4 weeks agoNew York StateComments Off on Tragedy as body found in woods during search for missing man who vanished from Scots town 7 weeks ago
A BODY has been found in the search for a London man who went missing in the Scottish wilderness.
Marc Drostle, 28, left the UK capital and travelled to Aviemore on December 12 2024.
Police ScotlandA body has been found during the search for Marc Drostle[/caption]
AlamyHe went missing in the wilderness near Aviemore[/caption]
AlamyLocals in the area were urged to keep their eyes peeled and report any sightings[/caption]
Google MapsHe travelled to Aviemore in December[/caption]
He was seen in the Abernethy National Nature Reserve, near Nethy Bridge, between December 19 and 21.
Marc then vanished without a trace from the town and was reported missing.
And cops believed he was in the area around Anagach woods, Grantown at 3pm on Christmas Eve.
Extensive searches were launched for the young South East London man, who police was know to walk long distances.
Several appeals were launched urging the public to keep their eyes peeled and report any sightings of Marc.
Officers also released CCTV footage of him in a local shop.
His family grew extremely upset and concerned as the searches to find him continued.
Tragically, a body was found in the woods this morning near Nethy Bridge, Strathspey, seven weeks after Marc went missing.
Cops and a mountain rescue team were called to the scene of the tragic discovery.
The man has yet to be formally identified, but Marc’s family have been told about the discovery.
Police say the death is not being treated as suspicious.
A huge search effort was launched to find Marc after he disappeared.
Specialist search advisers, mountain rescue teams, and police dogs were all involved in the search.
Marc’s family previously released a statement through police in January about his disappearance.
In it they revealed he “hadn’t been feeling good for some time” and they worried about him looking after himself in the cold December weather.
“Marc is a kind, funny and gentle person.”
Family statement
They previously told how he enjoyed being in the woods and had good memories of a family holiday to Scotland when he was young.
They said: “Marc is a kind, funny and gentle person, who is a talented artist and works making mosaics with his dad in South East London.
“He has always loved being in the woods and has fond memories of Scotland from a family holiday when he was younger.”
His family added: “We are so grateful to local people for their kindness and support.
“The police have been working hard to find Marc and we really appreciate their efforts and commitment.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 7.50am on Thursday, 13 February, 2025 officers attended a woodland area in Nethy Bridge, Strathspey after a body was found.
”Emergency services, including mountain rescue, attended and the body of a man was recovered.
”Formal identification is still to take place, however the family of 28-year-old Marc Drostle, who was reported missing from Aviemore on Saturday, 21 December, 2024, have been made aware.
”His death is not being treated as suspicious and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”
Police ScotlandMarc has been missing for seven weeks[/caption]
4 weeks agoNew York StateComments Off on Girl, 12, left with ‘jelly-in-a-box brain’ after being thrown over handlebars of her quad bike on family day out
A TEENAGER whose brain was like ‘jelly in a box’ after being thrown over the handlebars of a quad bike has taken part in a UK-first study after making a miraculous recovery.
Mia Jack was 12-years-old when she was thrown over the handlebars of a quad bike and hit a tree headfirst during a family activity day.
SWNSMia Jack was 12 when she was thrown over the handlebars of a quad bike during a family activity day[/caption]
SWNSMia couldn’t walk or talk after the accident[/caption]
Part of her skull was removed to relieve pressure on her brain but immediately after she needed more surgery to remove a blood clot.
Mia, from Soham, Cambs, could not walk or talk after the accident but made a miraculous recovery and has spoken of her ordeal.
Her medical data was used in the UK’s first study to help improve understanding and outcome for paediatric traumatic brain injuries.
The study findings support monitoring the pressure reactivity index (PRx) in paediatric traumatic brain injuries which could be used to fine-tune treatment targets.
The aim was to identify critical thresholds of PRx in relation to outcome and create a research database.
A traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death and disability in children worldwide with more than two thirds of the survivors suffering from longer term problems.
Mia, now 18, said: “When I woke after the accident I was completely confused and didn’t know who mum was, what had happened, and I didn’t understand what was going on.
“I was wearing a helmet at the time, but apparently my brain was like a jelly in a box that had been really badly shaken and I was going to be in hospital for some time.
“To say it was all a bit of a struggle would be an understatement, but I am a fighter and hope someone else can take inspiration from that.
