Released this spring, “Split Fiction” is Hazelight Studios’ follow-up to their acclaimed 2021 title, “It Takes Two.” “Split Fiction” continues the studio’s history of unique couch co-op games, with mismatched characters helping each other through increasingly inventive platforming and combat challenges. We play as Mio and Zoe, aspiring authors brought together to test a machine that can bring their stories to life in virtual reality. But everything goes wrong when Mio accidentally ends up in Zoe’s simulation and the pair ends up on an adventure through a series of science fiction and fantasy scenarios.

The gameplay is simple, intuitive and fun. There’s enough variety in the levels to allow for genuinely surprising moments as you go back and forth between sci-fi stories (written by Mio) and fantasy (written by Zoe). The levels are beautifully designed, often with breathtaking scope and backdrops, while character designs look a bit last-gen. “Split Fiction” is also accessible to all levels of players—which is good, because I played with my wife (who’s only ever played “Animal Crossing” and “Nintendogs”). Hazelight really wants everyone to be able to play, which is evident in the game’s crossplay and Friend Pass features. Only one person needs to own the game for two people to play online. It’s a rare consumer-friendly move; a welcome sight.

While the game itself is great, the writing drags the experience down. Every character is flat, generic and annoying. The dialogue is at times unbearably cringey, which stunts the emotionality of the story—something at which Hazelight typically excels. I won’t spoil the plot, but I will say that it’s nonsense. Besides the writing, I was also disappointed in the overall use of fantasy and sci-fi. There are little to no original scenarios in the game, even if they are well realized. The line between “homage” and “rip-off” is nonexistent. And, unfortunately, the “side stories” are almost always more fun than the main levels. 

Still, with “Split Fiction,” the good outweighs the bad. I can forgive the game’s faults because there’s no other experience where I can be a cyber ninja one minute, a hot dog the next, then a dragon rider, then a molar fighting an evil dentist. A good game is a unique, unforgettable experience, and “Split Fiction” delivers just that.