Split Fiction Review (XSX) – An Excellent Co-Op Adventure I’ve Seen Before

Do you like co-op experiences? Hazelight Games once again looks to deliver a top-tier co-op adventure with Split Fiction. The biggest question is, can Split Fiction recapture the magic of It Takes Two? Let’s talk about it.

Game Name: Split Fiction 
Platform(s): PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S(reviewed), PC
Publisher(s): EA Originals
Developer(s): Hazelight Games
Release Date: March 6th, 2025

If you’ve played Hazelight’s last few releases (It Takes Two, A Way Out), then Split Fiction will be very familiar to you. In this co-op adventure, you play as budding writers Mio and Zoe, who are both looking to get published for the first time. We first meet them as they are attending what they assume is a pitch meeting of sorts at publishing company RADER. Little do Mio and Zoe know that RADER has a new machine that will allow them to experience the stories they’ve written. It sounds amazing, right? That is, until Mio and Zoe get stuck in each other’s experiences, and they quickly realize something isn’t right. Unfortunately, the CEO of RADER Publishing, J.D. Rader, has an ulterior motive — and let’s just say it’s not a good one.

So, it’s down to Mio and Zoe to not only free themselves from this machine, but also stop J.D. Rader’s evil plan. What follows is a very familiar, yet surprising Hazelight Games experience.

When it comes to structure, Split Fiction is divided into chapters, and it really works. That’s because Mio is a sci-fi writer, whereas Zoe’s genre is fantasy. With each chapter of Split Fiction switching between the two genres and writers’ stories, this allows for different mechanics in each chapter that suit the genre of each writer. My only issue with this structure is that some mechanics and chapters can definitely outstay their welcome. My co-op partner Jeff Young and I couldn’t wait for the pinball-inspired section to end (something he also mentions in his review).

Oh, and don’t worry — to play in co-op, you don’t need to both own the game. Thanks to Hazelight’s Friend Pass system, you can invite any friend to play, and this invite allows them to download a specific Friend Pass version of Split Fiction. Of course, this system was also available in It Takes Two and A Way Out, but there is one major improvement this time around: crossplay support, even for Friend Pass players. That’s right — if your buddy on PC owns the game, he can invite you to play on your Xbox.

The only real negative of co-op play is that sometimes you will wish you were the other character instead. Certain levels definitely favor Mio or Zoe in terms of the abilities given to them.

On a more positive note, while playing through chapters, you can find side stories — smaller, unfinished narratives written by one of the two authors. These side stories help to expand on the backstories of Mio and Zoe, giving the player deeper insight and a stronger connection with each character.

While I was impressed by the number of different mechanics and scenarios at play throughout Split Fiction, I was even more impressed by the boss encounters using each chapter’s unique mechanics. Split Fiction, in many ways, is a masterclass of game design. I haven’t seen a game use so many different mechanics and nail most of them to an extremely high standard.

From a functional standpoint, Split Fiction is effectively identical to It Takes Two and A Way Out. You move around each chapter with the Left Stick while doing some light platforming, using the A button to jump, and the Right Bumper to pull yourself towards a grapple point when needed. The Y button allows you to interact with different objects while exploring, and the Right Trigger is used to activate whatever your unique ability at the time might be. It never really changes too significantly from these basic controls. What makes Split Fiction special is how the level design, puzzles, and boss encounters make use of each chapter’s mechanics.

Don’t get me wrong — that isn’t the only thing that stood out about my time with Split Fiction. The game is also a visual delight — with its very Pixar-inspired art style combined with the contrast between sci-fi and fantasy, I always felt like I was seeing something new. Even when this wasn’t necessarily the case — all games inevitably have to reuse assets, and that isn’t a bad thing, especially when they look this good.

The audio is also fantastic, with unique SFX for each ability and a musical score fitting for both whimsical fantasy and electronic sci-fi. The ability of Split Fiction‘s score to effortlessly transition between two completely different genres while also hitting hard in the more emotional moments is a testament to the composer’s work. It is truly exceptional!

The same can be said for the voice acting — all the main cast members put in admirable performances. However, for me, these performances were held back in some places by overly corny writing, which is a shame, as there are some very powerful scenes throughout that show just how great the writing of Split Fiction can be.

Thankfully, technical performance is another bright spot for Split Fiction on Xbox Series X. I didn’t encounter any bugs or frame rate drops.

When all is said and done, I loved Split Fiction from a setting and design perspective, but some mechanics definitely overstay their welcome. The presentation and technical performance are fantastic, with the only blemish being the somewhat corny writing, which lets down the otherwise great acting and interesting story — leaving me with the feeling that while Split Fiction is a fantastic game, it doesn’t quite manage to capture lightning in a bottle once again for Hazelight Games.

Review Disclosure Statement: A copy of Split Fiction was provided to us for review purposes by EA. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy for more info.

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