Split Fiction
Review
A Refined Recipe for Co-Op Conquering
by Jordan Helsley
reviewed on PC
Co-Authored Experience
Split Fiction wears its story, and inspirations, on the sleeve.It takes mere moments to gain an efficient understanding of the two leading characters, the setup for their adventure, and the villainous figure setting everything in motion. That is to say: tropes abound, both because we're living the stories of two inexperienced writers but also because the overarching narrative has some failings. I appreciated it when it came to the former. There's a charm in these writers cribbing off of their favorite genre staples while they're still figuring it out. Fantasy author Zoe's not-that-wizard-boy world was charming and fun to play around in, and Sci-fi author Mio's not-those-sand-worms were tense in their own right. The inspirations for these, and so many other, pieces of fiction are there, but they don't quite hit "rip off" territory, and their padded with more lightweight side stories that are a bit more unique to each character anyway.
What's worse is the real world plot lacks the ingenuity that is present in other areas of the game. Intentionally writing amateur authors in a believable way takes skill, but the main plot lacks a subtlety and creativity that casts a little doubt on the whole thing. There's no surprise in the villain or his motivations, and certainly no nuance in his character, to the point where you wonder how these two got themselves in this situation in the first place. Likewise the larger plot points of each author's story are obviously very early on, which pulls a pair of would-be stellar punches. It's far from offensive, and only exists as a means to drive the player through the gameplay, but the contrast between the story and the other elements widens the gap. Specifics would spoil the fun, but there's a separate element of missed opportunity. A contemporary story centered around authorship and AI should probably have more to say on the topic. The creator and mastermind behind it all should have a better, or more thought out, reasoning. The authors themselves should be given, or proactively seek, more agency in the process.
Stories To Life
Split Fiction does its best to keep the player focused on the positives through a deluge of pure joy. I found particular enjoyment in the side stories, the much more bite-sized and character-examining segments found in larger levels. This is where the authors' playfulness comes to the forefront in the form of stories they only thought about or wrote years ago, but also where the developers flex some of their own muscles. One that featured a farting pig was a nice bit of levity, and a candy-infused wonderland satisfied both myself and my co-op partner who was tired of hearing me long for "a story written by one of these girls when they were six." She was five, but I'll take it, especially after seeing it through. Another one later in the game had the two of us bemoaning its end purely because it was a little slice of competitiveness that we couldn't immediately revisit. All twelve are delightful, and I felt a twinge of sadness when the achievement for finishing them all popped with a decent chunk of the game to go.
The more recognizable stories, both Sci-fi and Fantasy, still manage to wow, though. Split Fiction introduced several moments that are now among my favorite Sci-fi and Fantasy executions of all time, and that's largely thanks to its ability to showcase massive scale and focus on micro details. Epics revolving around a dying star or a massive dragon slaying beast rarely take the time to show its characters placing a hand on a ledge during a wall run to avoid descending, or let those characters take reflective moments of levity on a bench. The little things add up exponentially and nearly rival the massive, often beautiful, setpieces. The combination of the two, and also the inherent variety, is what makes the game truly special. And outside of the clear genre delineations these do feel like they're conceived by two distinct authors. It is hard to pick a preference unless predisposed to one genre or the other.
Split Action
While both characters generally play the same, have the same double jump, same dash, same extremely fluid movement, the stories generally give each one a distinct ability to create the need for cooperation. While neither version of the gameplay is slighted in favour of the other, there do seem to be two different archetypes overall. My partner and I constantly joked that we picked the wrong characters because of the abilities we were given. Things reached their apex when they received the gift of flight and I got...a headbutt. It was all in good fun but there did seem to be a subtle theme that tied in to one character receiving a little more storytelling love than the other. Still, everything usually converges in a boss fight where both players feel equally powerful and useful, and ultimately responsible for the other one's life and safety. With one, maybe two, exceptions, the distinction in the co-op feels strong and meaningful the entire time.
I spent my full playthrough as Zoe. There's enough parity to consider the choice inconsequential, but because the game is, at worst, in split screen at all times both players can see the totality of the action. It's a nice effect (and one that they've used in their past games, admittedly) and they bend that structure in helpful ways. When one player dies the screen real estate expands to give the surviving player a better chance, for instance. But when they completely break the mold of that convention it's truly something to behold. The action gets confusing, in a good way, and they end up being more of those moments that make the Chapter Select the greatest tool in the bag.
One Complete Picture
The complementary parts of Split Fiction are also among its best. Elsie Bennett and Kaja Chan put in great performances as Zoe and Mio respectively. The music always felt fitting for the action on screen and the fact that an OST remains unavailable is a travesty. The sound design is immaculate, from chunky metal boots on metal to screaming ogres. Each environment felt like it was begging for exploration with little easter eggs or side shenanigans to get up to. It really does feel like a cohesive experience even as it presents in many distinct forms. It would be one thing to have one Sci-fi and one Fantasy world, but a handful of both, and a few others on the side, really make their inclusion and connection that much more impressive.
Split Fiction might, once again, be the ultimate representation of the "required co-op story" genre, but it is at least that. Most of the negatives in the story are mentionable-but-not-detractable, and the others present as missed opportunities. When you're given control, though, the rest fades away as it just looks, plays, and sounds very good. I expected to be surprised, but I didn't expect to be blown away, let alone more than several times. And while it is mostly a one-and-done experience, it is an experience. Some games have a few set pieces that deserve to be seen first-hand, and this one has several. It also has possibly the single funniest story action I've ever done in a game. The overall experience paces itself very well, and gives the player the tools to control the pacing further. Importantly, the (very) few moments where the game dips below greatness are when it feels like you're playing next to your partner, instead of with them. Luckily that rhythm-based boss fight is pretty quick. Ultimately all of its component parts come together to make a game that needs to be played primarily because of how it feels. How it feels to play and how it feels to discover the bits of joy both big and small. There's no other way to do it justice.
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9.5
fun score
Pros
Incredibly smooth gameplay and co-op dependencies in a large variety of delightful and beautiful worlds.
Cons
The bridge narrative leaves a lot to be desired, and there are a handful of moments that feel "less co-op" than the rest.
