Split Fiction review: the co-op follow-up to It Takes Two that couples will love

My other half and I played It Takes Two all the way through, which is not something I can say about many games. It hit a rare sweet spot: cooperative puzzles that required genuine teamwork without requiring gaming experience, wrapped in a story that actually kept both of us interested. When Hazelight Studios announced Split Fiction as their next co-op-only title, it went straight onto the radar.

Having put several hours into it together, the short version is this: if you and a partner, friend, or sibling enjoyed It Takes Two, Split Fiction is a very easy recommendation.

What Split Fiction actually is

Hazelight Studios, the team behind It Takes Two, puts you and a second player in the roles of two game writers named Zoe and Mio. Both characters get trapped inside a simulation run by a publishing company that is harvesting writers’ ideas for profit. The concept is a little meta, but it works well as a framing device because it gives the game an excuse to throw wildly different environments at you in quick succession.

Zoe writes fantasy, Mio writes sci-fi. That means you move between magic-filled kingdoms and neon-lit cities throughout the campaign, with each world feeling visually distinct rather than like a reskin of the last. The variety is one of Split Fiction’s strongest qualities.

The game is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC, at around €50. There are no in-game purchases or microtransactions, which still feels worth stating plainly because it should not be the exception it is.

Watch my early takes on Split Fiction over on TikTok.

How it compares to It Takes Two

The structure will feel familiar if you played the original. You get a mix of cooperative puzzle solving, quick-reaction sections, and boss battles, held together by light character-driven humour and ongoing dialogue between the two protagonists. There are also a handful of Easter eggs and dialogue nods to memorable moments from It Takes Two, which are a nice touch without being intrusive.

That said, Split Fiction is a spiritual successor rather than a sequel. The story is completely separate, and while the gameplay loop is similar, the level design feels more ambitious. The worlds are bigger, the visual setpieces are more varied, and the pacing moves faster. It does not drag in the way that some of It Takes Two’s longer chapters occasionally did.

Is it accessible for casual or non-gaming players

This was my main concern before buying. The initial menus and character movement options looked more involved than It Takes Two, which I was worried would create a barrier for anyone who does not play games regularly.

To be honest, that concern disappeared within the first hour. The on-screen prompts are clearer, the button combinations are simpler, and the game does a good job of introducing new mechanics gradually without making either player feel lost. The controls feel easier to pick up than the original, not harder.

The other thing worth mentioning is a quality-of-life improvement that makes a real difference in practice. Split Fiction frequently allows one player to complete certain sections independently if the other is struggling. In It Takes Two, being stuck meant both players repeating the same sequence together until you both got it right. That is frustrating when the skill gap between two players is significant. Split Fiction removes a lot of that frustration by letting progress happen even when one person needs more time.

How the co-op and split-screen works

You can play locally on a single screen or online with a friend. Both work well. The split-screen layout in local co-op is clean and gives each player enough space to follow what is happening on their side without the view feeling cramped.

The standout feature for most people will be the purchase model. Only one copy of Split Fiction is needed. The owner can invite a second player to join online at no extra cost using a friend invite system, which means the €50 price effectively covers two people. For a co-op game that is only playable with two people, that is a reasonable way to handle it.

The Goosed verdict

Split Fiction is the best co-op game to come out in some time for anyone who is not a hardcore gamer. The accessibility improvements over It Takes Two are genuine, the varied worlds keep the campaign feeling fresh, and the one-copy-two-players model means the asking price is easier to justify.

If you are looking for a game to play with a partner or friend, and you want something that will not require one person to carry the other through frustrating difficulty spikes, Split Fiction is exactly that. It is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC for around €50.