Split Fiction review: Multiplayer couch co-op for sci-fi and fantasy fans
There are loads of multiplayer games out there, but few require players to actually meaningfully communicate and properly work together as a team. They can usually be completed by players carrying out individual roles to achieve objectives with at best a few words or messages exchanged between team members. Split Fiction is a little different.
The game's developer, Hazelight Studios, has a track record of breaking this mould by delivering multiplayer co-op games with brilliant stories, where players actually have to rely on and talk to each other to get through challenges, with superb level design and fantastically varied styles and gameplay backing everything up.
Split Fiction tells the story of two unpublished writers, Mio and Zoe, who have been allured by the potential of finally having the opportunity to share their stories with the world. They're different in pretty much every way. Mio is into sci-fi and Zoe is into fantasy, but both have been invited to try out an early test of a machine where their stories can be simulated and lived within. As it turns out, the company is actually using the writers to steal their brilliant ideas.
As Zoe and a handful of other characters start up their simulations, Mio starts to get an idea of what's really going on and she wants to back out. James Rader, the founder of Rader Publishing, insists it's too late for her to do this and she needs to participate. The two then scuffle with Mio ending up in Zoe's simulation. This is how their two very different worlds and preferred genres of sci-fi and fantasy become intertwined. It's also why the game is called Split Fiction.
It's a very clever and meaningful way to keep the switch happening between levels as the hours go on, with great twists and turns along the way, especially as more is learned about each character. Their own personal lives are reflected through some of their work and this is done in a relatable way that's comedic at times. Menial grievances such as unpaid parking tickets also deal with struggles and trauma faced in the real world. Inevitably, they have to escape back to reality through these worlds they created.
How we tested
Our review of Split Fiction is based on the PS5 version of the game, but it'll also be available on Xbox Series X/S and PC from 6 March. Having played for around 15 hours, the main story and side missions were completed. When playing, we considered the graphics and performance.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
3 hours ago
- Metro
Persona 4 remake, Keeper, High On Life 2 and the best of Xbox Games Showcase
Persona 4 Revival is real! (YouTube) Microsoft's Xbox Games Showcase has revealed a host of new multiformat games, including Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, Super Meat Boy 3D, and Grounded 2. The June Xbox Games Showcase has been on a roll since its inception, repeatedly showing up Sony's attempts to fill the E3 gap. Even though this year is a relatively quiet one for Xbox, it was still generally more interesting than the PlayStation State of Play last week. It's still unclear if there'll be a Nintendo Direct this month, given the Switch 2 has only just launched, but there was no mention of the new console at Microsoft's event, especially when it came to Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7. Arguably the biggest reveal of the show (despite the fact it had been leaked previously) was the two new ROG Xbox Ally portable devices, but there was also plenty of other traditional news, as you can see from this bountiful selection of trailers below. The format of the Xbox Games Showcase has always been the same, with an hour or so of various different first and third party titles, followed by a 30 minute showcase of a specific game. Previously that's been Starfield and Black Ops 6, but this year it was The Outer Worlds 2, followed by a bonus 30 minutes on the newly revealed Grounded 2 – also by Obsididan Entertainment. Oh, and before you ask, Hollow Knight: Silksong was not featured, although Xbox exec Sarah Bond did mention in passing that it was still coming out this year. Although we'll believe that when we see it. Expert, exclusive gaming analysis Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. High On Life 2 Somewhat surprisingly, given what happened to creator Justin Roiland, there is going to be a sequel to comedy first person shooter High On Life. Roiland quit developer Squanch Games in 2023 (apart from anything he was the voice of the main character) but the sequel will carry on regardless, with the pre-rendered reveal trailer featuring a range of new weapons but surprisingly few jokes. It's actually out this winter too, for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC. Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy Leaked a few hours before the show itself, a third entry in the Plague Tale series is now confirmed for sometime next year, on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC. Although the trailer makes it unclear when the game is set exactly, it apparently tells the origin story of Sophia. Although there's obviously a lot of references to the myth of Theseus and the minotaur from Ancient Greece, as well as what looks like a Roman amphitheatre. Strangely, there's no rats at all, nor any obvious sign that part of the game will be set in the modern day, which was hinted at by the ending of the previous entry. Super Meat Boy 3D One of a few genuine surprises during the showcase, there hasn't been a new Super Meat Boy game since the disastrous Super Meat Boy Forever in 2021. Developer Team Meat are back though, with a new game that is 3D in the sense of Super Mario 3D World rather than Super Mario Odyssey. It seems to have captured the look and feel of the originals perfectly, but as the previous title showed getting the right balance between difficult and head-gnawingly frustrating is not easy. It'll be out on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC next year. Ninja Gaiden 4 Microsoft has long seen Ninja Gaiden as one of the few Japanese-made franchises that is inextricably