It’s easy to get depressed by the state of the gaming industry. There's much to be sad or angry about, from countless developer firings to canceled games and live-service garbage. The fact that these games could become even more expensive in the future also adds to that if rumors about GTA 6 are anything to go by.
However, all that goes away when I see this hilarious scene from last week’s Split Fiction. Not only does this scene prove the ingenuity of video games, but it also proves that they’re still an art form despite everything said above.
For those unfamiliar, Split Fiction is a co-op-only video game in which players control Mio and Zoe, sci-fi and fantasy writers, respectively. One day, the duo is strapped into a machine that tries to steal their ideas, and the two fight back. Players then think through the ideas this corporation is trying to steal.
Because the ideas being stolen are sci-fi and fantasy, the two writers must experience levels of both genres. This makes for a co-op game with plenty of variety, a must for these co-op experiences.
What really sold me on Split Fiction was the viral comedy scene. Both characters are on a motorcycle when a self-destruct protocol suddenly activates. To stop this sequence, one player must drive the motorcycle while another plays a captcha mini-game on their cellphone. It’s a genuinely gut-busting moment that can only be experienced through video games.
It would be a fairly amusing segment if this scene were in a movie. An intense action scene would cut to this quirky captcha sequence on the phone. But this is a video game, so the fact that both players have an active role in staying alive in this scenario makes everything more tense and hilarious.
Considering the irony of more video games trying to be like movies, it’s fun seeing scenes like this and realizing plenty can be done with this medium. A scene that would be half as funny in movies is genuinely hysterical in the video game format. The rare video game segment can only be done through this medium, showing just how fun and creative these developers are.
While Sony games like The Last of Us and Marvel’s Spider-Man are great, some of their best story moments could be done just as well in movies or TV. HBO’s The Last of Us show proves that these moments can be done well on television, if not better. Seeing other triple-A games try to be like movies often robs them of a richer gameplay experience.
Moments like this captcha mini-game from Split Fiction prove that games can still surprise us. As games become more expensive and move more into live service, it’s important to remember that they are still art forms that can make us feel something different.