Fiction Gives players a fun co-op experience, but one of the game's brilliant points is how well it mixes several genres. The most obvious genre swap is the game's central condition to bounce back and forth between imagination and sci-fi worlds, but there are even more hidden under the head Schtick. At many points throughout the story, Fiction Feels like a love letter to games in general.
Developer Hazelight Studios has passed a myriad of fun references throughout the game, and some of these fun Easter eggs actually help to drive homemade qualities of Fiction So much more. Hazelight Studios has already proven itself as a prominent studio with its co-op focus, but even a single player could learn a valuable lesson from FictionOapologetic experiments with genres.
Family
10 best co-op games to play if you love split fiction
Fans of split fiction looking for something similar have many options to choose from, but these special co-op games are among the best.
Split fiction is a demonstration of how opposite genres can gather
Protagonists Mio and Zoe represent two different worlds
-
Mio prefers to write stories in sci-fi worlds.
-
Zoe prefers to write about imagination.
These two genres are often seen as polar opposites, but Fiction Wonderful shows that the opposite does not have to mean bad. Between the beautifully designed fantasy world that Zoe has imagined and the newly filled sci-fi settings created by Mio, Fiction Shows that these genres are more like two sides of the same coin instead of two worlds that are completely foreign to each other. Mio and Zoe's journey and rear stories are more equal than you might think at the beginning of the game, and the different levels of genres help to drive that point home further.
However, the genre bending does not just stop at ever -changing levels. Within each level there are nods to other beloved games that allow sci-fi and imagination levels to lean into their respective genres even harder. A futuristic nick to SSX Snowboard franchise, one Assassin's Creed reference and a wonderfully obvious screaming to the iconic Dark souls Bonfire shows the genres in unique and fun ways.
Split fiction also refers to Hazelight Studios second games, It takes two and One way out. The former character, cutie the elephant, and One way outLeo and Vincent are available in specific levels.
Future games should note Hazelight Studios Experiment
If Hazelight Studios is something it is inventive and Fiction Proves that the studio still has lots of tricks in the sleeve. To date Fiction Has been strong, and it will be fascinating to see how the co-op title affects other games along the way. It will certainly inspire other co-op titles, but it can also be a great source of inspiration for single-players project as well. Combining several genres into a story can do wonders if done well, and it would be exciting to see an increase in single player that takes the same path as Fiction.
Fiction Feels like a love letter to games in general.
Split fiction makes its mark on a big year for play
Right now, 2025 is stacked with large emissions, and Fiction is a fun addition to the continuously growing list. Between Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2The Assassin's Creed: ShadowsThe Doom: The Dark Agesand the hugely expected GTA 6The industry launches offers for almost all types of players. Fiction Being in this mixture makes it so much more powerful, as it has two main genres while it has the unique with being co-op. After Hazelight Studio's last match, It takes twoDon't be an easy task, but Fiction has been a strong successor.
In the end, only time will tell you how Fiction Affects other projects, if not at all. Although it does not inspire other games to play with opposite genres, Hazelight Studio's new edition is a fantastic showcase about how two different themes can actually balance each other.
Action
Adventure
Sci-fi
Fantasy
-
OpenCritic
-
Top criticism:
90/100
Critics recommend:
98%
- Published
-
March 6, 2025
- ESRB
-
T for teen // blood and gore, raw humor, language, violence
- Publisher
-
Electronic art