It Takes Two Developer Unveils New Game Split Fiction at The Game Awards 2024
Next game from It takes two And Exit developer Hazelight Studios – what else? is a cooperative adventure game for two players. It’s called Split fictionand it appears to be Hazelight’s most ambitious project to date.
The announcement was made Thursday at The Game Awards 2024. Split fiction is an action-packed adventure platformer that combines classic sci-fi and fantasy themes in a way that’s reminiscent of the developer’s past work and the spectacle of Nintendo’s recent Super Mario games.
Split fiction promises to deliver “some crazy shit,” Hazelight Studios head Josef Fares told me during a recent preview of the game.
Fares’ description of his new game seems pretty accurate, based on what I played with him during a hands-on tour of Split fiction. In one level we rode flying dragons in a medieval world. In another, we played as spherical robots, each with their own unique set of abilities. I also played as a pig who flew through the air with the force of a fart. I was snowboarding at a level that was eerily reminiscent of the SSX series. One level looked like it was straight out of Tron. The other was installed inside a massive hourglass. In other words, I never knew what to expect next from the new Hazelight game.
Premise Split fictionThe wild sci-fi/fantasy mash-up centers on two rival authors: Mio and Zoe. The two become trapped in a simulation of their own stories—Mio’s sci-fi world and Zoe’s fantasy world—by an evil tech brother who tries to steal their jobs. The women are forced to cooperate to escape and become friends along the way. Puzzles, fast-paced platforming challenges, and boss battles stand in their way, and players will have to learn and use level-specific abilities to overcome it all.
Mio and Zoey will travel back and forth between their worlds, switching the split-screen action between sci-fi themes and fantasy themes. In some cases, the duo experience a mid-range genre shift; Hazelight has added hidden side missions to the game that promise to keep things fresh and keep players guessing as to what new mechanics will be introduced.
Huge difference in experience Split fiction immediately reminded me of Nintendo games Super Mario Odyssey And The Wonder of Super Mario Bros.games that continually introduced a series of great mechanics specific to each level that players might only see once or twice.
Fares said that Split fictionThe ever-changing gameplay wasn’t easy to implement, but Hazelight’s ethos of “We mess things up, but we don’t give a fuck” helps them achieve their goal of creative freedom and experimentation with a relatively small team.
“The main thing is to take all these mechanics and polish them,” Fares told me. “In the early stages of production, when you’re (designing) them, you sometimes think: OK we can’t do that. In a game like Devil May Crythey can work in combat for three to four years. We can’t. So we have to make it as good as possible. When you play(Split fiction), you don’t think, “Oh, I understand they don’t have (infinite) time.” As a player, you just expect it. Coming up with ideas and prototyping them is pretty quick, but getting them to a level where it’s enjoyable is the challenge.”
Split fiction will follow a similar model used in previous Hazelight games, It takes two And Exitcalled “Friend Pass”. This pass will allow one player who owns the game to invite a friend to play with them for free. Even better, Split fiction will support cross-play on PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series X, making it even easier to play with a partner.
Hazelight Studios and publisher Electronic Arts will release Split fiction March 6, 2025 for PlayStation 5, Windows PC (via Steam, Epic Games Store and EA app) and Xbox Series X. Game costs $49.99.