Split Fiction

It Takes Two got my wife into gaming, so when Hazelight followed it up with Split Fiction, I already knew what I was getting into: constant reinvention, one clever mechanic per chapter, and a Friend's Pass that lets one person own the game and invite anyone else in for free. That last bit matters more than it sounds. My co-op group is split across three platforms, and Split Fiction is the rare game where nobody has to buy anything to join. There is exactly one mode here, two-player only, no drop-in for a third. That is also the whole reason it works this well. For pure two-person crossplay co-op, nothing else on this list gets close.

Split Fiction comes from the studio behind It Takes Two, and it takes that game's constant reinvention and points it directly at split-screen. Where It Takes Two occasionally lets the camera drift into a shared view, this one keeps the screen divided from the opening minute to the credits, because the whole design assumes two people occupying two distinct spaces. I played this with my wife over four evenings and the variety never let up: platforming one chapter, a shooting gallery the next, something closer to a racer after that. No downtime. Nobody waiting for the other to catch up. If you buy exactly one split-screen game this year, make it this one.

Split Fiction is Hazelight doing the It Takes Two trick again, and somehow it still catches me off guard. I went in expecting diminishing returns from a studio repeating its own formula. It didn't happen. The two fictional worlds, one sci-fi, one fantasy, swap so often that neither partner settles into a favourite role for long, which is exactly the kind of variety that keeps a less experienced player from checking out. It asks a bit more precision during the action set pieces than It Takes Two ever did, so it lands just below it here rather than tying for the top spot. If your evenings together already ran through the first Hazelight game, this is the one to book next.

It Takes Two is the only story game my wife and I have ever finished together. When the same studio released Split Fiction, I expected the same result. We didn't get nearly as far. It asks for sharper reflexes than its predecessor, and my wife tapped out around the halfway point while I kept going solo. It's simply the better game of the two. The genre-hopping never lets up: a sci-fi chase one chapter, a fantasy siege the next, and none of it feels bolted onto a solo campaign as an afterthought. It's a 2025 release that earns the second spot right behind Overcooked. Want a real challenge together? Start here. Want the gentler on-ramp instead? The entry right below is technically the older game, and the easier one.

Split Fiction is Hazelight doing the thing that made It Takes Two work, again, with even more genre-hopping confidence. I went in wondering if the studio could repeat the trick. It mostly does. Every chapter drops you and your partner into a different world, motorbikes weaving through a cyberpunk chase one minute, a physics puzzle in a fantasy dungeon the next, and the controls reset just enough each time that muscle memory never takes over. It runs local split-screen or online with the same Friend's Pass model as its predecessor, so trying it with someone costs one copy, not two. Where it lands behind It Takes Two for me is replay value. Once you've seen the trick behind each chapter, there's not much pulling you back through twice.

Split Fiction does something I did not think was possible after It Takes Two: it raises the bar again. Built for exactly two players, nothing more, nothing less. Every level invents a new mechanic, then throws it away and starts again. You are racing giant robots one hour and navigating a shared gravity puzzle the next. I played through most of it with a friend over two long evenings and we barely noticed the time passing. The only honest weakness is replayability. Once you have finished the campaign, there is not much reason to return. But the first playthrough earns every minute of its runtime.

My wife and I finished It Takes Two together, which remains the only game she has played through with me start to finish. Split Fiction is the follow-up from the same studio and it is technically the better game, though it swaps the romantic storyline for something wilder and more genre-hopping. One moment you are in a fantasy world, the next a sci-fi chase sequence, the next something completely different. The split-screen is not just functional here, it is part of the design. The two halves of the screen often show different things that combine into one shared puzzle. Bring a partner you trust.

Split Fiction is the follow-up to It Takes Two in spirit if not in name, and it is arguably the better-designed game. The set-pieces are bolder, the level variety is wilder, and the co-op mechanics are built around two players in the same way. I enjoyed it a lot. The reason it sits below It Takes Two on this list is the author note I keep coming back to: a little less suited to real non-gamers. If your partner played and liked It Takes Two, this is the obvious next step. If they are newer to games, start with It Takes Two first and come to this one later. The action is faster and the reactions needed are quicker.

Split Fiction is one of the few games my wife and I have actually finished together. The whole game is built for exactly two players, and crossplay means the second player does not need to own the same platform. It comes from the same studio as It Takes Two, and it has the same habit of reinventing its own mechanics every forty-five minutes. One chapter you are on sci-fi motorcycles, the next you are inside a fantasy world solving something completely different. It missed the top ten because it only works for pairs, but for a specific two-person crossplay situation it might be the best recommendation on this entire page.

