Split Fiction Walkthrough: Chapter Route and Side Stories

When both screens disagree, describe the job rather than the scenery. “Hold the disc lit while I pull it” is useful; “go to the thing on the left” is not. Split Fiction changes powers, camera rules, and even what each player can see, but every room still reduces to three questions: which player can alter the obstacle, what state must be held, and when does the other player move?

This route follows all eight chapters in story order, marks all twelve optional Side Story portals where they intersect the main path, and concentrates on the handoffs most likely to stall a pair. It names subchapters, abilities, and bosses, but does not retell the ending.

Set up the partnership before entering Rader Publishing#

Split Fiction is built for two players. Local split-screen works with two controllers, or on PC with one controller plus keyboard and mouse. The current official Friend’s Pass instructions say local co-op can be played offline without an EA account. Online play needs the appropriate platform accounts and EA accounts; cross-platform invitations also need cross-play enabled. If one player owns the full game, the other can install Friend’s Pass and join the entire adventure. A two-player Friend’s Pass trial covers the opening, and that progress can carry forward when one player buys the game.

Choose Mio and Zoe for comfort, not for a supposed difficulty advantage. The game assigns different work to them, but it repeatedly changes that work. Instead, agree on four callouts:

• Object: name the switch, disc, pedestal, shield, platform, or creature you are manipulating.
• State: say “held,” “moving,” “safe,” “charged,” or “releasing” before the other player commits.
• Destination: use a landmark visible to the moving player, not the caller.
• Reset: after a failed attempt, decide whether the operator changed the state too early or the traveler moved too late. Do not change both timings at once.

The official accessibility options include skippable checkpoints. That is valuable when a repeated execution sequence becomes a physical barrier, but skipping a checkpoint is different from solving its underlying co-op rule. If you plan to return for achievements, first learn which player controls the room; Chapter Select can handle the cleanup later.

Keep the chapter route and optional portals on one map#

All twelve portals sit in Chapters 2–5. Entering a portal is not enough for the Side Story completion mark: finish the scenario and return to the main chapter. Later, Chapter Select shows the individual Side Stories and their completion marks, so missing one never justifies restarting an otherwise healthy campaign.

Rader Publishing teaches the handoff before it gives you powers#

Subchapter order: Freedom Fighters, then Brave Knights.

Freedom Fighters is a movement exam disguised as an escape. Jump, wall-run, grapple, and activate paired consoles until you reach the large laser turbine. One player must keep the side control engaged so gaps appear in the spinning fins. The other crosses through those gaps with the grappling points. The operator should not pulse the control or chase the traveler; hold it until the crossing finishes. The turbine then fails, opening the same route for the player who stayed behind.

The next repeated pattern is simultaneous activation. At the pair of narrow rails, each player takes one rail and reaches a separate switch. Later consoles ask both players to act when a moving block reaches its center. Count down from a visible machine state — “block entering, now” — rather than from an arbitrary three-two-one. Network delay and reaction time make a visual cue more reliable.

Brave Knights removes the machinery but keeps the same logic. The barrel slope and ogre chases are forward-commitment sections: hesitation is more dangerous than an imperfect line. Inside the windmill, climb with the rotating mechanism and treat the gears as a repeating cycle. In the open field, rocks kill immediately, so the pair cannot simply sprint together. One player deliberately attracts an ogre’s attention while the other crosses a safe gap; the player who advanced then returns the distraction from the new angle. If both characters are being watched, stop and reset the aggro instead of racing the throw.

The last tower chase only needs one player to reach the top to move the story onward. That is the chapter’s final lesson: survival and progress are often shared even when the current execution is not. Do not abandon a successful run to wait for a partner who has already fallen behind a collapsing route.

Neon Revenge makes each weapon a different verb#

Subchapter order: Rush Hour, Play Me Techno, Streets of Neon, The Getaway Car, Big City Life, Flipped Cityscapes, Gravity Bike, Skyscraper Climb.

Mio’s katana damages enemies, cuts or releases marked mechanisms, and lets her shift onto valid gravity surfaces. Zoe’s Gravity Whip grabs, throws, or pulls marked objects and enemy parts. When a room appears to give only one player a route, ask whether Mio must first reorient herself or Zoe must first move the route into reach. The solution is rarely both players attacking the same target.