linked to Xbox, despite its many multiformat releases, and they're probably right. Although the game had been revealed earlier in the year the big news here was that it's out – on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC – on October 21 (the same day as Jurassic World Evolution 3, which also featured in the showcase, just in case you wanted further proof of how terrible publishers are at scheduling). Indiana Jones And The Order Of The Giants The only obvious hook for DLC in Indiana Jones And The Great Circle was a sub-villain that didn't get killed. There's no obvious sign that they're involved in this first expansion, so maybe they're being saved for the next. As it is, this is set in Rome (so expect some nods to The Last Crusade) and involves exploring the origins of the giants from the main game, possibly incorporating the secret ending from the original. Although the fact that actor Tony Todd has sadly died since then, may have changed MachineGames' plans. The DLC will be out on September 4 for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC. Beast Of Reincarnation The idea of Pokémon developer Game Freak making multiformat games is not a new thing, although usually they tend to have a similarly family friendly appeal. This looks to be a more serious affair – some manner of action adventure that almost has a Soulslike feel to it. It also features robots, samurai, and a pet wolf so we're immediately interested. But if Game Freak can put out graphics like this for a side project they're going to have even less excuse if the next Pokémon game is the usual broken mess of low-tech visuals. Beast Of Reincarnation is out next year on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC. Clockwork Revolution One of the longest gameplay trailers of the evening was this new action role-player from Wasteland developer inXile Entertainment. Its tone is awkwardly similar to The Outer Worlds but with a neat set of time-altering powers and lots of steampunk style gadgets and world design. It's being co-developed by new studio Shapeshifter Games, who are made up of a lot of Saints Row veterans. It's also one of the few games in the showcase that is not coming to PlayStation 5, likely because the studios are quite small and they started work on the game before Microsoft began their current multiformat policy. Grounded 2 Another genuine surprise was a sequel to Obsidian's pint-sized survival game, which will also be making heavy use of early access to evolve its design. It's the same basic idea as before – of trying to survive as one of a group of tweens shrunk to smaller than ant size – but this time in a local park instead of a back garden, plus now you can use various creepy crawlies as mounts. The original Grounded was one of the first of Microsoft's games to go multiformat (including on Switch), but the sequel will only be on Xbox Series X/S and PC, at least when it launches on Xbox Game Preview on July 29. Cronos: The New Dawn Developer Bloober Team went from zero to hero with the remake of Silent Hill 2, so if they can pull it out the bag a second time, for this new original IP, they will have established themselves as one of the most important horror game developers of the moment. Cronos seems to have something of a Dead Space vibe going on, as well as perhaps influences from Returnal, at least in terms of the story. It's due out this autumn on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC. Aphelion Don't Nod's mountain climbing adventure Jusant is an underappreciated gem, so if this sci-fi adventure ends up being a spiritual successor we will be more than happy. That's certainly what it looks like, although with a less laidback atmosphere and what sounds like some considerably more dangerous monsters. It's coming to Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC next year. Aphelion means the point at which a planet or moon is furthest from its star, which we guess explains all the snow. There Are No Ghosts At The Grand One of the best surprises of the showcase was this bizarre new game from a previously unknown studio in Bristol, called Friday Sundae. The set-up is that you've inherited a hotel, as well as a bunch of implausible gadgets that are used to repair and prettify it and the rest of the town. However, they can also be used to bust ghosts at night, as you battle a Lovecraftian invasion. And on top of that it's a musical. It's due out next year, but only for Xbox Series X/S and PC, which implies Microsoft must have put up some of the budget. Planet Of Lana 2: Children Of The Leaf We weren't as impressed by 2023's Limbo inspired platformer Planet Of Lana as some people but there's no doubting it was a very pretty game. There's also no doubt that the sequel looks to be even prettier, especially with its new underwater sequences. Whether the gameplay and storytelling proves to be any more substantial though, remains to be seen. It'll be out on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC next year. At Fate's End As attractive as Planet Of Lana 2 might be, this new game from the makers of Spiritfarer looks even better, with some really gorgeous animation. We're not entirely sure what's going on with the playing cards but it's clearly not just a simple action game. If this ends up playing as good as it looks it's going to be amazing; it's out next year on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC. Gears Of War: Reloaded It's already had one remaster but this new version of the first Gears of War will also be released on PlayStation 5 (but not Switch 2 – in fact, there wasn't a single game for Nintendo's new console in the whole showcase). The release date was already announced as August 26, with confirmation of 4K resolution, 120fps support, and modernised multiplayer with cross-play and cross-progression across all formats. Persona 4 Revival It's been rumoured for ages, and it's always been pretty obvious it was real, but Atlus chose the Xbox Games Showcase as the venue to announce their remake of Persona 4. Not much was shown but it seemed a pretty major glow up in terms of graphics, although it's unclear if there'll be any substantial new gameplay or story elements. There's no indication of a release date, but it'll be released on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC. Invincible Vs All of a sudden, superhero themed 2D fighters are all the rage but there seems to be a gulf of difference between this, from unknown developer Quarter Up, and Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls from genre masters Arc System Works. Maybe it'll be good though; it certainly seems bloody enough to be authentic, although there's something a bit off about the visuals that doesn't really match the look of the show. It's out next year on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC. Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade and Final Fantasy 16 It was always inevitable that these two would end up on Xbox Series X/S sooner or later, but while Final Fantasy 16 is out now there's no date for Final Fantasy 7 Remake other than later this year. That practically guarantees that Rebirth, and the third game, will follow eventually. Many fans had hoped that Square Enix would announce the final chapter this month but as the Xbox Game Showcase was the last major preview event it looks like that's not going to happen. Keeper Psychonauts developer Double Fine were rumoured to be about to unveil their next game but, funnily enough, no one guessed that it would involve a sentient, preambulatory lighthouse, whose best friend is a bird. Despite the wonderfully weird visuals and fantastical designs the game is apparently set on a 'post-human' Earth and features no dialogue of any kind. We sense something of an early era Pixar vibe but it won't be long until we know for sure, as it's out on October 17, for Xbox Series X/S and PC – again, a PlayStation 5 version will probably follow later. The Outer Worlds 2 Although the 2019 original didn't seem to set the world on fire the sequel to Obsidian's satirical sci-fi role-player is looking considerably more refined. Although they've made plenty of games in their time, including this year's Avowed, we've never heard Obsidian compare one of their games quite so much to Fallout: New Vegas before. That's clearly intentional and the original certainly did have a Fallout vibe, in terms of its critique of capitalism and the hubris of humanity. It was never quite as funny as Obsidian seemed to think but it appears that aspect may also have improved in the sequel. The guns certainly have, and we really like the look of that BFG style one towards the end. The game's out on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC on October 29… a week before Ninja Gaiden 4, which is just four days after Keeper. So, very impressive showcase, typically moronic release scheduling. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. Arrow MORE: Best new mobile games on iOS and Android – June 2025 round-up Arrow MORE: Best of Summer Game Fest 2025 trailers – Mortal Shell 2, Game Of Thrones and more Arrow MORE: Resident Evil Requiem trailer reveals release date and new main character
Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Scott Mills' big admission about his finances after bagging £450k Radio 2 job
Radio DJ Scott Mills revealed he has 'made it' after he took over the BBC Radio 2 breakfast show after previously 'risking' his health from working too much over two decades Scott Mills has revealed he is finally 'financially secure' and has 'made it' after he took over the BBC Radio 2 breakfast show after Zoe Ball left the post. Scott, 51, took over the position in January from Zoe, who left to focus on her family. Opening up about his career and his new ability to say 'no' to work, after missing sleep for jobs, Scott told The Telegraph: 'For the first time, I really do believe in myself. You have to look at the facts. They've put you on the breakfast show, you must be doing something right.' It comes after he admitted to taking on 'too much' work, sometimes at a 'risk' to his own health. Reflecting on his jam-packed career, Scott said: 'I was working way too much, because my mindset was that you don't know when it might end. There was one freshers' week where my schedule for playing in student unions was: Monday: Aberdeen, Tuesday: Glasgow, Wednesday: Edinburgh.' While Scott said he 'enjoyed' taking every opportunit y he got for two decades, 'life is different now' and he 'doesn't want to' do that anymore. Last month, Scott opened up to the Mirror about the hard work that goes into the show and that Zoe gave him a warning when he took over the job, but he still describes it as his 'happy place'. He said: 'The show is a lot, it's hard work. It's a treadmill every day. I remember when Zoe finished, she said to me: 'Look, doing breakfast on Radio 2 is quite a lot. It's quite demanding, and you've just always got to be on." He added: "She was right. The amount of guests we have - it's continuous. When she said it to me, I was like: 'I'm ready'. And I am, it's my happy place." The Mail previously reported that Scott took a small pay rise for presenting the show, however, it was significantly less than his predecessor, Zoe. While it is reported that Scott is earning approximately £450,000 a year, Zoe was reportedly on £950,000. Zoe confirmed her departure from the early morning slot back in November, telling listeners it was 'time to start a new chapter' before she left in January. However, that wasn't the end of her journey on the radio. On air, she told her listeners: "After six years of fun times alongside you all on the Breakfast Show, I've decided it's time to step away from the early alarm call and start a new chapter'. She added: "I just want to say I'm so grateful to my incredible boss ladies... they have always been so supportive of me, especially in this job and particularly this year." Just months after her final Breakfast Show, Zoe has already returned to the Radio 2 line-up with a brand new Saturday afternoon show. The new programme launched on May 3 and will continue to air weekly. According to Radio 2 bosses, it will deliver "the best songs and chat for a Saturday". Zoe herself says listeners can expect "lots of laughs" and upbeat favourites.
