Josef Fares and Hazelight Studios At Their Best
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/71737/split-fiction-switch-2-review
I’ve always been a big proponent of the couch co-op party games. Before the days of the Steam Deck and Switch I was the party game guy, going to friends houses with a laptop, XBOX controllers, USB hub and HDMI cables with whatever weird indie multiplayer games I could find. In that same vein, some of my favorite couch co-op experiences were games like Overcooked and A Way Out (which happens to be by Hazelight Studios.) They presented perfect cooperative experiences that worked well with both the experienced and newbie gamers alike because of their simplified controls, puzzle schemes and easily digestible concepts. Now Hazelight Studios are giving us a more advanced take on their perfect two player format in Split Fiction. It’s definitely a step up from their previous games, but in the end gets tripped up on its own cliches.
Our story begins with an evil corporation, as most do, that invites a bunch of writers to their headquarters under the ruse of a publishing deal, but instead will suck all of their stories out of their heads for use with AI to produce endless stories. Our two protagonists Mio and Zoe get spooked by the suspicious looking computer system and when attempting to flee get stuck in together in the same story sucker machine. We are then thrust into the worlds of both Zoe’s and Mio's stories, trying to survive the wild rides that their imaginations have created.
I was already fighting off the eye rolls and deep sighs of an evil AI storyline stealing the work of creatives, but that’s only the start of the cliches in our story. You see, Mio is an edgy Cyberpunk writer from the big city, while Zoe is a Fantasy writer from the country. Not since the Odd Couple have more polar opposites been forced to work together. It’s such an obvious troupe and Split Fiction really pushes it as far as it can possibly go, to the point of exasperation. When Zoe is complaining about how Mio’s Cyberpunk story has too many explosions or Mio annoyed by the whimsical nature of Zoe's childhood stories I was ready to push forward and ignore everything else. Luckily, the game doesn’t idle on these moments long and keeps you moving at a pretty rapid pace unlike their last game: It Takes Two.
That’s probably the best thing I can say about the story is that it doesn’t linger long on any single moment before pushing you into the next puzzle or platforming challenge. When you enter any new story from one of our writers, each character gets their own unique ability. My favorite example was in the Cyberpunk story, Mio got a ninja sword that could change her gravity, while Zoe had a hammer that let her move objects through the air. This led to all sorts of interesting puzzles where one player would be walking along the walls or ceilings trying to make a path forward, and the other player would have to move parts of the walls back and forth to allow them through. That sounds pretty simple but the way it changes perspective per player is actually really fascinating. There was a puzzle that had you attempting to open a cell phone using those annoying CAPTCHA puzzles while on the back of the motorcycle driven by the other player. Two totally different perspectives on what’s going on, and both are wacky and wild for two totally different reasons. Funny enough, after finishing a particularly intense action sequence, I realized I had missed something wholly hilarious on the other screen, but couldn’t witness because I needed to focus. It’s not a bad thing.
These game’s strengths are based on these cooperative mechanics, and here they are probably the best they have ever been. Keeping you actively moving forward, and in most cases in a pretty straightforward line. There are occasional side stories that always lead to the wackiest parts of Split Fiction. Still, all the set pieces are interesting enough, from playing as teeth in a sugar world to riding dragons on epic flights, every bit of it is visually interesting. What helps keep everything looking sharp and running smooth is the Switch 2, which makes for silky smooth gameplay. Even when moments got tense and a lot of particle effects were on screen, I saw no signs of hitches or slowdown. I used both Pro Controllers and Joycons with the co-op gameplay with zero issue.
With all of this, there’s still a question of accessibility and with that I will say that this is probably one of the more advanced co-op games I’ve played so I am less than likely to recommend it to completely unseasoned players. Its mechanics pose significant challenges when it comes to exploration and some of those pesky boss fights, but on the whole, the checkpoints mixed with infinite respawns extend playtime, but don’t make it impossible. If the newbie has a little experience, you’d be good to go. I would play this with my partner not my mother so to speak. It’s difficult but forgiving at the same time and that’s really what matters.One cool feature the game has is Game Share, where if you own the game, you can send a free download code to another friend to play with you. They, of course, need to download the 69GB game file and have an EA account but once both criteria are met, it’s a seamless gameplay experience. They cannot play the game without the owner of the game, but they can be invited back at any time. Also it’s a drop in experience. I could play locally with one person, and then swap to online with a different friend on the same save file. That way, if my local friend isn’t feeling the game, another can pick it up with me, and we could use GameChat to talk through our cooperation. It can take a little set up but after that, the game is seamless.
Split Fiction is, in a lot of ways, the best this studio has ever delivered, but is still far from flawless in its execution. The plots from all previous Hazelight games have consistently been an issue and this game is no exception. Its tone and characterization are pretty flat, with a lot of cringe moments to take away from the experience. Fortunately, one thing this studio has learned is to keep the action moving, and providing tons of set piece moments to override any bad taste the dialogue could ever leave. The puzzle mechanics work well as long as you can communicate with your partner with patience and the set pieces are a rollercoaster ride of excitement. It also helps that this runs perfectly on the Switch 2. Split Fiction can really test relationships, but whenever a new Hazelight co-op adventure drops, I’m always down for the thrillride.
Topic: Split Fiction (Switch 2) Review (Read 83 times)
