It Takes Two developer’s next big game is a sci-fi fantasy co-op mashup that does ‘crazy things’
The next game of It takes two And A way out developer Hazelight Studios is — what else? – a cooperative adventure game for two players. It’s called Split fictionand it appears to be Hazelight’s most ambitious project yet.
Revealed Thursday during The Game Awards 2024, Split fiction is an action-packed platform adventure game that combines classic sci-fi and fantasy themes in a way that’s reminiscent of the developer’s previous work and the spectacle of Nintendo’s recent Super Mario games.
Split fiction promises to “deliver some crazy stuff,” Josef Fares, head of Hazelight Studios, told me during a recent preview of the game.
Fares’ description of his new game seems quite accurate, based on what I played with him on a hands-on tour through Split fiction. In one level we rode flying dragons in a medieval world. In another game we played as spherical robots, each with their own unique abilities. I also played as a pig flying through the air with the power of farts. I snowboarded at a level that was eerily reminiscent of the SSX series. One level looked like it came straight out of Tron. Another was inside a huge hourglass. In other words, I never knew what to expect from Hazelight’s new game.
The premise of Split fiction‘s wild sci-fi/fantasy mashup centers on two rival authors: Mio and Zoe. The two become entangled in a simulation of their own stories – the science fiction worlds of Mio and the fantasy worlds of Zoe – by an evil techie who tries to steal their work. The women are forced to work together 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 harness level-specific skills to overcome it all.
Mio and Zoe travel back and forth between their worlds, switching the split-screen action between sci-fi and fantasy themes. In some cases, the duo will experience a genre change midway through; Hazelight has packed hidden side missions into the game that promise to keep things fresh and keep players guessing as to what new mechanics will be introduced.
The enormous variation in experiences Split fiction immediately reminded me of Nintendo games Super Mario Odyssey And Super Mario Bros. Miraclegames that continually introduced a series of dazzling, level-specific mechanics that players might only see once or twice.
Fares said that Split fictionThe game’s constantly evolving gameplay was challenging to achieve, but Hazelight’s ethos – “We fuck shit up without fuck up” – helps them achieve their goal of creative freedom and experimentation with a relatively small team.
“The most important thing is to take all these mechanisms and polish them,” Fares told me. “In the beginning of production, when you (design them), sometimes you think: Okay, we’re not going to succeed. In a game like Devil can crythey can work on the struggle for three or four years. We can’t do that. So we have to make it feel 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 that. Coming up with ideas and prototyping them is quite quick, but taking them to a level where it feels comfortable, that’s the challenge.”
Split fiction will follow a similar model used in Hazelight’s previous games, It takes two And A way outcalled the Friends Pass. With that pass, one player who owns the game can invite a friend to play with him or her for free. Better yet, Split fiction supports cross-play on PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series X, making it even easier to play co-op with a partner.
Hazelight Studios and publisher Electronic Arts are coming out Split fiction on March 6, 2025 for PlayStation 5, Windows PC (via Steam, Epic Games Store and the EA app) and Xbox Series X. The game will cost $49.99.