Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Split Fiction (2025) – Co-op Tips and Tricks – Destructoid

Couch co-op is making a comeback, and Split Fiction is the game to play if you want endless entertainment without some random teammate yelling in your ear. Whether you’re a Hazelight Studios fan or you just miss playing a great co-op game without the need for online play, Split Fiction packs in everything you could possibly want from an action-packed genre-bending adventure.

Here are our Split Fiction tips for playing co-op; be it on the couch with a loved one, or via the Friend’s Pass.

Split Fiction co-op guide

1) Beat It Takes Two first

Hazelight Studios creates amazing couch co-op games. But each title has grown more elaborate than the last, upping the gameplay and action with every new release. A Way Out is a great place to start, as it features simple mechanics, focusing on communication and teamwork. It Takes Two adds more variety to the gameplay, moving away from a linear walking sim-style game to an all-out platformer. While It Takes Two is faster paced than Hazelight Studios’ earlier title, it is a better game to master and complete before heading to play Split Fiction in 2025. This step is important to family, friends, or couples wanting to try Split Fiction out, but who rarely play video games.

As Split Fiction is a more demanding game compared to Hazelight Studios’ other entries, we recommend at least playing It Takes Two first so a casual gamer or novice can learn the fundamentals of gaming without feeling overwhelmed by the chaos unfolding on-screen. While it’s a tougher title to handle if you’re not used to gaming, Split Fiction is very forgiving. Checkpoints are everywhere, and you can quickly get back into the fight if you fall off the map or get taken out by an enemy or boss.

2) Choose your character wisely

Hazelight Studio games can be picked up by anyone, but Split Fiction‘s gameplay is significantly more complex as you may need to juggle shooting, platforming, driving, and flying all at once. Thankfully, there are clear differences between the two characters.

Zoe’s gameplay is catered towards casuals, while Mio is for the more experienced gamer.

You shouldn’t pick your character based on how they look, but use their favorite genre as an indication of what’s to come. Mio loves sci-fi and action. Her levels feature shooting, timing, and platforming. Zoe is a fantasy fan, making her levels slower-paced, more puzzle-based, with exploration at the forefront. The level design of each genre’s chapters isn’t the only difference. There are moments where Mio is the clear leader between the two, having more advanced gameplay and control in situations where Zoe has to sit back and complete simpler tasks. It’s not frequent, but Zoe can take a backseat to control the bigger picture from afar with basic controls and watch Mio.

You may feel at times that who you’re playing with is having a better time or has a more entertaining kit to play around with, but there’s nothing stopping you from swapping controllers if you’re playing this couch co-op style. So, if you or your teammate isn’t as used to gaming as your counterpart, then be sure to play as Zoe.

3) Play through Split Fiction one world at a time

Although Split Fiction is incredibly entertaining, we highly recommend completing one world at a time. Each is full of chapters, with two to three Side Stories to hook you in. Worlds are separated into sci-fi and fantasy, developing Mio and Zoe’s individual stories and switching up the gameplay to keep it fresh. You should aim to see everything each world has to offer, finding each Side Story and reaching the next world where a new set of challenges await.

Our reasoning for this tip is that each world is approximately one hour long. We feel frequent breaks are needed for this game to fully enjoy everything it has to offer. Packing everything inside one sitting will likely dampen your experience, where the early game will feel like peak gameplay, and everything else will dwindle in quality. It’s best to experience each world as is and visit the Side Stories to get something to break up the chapters. There is no reason to rush playing through this game, and doing so may result in viewing the gameplay as repetitive. As the story is rather basic with its predictable development, we recommend playing Split Fiction until you complete one of Mio‘s or Zoe’s worlds and then revisit it another time to continue the story.