“Rainbow farts are the very best!” Zoe informs us. Our twin protagonists have been reworked into cute little pigs, one with the power to show right into a slinky, whereas the opposite, nicely, rainbow farts for velocity boosts. We start feeding apples to ravenous door locks and rolling round within the mud, then slowly however certainly make our approach towards the top of this wild and great journey. We dive into the darkness, anticipating to reappear in Mio’s cyberpunk-inspired dystopia. As an alternative, blood covers the display and the cute little piggies are changed into a pair of sausages and tasked with cooking themselves. I’d say this alone sums up the chaos that’s Cut up Fiction, nevertheless it’s solely actually scratching the floor.

Hazelight’s newest co-op recreation revolves round creativeness; creating worlds the place something is feasible. You’re forged as Zoe and Mio, two unpublished authors chosen for a brand new undertaking on the Rader Company. It shortly turns into clear that one thing sinister is afoot, prompting Mio to attempt to flee the constructing. Sadly, she falls into Zoe’s ‘bubble,’ a novel, remoted dreamscape the place Zoe’s fantasies run wild. It turns into clear that Rader is planning to siphon these concepts for revenue and that you just’ll need to cease him.

However the place Zoe prefers the drama of excessive fantasy, Mio writes about gritty cyberpunk worlds and interstellar struggles between robots and humanity. This creates a ‘glitch’ that gives entry to each Zoe and Mio’s fictional worlds – therefore Cut up Fiction. My Warhammer 40k and Dune-obsessed accomplice, Ross, chooses to play as Mio, and I, somebody who’s very a lot in her Dungeons and Dragons period, go along with Zoe. The phases are set, and all that’s left is to lock in.

Cut up Fiction is straight away Hazelight’s fastest-paced recreation. We seem on an alien planet embroiled in a very nasty warfare, then are whisked away to a whimsical fantasy village overrun by orcs. We’re launched to some slick platform recreation parkour, which flows as properly as It Takes Two’s.

Our first essential stage, nevertheless, is Neon Revenge. Tasked with taking over a tyrannical, Arasaka-esque megacorp, Zoe and Mio remodel into ‘cyber ninjas’ geared up with a sword, anti-gravity boots, and a strong whip. Ross’ speedy urge is to hack me to dying with the katana, prompting a disgruntled response from Zoe. Don’t fear, I shortly Indiana Jonesed his ass, and it seems I’m maybe a little bit bit faster than he anticipated.

Usually, Mio is supplied with extra aggressive instruments, whereas Zoe’s playstyle skews extra towards puzzles (at one level I remodel right into a Groot-like tree that may reshape the surroundings), which means there’s some selection between their playstyles. You possibly can change characters at any time in the principle menu, letting you check out all the pieces on supply.

As we emerge out onto the rooftops, I can really feel my breath hitch. Mio’s cyberpunk dream is straight away paying homage to The Grid from Tron. It’s suitably bathed in neon, billboards flicker within the background, and futuristic automobiles zip via the skies on anti-gravity highways. As somebody who grew up watching Tron, it’s a fairytale dream come true – the place Cyberpunk 2077’s Evening Metropolis feels hostile, there’s an odd coziness to Neon Revenge, virtually as if it’s supposed to be a house away from residence.

However then the motion begins. There are high-speed bike chases, a battle towards an offended parking robotic that shifts you to a side-scrolling perspective, and enemies that require dispatching along with your new weapons. The ultimate battle sees you tackle a tank whereas driving your (undoubtedly not stolen) bikes, and because the corpo collapses, its chief battered and defeated, I’m wondering if Cut up Fiction can get any higher than this. Its relentless tempo and high-octane fight set such a excessive bar that the continuing ranges can’t fairly match, however that’s to not say the remainder of the sport is a disappointment.

Different highlights embrace a zone – which Ross informs me is impressed by Alita Battle Angel – the place you’re geared up with blue and pink Portal-style weapons that blow holes in forcefields of the corresponding colour. Whereas that in itself is enjoyable, you then tackle robots whose color-changing shields additionally want bursting. It’s paying homage to It Takes Two’s sap gun and matches, nevertheless it’s slicker and a little bit tougher.

