I knew Split Fiction was going to be one of my favorite games of 2025 when I heard my partner yelling next to me, “Giraffes? What giraffes?!” I was so focused on steering a cyberpunk motorcycle on my screen that I could only steal glances as to what she could possibly be referring to; the answer, of course, was a captcha minigame. She needed to unlock a phone to shut down the self-destruct sequence that was about to blow up the bike we were using to escape oppressive police shooting at us.
It was a chaotic and fun-as-hell sequence that had me doubling over in laughter, which I quickly learned would be a common occurrence throughout Split Fiction.
Hailing from Hazelight Studios, the developers behind 2021 Game of the Year winner It Takes Two, Split Fiction follows aspiring writers Mio and Zoe. They’re young 20-somethings both with a desire – no, need – to get their stories published. They meet at Rader Publishing, something closer to a Silicon Valley tech start-up than traditional NYC publishing house, and accept a publishing deal. However, it’s not a traditional publishing deal – they’ll enter machines that allow them to inhabit their works of fiction. Mio senses something is off, tries to back out, and is accidentally thrust into Zoe’s world, entangling the two of them in Rader’s machine.
You and your co-op partner will have to work together to overcome whatever Split Fiction throws your way.
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250310_0107520-scaled.jpeg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250310_0107520-scaled.jpeg?fit=740%2C416&ssl=1″ class=”ezlazyload size-large wp-image-609907″ src=”data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20width=%22740%22%20height=%22416%22%3E%3C/svg%3E” alt=”‘Split Fiction’ will be the most fun you’ll have gaming all year” width=”740″ height=”416″ title=”SHARE 20250310 0107520″ data-ezsrcset=”https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134336623.jpeg 1024w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134337415.jpeg 300w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134337895.jpeg 768w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134338560.jpeg 1536w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134338853.jpeg 2048w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134339812.jpeg 1000w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134340523.jpeg 560w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134340298.jpeg 1480w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134341108.jpeg 2220w” sizes=”(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px” ezimgfmt=”rs rscb4 src ng ngcb4 srcset” data-ezsrc=”https://aiptcomics.com/ezoimgfmt/i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250310_0107520.jpeg?resize=740%2C416&ssl=1″>
You and your co-op partner will have to work together to overcome whatever Split Fiction throws your way.
Over the next eight chapters and 15 or so hours of gameplay, Mio and Zoe will learn that Rader Publishing isn’t out to publish their stories, but instead steal them and every ounce of creativity Mio and Zoe possess. You and your gaming partner will guide them through fantastic worlds, each with its own unique spin and gameplay element, on a quest to free them and their stories from Rader.
Ideas are nebulous and video game development timelines are long, so I can’t say if Hazelight was prophetic or crafted Split Fiction in reaction to the rise of generative AI, but its story works so well in today’s world. On one side you have a rich corporation stealing ideas and work from creative people to replace them; why hire graphic designers for a marketing campaign when you can churn out AI slop instead? Mio and Zoe’s fight against Rader isn’t singular – it represents the battle so many artists, musicians, and writers will face, or already are. Corporations are more than eager to replace the creatives, yet the ability to create music, art, and stories is one of the most unique human abilities; it’s what makes us human.
Friends! (Eventually.)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250310_0117470-scaled.jpeg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250310_0117470-scaled.jpeg?fit=740%2C416&ssl=1″ class=”ezlazyload size-large wp-image-609905″ src=”data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20width=%22740%22%20height=%22416%22%3E%3C/svg%3E” alt=”‘Split Fiction’ will be the most fun you’ll have gaming all year” width=”740″ height=”416″ title=”SHARE 20250310 0117470″ data-ezsrcset=”https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134343776.jpeg 1024w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134343359.jpeg 300w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134344810.jpeg 768w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134344596.jpeg 1536w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134345383.jpeg 2048w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134346433.jpeg 1000w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134346346.jpeg 560w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134347310.jpeg 1480w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134347590.jpeg 2220w” sizes=”auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px” ezimgfmt=”rs rscb4 src ng ngcb4 srcset” data-ezsrc=”https://aiptcomics.com/ezoimgfmt/i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250310_0117470.jpeg?resize=740%2C416&ssl=1″>
Friends! (Eventually.)
