It Takes Twowas the crowning moment for Josef Fares and his team atHazelight Studios, earning them massive praise and the GOTY 2021 winner at The Game Awards.
The game felt like the most creative and ingeniouspuzzle platformerever created, especially for someone like me who has stuck with them since theirA Way OutandBrothers.
Split Fiction’s Joef Fares Says They’ll Never Offer Microtransactions And “Just Want To Make Games”
Hazelight’s founder Jose Fares is not a fan of microtransactions or studio acquisitions.
All those years later, Hazelight’s newest game,Split Fiction,has shaped itself to be yet another leap forward with its innovative design and quality.
So, with this list, I’ve compiled 8 of the biggest differences betweenSplit FictionandIt Takes Twoto give you an idea of what to expect from the former title and why it might be a heavy GOTY contender for this year, too.
Due to that chapter’s exceptionality, we’ll discuss the final level without delving too deeply into spoilers. However, you can continue reading it at your discretion.
8Sci-Fi & Fantasy World Design
The Best of Both Worlds
It Takes Twohad you exploring this imaginative world where Cody and May had to conquer their overgrown garden or even explore worlds within their house, like their daughter’s room.
WithSplit Fiction, it’s a whole different ball game as you explore the closely intertwining worlds of Mio and Zoe’s stories.
You’ve got Mio’s dark and moody sci-fi landscapes, while Zoe, on the other hand, has these outlandish fantasy-inspired levels that are closely reminiscent of children’s storybooks.
Each world is flawlessly designed with finer details you’d only notice while taking a moment, such as the dynamic skyboxes, vistas inhabiting the puzzles and even jaw-dropping backdrops of your main progression location for each chapter.
7A Blockbuster & Character-Focused Story Tone
No More Marriage Repairs
No more annoyingly hearing Dr Hakim spout about collaboration with Cody and May at every interval. This one is all about two polar opposite strangers becoming an explosive BFF duo.
InSplit Fiction, you have this intriguing story of two struggling authors forced to help each other. But with so many conflicting ideologies and a hint of stranger danger with one another, you’d think they would never get along.
But that’s the beauty of this narrative;both Mio and Zoe have thick walls that cover up their regrets and traumatic pasts, and as you slowly tear those walls down, you get two well-written protagonists who tug at your heartstrings at the end.
The overall tone is definitely more character-driven. Both characters carry their trauma baggage on their shoulders until the last couple of chapters before the finale, when they truly confront and accept their pasts in the presence of each other.
6More Ambitious Level Design
Doubled Production Value
As someone who adores the creativity and game design structure in3D Platformers, I came in with high expectations of howSplit Fictioncould toppleIt Takes Two’ssuccess.
Little did we know that when Josef Fares clearly mentioned the double budget for this game, he meant it in high regard because each level is insanely ambitious, one that you’d never expect from a video game.
A formula that was once so simple and genuine in their early gamesis now refined and evolved so brilliantly that almost 70 percent of the puzzles require pin-point calculation and timing to overcome and complete.
And don’t worry—they’re not overly complicated in any sense. It’s just that some of them will require you both to put on your tinfoil hats for the exact solution, since the complexity that you knew fromIt Takes Twohas been dialed up tenfold here!
Despite EA Publishing Split Fiction, Developer Is “Creatively Totally Free” Says Founder
Hazelight founder Jose Fares said they can do whatever they want in their games, and this is despite Electronic Arts publishing it.
5Side Stories Over Mini Games
A Treasure Trove
It Takes Twohad a variety of friendly competition minigames, from whack-a-cody and shuffleboard to a full-blown chess game. They were simple but extremely fun to play to take a break from the couple’s bizarre adventure.
On the other hand,Split Fictionintroduces the concept ofSide Stories, a plethora of unique short levels based on Mio and Zoe’s one-off ideas from the main chapters.
Each of these levels has their own gimmick or theme to them.One minute, you’ll be in space with limited oxygen to help you escape, while the next, you’ll be traversing across a notebook with Zoe narrating your journey on the fly.
They also help contextualize the backgrounds of our two leads and, at times, flesh out their characters due to the downtime between the main story events.
And it’s clear whyJosef Fares has stated a few times during the pre-launch interviewsnot to miss out on these side stories. They really are one of the best forms of optional content in a modern video game or even a platformer.
4Tons Of Easter Eggs
A Love Letter To Gaming And Other Media
It Takes Twohad a good number of easter eggs from afull-fledgedZeldareference, the legendary thumbs up fromTerminator 2and even an entire section based on the Rainbow Road fromMario Kart.
And if you adored them as I did, then you’re in for a treat withSplit Fictionsince it features an array of Easter eggs and odes to various entertainment media from the past and present.
I won’t outright tell you all of them since it’s better that you discover them at your leisure. Oh, and yeah, that iconic TGA speech from Josef Fares and references to previous Hazelight games are all included here.
Lastly, if I could include some, a couple of my favourite ones that my friend and I got hyped for were an Akira bike slide reference in the early chapters, as well as a beloved bonfire from a famed series featured in one of the side story levels.
Split Fiction Will Feature The Friend’s Pass And Crossplay
Split Fiction will see the return of the Friend’s Pass, and it will even work cross-platform.
3Realistic In-Game Models
No More Clay Or Wooden Dolls
This is an obvious one, butSplit Fictionhas modified the graphical fidelity and direction sinceIt Takes Two, clearly evident by the breathtaking presentation in Mio and Zoe’s worlds.
Most importantly, it’s also thanks to the upgrade from Unreal Engine 4 to 5,which makes for the most impressive visuals you’d ever see from a cooperative-based game right now.
Don’t get me wrong; ITT had an art direction of its own, but with some of the finer details, like the human models or even the animals in the game, they could have gone way ahead, and they definitely did now.
Plus, and that’s another noticeable detail if you’ve played both games,Split Fictionactually makes it feel like you’re playing as realistic people, not action figures inhabited by the two protagonists' souls.
2More Dynamic & Multi-Transitional Boss Fights
Pure Unfiltered Adrenaline Rush
Another of my favourite details about this game ishow it amps up the boss fights in both quantity and qualityoverIt Takes Two.
They feel more dynamic in the sense that there’s a lot more going on than your typical waiting room for the phase shifts and moments to launch an attack on them.
I won’t spoil them so you and your partner can experience their unfiltered gloriousness on your whim.
However, I’m looking forward to seeing everyone’s reactions to some particular boss fights,like the last bout in the Final Dawn chapter.That one, in particular, made me realize that this game isn’t about messing around with the bosses.
Each one has its own bits and pieces that you need to carefully complete to progress them. And just when you think it’s over, be ready because there are multiple transitions to how each fight may actually progress, constantly keeping you on edge.
1The Final Level
Roll Credits!
I saved the best for the last, and it may sound confusing to you that I chose an entire level as the difference-maker here, but trust me, it’ll all make sense once you come back here having finished the game.
Without delving into spoiler-territory at all,Split Fiction’s final level is what I’d call the pinnacle of what human imaginative brainstorming can get us,and sure, give that as a compliment to Josef Fares and his team.
It’s even become my core memory in gaming to have witnessed this level’s ground-breaking gimmick, which had my friend and me putting our controllers down for a minute and being in sheer awe of its design philosophy.
Overall, the entire final chapter is a massive chase to ultimately overpower and defeat the main villain, and I wish I could freely talk about it, but trust me, you’ll besplittingyour hairs like me once you’re done with it.