Rush Hour and Play Me Techno

Rush Hour introduces the division cleanly. Mio reaches cables or surfaces Zoe cannot; Zoe moves vehicles, hooks, and loose objects Mio can use. In the truck-and-crane sequences, establish the endpoint before moving the crane. During the explosive police-car attack, Mio opens access on the truck while Zoe turns the available debris into return fire. The encounter ends when the vehicle is destroyed, not when every ordinary enemy is cleared.

Side Story 1 — The Legend of the Sandfish: it appears at the beginning of Play Me Techno, immediately after the game explains the Side Story system. The bubble faces the route, so this is the least ambiguous portal in the game.

Play Me Techno expands the ball handoffs: Mio can send an explosive object across a gap, and Zoe can redirect it into glass or another target. Say where the throw should end before Mio launches. If the ball is reaching Zoe but the room does not change, the receiving player probably has a second target rather than a timing problem.

Streets of Neon through Skyscraper Climb

Side Story 2 — Farmlife: at the start of Streets of Neon, the main route uses the elevator on the left. Cross the fence to the right before taking it. The farm-themed portal is beyond that short detour.

The Parking Attendant encounter asks Zoe to throw arena objects and pull exposed boss parts while Mio stays close and attacks. When the boss stops accepting damage, do not keep striking the armored shell: Zoe should search for a new grabbable piece, then Mio uses the opening.

The Getaway Car fixes the roles — Zoe drives the flying car and Mio shoots threats — so agree that only the driver calls lane changes. Big City Life returns to puzzle handoffs after the pool. Look for the optional bench before grappling away on the flying traffic; both players must sit and let the exchange finish if you want bench credit.

Side Story 3 — Mountain Hike: at the rooftop with three portable toilets, the obvious route has Zoe throw Mio across the street inside a toilet. Turn around first. Zoe instead throws Mio in a toilet onto the upper balcony; Mio knocks down the ladder so Zoe can join her at the portal.

Flipped Cityscapes changes the presentation and can temporarily leave only Mio with an active interaction. Track the highlighted objects rather than assuming Zoe has missed a control. Gravity Bike again fixes roles: Mio drives and changes gravity while Zoe handles incoming threats and the phone sequence. The story continues even if the optional phone challenge fails, so protect the bike first. Skyscraper Climb gives each player a bike; survive the vertical run, then apply the familiar boss rule — expose with the correct ability, attack during the opening, and stop spending attention on invulnerable armor.

Hopes of Spring is a transformation relay#

Subchapter order: The Underlands, Lord Evergreen, Heart of the Forest, Mother Earth, Walking Stick of Doom, Silly Monkeys, It Takes Three to Tango, Halls of Ice, The Ice King.

Mio alternates between a strong ape-like form and a small aquatic form. Zoe alternates between a mobile fairy and a Treant that can pull, hold, or manipulate parts of the forest. The important distinction is force versus duration: Mio often starts a movement with a strike, while Zoe keeps an object in position long enough for Mio or another object to pass.

The Underlands teaches that pairing. Mio breaks vines and smashes mechanisms; Zoe chains fairy movement across gaps. When insects block the rock route, Mio’s timed hit creates the window and Zoe must already be committed to the next latch. Lord Evergreen then uses an egg and seesaw: Mio supplies the weight while Zoe holds and releases the log so it strikes at the right moment.

Side Story 4 — Train Heist: in Lord Evergreen, the main path bends toward poles over the water. Take the glowing branch in the other direction, then grapple and wall-run to the portal.

Heart of the Forest and Mother Earth temporarily turn Zoe’s influence into the level itself. Mio remains the traveler while Zoe controls plants, clears bugs, or opens a living path. If Mio reaches a dead vine wall, Zoe should scan the wider scene for a controllable plant rather than follow the same corridor. During Mio’s aquatic runs, move only after Zoe has completed the environmental change; water hazards often punish entering a lane while it is still transitioning.

Side Story 5 — Gameshow: after the rope bridge in Walking Stick of Doom, enter the broad open area and take the glowing route on the left. The portal is reached by a short platform and wall-run detour. The optional Cold Potato achievement demands a clean Side Story run, but an explosion does not invalidate the portal’s ordinary completion if you finish the scenario.