Then, in one of many remaining zones, you befriend spectral creatures whose talents chain collectively that can assist you seamlessly traverse an eerie, ruined metropolis swarming with ghosts. Mio’s owl illuminates golden objects, whereas Zoe’s fish-like acquainted magnetizes gold. The shimmering, virtually angelic mild cuts via the darkness so spectacularly that I as soon as once more really feel my jaw drop. Because the galaxy sparkles beneath me, pulled each which approach by my notably grasping companion, I can’t assist however stare. I’d even be remiss to not point out Cut up Fiction’s remaining mission, which I can solely say is without doubt one of the most progressive and spectacular sections of any recreation in latest reminiscence.

As you progress, the initially restrictive split-screen perspective opens as much as provide you with a extra full view of the degrees and their complexity. I grew to understand that Zoe and Mio’s worlds aren’t easy reskins of each other however full reimaginings in two wildly totally different kinds.

Because the split-screen boundary begins to shift, mirroring the collapsing veil between each writers, you possibly can finally leap backwards and forwards. The motion is seamless, and there’s not a stutter in sight, regardless of my PC being a little bit rusty. I skilled one progress-halting bug in my complete playthrough, which was simply fastened by a restart. Aside from that, it was all clean crusing.

Whereas the core missions definitely shine, the Facet Tales are simply one of many recreation’s finest additions. In contrast to It Takes Two, the place aspect content material largely targeted on mini-games, Facet Tales are portals that result in Zoe and Mio’s long-forgotten concepts. These take 5 to 10 minutes to finish however all play out in distinctive worlds. The aforementioned pig incident (I don’t wish to discuss it) happens in a single, whereas one other sees you driving gigantic skeletal shark creatures via the desert.

My private favourite is a hand-drawn fantasy narrative narrated by Zoe. You run via the pages of her journal as she modifies your weapons, rewrites main story beats, and pits you towards a ‘Big Enemy Crab’ (I see what you probably did there). It’s enjoyable, it’s cute, and most of all, it sells Zoe as a plausible author.

As you’ve probably seen, a number of Facet Tales are enjoyable nods to distinguished videogame and popular culture franchises. I additionally noticed references to Darkish Souls, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Murderer’s Creed scattered all through the principle recreation.

Cut up Fiction proudly wears its inspirations on its sleeve and lovingly honors its cultural touchpoints. An early It Takes Two reference has me reminiscing about that one time I could or might not have ripped the legs off of a stuffed elephant (not responsible, your honor), whereas Ross persistently caught extra obscure sci-fi callbacks I’d have missed. As two individuals who grew up immersed in barely totally different popular culture, I really feel our bond grew even stronger as we excitedly educated each other on Cut up Fiction’s many references.

It’s, in spite of everything, a recreation about friendship. Whereas A Means Out’s central focus was brotherhood and It Takes Two’s was relationships, Mio and Zoe begin their journey as two seemingly disparate elements. Mio’s the disillusioned metropolis lady, whereas Zoe’s the excitable nation bumpkin; what may they presumably have in widespread? Because the story unfolds and the pair draw nearer collectively, we start to study what plagues them. I received’t spoil the main points right here, however as a author who’s skilled comparable conditions, I can say their tales definitely tug at my heartstrings and mirror my very own urges to translate internalized trauma into fantastical tales of victory and glory.

Hazelight has outdone itself with Cut up Fiction by concurrently innovating and increasing upon its earlier work. Its worlds are convincing and a pleasure to discover in co-op, whether or not you’re feeding a dragon or taking part in hopscotch down a again alley in a cyberpunk metropolis. They’re universes which might be so removed from our personal but really feel so intrinsically linked, very similar to Zoe and Mio’s traumas are to their writing.

Cut up Fiction is well the very best iteration of Hazelight’s split-screen components up to now, and whereas I’m intrigued to see what comes subsequent, it prompts questions on the way it can elevate the bar any increased. Within the meantime, nevertheless, you’ll discover me driving dragons and tearing down the institution whereas concurrently curling up right into a sizzling canine bun and questioning the place my life went very, very improper – or proper; I’m undecided.