From the same studio as It Takes Two, and it follows the same philosophy: every thirty minutes or so, the game tears up what you were doing and hands you something completely different. Split Fiction adds more cinematic scale and bigger set-piece moments than its predecessor, which makes sessions feel like events rather than sessions. I would put this level with It Takes Two in terms of pure design ambition. The reason it sits at number two rather than one is simply that It Takes Two has been around longer and has the broader proven track record. If you have already played that one, this is the obvious next step. Do not wait.

Split Fiction is from the same studio as It Takes Two, which is the game that got my wife to actually sit down and play through a full campaign with me. That context matters. Hazelight builds games where the co-op mechanics and the story genuinely need each other, and Split Fiction continues that. Two characters, two very different worlds, and mechanics that keep shifting so the game never stays in one mode long enough to feel repetitive. The cross-platform angle is less about matchmaking pools and more about the specific situation where you and a friend own different consoles and want to play a proper campaign together. It handles that well. It sits at ten rather than higher because it is strictly two players and has less replay value than everything above it, but as a one-and-done co-op experience, few things in 2025 matched it.

Split Fiction is from the same studio that made It Takes Two, and it carries the same DNA: two players only, constantly shifting mechanics, built entirely around the assumption that both people are engaged from start to finish. I think it might be the better co-op game of the two in terms of sheer invention, but the strictly two-player requirement is also why it missed the main list. On a broad Xbox multiplayer page, it is a harder universal recommendation than something that works for four people. If you have one specific person to play through a campaign with, though, this is probably the best two-player co-op release of 2025.

From the same studio as It Takes Two, which tells you immediately what you're getting into. Split Fiction is pair-only by design, and you feel that in every set piece. The asymmetric moments, where each player has a fundamentally different mechanic in the same scene, are where it separates itself from most co-op games. I'd put this essentially level with It Takes Two in terms of ambition. It sits at two rather than one mainly because It Takes Two has the longer track record and broader recognition, not because Split Fiction is the lesser game. If you've already finished It Takes Two, start here immediately.

Split Fiction is from the same studio as It Takes Two and carries the same design philosophy: two players, constant mechanical invention, no filler. It is the stronger visual spectacle of the two and the set pieces are more ambitious. The reason it landed in honorable mentions rather than the main list is purely a Steam Deck performance question. It is a 2025 game with more demanding visuals, and the handheld experience is good rather than the near-perfect fit of the older titles above it. If you have already finished It Takes Two and want the obvious next two-player campaign, this is exactly that.

Hazelight built It Takes Two, which is the game that got my wife to sit through an entire co-op campaign with me. Split Fiction is from the same studio and follows the same principle: every chapter introduces a mechanic you have not seen before, and by the time it starts to feel familiar, the game has already moved on. Two-player local co-op is not a mode here. It is the entire architecture. The PS5 version looks genuinely impressive on a good display. My one note is that it is strictly a two-player experience, so if you are shopping for a group of three or four, look further down this list.

I played It Takes Two with my wife and she stayed through every chapter. When I heard Split Fiction was the next game from the same studio, it immediately went on the list. It's built around constant collaboration, trading mechanics between players every thirty minutes, and neither person ever feels like a passenger. The PS5 version is polished, it works online or locally, and the visual variety keeps both people watching the screen even when it's not their turn to act. For couples who want a proper co-op campaign with real production behind it, this is the best option available right now.

It Takes Two was the game that got my wife to sit through an entire co-op campaign with me. Split Fiction is what I put on when someone asks what came next. Hazelight built this from the ground up as a two-player experience, and every chapter introduces a new mechanic that only works because there are two of you. One moment you are running parallel parkour sections, the next you are piloting linked vehicles where each player controls different functions. The Friend Pass means only one of you needs to buy it, which removes the last excuse not to try it. No crossplay between PS5 and other platforms, so your co-op partner needs to be on PS5 too.

Hazelight's follow-up to It Takes Two brings the same co-op-only design philosophy to a new setting and a new pair of characters, and in 2026 it's the freshest pick on this list. The campaign is structured in authored chapters designed for two players, with the story and mechanics evolving together in ways that keep sessions feeling varied. If you've already finished It Takes Two and want that same feeling again, this is the obvious next play. The Friend's Pass means only one of you needs to own it, which removes a common barrier for couples or friends testing co-op campaigns for the first time.