Buckshot Roulette was my introduction to Mike Klubnika and cemented me as a fan for life. So when I received a code for his next psychological horror game, I didn’t waste a second installing it and playing the entire thing in a few sittings. S.p.l.i.t is, without a doubt, the weirdest game I’ve played all year, and one that comes with a few caveats.
Story
You play as a hacker who has to launch a malware attack with the aid of your fellow technicians, whom you’re connected with through an IRC chatroom.
I’m going to try not to spoil the game because it’s pretty brief, but essentially, you will be spending a lot of time looking at terminal code and figuring out how to gain access to devices. I’m also not going to pretend and say that having some coding knowledge isn’t helpful here, but if you take your time to understand what each command does, you’ll make progress.
Gameplay
This is a game that’s played entirely with the keyboard, making it even more immersive because your entire form of interaction is largely by staring at different screens. This isn’t a game that will hold your hand, though, and I wouldn’t judge you for using a guide to figure some of the coding bits out.
There is no shortage of horror here, though, but it’s not in your face; it’s psychological with a lingering sense of dread as you uncover more secrets and unravel the plot of the game, and what you’re doing in the first place. This is made possible with the incredible art direction on display with entirely diegetic interfaces.
Playing this with your lights off and headphones plugged in is a magical and haunting experience because the game gets weirder as it progresses. The music is also pretty good and something I can actually picture myself listening to while I’m writing reviews like this.
I hope it’s obvious that I’m avoiding talking much about the game, but it’s because this is one of those games you have to go into blind with as little information as possible. Just know that it’s weird, brilliant, and pretty damn scary (in its way).
Yes, it does make you get comfortable with clearing the terminal screen several times until you make some sense of the code and what you’re supposed to do, but it’s worth it in the end for the experience it gives you.
Conclusion
S.p.l.i.t is an unapologetic game, that’s one for the books and probably the strangest game of 2025. The way you’re supposed to play it, which is interacting with terminal code, might scare some folks off, but it’s worth putting the extra effort into, especially if you’re a fan of immersive horror games with very deliberately designed diegetic systems.