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Scottish Sun
Shooter game played by 10 million people closing down on smash-hit consoles in two weeks – but fans say it's GOOD news
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A POPULAR video game played by millions of people is shutting down on select consoles. The shooter title is now just weeks away from being killed off on certain machines – and fans say it's actually good news. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 6 The First Descendant is closing down on older consoles Credit: Nexon / The First Descendant 6 PS4 players will no longer be able to enjoy the title Credit: Sony PlayStation 6 The game is also being killed off on Xbox One machines Credit: Microsoft Xbox Gamers using a PS4 or Xbox One to play The First Descendant will soon be blocked from playing. The studio behind the game say it'll stop working on those machines on June 19, 2025. And the only way to keep playing will be to upgrade to a machine that still offers support for it. That includes the PS5, Xbox Series X or S, or Windows PCs. "Our team does experience difficulties maintaining the PS4 and Xbox One builds," the developers at Nexon explained. "So to concentrate all our resources and capabilities for the new content for Season 3 and beyond, we made this decision. "The planned termination date is June 19, and after the June 19 update, you won't be able to play The First Descendant with PS4 or Xbox One. "But your account information will stay with us since TFD is an online game and supports cross-progression with Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S." The First Descendant is currently less than a year old, which makes the closure all the more shocking. It's a free massively-multiplayer online game that sees empowered 'Descendants' battling alien baddies known as the Vulgus – and has boasted more than 10 million players. Get an inside look at the new PS5 30th anniversary edition Gamers will complete quests, collect loot, and build their characters to have different power specialties. After the closure, some players will be locked out from enjoying the title. But many fans reacted to the news with understanding, even describing it as a good thing. In a Reddit thread about the change, hundreds of fans upvoted the news and said it would allow the game-maker to spend more time making the title even better. 6 It's been less than a year since The First Descendant was released Credit: Nexon / The First Descendant One said: "That's fair. They probably want to do bigger stuff with the game." Another wrote: "Y'all gotta let the PS4 go and upgrade." And one added: "It's because the PS4 hardware limitations are limiting the scope of the game design. The dev team want to do more, so they're choosing to leave PS4 players behind. "Clearly they've weighed up the revenue they're getting from PS4 players and are happy to lose that portion. It bodes well for the future of the game to be honest." 6 Game-makers say they want to focus on developing the game for the latest consoles Credit: Nexon / The First Descendant 6 Fans reacted positively to the news – despite the imminent closure Credit: Nexon / The First Descendant GOING RUSTY It comes just days after another multiplayer game began closing down on older consoles. As of May 29, survival title Rust is no longer available to download for new players on PS4 and Xbox One. And the game will be switched off on those older machines in October this year. Players will need to upgrade to the PS5 or Xbox Series X/S versions of the title to keep playing. OTHER GAME CLOSURES COMING UP Here's what to watch out for... MultiVersus - May 30 xDefiant - June 3 The First Descendant - June 19 Black Desert - June 26 Resident Evil ReVerse - June 29 Madden NFL 21 - June 30 Arizona Sunshine - July 1 Skyworld - July 1 Danmachi Battle Chronicle - September 29 WWE 2K24 - September 30 Madden NFL 22 - October 20 PGA Tour 2K21 - October 30 NBA 2K24 - December 31 This upgrade will be available for free – but you'll still need a newer console to actually enjoy the game. It's also now no longer possible for new players on PS4 and Xbox One to enjoy the game without getting an upgraded console.
