Gamers like nothing more than seeing subtle references to their favorite video game franchises in another title. And while Astro Bot did it with some half-measures, the recently released Split Fiction is where everything goes right for easter egg hunters, especially for those who always have a keen eye out for Dark Souls references.
Hidetaka Miyazaki’s franchises have always been iconic, pioneering and innovating many mechanics that go on to change the gaming world forever. This is exactly the reason why many games, including Split Fiction, make it feel fair to include at least one tribute to the director’s works.
Split Fiction and its awesome Dark Souls easter egg
At first glance, Split Fiction and Dark Souls couldn’t be further apart. While the latter, meticulously crafted to great detail by Hidetaka Miyazaki’s own hands, is set in a gothic world filled with the most nightmarish bosses, the recent game on the other hand is a sci-fi co-op game meant to be played and enjoyed with a friend.
However, being different does not stop Split Fiction from including some pretty amazing secrets subtly hidden in the game. As highlighted in this Instagram post, players can light a bonfire with a sword going right through in the middle, symbolizing the iconic Dark Souls bonfire.
The bonfire is something that has been included in many other games as well. Take another legendary director, Todd Howard’s Fallout 4 as an example, which has the same bonfire with a sword going right through it to pay his tribute to Miyazaki as another great director that has helped shape the industry.
How Split Fiction does it differently than Sony’s Astro Bot: And why it’s better
Released last year, Astro Bot became PlayStation’s own unofficial mascot after blowing up. The platformer game, which straight included most of Sony’s major franchises themes as levels and costumes, managed to win millions of hearts over time, even winning the Game of the Year title. However, could it really qualify to be the game with the best references ever?
Putting some thought into it, there were no subtle elements in the game referring to other franchises, which is the thing that excites gamers the most, and something that Split Fiction has managed to nail perfectly. Not only does it have the perfect homage to Dark Souls, but it also contains tributes to other popular franchises as well.
These include the Assassin’s Creed franchise, It Takes Two, A Way Out, and more. All of these tributes are well hidden in the game, yet remain simple enough to be understood in the first glance by the players, making all of them an exciting discovery, a joy that Sony’s Astro Bot was never able to offer.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
