“Did We Really Do That?”: Josef Fares on How Split Fiction Advances the Co-Op Adventure Genre

Without a doubt, crafting Split Fiction is a monumental effort. This game continually surprises players by introducing fresh mechanics nearly every 15 minutes, only to set aside previous ones. Yet, it manages to do so without letting any new feature feel incomplete or rushed.

There’s an interesting anecdote about the game’s development, particularly a segment where you get to ride dragons. Each dragon in this part of the game took around eight months to create. Initially, some team members questioned the effort, asking, “Why invest so much time and resources into something players will only engage with for about 10 minutes?”

But here’s the rationale: If you think about movies, having an amazing and costly scene doesn’t mean you should repeat it just because it was expensive. Often, the magic of those moments comes from their uniqueness and scarcity. In the gaming world, there’s a common belief that expensive assets should be reused to justify their cost. But why should we dilute their impact by overusing them? The initial, awe-inspiring experience is what makes them memorable.

Split Fiction embraces this approach to its fullest by offering vast sections of completely optional content. While It Takes Two had its share of mini-games scattered throughout, Split Fiction’s portals unlock something more profound.

These portals transport you to fully fleshed-out worlds with unique mechanics, occasional bosses, and entirely new visual environments. It feels as if you’ve stumbled upon an entirely new game nestled within the original.