Split Fiction is Hazelight Studios' magnum opus, an endlessly enjoyable co-op adventure that challenges both in gameplay and theming, and shows boundless imaginationTech16:00, 04 Mar 2025Mio and Zoe work to collect Glitches to escape from Rader's machine(Image: Hazelight Studios/EA)It Takes Two was a release that lives long in the memory. Aside from dozens of award wins, it launched not long after lockdown and offered a chance to strengthen my relationship with my now-wife in a way that spread throughout our friendship group until everyone was playing it.Against that backdrop of expectation, you may think Split Fiction would be doomed to fail. After all, it's nigh-impossible to capture lightning in a bottle twice, and while It Takes Two was a very personal story about two parents on the brink of separation, I was worried some of that tenderness would be lost when strewn across a multitude of science-fiction and fantasy worlds.As is so often the case, I'm wrong and I'm very glad to admit it.These sandworm creatures need to be lured away from your partner(Image: Hazelight Studios/EA)Split Fiction's core concept is much less easy to grasp than "Mum and Dad get shrunk and have to work together to return to normality". Zoe and Mio, our two protagonists, are budding (read: struggling) authors looking to earn a publishing deal with a tech giant called Rader.The company has a machine that can extract ideas, and circumstances conspire to drop both in a simulation that's half Zoe's and half Mio's work. This means players traverse numerous fantasy and sci-fi worlds as they look to escape the clutches of Rader's machine, as Zoe and Mio learn to trust each other.Shapeshifting is key in one world, with some tricky puzzles(Image: Hazelight Studios/EA)It's a buddy movie involving dragons, cats, and more imagination than even It Takes Two, but what makes it so endearing are the performances from Zoe and Mio's voice actors. Mio begins as a stony, resolute character with her own reasons for her metaphorical walls, while Zoe's kind-hearted nature works tirelessly to chip away at them. The way their dynamic evolved had me just as hooked as getting to the next boss fight or set piece, and in a world where AI is seeping into almost every creative decision made, I appreciated Hazelight Studios taking aim at those that would prise creativity away from artists.The commentary about generative AI begins relatively thinly veiled, but manifests itself as a scenery-chewing villain in a way that feels particularly pointed given the current entwinement of tech and politics. Split Fiction stops short of beating you over the head with its message, instead revelling in moments of emotion amid the chaos. There are dozens of touching moments throughout Zoe and Mio's story, and I'd love to see more from them in the future, as unlikely as it is.Mio's sci-fi levels are always action-packed(Image: Hazelight Studios/EA)That's not to say there's not a huge amount of mischief to get into while in Rader's machine. As with its predecessor (and A Way Out), Split Fiction will leave you frequently slack-jawed at both its spectacle and its diverse gameplay offerings.Zoe and Mio are both able to jump, double jump, and dash, and these become building blocks that allow for some fun sections, supplemented by additional mechanics that often complement one another. In the Dragon world that features heavily in the game's trailers, for example, Mio can glide with the dragon on her back while Zoe's allows her to climb sheer walls.Flipping between sci-fi and fantasy means nothing ever settles enough to feel comfortable, as Split Fiction almost wants you to say "surely this can't be topped" before doing just that in a couple of scenes' time. One sci-fi sequence has you triggering puzzles with a pair of guns and destroying colour-coded shields, before perspective shifts to a Metroid-like side view that employs portals and traps, before a huge final battle that feels ripped from a bullet hell.Split Fiction is a beautiful game(Image: Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts)I played Split Fiction with my wife who prefers more casual games, and she'd be the first to admit the heavier focus on combat encounters in certain levels had her worried, but Split Fiction's forgiving checkpoints and quick revives, plus the lack of loading times throughout, make it feel less frustrating to die.You'll die a lot, too. With the exception of some smaller, interstitial levels, Split Fiction offers some pretty challenging sequences even without combat. Platforming is responsive, with ledges about as sticky as you could ask for, but there are some particularly challenging sections that require co-ordination and problem-solving from both players. It's much more challenging than its predecessor, but that meant every victory for Zoe and Mio (and my wife and I) tasted all the sweeter.Side Stories are just as thrilling as the main levels(Image: Hazelight Studios/EA)Throughout your adventures, you'll encounter mysterious portals that lead to 'Side Stories', which are unfinished ideas from either writer that offer a sizeable change of pace. With some of the main levels running for an hour or two, it's a great way to switch things up when being a cyber ninja or shapeshifter gets a little long in the tooth.Despite being 'missable', they're pretty well signposted, and almost always rewarded my wife and I with some of the game's finest moments. Flying on a wingsuit to attach to a flying train, or racing through a warzone on a hoverboard were some of the best examples, and to spoil more would be unfair.It's not just these experiences that are worth seeking out, either. Some areas offer a brief respite, letting you engage with NPCs in these fantastical worlds, or take part in minigames. Some even offer some fantastic references to other games, Hazelight or otherwise, that had me chuckling while my wife looked on puzzled.Article continues belowI could write about Split Fiction for another few thousand words and still not cover everything that made me smile. As with 2024's Astro Bot, it's bursting at the seams with a Nintendo-like playfulness, an excited child opening a toybox to show you everything it can, and yet with a more measured pacing that stops it running out of breath.It's a poignant and timely reminder that for all of technology's advances, art is still made my artists, and that might just make it one of 2025's most important games as well as one of its best.Reviewed on PS5 Pro. Review code provided by the publisher.