The situation with REANIMAL turned out to be as instructive as possible — the developers released Friend’s Pass on Steam just a few hours after the official launch. Now, in fact, to play this horror together, it’s enough to get just one licensed copy for two, and the partner just swings a free “friendly pass” and flies into the rink.
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Split Fiction — how to play through Friends Pass for free and invite a friend to cooperate
Why pay twice if the developers of Split Fiction allow you to complete the entire adventure under one license? Friends Pass mechanics are a legal way to save 50% of the budget for two people. The owner of the game simply throws an invite, and the partner flies into the session without buying a key. It works everywhere: Steam, PS5, Xbox, and even in the “probe” for those who have not yet decided.
Quick setup of Friends Pass: a step-by-step plan
To get started, you need to understand the base: the host must have a complete copy of Split Fiction, and the guest sets himself a special Friends Pass client. In fact, this is the same demo version that “comes to life” and opens all the content immediately after connecting to the owner.
Installation instructions for Friends Pass:
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We take the distribution kit. On Steam, look for the “Split Fiction – Friend’s Pass” page. PS5 owners need to go to the PS Store and grab the free addon. On Xbox, the scheme is the same — go to the Microsoft Store. Download and install.
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Synchronize the EA Account. Crossplay requires a common ecosystem. Both players need an account on ea.com . Without this bundle, the invitation simply will not reach.
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We are preparing online access. Console players need subscriptions for online battles (PS Plus or Xbox Game Pass Core / Ultimate). For PC boyars on Steam, it’s enough just to have a stable Internet connection.
Imagine the situation: your partner logged into the EA account, downloaded the Steam client, and now it’s ready. If you ignore this step, the system will issue an authorization error.
Where to download Friends Pass — platforms and conditions
Friends Pass turns a guest into a full-fledged participant while the host is online. If you both want to test the game before buying, there is an option with a regular demo. They will let you run through the introductory levels, and all the accumulated progress will be transferred to the full version when you decide to donate money to the developers.
Friends Pass Guide
The demo mode is good for a short mechanic test. If a partner is in doubt, just give him the gamepad in his hands or drop a link to the client — after the first levels, the purchase question usually disappears by itself.
How to invite a friend — activation guide
Forget about entering long codes or picking through files. All controls are hardwired directly into the Split Fiction interface.
The host creates a lobby. We fly into the game, click “Play Online” or immediately “Invite a Friend” in the main menu.
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We invite you. We are looking for a friend’s nickname in the list (Steam/ PSN / Xbox) and send a request. The notification arrives to the partner instantly.
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The guest accepts the call. A friend launches his Friends Pass, sees the incoming request and clicks “Accept”. Next, the magic of synchronization — and you’re in the same session.
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The start of the skating rink. You’re a team now. If you decide to play on the same couch (locally), just plug in the second controller.
Possible connection errors and regional restrictions
In some regions (for example, in the Russian Federation), a VPN may be required to access the store or EA servers. Also check the privacy settings in your PSN/Xbox profiles so that your online status is visible to others.
Interestingly, however, at the very release, the project was noticeably put on the asphalt with its face — users flooded the game with angry reviews precisely because this feature was not delivered in the very first second. To be fair, back in January, the authors apparently warned the audience: there would be a pass, but they could not guarantee its operation right at the time of launch.
At the moment, the title has already accumulated more than 2.3 thousand reviews, while the rating has frozen at 73% of positive opinions. It’s quite strange, to be honest, considering that the demo had as much as 96% approval at the time — the gap, you must admit, is impressive.
The REANIMAL release itself took place simultaneously on all the announced hardware back on February 13, at 9:00 a.m. New York time. By the way, the developers have already promised to add 3 new DLCs in the future — powerful, of course, but there are no details or exact release dates yet.
In general, the team is clearly trying to rectify the situation and regain the loyalty of the fans by responding promptly to the haight. Let’s see how this will actually affect online performance in the coming days, because technically the game is cool — it needs to be recognized.
