There were several interesting and surprising announcements at The Game Awards 2024. Gamers were treated to their first look at projects like CD Projekt Red’sThe Witcher 4,Naughty Dog’s new IPIntergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, Gearbox’sBorderlands 4, and many, many more. As equally exciting isSplit Fiction, the next game from Josef Fares' Hazelight Studios which also developedThe Game Awards 2021’s GOTY winnerIt Takes Two. Featuring an exciting mixture of sci-fi and high-fantasy gameplay and settings, the game is looking to evolve the co-op formula once again.
Game Rant caught up with Fares during the show to get the lowdown onSplit Fiction. He shared his feelings on why he can never play it safe and how, for him, creativity is king. He also gave a little insight intoSplit Fiction’s storyand how it focuses on friendship, while not shying away from difficult subject matter, just likeIt Takes Twobefore it.
Split Fiction is a Product of Hazelight’s Creativity
The safe, easy option for Hazelight would’ve been a direct sequel after thephenomenal success ofIt Takes Two. That said, Fares has never been one to take the easy road, instead choosing to continually challenge both himself and his team by creating new concepts and ways to push each new project to the next level. His games tend to juggle multiple mechanics, often straddling the lines between various genres, so great care must be taken to ensure the end product is as smooth and fluid as possible. Fares explained:
‘‘We love to push boundaries and to try different stuff. I like to say we fck sht up without f*cking up. We just felt that we wanted to do something else that pushed us and this was something that we felt was a great challenge, so we just went for it. In a way, we are like dogs without a leash. The creative environment is crazy. There’s no one telling us what to do; it’s only me and the team. That’s where all the creativity happens, which means that we can create these amazing experiences with no limits.’’
Split Fiction’s Key Theme is Friendship
Split Fictionwill focus heavily on the friendshipbetween protagonists Mio and Zoe (named after Fares' daughters), which grows as the narrative unfolds. Players can expect to learn about their respective lives and how they ultimately become intertwined. Fares further elaborated on this:
‘‘The more you play their stories, the more you get to know them and the stuff they have going on, without going into detail. The story is pretty much about friendship.It Takes Twotackled some heavy subject matter, but this one does as well. I think, in the gaming industry, we’re getting better and better at telling stories in video games, but I would argue that we’re not quite there yet. Hopefully, we’ll get better and better at finding the perfect interactive way of telling stories.
Blending sci-fi and high-fantasy settings is not something that is commonly seen this way, and at the very least, it should helpSplit Fictionstand out from other titlesin the co-op genre. The gap between the game’s announcement and its launch in March is just a few months, so fans won’t have to wait long before they get their hands on the co-op title.
