Hazelight Studios’ sci-fi fantasy adrenaline rush “Split Fiction” is the most ambitious project yet for Josef Fares, director of inventive co-op games.

Josef Fares is passionate about cooperative video games. The Lebanese Swedish director has built a studio focused on making games that can only be played by two people.

When Hazelight Studios founder Josef Fares first announced “Split Fiction” at last year’s Game Awards, he wasn’t exactly humble: “We say, ‘We fuck shit up without fucking up.’ This time, it’s some next-level shit.

By the broadest definition, Split Fiction is a platformer. To simply label it as such without further explanation, however, would be a grave disservice to the scope of what Hazelight's level designers have crammed into the 17-ish hours of gameplay that are present here.

Hazelight Studios’ two-player sci-fi fantasy game is a medley of video game homages

Hazelight has created another brilliant adventure that's going straight into our best co-op games list. Split Fiction is quite the opposite of industry trends right now; amidst everything, it's a bastion of ingenuity and gives me hope that creativity isn't quite as in danger as I feared.

Playing through Split Fiction's mix of fantasy and sci-fi worlds is a refreshing experience in the often-lonely world of gaming.