“Anything that helps with traumatic brain injury in children – and raises awareness of it at the same time – has got to be a good thing.”
Despite wearing a helmet when she was thrown over the handlebars, Mia was put into an induced coma and airlifted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambs.
She had a craniectomy to relieve pressure on her brain and spent weeks in intensive care.
Music-loving Mia – who now lives with sister Isabella, 19, mum Angela Paine and her partner Stuart Jack – woke up when she heard a ukulele being played on the ward.
To Angela’s dismay Mia didn’t recognise her and couldn’t walk or talk.
But over several difficult weeks, Mia was determined to get better along with the help of specialists.
She later returned to Addenbrooke’s to have a titanium plate fitted over the hole in her skull.
She said David Guetta’s hit ‘Titanium’ became something of a “personal anthem” – and part of her piano playing repertoire.
SWNSMia had a titanium plate fitted over the hole in her skull[/caption]
SWNSMia’s mum Angela says her recovery has been nothing less than a miracle[/caption]
The teenager returned to school and is in her second year of a hairdressing course.
Mum Angela, who works in catering, said: “To me Mia’s recovery has been nothing less than a miracle.
“She is so courageous, so talented, and I am very proud of all she achieves.”
Mia was one of 135 children involved in the national study across ten paediatric intensive care units across the country.
Dr Shruti Agrawal, paediatric trauma lead at Cambridge University Hospitals and leader of the study, said: “Understanding the underpinning principles and management of raised intracranial pressure and brain perfusion is essential for reducing the morbidity and mortality of traumatic brain injuries.”
Shelly Thake, Chief Executive at Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust, added: “We were delighted to be able to help fund this important study, which was only possible thanks to the generosity of our incredible supporters.”
What is traumatic brain injury?
TRAUMATIC Brain Injury (TBI) is an injury to the brain caused by a trauma to the head.
A brief period of unconsciousness, or just feeling sick and dizzy, may result from a person banging their head getting into the car, walking into the top of a low door way, or slipping over in the street.
It’s estimated that 75-80 per cent of all head injuries fall into this category.
A moderate head injury is defined as loss of consciousness for between 15 minutes and six hours, or a period of post-traumatic amnesia of up to 24 hours.
The patient can be kept in hospital overnight for observation, and then discharged if there are no further obvious medical injuries.
Patients with moderate head injury are likely to suffer from a number of residual symptoms.
Severe head injury is usually defined as being a condition where the patient has been in an unconscious state for six hours or more, or a post-traumatic amnesia of 24 hours or more.
These patients are likely to be hospitalised and receive rehabilitation once the acute phase has passed.
Depending on the length of time in coma, these patients tend to have more serious physical deficits.
4 weeks agoNew York StateComments Off on EastEnders fans baffled as they spot major blunder as Ian discovers Cindy’s plan ahead of 40th anniversary special
EASTENDERS fans were left scratching their heads after spotting a major blunder in Tuesday night’s episode.
Viewers watched in confusion as Ian Beale uncovered Cindy’s secret plan ahead of the soap’s highly anticipated 40th-anniversary special.
X/@elvunityEastEnders have spotted a major blunder in Tuesday night’s episode[/caption]
X/@elvunityViewers watched in confusion as Ian Beale uncovered Cindy’s secret plan[/caption]
But while Ian was able to overhear every word of their exchange, viewers couldn’t help but notice that Cindy and Priya seemingly failed to see him lurking just meters away.
Taking to social media, baffled fans called out the unrealistic scene, questioning how Ian could be in plain sight yet go unnoticed by Cindy and Priya.
One tweeted: “ian realising priya was playing him into being his friend and working with cindy.”
Another added: “Ian seen priya talking to Cindy and handing over money.”
The conversation in question saw Priya discreetly handing over money to Cindy, confirming to Ian that the two were secretly working together – a betrayal he certainly didn’t see coming.
With tensions rising in Walford and the soap’s milestone anniversary just around the corner, fans are eager to see how Ian will react to the revelation.
Despite being central to the show’s 40th anniversary week, show legend Michelle won’t be taking part in the programme’s epic live episode on Thursday.
Her character will be nowhere to be seen, despite the reveal of Who Attacked Cindy Beale set to take place.
All of next week’s episodes are understood to take place over the course of one day which makes Cindy’s absence from Thursday’s live episode even more eyebrow-raising.
