Summary
- Split Fiction breaks an EA trend by becoming the publisher's first game in 13 years to hit a score of 90 or above on Metacritic.
- EA's last game to reach a Metacritic score above 90 was Mass Effect 3 in 2012.
- Split Fiction has received massive praise from both players and critics, throwing its hat into the ring as a potential GOTY candidate.
Split Fiction has become the first EA-published title in thirteen years to receive a 90+ score on Metacritic. The studio's last game to receive such high praise was Mass Effect 3 in 2012, but Hazelight Studios' critically acclaimed co-op title Split Fiction has finally broken the unfortunate trend for the publisher with a current Metacritic score of 91 based on 84 critic reviews.
After Hazelight Studios won the coveted Game of the Year award for It Takes Two back in 2021, it's no surprise that Split Fiction is receiving rave reviews from critics and players. The new co-op adventure title was only released on March 6, but it already has an "overwhelmingly positive" review score on Steam, with over 1,500 reviews at the time of writing. Both players and critics have praised Split Fiction for its "mind-blowing mechanics," creativity, and more, with some players even calling it "the ultimate co-op game." So, it should come as no surprise that Hazelight Studios has become one of EA's best reviewed games in years.
Complete Split Fiction Walkthrough (All Chapters)
This complete Split Fiction walkthrough takes players through every chapter and side story from beginning to end of Hazelight's latest co-op game.
Split Fiction's Metacritic Score Breaks a 13-Year Trend for EA
Although Split Fiction was developed by Hazelight Studios, known for It Takes Two and A Way Out, the potential 2025 Game of the Year candidate was once again published by Electronic Arts. While the publisher has plenty of smash hits under its belt, such as Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, The Sims, Titanfall, Dragon Age, and many more, it has been a long time since the studio has received such high praise for one of its games. As noticed by Twitter user Kami, Split Fiction is the first EA-published game in thirteen years to obtain a Metacritic score of 90 or higher. The last title to do so was Bioware's smash-hit 2012 title, Mass Effect 3, which currently holds a hugely impressive score of 93 on Metacritic.
Another key feature that contributed to the positive reviews was the return of It Takes Two's Friends Pass. As Split Fiction is another co-op title that cannot be played alone, Hazelight Studios has once again brought back Friends Pass, a feature that allows two players to jump into the game with just one copy. Unlike It Takes Two, Hazelight has taken Split Fiction's Friends Pass to the next level by also introducing cross-play functionality. This means that one player could purchase Split Fiction on PS5, for example, while a friend on either Xbox Series X/S or PC simply needs to download the free Friends Pass, thus allowing both players to jump in together.
While we're only three months into 2025, Split Fiction seems to have thrown its hat into the ring as a potential Game of the Year contender. But that's not to say that it's going to be an easy win for Hazelight Studios, as the developer already has some stiff competition from the critically acclaimed Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and Monster Hunter Wilds, the latter of which boasts an impressive Metacritic score of 90. Plus, with the hugely anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 also slated for Fall 2025, it's safe to say that the 2025 Game of the Year is going to be a tough call.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 91 /100 Critics Rec: 98%
- Released
- March 6, 2025
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Hazelight Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