Silly Monkeys contains the totem door that causes many false inputs. Read the target arrangement on the door first. Mio strikes a pole to move it; Zoe’s Treant grip freezes the pole at the chosen height only briefly. Set one pole at a time and let Zoe confirm “held” before Mio stops acting on it. Random simultaneous hits make the visual sequence harder to read.

It Takes Three to Tango is a staged Monkey King encounter, so watch for the current performance prompt rather than trying to damage through a transition. In Halls of Ice, the transformations become size and route tools again. Solve the moving ice block before entering the lower route, and use Mio’s aquatic form beneath the frozen pond. Side Story 6 — Collapsing Star sits on the path after the approach platforming and before entering the Ice King’s castle.

The Ice King battle has a clear failure signal. When the pond is open, Mio can use the water route while Zoe works from above. When the king freezes it, ordinary attacks do not restore that access. Stand where the boss’s explosive fur projectiles will break the ice, reopen the pond, then repeat the real damage cycle. The correct response to the frozen phase is terrain repair, not more attacks on the boss.

Final Dawn turns color into a routing rule#

Subchapter order: The Dropship, Infiltration, Gun Upgrade, Toxic Tumblers, Factory Entrance, Factory Exterior, Test Chamber, Run and Gun, The Overseer, Soaring Desperados, The Escape, System Fail Safe Mode.

After the Dropship descent, the factory establishes a strict rule: Mio handles red switches and Zoe handles blue. In Infiltration, shoot each character’s own targets to build platforms and open doors. Against the Chainsaw Mech, lure it onto the energized floor and trigger the nearby orb to interrupt its shield; damage only during that interruption. If the shield returns in a different color, the other player takes ownership of the next opening.

The Gun Upgrade adds Shield Busters. Fire the charge onto a valid shield or node, then detonate it to cut a temporary opening. A charge attached to the wrong color or detonated before the traveler arrives is not progress. In long passages, use the callout “placed — ready — detonate,” and let the traveler own the final word.

Side Story 7 — Kites: in Toxic Tumblers, cross the rotating machinery above the toxic flow. At the corridor where the story route turns left, continue straight to the portal. The Side Story is an aerial race; finishing matters for the Side Story mark, winning against your partner does not.

The green laser dome is a timing check layered over the color rule. The sweep changes shield colors and kills on contact, so wait for the beam, reassess ownership, and only then place charges. Factory Entrance asks both explosions to cover a set of shields at once; Factory Exterior moves a charged box between the players’ colored barriers. Do not detonate when the box begins moving — wait until it reaches the partner’s barrier.

The Factory Warden exposes switches through Shield Buster hits on its legs. After a leg drops, jump the floor wave and clear the laser drones instead of crowding the invulnerable body. Its later glow again announces which color can break the defense. The finishing arena shrinks above toxic liquid, so preserve movement space and use the final switches to bring the press down.

Side Story 8 — Moon Market: after the Warden, crawl through the duct and reach the revolving platform. Ignore the laser route on the right for a moment and continue straight/left to the portal. The market’s three paths each return a cat; all three must be brought back to open the exit.

Run and Gun asks both players to attach Shield Busters to the same moving lever node, move it with the switches, then detonate during the transfer. Soaring Desperados adds short jetpack bursts. Treat every laser-free ledge as a fuel and camera reset rather than holding boost until it empties.

Side Story 9 — Notebook: after receiving the jetpacks, approach the large pipe or wire with the moving spike assembly. The portal is on the small platform to the left before the route continues on the right. After returning, the nearby bench appears later when the jetpacks are handed back, in front of the large window.

The Escape is a speedboat run: steer around hazards or dive under them. System Fail Safe Mode then tethers Mio and Zoe. Distance itself becomes lethal. At pressure plates, the forward player moves only far enough to create the next safe position, then waits. At the periodic orange beam, raise the platform together and advance in the gap after the shot. Reaching the glitch ends the chapter.

Rise of the Dragon Realm changes the same partners three times#

Subchapter route: A Serpentine Path, Water Temple, Dragon Riders Unite, The Dragon Slayer, Craft Temple, Dragon Souls, Treasure Temple, Royal Palace, Treasure Traitor, Might of Dragons, Into the Storm, Megalith’s Wrath.

