Split Fiction Review: Two Players, One Reckless Imagination

Josef Fares keeps making games that treat a second player as a mechanic, not a checkbox. Split Fiction is the most elastic version of that idea yet: sci-fi and fantasy halves, set-pieces that change genre mid-sentence, and a campaign that wants you to talk the entire time.

Designed for interruption

The best levels are the ones that force asymmetric jobs. One player aims; the other navigates. One player is a tank; the other is a problem. When it clicks, you get the It Takes Two high without repeating the marriage counselling. When it does not click, you get a valuable data point about your friendship.

Set-piece variety is the flex and the risk. A weaker chapter is still a new toy. A stronger chapter is the reason you will recommend the game at dinner.

The seams

Some transitions are louder than they need to be. Solo-with-AI is not the point and should not be sold as one. Online play is stable enough in our sessions; same-couch is still the intended cut.

Australia: the other stick

This is a two-weekend game if you stop arguing. It is a four-weekend game if you do not. On PSN AU and Steam AU it goes on sale often enough that full-price is a "we have a friend flying in on Friday" decision, not a lifestyle.

Plus Extra has hosted Hazelight before. If Split Fiction is in the Extra catalogue the week you read this, that is the correct price. If it is not, the Split Fiction hub and our Best PS5 games 2026 list are the context: this is still one of the best reasons to keep a second DualSense charged.

Verdict

8.7/10. If you have a co-op person, this is a weekend. If you do not, borrow one. Hazelight remains the studio that remembers multiplayer can be authored.