Actress Michelle confirmed herself that she would not be filming live on the night but did not add the reasons as to why.
Speaking at the TV Choice Awards on Tuesday night, she told Metro: “I’m actually not going to be in the live. I am allowed to say that.
“It’s quite complicated but I am in the lead-up to the live. I actually think it’s very well done.”
In scenes set to be broadcast on Monday evening, Cindy will be seen coming face-to-face with who she believes is her attacker.
Cindy will accuse the individual in front of stunned guests at Billy and Honey’s wedding party in The Vic.
Later, events will take a dangerous turn when Cindy points a gun at the person and threatens them with their life.
As the situation continues to unfold, an unexpected twist will flip the situation on its head.
This is then understood set to trigger a motion of events which lead to the devastating Queen Vic fire.
But with Michelle avoiding the live episode, does this mean the fate of Cindy is sealed before the explosion commences.
Speaking about how her co-stars have prepped for the live episode, she admitted that some of them will be left “terrified”.
She told the publication: “I’ve done a lot of theatre but I don’t think it really matters.
“Live TV is very different to live theatre, so I think there’s going to be quite a few very terrified actors.”
EastEnders' 40th anniversary cameos so far
With the 40th anniversary of EastEnders coming up, fans are looking forward to some more incredible cameos from iconic faces of Walford's past. But who have we had so far?
Tracy-Ann Oberman – Oberman returned as Chrissie Watts, a character she last played nearly two decades ago.
Paul Bradley – Bradley returned as Nigel Bates, a character he last played over 25 years ago.
Micheal French – French returned as David Wicks, a character he last played two decades ago.
Patsy Palmer – Palmer returned as Bianca Jackson, a character she last played in 2019.
Coming up this year…
Ross Kemp – Kemp will reprise his role as Grant Mitchell, a character he first played in 1990. The BBC has described Kemp’s storyline as “explosive”. Kemp said it was an “absolute honour” to return to the show.
Other aspects of the 40th anniversary celebration include: A wedding between fan favorites, A huge explosion at the Queen Vic, and A live interactive episode.
X/@elvunityIan had been eavesdropping on a tense conversation between Cindy Beale and Priya Nandra-Hart[/caption]
X/@elvunityViewers couldn’t help but notice that Cindy and Priya seemingly failed to see him lurking just meters away[/caption]
BBCIt comes ahead of the soap’s highly anticipated 40th-anniversary special[/caption]
4 weeks agoNew York StateComments Off on Brits warned over eight Valentine’s Day text red flags after almost £100million is lost to romance fraud
BRITS have been warned to watch out for “unprotected texts” this Valentine’s Day after almost £100million was stolen in romance fraud last year.
With more singles hitting it off online before meeting in person, experts have said that scammers will be “preying on the vulnerable”.
Getty£99.4m was reported stolen in romance scams last year[/caption]
GettyExperts share important red flags to watch out for[/caption]
People share an average of 155 messages with love interests before meeting them in person, according to a poll commissioned by EE.
The network says its detection tech blocked 12million scam texts last February, which is way above the monthly average of 8.9million over the past 12 months.
“Scammers are experts at preying on the vulnerable,” explained Richard Wainer, Regulatory Affairs Director at EE.
“At this time of year, when social media is full of public displays of affection, it can be tempting to turn a blind eye to the red flags, but spotting them is more important than ever.”
Nine in ten Brits actively looking for love admit that they have shared sensitive information, according to a study involving 2,000 people.
This includes phone number (65%), location (51%), social media profile (35%), email address (27%), or date of birth (23%) with strangers met online before they’ve had a chance to meet in person.
“The threat of scams is an unhappy part of life in 2025, and we’re all increasingly familiar with the traditional calling cards of a scam,” Wainer continued.
“However, in a dating context, we’re more vulnerable to social engineering and attempts to defraud can be harder to spot.
“That’s why it’s so important people practice ‘safe texts’.
“We recommend keeping your sensitive information like your address, email address and security question answers closely guarded and do not share these via text.
“Always verify someone’s identity with a video call or meeting before getting too personal and never send money or gifts to someone you’ve just met online.”
Action Fraud data obtained by Which? recently showed that romance scams resulted in a loss of £99.4million for 2024.
“It can be really hard to spot fraudsters when online dating,” said Lisa Webb, Which? Consumer Law Expert.
