Split Fiction studio Hazelight has invited two players to Sweden to see its next game after they completed a secret level so challenging, “there are barely people on our team that can make it.”
Laser Hell, as the level is known, can found toward the end of Split Fiction’s Isolation chapter, specifically during the Maximum Security level. In order to access it, players are required to enter the binary code found on a bit of Skotos signage using the elevator floor buttons nearby. With that done and both players in place, the elevator begins its descent into Laser Hell.
This rock-hard secret area is essentially a five-stage laser gauntlet, requiring players to navigate its perils and get to the end unscathed. Success, if it ever comes, is rewarded with a video message from Split Fiction director Josef Fares, congratulating the victors on crossing the finishing line. “Wow, amazing,” he says. “This challenge, there are barely people on our team that can make it… It took us a lot of time to finish it… This is a crazy, crazy achievement.”
And how do we know about Fares’ secret message? That’s thanks to the skills of two Chinese content creators, E1uM4y and Sharkov, who both recorded their journey through Laser Hell for all to see. But it doesn’t end there. Fares continued by promising the first pair to complete the secret area would be invited to visit Hazelight for an early look at its next game – and he’s now confirmed he’ll be sticking to his work in a post on social media.
“Congrats to ‘sharkOvO’ and ‘E1uM4y’ for finishing the secret challenge Laser Hell in Split Fiction,” he wrote. “VERY impressive! I will keep my promise and invite you both to Sweden for an early look of our next game. We’ll be in touch!”
As to what that new game is, it’s currently being kept firmly under wraps – in large part because it’s still very early days. In a recent conversation with the Friends Per Second podcast, Fares said he was “fully-focused and excited on the next thing that we already have started”, confirming it had only been in development for around a month.
Whatever it is, it’ll be one to keep an eye on. Split Fiction, the follow-up to Hazelight’s much-loved It Takes Two, launched to massive critical acclaim earlier this month, including a five star review from Eurogamer, where we called it “one of most inventive and joyful co-op games to date”. And it’s resonated with players too, shifting over 2m copies since its release.