Posted July 23, 2024
Since the game page isn't active any more, I'll post my review here
Split 3.5/5 stars
Split is an fun game that stops short of true excellence. The puzzles are interesting and have a lot of variety... every level throughout the game a new mechanic is introduced. There are physical puzzles, time puzzles, logic puzzles, jumping puzzles, combat puzzles, and more.... as soon as I got sick of something, another type of puzzle was introduced. The game is also relatively bug-free, the mechanics are all fairly polished and worked well. I also loved that there was an attempt at a deeper storyline here, that goes beyond the typical portal-style story many of these games have.
The biggest problem with Split is that it is unfinished. It looks like the last time a meaningful patch occurred was April 2022, and then the devs seemingly released it in Sept 2023 with no updates just because they knew they were never going to work on it again. No patches sense. The story is the most lacking thing... it's clearly broken. Voiceovers stop partway through the game, text changes too fast to read, text doesn't make sense or match gameplay, etc. The beginning of the game makes you feel excited to experience a well-thought-out story, but that stops partway through.
It also seems like the devs weren't quite sure how to make some of their mechanics lead to more difficult puzzles. I feel like there is a lot more that could be done with cloning, rewinding time, etc. In this game it's basically used as a way to keep switches held down!
Overall, I enjoyed Split and spent several hours playing it. I feel sorry for the devs. I am sure they had grander plans for this but were disappointed by the low sales (not sure if anyone else even bought it here!) But it's a real shame as with just a few small tweaks (such as a story I can actually read, and that ties to the gameplay) this game could be one of my favorites in the genre. I don't think it would take more than a few hours of work to make it a lot better (rewrite text + change timings). But as it stands, it is sadly unfinished, and pulled from GOG as well.
I understand that the game's devs need to eat, but it's sad that they did not realize that many people hold off on purchasing a a game until it comes out of early access and is in a fully polished state. I'm kind of surprised that the whole team basically dropped this one... I guess no one had the passion for it anymore. Other similar games (like Relicta) also sold fairly poorly but give a much better experience because clearly their creators had passion and drive to see it through no matter what.
Split 3.5/5 stars
Split is an fun game that stops short of true excellence. The puzzles are interesting and have a lot of variety... every level throughout the game a new mechanic is introduced. There are physical puzzles, time puzzles, logic puzzles, jumping puzzles, combat puzzles, and more.... as soon as I got sick of something, another type of puzzle was introduced. The game is also relatively bug-free, the mechanics are all fairly polished and worked well. I also loved that there was an attempt at a deeper storyline here, that goes beyond the typical portal-style story many of these games have.
The biggest problem with Split is that it is unfinished. It looks like the last time a meaningful patch occurred was April 2022, and then the devs seemingly released it in Sept 2023 with no updates just because they knew they were never going to work on it again. No patches sense. The story is the most lacking thing... it's clearly broken. Voiceovers stop partway through the game, text changes too fast to read, text doesn't make sense or match gameplay, etc. The beginning of the game makes you feel excited to experience a well-thought-out story, but that stops partway through.
It also seems like the devs weren't quite sure how to make some of their mechanics lead to more difficult puzzles. I feel like there is a lot more that could be done with cloning, rewinding time, etc. In this game it's basically used as a way to keep switches held down!
Overall, I enjoyed Split and spent several hours playing it. I feel sorry for the devs. I am sure they had grander plans for this but were disappointed by the low sales (not sure if anyone else even bought it here!) But it's a real shame as with just a few small tweaks (such as a story I can actually read, and that ties to the gameplay) this game could be one of my favorites in the genre. I don't think it would take more than a few hours of work to make it a lot better (rewrite text + change timings). But as it stands, it is sadly unfinished, and pulled from GOG as well.
I understand that the game's devs need to eat, but it's sad that they did not realize that many people hold off on purchasing a a game until it comes out of early access and is in a fully polished state. I'm kind of surprised that the whole team basically dropped this one... I guess no one had the passion for it anymore. Other similar games (like Relicta) also sold fairly poorly but give a much better experience because clearly their creators had passion and drive to see it through no matter what.