Split Fiction PS5

When you first fire up Split Fiction the game's two protagonists, Mio Hudson and Zoe Foster, leap in tandem across its split screen environments. It looks a lot like It Takes Two, developer Hazelight's previous action platform offering, but the resemblance is superficial. First things first: Mio and Zoe are authors. One writes science fiction, the other fantasy. Through some zeitgeisty, science fictional jiggery-pokery in which an evil publisher is extracting writers' ideas straight from their brains, the pair end up thrust into each others stories. Science fiction and fantasy interweave, with the pair picking up unique abilities that play off each other in interesting ways. Leafy dragons nests give way to dystopian metropolises, and the two authors begin to peel back each others layers by understanding the stories the other creates. It leads to some wildly inventive gameplay and storytelling that really makes the most of its bedrock of co-operative play even as it pushes players' skill and teamwork. More than just a fun blast of creative gaming, however, the premise is elevated by Hazelight's storytelling that delicately draws players into the lives of its two protagonists.