Split Fiction

1. Summary

Split Fiction is reviewed as a game for two people, and 44% of the longer reviews say who they played it with or would play it with: a partner, a friend, a sibling, a parent or a child. The praise centres on how often the game changes what you are doing. 31% of longer reviews talk about the variety of its mechanics, and 27% about how its sci-fi and fantasy worlds look. The optional side stories, the final chapter and the Friend's Pass (one copy for two players, across platforms) are also named as highlights. 22% of longer reviews reach for words like "masterpiece", "game of the year", "best co-op" or "10/10".

The story is where opinion splits. 15% of longer reviews call it heartfelt or say it made them cry, while 11% call the writing cheesy, predictable or cringe. It Takes Two comes up in 30% of longer reviews, as a measure for and against. The other frustrations are levels that repeat or run long, puzzles some players found too easy while others found sections too hard for a newer partner, and a small number of crash and licensing problems.

2. What keeps coming up

What players praise

A game designed around two playersHigh

Couples, friends and parents make up much of the conversation: 44% of longer reviews mention playing with a partner, spouse, friend, sibling or child. Players say both people have a real job. Abilities differ per character and per chapter, and puzzles, boss fights and chase scenes need both of them to act together: "It doesn't feel like a single-player game that simply added co-op." Several reviewers played with someone who rarely games: "Just got done playing this game with my wife (who never plays video games)." A few reviewers, on both sides of the vote, say some sections feel like two people playing side by side, or leave one player standing around while the other acts.

New mechanics in almost every chapterHigh

Hoverbikes, dragons, shapeshifting, pinball, snowboarding, side-scrolling and top-down sections all turn up in the 31% of longer reviews that praise the variety, and players say a new idea arrives just as they settle into the last one. "Every level feels like the developers came up with an entire game idea, spent six months building it" one reviewer wrote, and another compared it to "playing those old 100-in-1 NES bootleg cartridges, but without the disappointment." Critics agree there are many ideas but say each one is shallow, which is where the "repetitive" complaint below comes from.

Gorgeous sci-fi and fantasy worldsHigh

27% of longer reviews single out the visuals, art direction or set pieces, and some players say they stopped just to look around: "It's rare for me to pause my gameplay to enjoy the setting that my character is in but this one had me pausing to appreciate nearly every session." Several negative reviews still call it beautiful. A few dissenters find the sci-fi levels bland or full of grey corridors and like the fantasy levels better.

The side storiesMedium

The optional side stories come up in 11% of longer reviews, usually as favourites; players name the pig farm, the dentist and the witch market. "The side stories deserve particular praise because they were not just filler content." Some players, including recommending ones, wish there were more of them and that they carried on through the later chapters: "I really wish they had kept them going until the very end." A few negative reviews say the side stories were the best part and the main levels never matched them.

The Friend's Pass: one copy for twoMedium

9% of longer reviews bring up the pass, usually as a plus: only one player buys the game and the second plays the whole thing free, even across PC and consoles. "You buy one copy, your friend downloads the free Friend's Pass, and they play the entire game with you at no cost, cross platform." Several reviewers say it made it easy to talk someone into joining, and a few who disliked the game still count the pass in its favour. Most reviewers who comment on crossplay say it worked, though a few could not get it running.

The final chapterMedium

6% of longer reviews talk about the final chapter or the ending, mostly with excitement, and without spoiling it they describe it as the game's boldest idea. A negative review admitted "The final chapter is done really well and honestly is one of the best technical/creative things I've seen a game do". A few reviewers wished the whole game had played like its last hours, "this is what the game should have been the whole time!", and a couple found the ending rushed.

References and Easter eggsMedium

7% of longer reviews enjoy the nods to other games, films and books. As one player put it, "the world is absolutely packed with pop-culture references". A few critical reviews see the same homages as borrowed ideas played more simply than the originals.

Music and soundLow

The soundtrack gets praise in a small share of longer reviews, sometimes in otherwise negative ones: "On the positive side, the game is beautifully animated and the soundtrack is a masterpiece." A couple of players found later sections too loud.

Where players are split

The story and charactersHigh

24% of longer reviews judge the story, and they divide. 15% call it heartfelt, emotional or touching ("The story was so heartfelt, I legitimately teared up multiple times."), some pointing to the later chapters where the two leads open up. 11% call it cheesy, predictable or full of one-liners, and the writing comes up in 42% of the longer negative reviews. Those players dislike the early bickering between the leads, find the villain flat, and note the irony of a game about writers being badly written: "It's ironic a story about writers is so poorly written." A few muted the dialogue or skipped through it. Other recommending players enjoy the game for its play and treat the plot as a frame: "Don't forget: We're enjoying this game for the gameplay, not the writing."

How it compares with It Takes TwoHigh

30% of longer reviews mention It Takes Two, and it is the yardstick on both sides. Reviews that name a winner split roughly evenly, and many compare it point by point. Fans say Split Fiction raises the bar on variety, visuals and boss fights: "I thought It Takes Two was already the ceiling, but this one just smashed right through it." Disappointed players find less charm, fewer minigames, less to interact with and a weaker story: "Felt like It Takes Two but worse." It Takes Two comes up in 46% of the longer negative reviews.

Price and valueMedium

10% of longer reviews discuss price. Supporters say one copy for two players makes it good value: "50$ is a fair price since its good for 2 people". In longer negative reviews price comes up 18% of the time, weighed against a single playthrough with little reason to replay, and several suggest waiting for a sale: "Unique and worth it as a $20-$25 game but no more."

