismatic extrovert. On the other hand, we have Mio, played by Kaja Chan, who’s a decisive, reserved, introverted realistic. The two protagonists getting to know each other and learning how to trust one another will be a crucial part of the story.
LEVELS
Hazelight Studios has built its reputation on outstanding gameplay and level variety, and sure enough, the developer is making similar promises with Split Fiction. With Mio and Zoe’s fictional worlds serving as the levels throughout the game, players will find themselves in a variety of different environments. Mio’s sci-fi expertise will bring levels set in cyberpunk cities and outer space, while Zoe’s love for fantasy will allow players to explore all manner of fantastical worlds, ride atop dragons, and more.
GAMEPLAY DETAILS
Split Fiction is being billed as an action-adventure experience, which means players should expect a little bit of everything as far as combat, platforming, and puzzles are concerned (not to mention boss fights), not unlike It Takes Two before it. But while the core mechanics will remain constant, the game is promising to keep things fresh with major new mechanics introduced with each level. Speaking of which…
ABILITIES
Each new level in Split Fiction will not only take players to a new world, it will also bring with it new central abilities. Mio and Zoe will both have a completely new ability in each level that players will use for everything from combat to traversal to solving puzzles. That’ll include shapeshifting into fairies, deftly jumping around as a cyberpunk ninja, dual-wielding laser guns, and more. This being a Hazelight join, co-op gameplay will obviously be front and center at all times, which means Zoe and Mio will also have to use their abilities in conjunction to get past unique challenges.
SIDE STORIES
Split Fiction is going to be a largely linear experience that’ll constantly have you moving forward, though there will still be optional content scattered throughout the game for players to seek out. This will come in the form of side stories, which you’ll be able to access through portals- anomalies designed by the simulation Zoe and Mio are stuck in to steal their unfinished creative ideas. Each side story will bring new locations, gameplay mechanics and ideas, and story tidbits.
MORE ON SIDE STORIES
As ever with Hazelight, variety is the name of the game in Split Fiction, as we’ve already touched on, and that’ll be reflected in its side stories as well. Conceived of by Zoe and Mio in their respective childhoods, these unfinished stories and their backdrops are described by Hazelight as “truly weird, wonderful, and chaotic”. Across these optional levels, players can expect to climb a giant-filled mountain, snowboard down a mountain while taking fire, explore outer space, chase enemies while water skiing, and even turn into pigs (only to be turned into sausages, seemingly).
CO-OP OPTIONS
Like with its previous titles, Hazelight Studios will allow players to play Split Fiction one of two ways. A couch co-op option will of course be available, with the studio long having championed local co-op as the best way to play its game. Additionally, those who wish to play online co-op will also have the option to do so.
FRIEND’S PASS
Hazelight Studios and publisher EA offered a Friend’s Pass with both A Way Out and It Takes Two, and they’ll do so with Split Fiction as well. For those unaware, a Friend’s Pass allows two players to play the game together through just one purchased copy.
CROSS-PLAY
Here’s a major improvement that Split Fiction is touting with its Friend’s Pass, with full cross-play supported. Where It Takes Two and A Way Out both only allowed players to play with other players on the same platform (and, in It Takes Two’s case, across generations), Split Fiction will let PlayStation, Xbox, and PC players play with each other without any restrictions.
PC REQUIREMENTS
Those hoping to play Split Fiction on PC probably won’t run into too many issues, courtesy of largely modest requirements. On minimum settings (for 1080p and 60 FPS gameplay), you’ll need either an i5-6600K or a Ryzen 5 2600X, along with either a GeForce GTX 970 or a Radeon RX 470. Meanwhile, on recommended settings (to run the game at 1440p and 60 FPS), you’ll need either an i7-11700k or a Ryzen 7 5800X, along with either a GeForce RTX 3070 or a Radeon 6700 XT. On either setting, you’ll also need 16 GB of RAM and 85 GB of free storage space.
STEAM DECK COMPATIBLE
Steam players hoping to play Split Fiction portably will be able to do so. EA and Hazelight have confirmed on the game’s official FAQ page that it will be Steam Deck compatible at launch. Whether that means it’ll be fully optimized with the Verified tag hasn’t yet been explicitly confirmed, though.
POTENTIAL SWITCH 2 RELEASE?
A Way Out never made its way over to the Nintendo Switch, but It Takes Two eventually did- so which of the two will Split Fiction follow in the footsteps of? It’s unlikely that it’ll come to the Switch, given that it’s not even releasing for PS4 and Xbox One- though a Switch 2 release might not be off the table. In fact, speaking to Danny Peña, director Josef Fares seemed to suggest that Hazelight may have been working with the upcoming console behind-the-scenes. Fares said, “I know obviously a lot about it [Switch 2], but you know, there’s a lot of secrecy behind everything so I can’t say anything yet, but you will all know soon.” Hopefully that means a Switch 2 version of the game will be announced soon- perhaps at the Nintendo Direct on April 2?
CONSOLE FRAME RATE AND RESOLUTION TARGETS
As per Split Fiction’s Xbox store page, the co-op title will feature support for native 4K and 60 FPS+ on Xbox Series X, which presumably means we can expect the same (or similar) on PS5 as well. What we don’t know yet is whether it’ll have multiple graphics modes available, or what to expect from its resolution and frame rate targets on PS5 Pro or Xbox Series S.
PRICE
At $49.99 on all platforms, Split Fiction’s launch price will be a tad higher than both It Takes Two ($39.99) and A Way Out ($29.99) upon their respective releases. It will, however, include a Friend’s Pass, as mentioned previously, so there’s that.