“It’s worth using a reverse image search tool, such as Google or Tineye, to see if the image has been posted anywhere else on the internet.
“You should also be suspicious of anyone who makes excuses to never meet in person or video call as this is often a tell-tale sign of a scammer.
“If you think you have lost money to a romance scammer, contact your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud or Police Scotland. Romance fraud can also take a huge toll on your mental health and you might find it helpful to talk to someone about what you’re going through, such as Mind or Victim Support.”
These are the top eight red flags to watch out for:
Asking for money or gifts
Using urgent or emotional language
Avoiding video calls or in-person meetings
Telling a sob story to evoke pity
Giving inconsistent answers
Dodging personal questions
Showing off, or promising the world
Asking overly personal questions
What to do if you think you’ve been scammed
IF you’ve lost money in a scam, contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or by visiting Actionfraud.police.uk.
You should also contact your bank or credit card provider immediatley to see if they can stop or trace the cash.
If you don’t think your bank has managed your complaint correctly, or if you’re unhappy with the verdict it gives on your case you can complain to the free Financial Ombudsman Service.
Also monitor your credit report in the months following the fraud to ensure crooks don’t make further attempts to steal your cash.
4 weeks agoNew York StateComments Off on Mariah Carey at Brighton Pride 2025: How to buy tickets
MARIAH Carey is headlining Brighton Pride for her highly-anticipated return to the UK festival scene — her first show on these shores in six years.
The singer will be taking centre stage at the Pride On The Park event on Saturday, August 2, 2025, at Preston Park — here’s everything you need to know so you don’t miss out.
GettyMariah Carey is headlining Brighton Pride 2025[/caption]
Mariah Carey will thrill UK crowds for the first time since a sensational series of shows at the Royal Albert Hall in 2019.
In an announcement on Brighton and Hove Pride’s social media accounts, Mariah said: “I can’t wait to see all of your beautiful faces at Pride on the Park 2025.
“It’s going to be a scorcher.”
It’s been twenty years since the release of Mariah’s record-breaking album The Emancipation of Mimi, which includes mega-hits We Belong Together and It’s Like That.
A source said: “Talks have been ongoing for a while and finally everything has fallen into place.
“Mariah was initially set to headline the festival in 2020 and then Covid happened.
“It’s part of a series of shows celebrating The Emancipation of Mimi album which had some of her biggest hits on it.
“No doubt it will be a military operation when Mariah arrives in Brighton but the festival can do it before — they pulled off Britney headlining back in 2018.”
It’s set to be a huge year for Mariah, who wraps up herLas Vegasresidency — The Celebration of Mimi — on February 15, 2025.
Brighton Pride managing director Paul Kem said: “We were so excited to have her join us in 2020 and absolutely gutted the show couldn’t go ahead due to pandemic restrictions that summer.
“Pride is always an amazing weekend of celebration and inclusiveness of our city, and this year is going to be incredibly momentous.”
How to buy tickets for Brighton Pride
Tickets for Mariah Carey at Brighton Pride 2025 will be exclusively sold through the Pride On The Park website.
Eager fans can sign up for pre-sale access to increase their chances of securing tickets.
The pre-sale kicks off at 10am on February 20, 2025.
I can’t wait to see all of your beautiful faces at Pride on the Park 2025. It’s going to be a scorcher
Mariah CareySocial media
Important warnings:
Tickets from secondary sites like Viagogo are not valid — if you’ve purchased them this way you should contact [email protected]
A maximum of four tickets per booker is permitted
Tickets are non-transferable and must be purchased directly from the official Pride Ticket Shop
Options
Brighton Pride offers various ticket options:
Day tickets: For those who want to attend on Saturday to see Mariah Carey
Weekend tickets: For the full Pride On The Park experience on both Saturday and Sunday
VIP packages are available with premium access and benefits
AlamyGirls Aloud headlined on the main stage during Brighton Pride 2024[/caption]
Ticket delivery
E-tickets only — no postal tickets will be sent
They will be emailed seven days before the festival
Tickets can be printed or shown on smartphone
Each ticket will be name-specific and require photo ID
Previous Brighton Pride headliners
Brighton Pride has a stellar history of world-class performers, with previous headliners including:
4 weeks agoNew York StateComments Off on Major broadcasting change as Netflix confirm they have pulled plug on popular sports docuseries
NETFLIX’S cycling docuseries Tour de France: Unchained is set to be axed after three seasons, according to reports.
