Split Fiction Review

Announced just three months ago, Hazelight Games’ Split Fiction is here at a hectic time in the game industry.

Can this co-op adventure compete with heavy hitters like Monster Hunter Wilds? Check out our review to find out.

Split Fiction Honest Review

Split Fiction follows the story of Zoe and Mio, two unpublished authors looking to get their big break. Answering a recruitment ad for a publishing agency promising to make their words a reality, they both go to check it out.

This process proves to be a little fishy, as it requires one to put a whole-body suit on and enter a simulation.

Zoe willingly enters, but Mio tries to leave before being pushed into Zoe’s simulation with her; thus, Split Fiction is born.

As it turns out, Zoe is a fantasy writer and Mio is a sci-fi writer – this makes for some truly wild rides and ideas.

Once inside, the group teams up to find a way to escape. While the pair agreed to give one story to this publisher, the simulation is taking all of their ideas – even ones they forgot.

If Zoe and Mio can find the glitches and make the system unstable, they can escape. While this sounds simple enough, the guys on the outside would rather have you die inside than reveal their secret. One will have to team up and bust out before getting erased.

Split Fiction has players finding these glitches through living withing stories in Zoe and Mio’s heads.

Each level of Split Fiction has players traverseing either a fantasy or sci-fi world, giving each character new abilities to try out.

Both are required to solve most puzzles; for instance, the first mission involves players assuming the role of cyber ninjas. One has a sword that shifts gravity, so one can walk on walls and the ceiling. Meanwhile, the other has an energy whip that enables one to throw items and grapple. When switching levels in Split Fiction, it takes a minute to get used to your new skills.

As it turns out, all of Split Fiction’s levels are fun to play.

While Split Fiction has some combat, it’s mostly a puzzle platformer. On that note, Split Fiction is one of the best puzzle platformers I’ve played in years.

For one, Split Fiction’s platforming is flawless, to the point that a new Mario should launch next year if it wants to win Best Platformer at The Game Awards.

Split Fiction’s platforming is quick, easy, intuitive, seamless, and – most importantly – fun.

We’re even confident a child could pick Split Fiction us and play with little to no practice. That being said, the deaths in this game are pretty savage, so I’m not sure if Split Fiction would make for a good kid game.

Puzzles in Split Fiction are fantastic. One WILL get stumped, but that is the point.

Split Fiction gives players everything one needs to solve the challenge in your head. There was one moment when the game wanted both players to spam R2 – or so we thought. We tried a couple of times and failed, wondering what happened.

Instead, we did back-to-back: I’d hit R2, then my co-op partner would hit, then back to me, and it worked. Nothing needed to be looked up; no hour-long YouTube video was required, just using our heads to try new things.

That’s just one example out of dozens that make Split Fiction truly shine.

While the main crux of each Split Fiction’s mission is either fantasy or sci-fi, there are side stories that sometimes switch things up.

Early on in a Sci-fi level, we did a side story for Zoe where we became super pigs. This allowed us to fly via farting, or alternatively turn into a springboard pig to access higher spots.

It was wacky, sure, but also a good time!

Split Fiction gives players a new tool or skill to use as mentioned before, bu each level also has multiple boss battles where one needs to use those skills.

One will need to worry about one’s own hide during the fight, but each one always requires both players to do maximum damage. Split Fiction’s combo attacks are just as creative as its worlds and puzzles.

However, said boss battles are home to one of our main issues.

Split Fiction has very generous checkpoints, but also terrible spawn points. As a result, one will spawn in a boss fight as a laser or flame is coming and just die again. It happens so often that it can be compared to Call of Duty, like a grenade was at our feet once spawned.

Split Fiction can also be jarring to swap from one ability to a new one in a different world. Do note there is also no online matchmaking, but this does require players to communicate – always a good thing.

Split Fiction is truly a blast to play and is one of the only games this year that I recommend to everyone. Needless to say, 2025’s Game of the Year discussion just got even more complicated with Split Fiction.

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