Mio and Zoe begin the game at odds; their differences can’t get out of the way enough for the two women to realize how similar their life experiences are. They’re both so likeable, and, while Mio’s initial prickly attitude toward Zoe and the situation they were in could be grating at times – Stop and smell the roses, won’t ya? – she undergoes such a profound arc, I wouldn’t change a thing. This is a story not just of two writers trying to make their way back to the real world, but one helping another break out of her hardened exterior and learn she doesn’t need to be a loner to make it through life; relying on and opening up to others is strength, not a weakness. Mio and Zoe learn so much about one another – probably more than people who were just strangers a few hours ago would like to share – and that bond they form turns into a friendship that’ll last decades.
Their friendship forms across both their stories. Mio favors science-fiction while Zoe is a fantasy writer, and those genres are where the game’s levels take inspiration from. In levels spawned from Mio’s work, you’ll become cyber ninjas, race to save a star about to go supernova, and fly jetpacks. Zoe’s levels are less action-focused and offer a great balance to the hectic nature of Mio’s sci-fi stories; Zoe’s fantasy worlds find you on the run from trolls, transforming into a monkey and an Ent-like tree person, and riding dragons.
Sometimes the screens would combine and Split Fiction’s perspective would shift to side-scrolling or isometric.
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250310_0110100-scaled.jpeg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250310_0110100-scaled.jpeg?fit=740%2C416&ssl=1″ class=”ezlazyload size-large wp-image-609904″ src=”data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20width=%22740%22%20height=%22416%22%3E%3C/svg%3E” alt=”‘Split Fiction’ will be the most fun you’ll have gaming all year” width=”740″ height=”416″ title=”SHARE 20250310 0110100″ data-ezsrcset=”https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134349308.jpeg 1024w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134350593.jpeg 300w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134350398.jpeg 768w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134350121.jpeg 1536w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134351730.jpeg 2048w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134352592.jpeg 1000w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134353569.jpeg 560w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134353239.jpeg 1480w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134354309.jpeg 2220w” sizes=”auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px” ezimgfmt=”rs rscb4 src ng ngcb4 srcset” data-ezsrc=”https://aiptcomics.com/ezoimgfmt/i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250310_0110100.jpeg?resize=740%2C416&ssl=1″>
Sometimes the screens would combine and Split Fiction would shift to a side-scrolling or isometric perspective.
Split Fiction features an abundance of variety, yet it never feels stretched too thin. The core gameplay focuses on platforming; in between those jetpacks and fantastical transformations, you’ll be hopping and swinging across levels. It’s very accessible, though I do have minor frustrations with the grapple button and its too-short window to execute it successfully. For the most part, the jumping, wall running, and dashes are very tight and easy to get a handle on.
A Split Fiction playthrough can be upwards of 15 hours, yet you’ll never feel like the gameplay loop drags. You and your partner will be in constant communication, figuring out how your separate abilities aid each other in platforming, puzzle solving, and combat. This isn’t a co-op game where you can do your own separate things next to each other; in Split Fiction, success takes two working in tandem – joyous, hilarious, chaotic tandem.
During one chapter, Mio could transform into a water dragon creature and a monkey while Zoe swapped between a pixie and a tree person.
