If you thought It Takes Two was the last word in co-op, you thought wrong – Split Fiction by Hazelight Studios is here to keep the bar high. Officially slated to launch in May 2025, this title is one of the most highly anticipated co-op games of the year and is said to deliver not only fun mechanics but a powerful emotional narrative through a revolutionary split-screen encounter.
What is Split Fiction?
At its heart, Split Fiction is a story-centric, doomsday duo, split-screen adventure built from the ground up for two players—online or couch co-op. In keeping with It Takes Two, Hazelight’s latest creation is uncompromisingly co-op only. You can’t lone wolf it — and that’s the idea.
But Split Fiction goes even beyond that. Players don’t just alternate control between their two characters on the same mission — they play through eerily similar but distinct storylines in parallel dimensions. The twist? These worlds, characters, and decisions all converge in real time, which means that the choices in one story will affect the other ones in ways that you can’t possibly predict.
Picture being a first-person puzzle-solver in a futuristic city while your friend is stealing around a noir-themed detective story, to then learn that your worlds are connected in a very literal, game-changing way. But this is the magic of Split Fiction.
A Tale of Two Realities
Hazelight is not just mechanics-heavy — they’re storytellers. In Split Fiction, players play not one but two main characters from two extremely different realities. One is stuck in a dystopian techno-metropolis, the other is lost in a 1950s-style mystery thriller.
At first glance, these worlds appear to have little to do with one another. But as you play through the game, you start noticing echoes – names that are the same, symbols that are shared, even events that look familiar. The result is that, in the end, the two narratives meet up in an amalgam of high drama — and you’re forced to ask yourself what you know about cause and effect in video games.
Gameplay Mechanics
Dynamic Split-Screen: It’s more than vertical or horizontal, the screen bends, rotates, and of course responds to story beats.
Asymmetric Play: Emphasis on combat, while the other side is sponsored and sneaking in the shadows, engagement and high-speed pursuit, or a psychological puzzle.
Cooperative Crossroads: Decisions based on dialogue or combat in one story lead to different paths and new storylines in the other story for a total of 6 possible outcomes.
Replayability: With multiple branching narratives and dozens of potential interactions, Split Fiction reasonably demands to be played more than once, especially with a new partner.
Visuals & Atmosphere
Hazelight has created two atmospheres with their particular style thanks to a custom engine that allows us to make two extremely different visuals simultaneously.” Look forward to gritty noir with rain-soaked back alleys on one side and neon-lit skyscrapers on the other. It’s not that the game tells two stories; it’s that it shows them beautifully.
Voices & Sound
With voices from up-and-coming and experienced actors, the emotional delivery of Split Fiction is dead on. Each world is accompanied by its soundtrack, which is created by two different musicians who gradually interweave their soundtracks together as the stories start to intersect. It’s a sonic delight that adds an otherworldly level of immersion.
Final Thoughts
Split Fiction is becoming more than just a spiritual It Takes Two successor — it’s even going to be Hazelight’s most ambitious project yet. Thanks to its modern storytelling, complex gameplay mechanics, and emotionally satisfying co-op experience, it’s already shaping up to be a major contender for Game of the Year.
Whether you’re in it for the puzzles, the story, or simply to video game together with someone you love, Split Function is one of those games that don’t deserve to be missed in 2025.
Be sure to check out more in our full review of Split Fiction on gamingguider.com when it releases later this year! Until then, find a friend and begin planning your next big co-op adventure.