A Serpentine Path begins with one egg per player. An egg on a pedestal can raise a wing, rotate a statue, or hold a route in place. The player who crosses first must find the far pedestal before the original operator removes an egg. On the weighted outdoor statue, both players grapple to opposite sides and move together; one early release tilts the shared support away from the partner.

The Water Temple entrance sends a pulse along a serpent through four pedestal positions. Split the route instead of chasing the pulse together. One player starts it and moves toward the later pedestal while the other handles the first continuation, then runs to the final head position. Place each egg shortly before the pulse arrives. Both players must reach the paired end pedestals before the signal reaches them.

The eggs hatch inside the temple. Mio’s hatchling glides across space; Zoe’s latches onto marked growth and climbs. In the boat, paddling on one side turns the boat the other way, so pick a caller and use short corrections. After the split, Zoe’s latch commonly moves a column or creates height for Mio’s glide; Mio’s lever then returns a hook or platform for Zoe.

Side Story 10 — Slopes of War: near the end of the Water Temple route, the main path crosses two golden spheres. Take the wooden bridge to the left first. Use the lever-and-platform detour to climb to the portal.

At the Water Temple symbol room, Mio sees the launch route while Zoe controls the matching floor symbols. Mio should name the next symbol before beginning a glide; Zoe then activates the geyser that will exist when Mio reaches it. In the moving-cover section, choose based on where the cover will be, not where it is when Mio jumps.

Dragon Riders Unite gives the hatchlings new combat and traversal actions. Mio can use acid breath on chains and mechanisms; Zoe can roll, charge, latch, and strike heavy targets. When golden balls must cross temporary platforms, Mio builds the route with acid-triggered machinery while Zoe pushes the ball before it disappears. Solve the platform state first, then move the payload.

Side Story 11 — Space Escape: at the start of Craft Temple, leave the cave and inspect the right-hand detour before committing to the temple route. Mio melts the chain that creates access; Zoe uses her climbing/charging movement to reach the portal.

Dragon Souls is a hub with four objective eggs. Complete one branch at a time and return to the center rather than mixing partial states. Its bell crossing is a timing problem: Zoe’s impact creates a very short platform, so Mio calls just before gliding into the gap. The horn sequence is another held-state route — Mio feeds acid into each horn only after Zoe is committed to the platform it creates.

Side Story 12 — Birthday Cake: after restoring the four dragon spirits and taking the spirit-dragon ride, follow the pink-crystal path toward Treasure Temple. Before the golden arch, bounce from the floating gummy bear on the left to reach the final portal.

Royal Palace contains the rolling wheel whose high-frame-rate behavior was addressed by the official March 17 update. If it still appears mechanically too slow despite correct input, confirm the game is updated before changing the solution. The later combat escalates the same two-player verbs rather than introducing a secret third rule: Mio opens or melts targets; Zoe breaks, rolls, or charges through the result.

During Megalith’s Wrath, protect forward motion and react to the boss’s shake. Hold the cling input as soon as the body starts throwing the riders off, then resume climbing only when it settles. At the crystal in the forehead, both players must strike together. A clean countdown here is appropriate because both screens are acting on the same target and no intermediate machine state is moving.

Isolation is easier when you stop calling both drones “the ball”#

Subchapter order: Prison Ship, Handy Drones, Down the Rabbit Hole, Hydration Facility, Prison Courtyard, Pinball Lock, Execution Arena, Waste Depot, Cell Blocks, Maximum Security.

Mio’s drone is the hacker and later becomes a controllable boat or weapon platform. Zoe’s drone is magnetic: it sticks to green surfaces, rides Mio’s vehicle forms, and becomes the object launched through pinball machinery. Use “hacker” and “magnet” in callouts; confusing their silhouettes wastes more time than the puzzles themselves.

Prison Ship starts with separated routes. A player touching a green zone can interrupt electricity affecting the opposite pole, so wait for the partner’s confirmation before climbing. At the alternating swing room, activating one side creates the next point for the other player. This is a relay — one player parks safely while the other advances and creates the return opportunity.

In Handy Drones, Zoe sticks to the fan’s green section while Mio rotates it. On the balancing platform, Zoe changes the tilt by rolling; correct a fall with a short counter-roll rather than racing across the whole surface. Down the Rabbit Hole then combines the roles: Zoe powers the fan, Mio hacks the crane, Zoe attaches to its green point, and Mio moves it. The magnetized harpoon later requires Zoe to ride the projectile while Mio aims. The official update corrected its camera-sensitivity handling, so an obviously misaligned aim in an unpatched build is not evidence that the target order is wrong.

