Split Fiction: Hazelight’s Next Co-Op Adventure Reveals Side Stories and More
Hazelight Studios dropped an exciting new trailer for Split Fiction, the team’s latest co-op-focused project following their success with A Way Out and It Takes Two. Unveiled at The Game Awards, Split Fiction promises an ambitious blend of sci-fi and fantasy worlds, interwoven with side stories that provide deeper explorations of its protagonists, Mio and Zoe.
A Co-Op Journey Across Multiple Realities
The new trailer offers a glimpse into the game’s core premise: players will hop between sci-fi and fantasy landscapes, solving puzzles, engaging in frantic action sequences, and uncovering each character’s personal history. Josef Fares, founder of Hazelight Studios, narrates key scenarios, emphasizing the same cooperative spirit that defined It Takes Two—only now with more varied gameplay mechanics, from fast-paced vehicular chases to comedic transformations.
Introducing Side Stories
A major standout in Split Fiction is the inclusion of Side Stories, detailed further in an EA blog post. These one-off adventures are hidden throughout the main levels and give players a break from the main quest. According to Hazelight, these side excursions happen because Mio and Zoe are trapped in the same simulation; portals open up that attempt to steal their unfinished childhood stories.
Unexpected Shenanigans: From riding giant sandfish in a desert under heavy fire, to literally turning into pigs and discovering how sausages are made, the devs promise plenty of laughs and whacky scenarios.
Deeper Character Insight: While comedic in tone, these Side Stories also reveal aspects of each protagonist’s personality, background, and emotional baggage.
This structure aims to maintain a dynamic co-op experience, where you never quite know what wild scenario is around the next portal.
Bringing Back the Friend’s Pass and Adding Crossplay
Much like Hazelight’s previous games, Split Fiction will support the Friend’s Pass feature, ensuring that if one player owns the game, they can invite a friend to join in the adventure for free. This significantly lowers the barrier to entry, encouraging more players to jump into the story-driven cooperative experience.
Additionally, the studio has confirmed crossplay support across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. This ensures that friends on different platforms won’t miss out on teaming up to tackle Split Fiction’s interdimensional hijinks.
Split Fiction will launch on March 6, 2025, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC at a retail price of $49.99. With its mix of comedic storytelling, collaborative gameplay, and new side quest mechanics, Hazelight is hoping to replicate—or even surpass—the acclaim they garnered from their previous co-op titles.
Do Split Fiction’s zany Side Stories and co-op features pique your interest? Are you planning to use the Friend’s Pass or excited for crossplay? Let us know your thoughts below!
