With the release of Hazelight's next co-op adventure, Split Fiction, one thing to look out for is the notorious references to the studio's other works often present throughout its games. It Takes Two referenced A Way Out, and now Split Fiction contains references to It Takes Two, but one in particular was quite a startling discovery.

While bouncing back and forth between Mio and Zoe's stories in one of 2025's most exciting games, it's easy to get caught up in the chaos of these fast-moving worlds and miss large and somewhat obvious Easter Eggs, especially if you don't bother to do any exploring of the areas. While some can be subtle, like an ad on a background billboard, others feel almost intentionally taunting, like Cutie the Elephant.

It Takes Two's Infamous Elephant Scene Left Its Mark

Cutie The Elephant Didn't Deserve This

While playing through It Takes Two as May and Cody, Rose's parents, you're at one point led to believe that Rose's tears are the answer to changing you from dolls to humans again. Unfortunately, this means you're tasked with making Rose cry and there's no better way to make a child cry than to destroy their favorite plush. The plush in this case, Cutie the Elephant, is awkwardly sentient throughout this process, so she is aware of what you're doing and tragically pleads with you to stop the entire time.

Needless to say, slowly and progressively ripping the limbs off one of the most adorable characters in It Takes Two while she begs you to stop left players feeling traumatized. This is especially true when you follow that up by watching Rose's doll parents bathe in their child's tears, only to learn that it doesn't work, and the entire sequence is pointless. The pure shock alone made it one of the most memorable scenes in It Takes Two, and Split Fiction, unfortunately, wants to remind you of that.

Split Fiction Allows You To Relive The Horror

Yes, This Is An Achievement

While joyously exploring the first official sci-fi chapter of Mio's story, not long after having to perform the getaway from the police in the car that Zoe drives, you'll land in an area close to the Side Story of how hot dogs are made. If you continue to explore this area a bit before moving on, you might stumble upon Mastadon Pet Store. While pretty ordinary on the surface, if you glance up at the top of the store, you might recognize none other than a giant Cutie the Elephant plush.

While the sight of it alone is a horrifying enough reminder of what you did in the previous game, there's an achievement you can earn by reliving some of the horror. While playing as Zoe, use the whip as you would to grab any object, and you'll notice that it locks on to one of Cutie's arms. At this point, you must do the unthinkable and rip off Cutie's arm. Once you're done being a monster to this elephant plush, yet again, you and your companion player will unlock the Rose's Best Friend achievement.

Hazelight Is Notorious For Hidden Easter Eggs

Keep An Eye Out For Other References

While this is arguably one of the most horrific references Hazelight has ever incorporated into its games, it's not unusual for the team to include hidden things for players to find and pick up on if they've enjoyed the previous games. While playing through It Takes Two, you may have stumbled upon two figurines from Cody's "favorite video game," A Way Out. The two figurines depict the two playable characters from A Way Out, Vincent and Leo, who will reference a spoiler from the end of their game. Once the scene concludes, you receive the Plastic Prison Breakers achievement.

In addition to these more obvious references, there are also plenty of small ones to discover, such as a soda ad in the background of the same chapter where you find Cutie, that depicts the line "It Takes Two..." at the start of the ad, clearly making a much less subtle reference to Hazelight's previous game. In addition to these small finds, you can also find yet another notable Easter Egg that Hazelight has snuck into their games, Josef Fares' viral speech.

At the 2017 Game Awards, Josef Fares, the ionate founder and director of Hazelight, made a notable speech about the Oscars while presenting some of the gameplay for A Way Out, which went viral following the live show. In response, Hazelight developers took it upon themselves to include the iconic speech as a hidden gem for players to find in their games. In It Takes Two, you can find it while moving a satellite in one of the levels, and now, in Split Fiction, it can be found on a radio in the sci-fi subway tunnels of the first chapter.

Hazelight enjoys giving long-time players fun things to stumble upon as rewards for exploring beyond what's required, so be sure to take the time to see what all you can find and venture off the beaten path in Split Fiction. Each chapter is intricately designed with various activities, details, and references, so you will almost always be rewarded for it.