Boss fightsMedium

8% of longer reviews talk about the bosses. Fans like that each fight brings its own trick: "Even the boss fights refused to settle into a formula." Critics say several fights have large health bars and repeat the same pattern. The final boss gets praise for its ideas from some players, while a few say it runs through too many stages: "Why do we need to beat the final boss more than 6 times?"

Too easy or too hardLow

5% of longer reviews comment on difficulty, pulling in opposite directions. Experienced players call it too easy, with auto-guided jumps, quick respawns and puzzles solved at a glance: "Parkour 'challenges' that literally automatically guide you onto the next platform with the click of the jump button." A smaller group, often playing with a less experienced partner, got stuck on tight timing sections and wanted a skip or an easier option: "Split Fiction just makes her frustrated". Reviewers in both groups say they found no difficulty option to change it.

The shared split screenLow

The screen stays split even when both players are on their own PC or console. Some reviewers say it takes getting used to and then like what the game does with the divide ("The game does enough cool and sometimes trippy things with the split screen that it didn't feel bothersome"), but a couple refunded or quit over it: "Split screen cannot be disabled, no matter what." One couple also wanted to swap which side of the screen each character uses.

What frustrates players

Levels that repeat and run longMedium

10% of longer reviews say the game repeats itself or drags, as do 28% of the longer negative reviews. Players describe running, jumping, sliding and taking turns at switches under a new coat of paint each chapter, "always a new style, never any different substance." Recommending reviewers say it too: "It felt like they intentionally made every level like a third longer than it had to be just to add some hours to the game." Most of these reviews come from players well into the game, and several of them say the last chapters were the best.

Linear levels with less to do on the sideLow

A smaller group, often comparing it with It Takes Two, miss the earlier game's minigames and side interactions and find the worlds narrow and on rails. "There are random corners where it really feels like there was supposed to be a minigame or interactable object, even just something little." Some note that the side stories took the minigames' place but stop partway through.

Crashes, stutter and licensing glitchesLow

Under 1% of all reviews describe crashes, but they are severe for those affected: "For the whole playthrough, we crashed like... ~120 times." Others mention occasional stutter, online desync and controller input lag, and two players say their paid copy would only run the demo: "I own this game and it is in my library, but it only has the demo." Family Sharing did not work for a couple of households. Other reviewers say it ran smoothly, and a couple fixed their crashes by launching in DirectX 11.

One character gets the better powersLow

A few players felt one character got more interesting abilities in some chapters, leaving the other player waiting. The dragon chapter is one example: "both of the dragon's have wings, but only one of the dragons can fly." Some recommending reviewers advise picking Mio for this reason.

No way to play aloneLow

A few reviewers bought or tried it without realising it needs two people and has no matchmaking: "Did you really make a game that one person can't play all alone?" Other reviews point to community groups that pair up players.

Motion sickness and camera shiftsLow

A small number of players report nausea, dizziness or headaches from fast camera changes, perspective shifts and tilting sections: "Found out to late that this game will cause nausea and vomiting." Others found the vehicle sections and sudden camera turns hard to read.

No achievements on the Friend's PassLow

Players on the Friend's Pass noticed achievements do not unlock for them: "I just wish I got the achievements with the Friend Pass". That reviewer would have bought a copy on sale otherwise.

3. The player conversation

Most reviews are short notes about a partner, a friend or a child and a good evening together, and the longer ones read like recommendations to others in the same situation. Many of the negative reviews judge it against It Takes Two or A Way Out: among the longer negative reviews, 46% mention It Takes Two and 42% criticise the writing, while the visuals still draw praise in some of them.

What players raise depends on how far they got. Reviews written in the first hour or two mostly pick at the opening dialogue and characters, compare it unfavourably with It Takes Two, or report a split screen they could not turn off, crashes, or a copy or Family Sharing setup that would not launch. Players further in talk about pacing, repetition, the final boss and whether the story paid off, and several single out the last chapters as the best part. Difficulty divides along experience: seasoned players found it too easy, while some playing with a newer partner got stuck.

In every week from late November 2025 with at least 100 reviews, between 88% and 99% recommended the game, with no sustained dip.

4. What the developers could do

1. Give the writing more room to breathe. The writing comes up in more of the longer negative reviews than any other complaint, with players calling the one-liners and early bickering cringe and a few muting the dialogue to get through it.
2. Trim the repetitive mid-game stretches. Players describe the same run, slide and switch loop in each chapter, one says levels run "like a third longer than it had to be", and a few call the middle a slog before a strong finish.
3. Add optional difficulty settings in both directions. Seasoned players asked for more challenge, and players with newer partners asked for a skip or assist after failing the same timing section many times.
4. Spread the boldest ideas and side stories through the whole game. A few reviews say the final chapter is what the game should have been throughout, and others say the side stories stop too early.
5. Shorten the final boss fight. A few players, including one who recommends the game, say it drags through too many stages.
6. Fix the crashes and Friend's Pass licensing bugs. A small group report frequent crashes, stutter, online desync, Family Sharing that would not work and copies stuck on the demo, problems that can stop a playthrough entirely.
7. Let Friend's Pass players earn achievements. Pass players finish the full game without achievements, and one said they would have bought a copy for them.
8. Offer screen options for players on separate machines. A few players wanted to turn off the split screen when each player has their own display, or at least swap which side each character takes.