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250310_0109300-scaled.jpeg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250310_0109300-scaled.jpeg?fit=740%2C416&ssl=1″ class=”ezlazyload size-large wp-image-609903″ src=”data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20width=%22740%22%20height=%22416%22%3E%3C/svg%3E” alt=”‘Split Fiction’ will be the most fun you’ll have gaming all year” width=”740″ height=”416″ title=”SHARE 20250310 0109300″ data-ezsrcset=”https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134356405.jpeg 1024w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134356765.jpeg 300w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134357891.jpeg 768w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134357353.jpeg 1536w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134358554.jpeg 2048w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134359163.jpeg 1000w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134400590.jpeg 560w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134400499.jpeg 1480w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134401262.jpeg 2220w” sizes=”auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px” ezimgfmt=”rs rscb4 src ng ngcb4 srcset” data-ezsrc=”https://aiptcomics.com/ezoimgfmt/i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250310_0109300.jpeg?resize=740%2C416&ssl=1″>
During one chapter, Mio could transform into a water dragon creature and a monkey while Zoe swapped between a pixie and a tree person.
While the jump, dash, and grapple buttons are consistent level to level, the function of your controller’s triggers will vary. Sometimes you’ll be firing guns, other times swinging a sword or whip. During one particularly fun level, I controlled the flippers of, essentially, a pinball machine while my partner acted as the ball, evading any danger the game threw at us. Several levels have multiphase boss fights (with generous checkpoints, thankfully) that raise in stakes and danger as the fights progress. Hazelight’s creativity is on full display during the boss fights as each one introduces new strategies and mechanics.
I almost veered off into space trying to snag this screenshot.
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250310_0106070-scaled.jpeg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250310_0106070-scaled.jpeg?fit=740%2C416&ssl=1″ class=”ezlazyload size-large wp-image-609902″ src=”data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20width=%22740%22%20height=%22416%22%3E%3C/svg%3E” alt=”‘Split Fiction’ will be the most fun you’ll have gaming all year” width=”740″ height=”416″ title=”SHARE 20250310 0106070″ data-ezsrcset=”https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134403864.jpeg 1024w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134403887.jpeg 300w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134404362.jpeg 768w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134404667.jpeg 1536w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134405260.jpeg 2048w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134406430.jpeg 1000w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134407904.jpeg 560w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134407113.jpeg 1480w,https://image.cdnwindow.com/image/wordpress/2025/03/20250310134408366.jpeg 2220w” sizes=”auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px” ezimgfmt=”rs rscb4 src ng ngcb4 srcset” data-ezsrc=”https://aiptcomics.com/ezoimgfmt/i0.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SHARE_20250310_0106070.jpeg?resize=740%2C416&ssl=1″>
I almost veered off into space trying to snag this screenshot.
During most chapters, Mio and Zoe will encounter Side Stories. While optional, they provide so much context to who these characters are and offer up some of Split Fiction’s best gameplay that you’d have to be silly not to want to complete each and every one. Personal Side Stories favorites include Space Escape, where you propel through outer space in a race to a ship that’s drifting away; Kites, featuring a race through an airborne kingdom; and Farmlife, which transforms you into pigs. Moon Market might top them all. Mio and Zoe have to find some cat spirits to unlock the way out, but fireworks, a magic wand, and transformative potions in the market are abundant, offering delightful distraction. While Split Fiction has so many standout levels in the main game, I think the creativity and joy in the Side Stories might be what I remember most from this amazing game.
Perhaps the biggest compliment you can give any piece of media is that, upon completion, it leaves you with a desire to experience it all over again. That’s exactly how I feel about Split Fiction. It’s filled to the brim with some of the most fun gaming experiences I’ve had so far this gaming generation, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Hazelight takes home another GOTY award for this gem of an adventure.
‘Split Fiction’ will be the most fun you’ll have gaming all year
Split Fiction
Packed with gameplay variety, hilarious writing, and heartfelt character moments, Split Fiction is already the frontrunner for 2025’s best game.
Mio and Zoe are both wonderful protagonists who complement each other well and aid in each other’s personal journeys.
Timely story of humanity vs. technology; creativity vs. uninspired slop.
Variety of gameplay mechanics that keep getting more and more fun. Teamwork is the name of the game.
Too many side-splitting hilarious moments to count.
Minor quibbles with the controls at times, though they were never enough to truly detract from the experience.
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