When you watch a piece of media or play a game, that’s trying really hard to be something unique, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth. It’s reminiscent of that meme “hello fellow kids.” Sometimes, it even feels like the creators are just slapping you repeatedly across the face with a cold, wet fish.
Oddly enough, that’s kind of the experience I’m having with Split Fiction as I play through with a friend. One of my oldest and greatest gaming friends — shout out to John. But even though there are a ton of cliches, and it’s jam-packed with popular references and cheesy one-liners, I’ve fallen in love with it. It’s a strange love.
I do wonder if my friend and I weren’t giggling and having a great time, like little kids again, would any of it even matter? It’s not like you can play the game alone. It’s specifically made for co-op play. And if you buy the game, your friends can play with you thanks to a free partner copy. It’s cross-platform, too.
What is Split Fiction?
Thematically, Split Fiction is all over the place, but the story does an excellent job of padding out the “why” there. As a writer myself, I adore the plot, thin as it is.
You, and a friend, take on the roles of two aspiring writers — Mio Hudson and Zoe Foster. They’ve been invited to a company called Rader Publishing under the guise that they’ll see a work-in-progress book published. But that idea soon goes out the window.
The real reason they’ve been invited, along with a whole group of other writers, is they’re testing out an experimental simulation device that allows them to realize and act out their fantastical stories. Lo-and-behold, the company is really trying to steal ideas using “The Machine,” which essentially extracts everything directly from people’s minds, without a need to put pen to paper. It actually has a lot of parallels to AI and how that technology is being used to disrupt modern creatives. While it’s not a completely controversial take, I do appreciate some of the nuanced commentary in there. Fuck AI.
When The Machine kicks on, the invited writers step into figurative bubbles, which suspend them in midair. Everyone is onboard, and gets in, except for Mio.
Mio is immediately suspicious of the goal and after a brief a stumble and a scuffle, with the evil corporate CEO, she falls into Zoe’s individual bubble. By joining their experiences, it essentially creates a system glitch and they’re off exploring a swath of unique environments while trying to thwart the evil CEO’s proprietary thievery.
That’s the game. You and a friend take on co-op puzzles, nearly identical to what you might have played or experienced in It Takes Two. These are the developers that made that game, so it makes sense.
A true cooperative adventure
What transpires is equally some of the most expected and unsurprising, but absolutely inspired and fun, gameplay I’ve ever experienced. There’s a pinball-inspired level, Uncharted-style moments, high-octane and exciting action cinematics, dragons, and a host of video game cliches that would otherwise make you grit your teeth. But here, they’re so so much fun and also downright heartwarming. The game actually encourages you and your friend to work together to complete puzzles in some pretty ingenious ways, just like It Takes Two.
Don’t get me wrong. There are definitely unexpected moments. Like flopping around as two hot dogs trying to roast yourself without burning, spreading condiments and then climbing into a bun. Or, lobbing your chunky piglet body around a level using a spray of rainbow farts. Yes, those are two actual segments in the game. Don’t worry, there are a lot of other zany and surprising moments for you and your friends to discover.
If you did play the developers’ previous game, this is more of the same, but it’s much faster paced. That means, this game is more aligned with seasoned gamers. I’m not ruling out everyone else. Anyone can pick up and play this game, but the timing, hand-eye coordination, and more traditional gameplay elements mean if you’re playing with someone who’s not that great at games — it’s going to get frustrating really fast. That’s exactly why I’m having a great time playing through with my friend, John. He is, by every stretch of the word, a gamer like me. If I were playing with my wife or two younger kids, it might be a little less fun. Or maybe I’m wrong. But that’s what I’ve gathered thus far.
Final verdict
But despite its cliches — and yes, I realize I’ve used that word quite a bit here — Split Fiction is a ton of godamn fun. It just clicks, especially as you and your co-op partner are lobbing ideas back and forth to solve the various in-game puzzles. There are a lot of places where the pacing takes a break, too. You can run around and play with some magical items. Sit down and enjoy the beautiful in-game scenery. Play some mini games. Take on a side quest, which is also implemented in a really clever way.
If you have a chance to play it. Take it. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience that surpasses even the fun of It Takes Two.