The programme debuted on the streaming platform in June 2023, with the first season covering the 2022 Tour.
NetflixTour de France: Unchained has been axed after three seasons[/caption]
ReutersNetflix have reportedly made a big decision on one of its docuseries[/caption]
Twelve months later season two was released, covering the 2023 edition.
The Netflix cameras were on site for last year’s Tour and season three is expected to be released in its usual June slot.
But according to French newspaper Le Parisien, the show’s third instalment is set to be its last.
They claim that teams “have started to get used to the idea that Netflix’s cameras will no longer be there in June”.
Their report adds that an unnamed French team revealed that ordinarily they had been contacted by Netflix regarding filming by the end of January – but that no conversations have been had this year.
A further source adds that the sport’s “repetitive” nature has proved challenging for Netflix in terms of creating compelling storylines.
The French outlet claims that the show achieved “average” ratings – but did not reach its expected level of viewership in France.
Tour de France: Unchained, is not the first Netflix sport docuseries to be axed.
4 weeks agoNew York StateComments Off on Humble West Ham star Andy Irving drives modest car and has shrewd investments to fund retirement after football
ANDY IRVING drives a modest car and is already planning for life after football.
The West Ham midfielder has risen from obscurity this season and is now one of the regulars in the side.
GettyAndy Irving is becoming a cult hero at West Ham[/caption]
AlamyHe drives a modest Nissan Juke[/caption]
Irving, 24, signed for the Hammers in the summer of 2023 but was never officially announced by the club.
He remained on loan at SK Austria Klagenfurt for the campaign and arrived at the club at the end of his spell in Austria.
Despite becoming a fully fledged Premier League football the Scotsman has kept his life humble.
The midfielder drives a white Nissan Juke compared to his team-mates’ Mercedes, Bentleys, Ranger Rovers and Porsches.
The Athletic have claimed that Irving’s mindset has put him in a good place in the Hammers’ squad.
Manager Graham Potter has been impressed with his dedication with it appearing to leave a “lasting impression”.
The report has also claimed that Irving is “shrewd with his money” and is already making moves to set up a comfortable life when he hangs up his boots.
The report has claimed that he has invested in real estate that will help support his family after retirement.
Irving had interest last summer to leave West Ham but opted to stay at the club after backing from his partner, Zoe.
He revealed that it was her belief in him to succeed at the club that convinced him to stay.
Zoe was so confident that she herself got a teaching job in Tower Hamlets.
He told club media: “At the end of May, there was a job available at a school in Tower Hamlets and my partner opted to go for the interview, which I was all for.
“She had massive belief that I would be staying for this season, but the pressure was on throughout pre-season.
“She’s amazing. I’m super proud of her, the way she’s taken to life in London and her job.”
So far this season, Irving has made nine appearances in the Premier League and one more in the Carabao Cup.
He is contracted to the Hammers until 2026 and if he keeps improving he could be in line for a new deal.
4 weeks agoNew York StateComments Off on Awkward moment Curtis overhears Love Island’s Elma LAYING into him saying ‘he’s the problem’ in feud with Ekin-Su
CURTIS Pritchard learns how some of his fellow Love Island All Stars Islanders really feel about him in awkward scenes tonight.
Ekin-Su and Curtis listen on as Elma shares her true feelingsITVShe is heard laying into Curtis in a conversation with Gabby and CatherineITVElma and Ekin-Su will attempt to clear the air after their explosive fall-outITV
In tonight’s episode Elma, 32, chats with Gabby Allen and Catherine Agbaje about the situation on the terrace – unaware Curtis, 29, is listening to every word.
The Towie star tells the girls: “It was never about Ekin, it’s Curtis. He’s been tested and he failed and that’s the bottom line of it.”
Gabby, 33, replies: “Maybe Ekin’s not the problem then…”
And Catherine, 24, adds: “Yes that’s what we’ve concluded.”
Luca Bish – who is sitting with Curtis at the time – quips: “Curtis is getting the brunt of it up there!”
Ekin-Su, 30, arrives in time to hear Gabby defending her and Curtis, as she says: “I agree they’re both theatrical people, very animated, very over the top…doesn’t mean you’re not genuine, it’s just the way you are together.”
Brushing off the comments, Ekin-Su tells Curtis: “We’re better than that, I love being theatrical with you, I wouldn’t change a thing!”
