Quick Links
Split Fictionis a great game, and it kicks off in style with the Rader Publishing opening chapter. Desperate to get their stories published, Mio and Zoe venture to the Rader Corporation to try to see their dreams of becoming successful writers become realized.
Mio starts to feel weird about the whole thing when Rader’s process is revealed, and she’s soon unintentionally thrust into a simulation of her work combined with Zoe’s until the two can figure out how to pull together well enough to break out.
8 Best Co-Op Sandbox Games
Building something pretty next to your friend’s dirt hut has never been easier than with these games.
This entire intro sequence really functions as an extended tutorial for thebasic controlsand ideas of locomotion that will serve you and your playing partner for the rest of the game.
While this chapter is pretty straightforward, it’s important to really take note of every feature you’re introduced to to increase your odds of success later down the line.
Let’s dig in and start this first chapter off with a bang.
Subchapter: Freedom Fighters
The first section where you gain control of the charactersis one ofMio’s science-fiction stories.
The critical path for this entire section is very linear, so, generally speaking, you’ll simply need to progress forward and tackle each new mechanic the game sends your way.
Up first is the jump and double-jump. Tap once to jump and again while in midair to gain an extra boost from the double-jump.
Clear the obstacles and gaps in front of you and move on. Easy.
You’ll thenlearn wall running and wall jumping.
Approach the hanging wall on the right and jump into it. Mio and Zoe will automatically begin running along the wall.
You’ll have to do this a second time too, this time with the requirement of jumping across the gap and continuing your run on the wall to your left.
Sprinting is your next challenge.This is combined with learning that timing will play a large role in lots of obstacles you face inSplit Fiction.
Wait for the flames in front of you to stop, then immediately sprint all the way to safety on the other side.
Interact with the panel in front of you to take a short elevator ride up.
At the top,an enemy ship will start firing explosive mines your way. This is your cue to use the dash featureto escape each mine’s shown blast radius before it detonates.
Survive long enough, and the ship will crash, opening your next path forward.
The air dash is your next tutorial.This move is absolutely crucial to the rest of your time withSplit Fiction, so pay attention.
Jump and double-jump as usual. Then, while still in the air, press the dash button. You’ll be propelled even further and are able to cross the large gap in front of you with the air dash’s aid.
Air dashing will be the difference in life and death dozens, if not hundreds of other times in your playthrough.
Carefully jump across some tiny spinning platforms. Mio and Zoe will more or less lock in on these platforms themselves as long as you start their jump in the right direction and at the right time.
The grappling hook is up next, another staple inSplit Fiction’s movement arsenal. Cross the gap and proceed.
You’ll come to a spinning energy shield wall and a control console. One player needs to press the prompt on the console, which slows down the energy shield’s rotation and opens a gap in the shield.
Time your jump well, and you’ll be able to safely grapple across too.
Your next mechanic is the hanging wall run.This functions exactly the same as the regular wall run and is even safer to manage since your characters will be holding onto a ledge at all times.
Cross two gaps and you’ll have this one down.
Climb up and jump across a series of poles.
Towards the end of this section, the poles are on pistons and will move up and down. Mind your timing and continue on to safety.
On top of a purple ship,Zoe and Mio have another console they can interact with. This one features a mini-game to complete in order to move on, which is another theme of what’s to come inSplit Fiction.
Both players must press their button each time the yellow bar on their side is directly in the middle. This will fill up a meter that moves towards the center of the screen.
If one player reaches the middle before the other, their meter will begin to deplete again as the other player catches up, so you may have to try again if you’re too fast compared to your teammate.
An alarming number of lasers will now start raining downon you. Use your dash skills to avoid them for as long as you can.
Eventually, you’ll fall from the ship and land in a pool of water.
Take note of the swimming controls and make your way to the surface. There’s a ledge you can use to climb out of the water in front of you.
This is your next path forward.
Here, you’ll encounter a minor skill test for all the platforming moves you’ve learned so far.
Work with your partner to open the door in front of you, and you’ll be in the landing bay. Unfortunately, there’s an enemy ship on the other end of it.
Theship will begin firing at you, but will never actually hit you. No need to panic.
Run towards it, and the ship will periodically shoot away a tile from the floor you’ll need to jump over.
Once both players are close enough to the ship, grapple aboard, and you’ll take control of the vehicle.
Here, Mio gets some flight practice and Zoe hasa combat trial.
Mio just needs to safely navigate the ship through a swarm of debris, ships, and a couple of narrow passageways.Keep your distance from every object as best you’re able to.
Zoe will have several other enemy ships to contend with. Get them in your crosshairs and fire away.
With that, your first glitch in the program will be found, and Mio’s sci-fi portion of this first chapter is complete.
Subchapter: Brave Knights
You’ll immediately be transported by the glitch to Zoe’s fantasy world. It’s full of ogres who seem to have taken over the entire city that you now need to traverse. How convenient!
You’ll need to run to the top of a hill all while an ogre launches barrels at you.Make like Mario in the originalDonkey Kongand fight your way to the top.
Next, you’ll have a chase sequence and will have to get used to the movement feel of the game as you run towards the camera.Jump over some fire, dodge a couple of ogres, and… fall off a bridge.
After your fall, you’re back in the water and are still being chased by several ogres that took the plunge with you.
Navigate through the holes in the drain grates in front of you.
Several times,you’ll come to a grate without a hole to pass through. Look out, asthis means an ogre is about to fly in from behind and create a new hole in the grate for you.
If an ogre runs into you from behind, you’ll die.Heads up!
Safely out of the water, you’ll now be inside a mill. Climb up the bales of hay to reach a platform with a pole between spinning blades.
Here, you’ll learn that you can use the dash button while climbing to shoot upwards faster.
You’re required to use the climb dash to get past these spinning blades,so time it well and climb to the top.
What goes up must come down, so take a leap of faith off the platform in front of you. Zoe and Mio will do full-onAssassin’s Creedjumps into a pile of straw on the ground. Ezio would be proud.
Jump out of the hay, and you’ll notice a way forward underneath some wood. Your characters will automatically crouch when you enter this opening, so move along.
Here, you’ll meet a couple of giant ogres standing watch over some baskets of freshly picked lemons.One player needs to circle around to the right while the other goes left.
The player that went right will come to a basket of lemons first. Chuck a lemon at the first ogre, and it will spin around to attempt to find the culprit. This opens up a window for the player on the left to sprint across to safety without being spotted, so get moving.
This same process now repeats. The player on the left throws a lemon to distract the second ogre, and the player on the right is able to sprint ahead.
For your stealthy success, you’ll be rewarded with the scariest sight in the game yet — a marketfullof a humongous crowd of ogres.
Zoe and Mio need to carefully jump across the tops of the flagpoles and building roofs in front of them. Some of these flagpoles will be moving targets as the flags are being carried around by ogres below, so stay calm and use caution.
Once across and safely on the next platform, team up with your partner and push away the lemon crate that’s blocking your path.
For your final test of chapter one, you’ll need to climb a tower using all your platforming practice. The kicker this time is that you’re also being chased.
As quickly as you can, climb and jump between the poles in front of you. Don’t forget that you can dash as you climb for extra speed.
Keep going up, jump across some posts sticking out from the building, and you’ll eventually reach one final, extra-long pole to scurry up. Fly, you fools.
With that, the second glitch is located, and you’re on to the rest of this fantastic journey.
10 Couch Co-op Hidden Gems You Need To Play
Split screen and local co-op games are in limited supply, so it’s important to dig deep to find the gems.
