Split Fiction mixes sci-fi & fantasy in such a cool way I can’t believe it hasn’t been done before

Fantasy and sci-fi often bleed into each other – Star Wars is essentially a fantasy story with a sci-fi backdrop, and Final Fantasy 7 combines elements of the two. But I can’t believe that no other game has pitted the two genres against each other in the same way as Split Fiction.

It’s a Black Mirror-esque story in which two aspiring writers, one science fiction and one fantasy, look to sell their stories to a new company that will fully realize their creations in virtual reality. Of course, the shady businessman betrays them to steal their work, and, stuck in the worlds they created, they’ll have to team up and flit between the two to escape.

Split Fiction releases in March 2025 and is from Hazelight, the developer of co-op hits like It Takes Two. It’s a spiritual successor, requiring you and a friend to take control of a character each as you work together to solve puzzles and challenges.

I’ve never played any of Hazelight’s other games, but as soon as I heard what Split Fiction would be, I was immediately down. The distinction between sci-fi and fantasy has never been so clear, but neither has it been connected in such a cool way.

In the gameplay trailer shown at 2024’s Game Awards, we see the protagonists take on puzzles and missions and it’s immediately obvious what world it’s taking place in. Sci-fi is dark and neon-lit, while fantasy is bright and colorful. It’s kind of generic, but I think that’s the point.

Imperfectly perfect

Without bashing anyone specific, there’s a lot of slop in both fantasy and science fiction. Ever since the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars brought their respective genres to the mainstream, there have been thousands of derivative knock-offs. Gaming hasn’t been spared, with countless generic fantasy and sci-fi games released over the years.

But Split Fiction has the chance to have fun with this. Our protagonists aren’t best-selling authors with HBO and Amazon knocking at their door; they’re brand-new, and their worlds will likely run into the same pitfalls as many first-time authors.

Not only will gameplay stay fresh by switching you back and forth through these very different worlds, but these are the worlds the characters created. Every quirk, trope, and deadly foe is their creation.

Playing on the eventual cliches and how they cross genres should lead to some great bickering and a fun way to deconstruct what we’ve come to expect from sci-fi and fantasy.

It’s the perfect use of video games as a way to tell stories, and it’s wild that nobody’s done anything like it before.