But the strong words from Elma come shortly after she and Ekin-Su attempted to clear the air after days of feuding.
Pulling Ekin-Su for a chat, Elma tells her: “I feel like we both got a lot off our chest yesterday…”
“I wanna clear things up ‘cause I feel like you think I’ve got a vendetta against you and in all honesty it was never about you.
“I find Curtis very jarring… it’s a shame to me that we lost a friendship that I actually believed we were getting back.”
Ekin-Su replies: “After the heart rate challenge – yes i did f**k up, which was wrong, I said sorry – all these games kept happening, you both voted for us, I felt like this is becoming a pattern.”
Elma says: “I think it seemed like it was becoming a pattern but it was never based on you… everything else was all to do with Curtis.”
Standing by her man, Ekin-Su adds: “Unfortunately even if you are aiming it at Curtis it feels like you’re aiming it at me…”
LOVE ISLAND: ALL STARS CONTINUES TONIGHT AT 9PM ON ITV2 AND ITVX
4 weeks agoNew York StateComments Off on Split Fiction hands-on preview – the must play co-op game of the year
Split Fiction is unlikely to split opinion (EA)
GameCentral gets to play over three hours of the follow-up to It Takes Two, in what is some of the most enjoyable co-op action ever seen.
When we interviewed Split Fiction director Josef Fares recently, the one question he had no answer for is why other companies haven’t tried to copy him. His previous title, The Game Awards 2021 Game of the Year winner It Takes Two has sold over 23 million copies, and yet it has had no discernible effect on the overall number of co-op games being made and there have been no direct clones.
Instead, Swedish developer Hazelight Studios has been left to do everything itself. It Takes Two was preceded by the more grounded A Way Out and is now going to be succeeded by Split Fiction, which has a similar approach – in terms of only being playable with a second player – but is in all other ways a completely different game, with new characters and story.
The game got a new trailer during the State of Play on Wednesday but a few days earlier we had the chance to play three hours of gameplay and speak to Fares about it and the industry in general. We enjoyed both experiences a great deal and the good news is that Split Fiction is out in just a few weeks’ time, at which point we expect it’ll be just as successful as its predecessor.
The plot for Split Fiction is a peculiar one and revolves around two young novelists, named Zoe and Mio, who are invited by a very obviously evil techbro to test out his new virtual reality machine. The idea is that it allows you to visualise and explore your own stories and imagination, which immediately goes wrong when Mio and Zoe’s worlds become conjoined.
We’re not sure where the story is going with all this, as while there are allusions to corporations taking advantage of creatives it’s all very on the nose and seems to lack subtlety. According to Fares, the main theme of the game is friendship, and you can definitely see that in the burgeoning relationship between Zoe and Mio, although it’s still fairly by-the-numbers from a narrative perspective.
The gameplay conceit though is that, because Mio writes sci-fi and Zoe fantasy, the pair keep ping-ponging between different imagined worlds and that works great. Even if you have to question just how good the pair are as writers, given Zoe’s worlds are ultra generic Tolkien-esque fantasies and Mio’s are a fairly straight cross between Blade Runner and Tron.
As a game though it works great, in terms of offering up an experience that is both hugely varied and, despite the constant changes in setting and gameplay style, impressively consistent in terms of quality. Although you can play online (like It Takes Two, only one person has to own the game) we were playing split screen with Victoria Kennedy from Eurogamer.
Hearing that Hazelight games feature multiple different game styles, that are constantly switching around, might lead you to assume that they’re necessarily shallow, but that’s not the case at all. Although there are exceptions, the default gameplay is that of a third person action platformer, complete with double jumps, dashes, and 3D movement while swimming and flying.
Right from the start, the game’s difficulty is not trivial, with some difficult jumps and proper puzzles – many of which involve one character doing something to help the other progress, from simply pressing a switch to jumping on a seesaw.
This is absolutely not Mario Party with a story and our only concern is what happens when you try to play along with someone else of a very different skill level. That wasn’t the case in our preview but if we’d had to sit there trying to explain you have to move the camera with the right stick, because we were playing with a casual gamer friend, it would have been a very different experience.
There’s also a lot of wall running in a lot of the levels (EA)
As it was though, everything was extremely entertaining, with little punishment for failure. The controls were also very intuitive, which is welcome considering what the various buttons do is constantly changing, depending on the level. After a couple of tutorial-ish stages, one in each world, things were immediately taken up a notch as the game started playing around with gravity in new sci-fi levels, allowing you to stick to walls and ceilings and run along them.
