It’s certainly a bold claim, considering how many high quality local co-op games out there, but Hazelight Studios have totally nailed the formula.

Brothers was an incredible start, really opening up the potential and possibilities. A Way Out offered a truly cinematic experience the likes of which we’ve rarely seen. It Takes Two really put this studio on the map, both in terms of the humor on display but also the sheer fun on offer.

And Split Fiction learns every single lesson the studio has had so far and builds something truly special that makes for a once in a lifetime experience. Truly, if you’re looking to connect with a long-distance friend or someone you share a house with or live nearby, Split Fiction is a bonding experience.

It delights, it challenges, it encourages communication, timing, understanding and it’ll keep you laughing with its dry writing and absurb, unexpected moments.

In a year that’s already been packed with the biggest franchises in the world – and with many more still to come, this is a game we’ll still be talking about in December. And for many years after, as the go to multiplayer experience to play with a friend.

It’s a beautiful thing. There was a time when split screen co-op seemed to be a thing of the past. When online multiplayer really kicked into gear, we started seeing it slip away from the franchises that had made it such a huge part of their development. Halo. Gears of War. Call of Duty.

Split Fiction manages to fill the screen with bedazzling special effects, wondrous moments and rapid fire action without slowdown or compromise. It just works and it doesn’t even feel like you’re sacrificing anything by sharing the screen with characters able to get a good distance from each other or by having to look at a small portion of a screen.

Split Fiction even manages to blend the splitscreens together in certain moments, which works wonderfully when you’re both plummeting down a hill or trying to climb a tower in rapid quick time fashion.

Of course, you can also have a whole screen to yourself and play online with a friend. The interesting part is, you can’t just have an open lobby with anyone, you need to invite a Friend to play the game with you, whether it’s through the plaform network or via your EA Friends List.

While that may seem limiting at first, the core idea is to play the game with a friend and only one of you needs to own the game, so you can just invite your bud, they download the Friend Pass and they can literally play the full game with you. It’s pretty awesome and such a gesture in a very money driven industry!

Still, it’s well worth pointing out that you’ll need to invite a pre-existing friend or you’ll need to play with a friend in local co-op.  There’s no AI filler option here for you on the local side and you can’t just randomly join a lobby with a stranger to play online. In some regards, it’s a little limiting but it’s also important to note that’s how the game has been designed. You could of course try playing the game on your own with two pads, but that’s probably going to get pretty tricky!

So what is Split Fiction? A very interesting take on society today, actually. You play as both Zoe and Mio, a pair of contrasting writers who’ve been invited to a grand, expensive publishing house to pitch their ideas. One is a Sci-Fi Writer, the other Fantasy. One lives in the City, the other out in the country. These two are polar opposites of each other and almost detest the others’ lifestyle completely.

It creates a really fun dynamic from the off as these two at odds, reluctant team mates, gradually come to rely on one another and learn more about each other over the course of the game from one random scenario to the next.

They’re thrust together in the unlikeliest of means as they end up running through a virtual reality recreation of the stories they’ve pitched. Thus one minute you’re fighting cyber ninjas in a Tron esque setting and the next you’re being chased by trolls.

As you keep playing, each character’s core strengths and skills come into play and in each scenario, you can pull off different feats. One will need to pull open doorways while the other fights off the enemies and uses gravitational pull to reach seemingly impossible platforms.

But there’s also really quirky optional side stories for you to find and clear with your bud, which take you to all sorts of unexpected places, including a pig sty where you have to find apples to open doors. All leading to the most unexpected of conclusions.

It’s just another testament to the humor of the studio, but also the trust and creative license they’ve been given to really create the game they want. And it works to such a brilliant degree that you will find yourself compelled from one scene to the next, but equally barking orders at each other to take down the suitably creative bosses and work out their weaknesses.

The game does a really good job of slowly but surely helping you rely on each other more and more, until eventually you’ll need to both stay active, fulfilling your part of the objectives, otherwise you’ll find yourself in a constant checkpoint loop.

It’s beautiful, brainy and brilliant all at once. A truly special kind of game that you just want to keep playing and enjoying but are scared about it ending because you want to keep going. Split Fiction is a decent length at around 15-16 hours, providing you take everything in, but it’s definitely a game you could smash through in a weekend as well and doesn’t have a whole lot of reasoning to go back into it when you’re done.

But what’s here is loaded with charm, from the brilliant, biting back and forth between Zoe and Mio, to the colourful enchanting music that switches up wonderfully as you move between realms, to the endless creativity on offer here to make everything feel fresh and different. Seriously, this game keeps surprising in the best possible way and it really exposes games that just throw hours of the same content at you.

I didn’t realise how much I needed a game like Split Fiction to really be such a palette cleanser after all the intense games and experiences we’ve been playing these past few years. It is just so effortless in how it captures your attention, how it handles its storytelling, how it keeps its gameplay interesting and the way it brings you together with friends and family. And isn’t that what playing games is all about?

Split Fiction is a masterpiece, plain and simple. And the best part is, anyone can play if they know someone who owns it and is willing to share. I think that alone sends the best message of all. Games aren’t cheap anymore and our purse strings have never been tighter. At a time in an industry where publishers and games are trying to make more money from players after they’ve already spent a large sum of money, Hazelight Studios is empowering players to support one another at its own risk.

Fortunately, based on the reception the game has had to date, it seems to have been a gamble very much worth taking.

Verdict

Split Fiction may just be the finest co-operative video game ever made. It’s local co-op is seamless and rarely struggles through slowdown. It’s online service is generous, supporting friends to play together with just one copy between them, and its challenges, puzzles, action and creativity is thriving and in abundance. While there’s no scope for a singleplayer to tag up with the computer or to jump in a lobby with a random, Split Fiction gives you all the tools you need to play and proves to be the most worthwhile enjoyable ride so far in 2025. This is one we’ll be talking about for years to come for the powerful messages it sends and truly is the standard bearer of what a co-operative adventure with friends and family should look like. 

Pros

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Split Fiction is out now on PC, PS,  and Xbox

Played on Xbox Series X

Code Kindly Provided by EA for review purposes

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– Editors Note

This will be my final review on Expansive DLC and what a game and score to go out on! I’ve served as Editor for over five years and it’s been a wild ride, but I’m stepping away from the site now to explore new adventures. I’m so incredibly grateful to all of the companies who have supported us and provided us access to many amazing games. Thank you!

The site will now be left in the incredibly capable hands of Sam Diglett who steps in as the new Editor. She’ll take the site to even more amazing and exciting heights and I’m excited to watch her do just that.

All that’s left for me to say is – Be kind to each other, support each other through the good and bad times and play Split Fiction! It’s a game the world desperately needs right now and it’s a great reminder, now more than ever, we all need each other.