Split Fiction

Hazelight's genre-hopping two-player co-op adventure spanning sci-fi and fantasy.

6 Mar 2025 · Paid

About Split Fiction

CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED About the Game Embrace mind-blowing moments as you’re pulled deep into the many worlds of Split Fiction, a boundary-pushing co-op action adventure from the studio behind 2021 Game of the Year Winner, It Takes Two. Mio and Zoe are contrasting writers – one writes sci-fi and the other writes fantasy – who become trapped in their own stories after being hooked up to a machine designed to steal their creative ideas. They’ll have to rely on each other to break free with their memories in-tact, working together to master a variety of abilities and overcome diverse challenges while jumping between sci-fi and fantasy worlds in this unexpected tale of friendship. Split Fiction is a unique action-adventure experience that keeps you on the edge of your couch with unexpected moments. One minute you’re taming adorable dragons and the next you’re fighting as cyber ninjas, escaping terrifying trolls, or dodging hover cars thrown by a robotic parking attendant. It’s weird, it’s wild, and it’s designed to be shared. Grab your co-op partner and get ready to overcome any obstacle thrown your way.

• Two-player co-op only design
• Friend's Pass free copy for a friend
• Genre-hopping sci-fi and fantasy chapters
• Unique mechanics in nearly every level
• Split-screen shared storytelling
• Steam Achievements
• Full controller support
• Steam Trading Cards
• Captions available
• Steam Cloud
• Remote Play Together
• HDR available
• Family Sharing

Storyline

Mio Hudson (Kaja Chan) and Zoe Foster (Elsie Bennett) are writers invited by a company called Rader Publishing to test out an experimental simulation device along with four other writers. While the eccentric Zoe sees this as an opportunity to be published as a real author, the reserved Mio is only interested in the payout. CEO J.D. Rader (Ben Turner) introduces "The Machine", which allows occupants to experience the stories they submitted as reality. As the Machine starts up, each occupant is encased in a bubble and placed into suspended animation while they experience their story. Suspicious of the experiment and Rader's motives, Mio panics and tries to back out; however, Rader forces her to stay, and a scuffle leads her to inadvertently fall into Zoe's bubble. Mio appears in Zoe's fantasy story, followed by a glitch which tears apart the environment. When they approach the glitch, they are both transported to Mio's science fiction story. The duo make their way through both of their intellectual creations and find the glitch to be expanding, since the Machine was never designed to handle two occupants in one bubble. The system is also unable to shut down due to the glitches. After some debating with his superiors (Joseph Capp, Christy Meyer, Rich Keeble), Rader decides not to shut down the experiment, as the ideas are too valuable to lose. Overhearing Rader and his scientists (Nneka Okoye, Dario Coates), Mio realizes Rader is stealing all their ideas, not just the ones submitted, but also dormant and unfinished ideas from each of their memories as they are played out in the simulation. Zoe suggests finding more glitches may destabilize the system and set them free. After managing to establish communication between both groups, Rader then tries to bribe Mio, but she sees through his bluff. The duo travel through more fantasy and science fiction inspired worlds from each of their imaginations. At one point, Rader's scientists attempt to hinder the duo's efforts and repair the system, but are thwarted at the last second. This causes a frustrated Rader to rebel against his superiors. As they travel through the stories, the duo begin to learn more about each other.…

Gameplay

As with Hazelight's previous game, It Takes Two, Split Fiction was specifically designed for split screen cooperative multiplayer, which means that it must be played with another player through either local or online play. In the game, players assume control of either Zoe or Mio, two authors who both become trapped inside their own stories after being linked to a machine. The two strangers must work together to escape and overcome numerous challenges along the way, as Mio's science fiction story interweaves with Zoe's fantasy story, putting both characters in grave danger. The game is an action-adventure video game played from a third-person perspective, requiring players to complete platforming challenges and occasionally combating against hostile enemies. Stages are often accompanied with a unique one-off gameplay mechanic. The ability for both characters within each stage is also different, meaning that the two must collaborate with each other and utilize the respective abilities of their playable characters in order to progress. There are also side stories in each area, which can be accessed by entering a portal. Side Stories are based on unfinished ideas and stories written by both Zoe and Mio when they were younger. As with the main level, each side story also features an accompanying gameplay mechanic.