Mio (who we were playing as) gets a katana and Zoe a whip thing that allows her to grab objects and throw them, although both have grappling hooks that enable them to swing through a Fifth Element style traffic jam of flying cars. A boss battle then involved Mio releasing explosive barrels that Zoe could whip into the air and throw at the bad guy.
As we understand, the game doesn’t have any It Takes Two style mini-games but instead there are a number of side stories, which are full length levels but with a twist. The first one we played transformed us both into pigs, with Zoe having the ability to leap vertically in the air (because the pig was actually one of those toys with a springy head) and Mio can fly horizontally via a rainbow-hued fart.
The change in setting and style works great, with more abstract 3D platforming than the rest of the game – ending in you being transformed into sausages, that you have to lather with condiments before jumping into a hot dog bun and being eaten.
That’s not a spoiler, as it was in the first trailer, but the other side story we played was very obviously based on arcade snowboarding game SSX (for which EA is also the publisher).’ It had a little more of a sci-fi vibe, because it was one of Mio’s stories, but it played just like the old games and is hopefully something you can easily access at any time, as we’d gladly go back to it.
Returning to the standard levels, some of them are feature-length boss battles, such as an entertaining one against a giant robot ball that keeps throwing cars at you and has all sorts of laser beam and rocket attacks. This culminates with Mio having to jump onto it and running around the outside, like a planetoid in Super Mario Galaxy, as Zoe flings explosives at its one vulnerable spot.
There are quite a few overt references to other games throughout Split Fiction, with Metroid clearly being a Fares favourite. A lot of the bug-like enemies are straight out of the game, but one whole level has you playing as a morph ball, where Zoe is magnetic and Mio can transform into a swarm of insect-like robots that can form their own parachute.
The inspiration might be obvious, but the level and puzzles are very well designed, including when it segues into a pinball section where Zoe is still a morph ball but Mio has to activate the flippers and plungers as she moves through the stage.
I am legally distinct Groot (EA)
Despite the nods to various games and movies the game never feels derivative, simply because co-op gaming of this complexity is so rare. For example, another fun stage is a sci-fi one where you’re racing along on motorbikes, which can also attach to walls and ceilings at certain points and eventually get machineguns to use against enemies.
A subsequent fantasy level then has you transforming into different creatures (a fairy and what is basically Groot for Zoe and an ape and some kind of dragon/otter/thing for Mio) in one of the more puzzle-orientated sections.
It wasn’t entirely clear where these levels came in terms of the overall progress of the game (they were just served up to us automatically, rather than us accessing them organically) but the transforming fantasy level was definitely starting to get tricky, in terms of the level of co-operation needed and the obscurity of the puzzles.
A subsequent one, where you both get pet dragons, was even more so, with Zoe’s being able to roll like a ball and Mio’s being able to fly and spit acid. This was used in a variety of imaginative ways, in terms of puzzle solving, often also requiring quick reflexes to complete.
Somehow, the game’s difficulty always seemed to be pitched just right and we were never stuck long enough to get frustrated, with the solution always being satisfyingly logical.
The final level was also hard and basically a more-puzzle orientated version of Contra, with a soupçon of Portal. Not only could you run and jump but you could also aim in all directions with the right stick, like a dual-stick shooter. This led to some tricky colour-coded puzzles, requiring a lot of teamwork, and then a final boss battle which was enjoyably taxing, with constant changes in perspective and tactics.
It was certainly more entertaining than the last few official Contra games and underlined that while Split Fiction may sound gimmicky and unfocused in theory it doesn’t feel like that at all when you’re playing. Especially with someone sat next to you on the same couch, the game is enormously entertaining and it’s extremely impressive how finally balanced it is.
The whole thing should be a confusing mess of random mechanics and unpredictable controls but it’s not that at all. The visuals, particularly for the sci-fi levels, are a touch bland at times, and we’re not entirely convinced by the story and characters, but in terms of co-op action this seems a considerable step beyond the already excellent It Takes Two.
Formats: PC (previewed), Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 Price: £44.99 Publisher: EA Developer: Hazelight Studios Release Date: 6th March 2025 Age Rating: 16
Some of the later levels were starting to get enjoyably tricky (EA)
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