Digital Foundry praises Split Fiction: "simply brilliant" and "one of the most polished releases in recent times"

Hazelight Studios delivers flawless performance and limitless creativity in co-op

After the overwhelming success of It Takes Two, expectations for the next game from Hazelight Studios were sky-high — and it seems that Split Fiction did not disappoint. In fact, the game seems to have surpassed the expectations of many, including the technical experts at the renowned Digital Foundry, who did not spare praise for the work.

In a detailed analysis, Digital Foundry categorically stated that Split Fiction is "one of the most polished releases we have tested on consoles recently." For those who follow the group, they know that such praise is not given easily.

Among the most celebrated aspects is the performance stability, which remains locked at 60 FPS on all platforms, something rare even in AAA titles with larger budgets. Even without using advanced features of Unreal Engine 5, such as Lumen and Nanite, the studio opted for classic techniques, prioritizing solid performance and clean graphics — and hit the mark.

“Split Fiction is simply brilliant in the way it balances performance and visual quality. By avoiding the heaviest UE5 features, Hazelight delivered something visually stunning, but without sacrificing smoothness,” highlighted Digital Foundry.

Detailed performance on all platforms:

• PlayStation 5 Pro: runs at native 4K with Temporal Anti-Aliasing (TAA), without framerate fluctuations.
• PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X: operate at stable 1800p, with the same level of graphic fidelity.
• Xbox Series S: maintains fixed 1080p, without significant visual cuts and delivering the same smooth experience.
   

And if the performance on consoles is already impressive, on PC the game takes everything to the next level. Tested on an Intel i9-12900K with RTX 5090, Split Fiction ran in 4K with 150% resolution scale at a solid 120 FPS. Shader pre-compilation occurs only on the first boot, minimizing any stutter or performance drops during gameplay.

“Few games can deliver such a refined and consistent technical experience,” concludes Digital Foundry, also highlighting the integrated crossplay and the pass system, which allows easy connection with friends, regardless of platform.

An impressive visual and mechanical journey

In addition to the technical aspect, Split Fiction was also praised for its creative level design, with environments that transition between science fiction and fantasy, and innovative cooperative moments. Digital Foundry points out that the game stands out for not exaggerating in graphic ambition at the expense of fun, something that often affects other games that try to use all the new features of Unreal Engine 5.

"The focus of Hazelight is clear: deliver fun, stable, and visually cohesive gameplay. And they achieved that with an almost flawless execution," they commented.

Comparison with Unreal Engine 5 and lessons for the industry

Interestingly, while many studios are struggling to implement UE5 with all its new features, Split Fiction proves that sometimes less is more. "The image quality, in fact, surpasses that of many modern games made in UE5, which suffer from performance issues," concludes the technical report.

Hazelight Studios, under the leadership of Josef Fares, once again demonstrates why they have become a reference in innovative and well-executed cooperative experiences. With the release of Split Fiction, the studio not only maintains its track record of successes, but also raises the bar for games in the genre.

Now, with the warm reception from technical critics and the players' expectations, Split Fiction promises to be another milestone for Hazelight, and a valuable lesson for the industry: polish and performance are as important as visual innovation.

So, are you ready to embark on this "simply brilliant" adventure?