As part of The Game Awards lineup of announcements, the founder of Hazelight, Josef Fares, took to the stage to announce the studio's next co-op adventure, Split Fiction. In partnership with EA Originals, this will be the third major co-op game Hazelight has delivered to its players.
Split Fiction is a split-screen co-op that follows the story of Mio and Zoe, two aspiring writers, who end up trapped in simulations of their fictional worlds together by mistake. To escape, players must work together to solve puzzles while jumping back and forth between unique and distinct fantasy and sci-fi worlds.
Hazelight Changed The Way We Think About Co-Op Games
A Way Out & It Takes Two Elevated Co-op Games Beyond Simple Multiplayer
Starting with A Way Out, Hazelight ventured into creating a truly unique co-op experience beyond just typical multiplayer, which the studio then expanded upon with its next game. After A Way Out, Hazelight released It Takes Two, a heartfelt story that follows two divorcing parents who have been turned into toys and must find their way back to normalcy together. Beyond just being a tear-jerker, It Takes Two displays what it meant to cooperate and work together to achieve a common goal.
It Takes Two's Co-Op Proves Not Every Game Needs A Movie
An It Takes Two movie cannot imitate what makes the game special. Its distinct co-op gameplay clashes with the move to a purely visual experience.
Players are forced to work together in a split-screen style format while utilizing unique abilities and solving puzzles, which appears to be the returning gameplay style of Split Fiction based on everything known so far. Beyond just requiring players to play with friends, however, Hazelight has emphasized everything a co-op game should be.
When you think of co-op games, you might think of something similar to the play style of Mario, where players can play as Mario and Luigi to complete levels together. While this is technically a co-op experience, neither player needs the other, and it's more like two players just playing on the same screen rather than two players working together. There is no co-operation needed to reach the end, and the same can be said for most online games, to an extent.
It Takes Two Sells 1 Million Copies In Less Than a Month
Hazelight's co-op only adventure game It Takes Two has sured 1 million sales in less than a month - making it something of a surprise hit.
Even large team-based games, like the recently released Marvel Rivals, can sometimes feel like a one-man show. While operating as a team and technically needing the whole group's aid to succeed, players often queue with strangers and don't engage in comms for one reason or another, leaving it to feel as if everyone is focused on themselves and their gameplay and not thinking about the team as a whole or working together.
In contrast, It Takes Two prevents progression without cooperation and often needs both players to actively participate and communicate to solve puzzles. In addition to that, the story itself focuses on the two characters working through their differences, resulting in an overall intimate co-op experience where players leave the game with new memories and that nostalgic and authentic couch co-op feel, showing us what co-op games could be.
Hazelight Showcases Unique Ideas With Familiar Mechanics In Game
Split Fiction Brings Beloved Gameplay Back For A New Adventure
While not everyone agrees that the story for It Takes Two was groundbreaking, there seems to be a general consensus that the gameplay mechanics are what made the game shine. For this reason, it's even more exciting to see that many of those gameplay elements appear to be making a return in Split Fiction as part of an entirely new narrative. As stated, players will work through the story of Mio and Zoe in the familiar split-screen experience players have become accustomed to from Hazelight.
It Takes Two: 10 Best Minigames, Ranked
From ice racing to shuffle board, there are a ton of fun minigames for players to choose from in It Takes Two. But which among them are the best?
From there, the game brings back unique and character-specific abilities that must be used together for platforming and solving puzzles, creating that fun and chaotic enjoyment reminiscent of It Takes Two. However, to expand upon that even further, Hazelight has created two worlds for this story instead of one, which means double the platforming environments, double the abilities, and hopefully, double the fun.
Split Fiction Will Play As Two Games Wrapped Up In One
Help Mio & Zoe Escape From Sci-Fi and Fantasy Worlds
This unique idea for Hazelight's next co-op experience has done what nobody thoughti it could do following It Takes Two's Game of the Year win — elevated it. Crafting a story where players will flip back and forth between two juxtaposing worlds is not just an interesting idea. It's ultimately crafting an experience that almost operates like two games in one.
It Takes Two Director Believes Single-Player Games Are Too Long
Hazelight Studio's head Josef Fares shares a belief that modern single-player games are too long, which makes them overuse gameplay mechanics.
To further distinguish itself from that sense of simply playing a game on the same screen as a companion rather than truly cooperating, Split Fiction is taking it to an entirely new level where it's as if you're playing two different games, but still somehow together. From what we've seen in released footage, Mio's Sci-Fi cityscapes are completely different from Zoe's Fantasy Villages in every way, including style, gameplay, and functionality.
Not only will this help to break up some of the potential monotony, but it will also allow the character's differences to shine even brighter, as if you've jumped into two different games that had their main characters squashed into the same story. While there are still plenty of new announcements to come, it's clear that Hazelight and EA Originals are prepared to offer players something incredible with Split Fiction that goes beyond anything Hazelight has done before, possibly securing the studio another GOTY nomination.