Hydration Facility turns Mio into the boat and Zoe into the passenger/operator. At rotating tubes, Zoe transfers to a fresh green surface while Mio passes through the narrow route alone, then returns for pickup. In the fiery ring, one player moves at a time: Mio rotates the safe sector after Zoe stops, then Zoe advances after the geometry stops. Simultaneous rotation and movement makes both players misread the hazard.

Prison Courtyard is a stealth escort. Mio temporarily disables guards and opens devices; Zoe crosses during those brief windows. A stunned guard is not permanently removed, so Mio calls the wake-up risk rather than moving ahead. Pinball Lock reverses the feeling of control: Mio aims springs and flippers, but Zoe still adjusts her drone in flight. Aim through the gap, launch once, then let Zoe correct. Against Pinbawser, Zoe pulls the boss toward a flipper and Mio fires it into the saw.

Execution Arena’s .exe-QT-3.14 exposes a hand. Zoe magnetizes or holds it; Mio attacks during that restraint. Waste Depot returns to moving-platform rescues and ends near the chapter’s bench: before Mio hacks the large container, check its right side and have both characters sit.

Cell Blocks alternates robot hacking with magnetic traversal. When Zoe is inside a crusher or container, save the magnetic push for late in the cycle so Mio receives the largest uninterrupted hacking window. Maximum Security’s laser rooms again make Mio the remote operator. Mio can hack ahead and rotate supports while Zoe levitates between green fields. In the final circular mechanism, Zoe lifts the green sections for Mio’s laser; prioritize the repair robot before continuing the cut, or it will erase progress while the larger enemies pin Mio down.

The Hollow rewards one operator and one traveler — until it joins them#

Subchapter order: An Ominous Welcome, Mosaic of Memories, Ghost Town, Light in the Dark, Spiritual Guides, The Hydra.

Zoe’s spectral fish creates a vortex on flat surfaces and pulls structures. Mio’s owl illuminates discs, producing solid light paths or activating mechanisms. Most early rooms are solved in that order: Zoe places or positions the disc, Mio lights it, and Mio keeps holding the light while both characters cross. If the bridge disappears under the traveler, the operator released the light; moving the disc again will not fix that.

Mosaic of Memories stacks both states. Zoe pulls a wall or disc while Mio maintains illumination, creating a moving route. The sixth and final bench sits after a light-shard crossing in this subchapter; it is close to the route, but both characters still need to sit. At the wheel-and-chain room, do not attempt every control at once: move the disc down, light it, raise the chain, then use the next vortex position to reach it.

Ghost Town puts the pair on a chandelier. Shift weight together to dodge Hydra strikes, then let Zoe pull the chandelier while Mio deals with the spectral threats. At the snake door, the center rings need to form one continuous coiled design. Zoe’s vortex moves a ring and Mio’s light rotates the active section. Align the middle connection first, release Mio’s input, then use Zoe’s remaining rotation to finish the outer curve. If both continue turning, a correct center is immediately lost.

Spiritual Guides connects the characters into one long creature. Distance and order now matter more than individual speed. On long ledge transfers, the trailing player releases to swing the leader forward. At the staggered moving platforms, the player with safe footing waits while the other transfers; alternating movement keeps the shared body from being stretched into hazards.

The Hydra separates the pair and asks them to move toward each other through mirrored danger. When they meet, tether the spectral creatures and take the current head. Later heads use crossbows, a catapult, and restored light rather than the same attack. Inside the Hydra, Mio’s carried light keeps Zoe alive; climb one platform at a time inside that radius. Reassemble the final structure with Zoe’s power, illuminate the weapon with Mio, and release the finishing shot.

Split is a communication exam, not a new inventory#

Subchapter order: Split Up, A Warm Greeting, Face-to-Face, Worlds Apart, Cross Section, Fight a God, A New Perspective, Outside the Box, Final Showdown.

Split Up gives Mio and Zoe different versions of the same coordinates. Mio may see machinery where Zoe sees fantasy terrain; an object can exist for both players but look unrelated. Stop naming art. Call function and position: “second pressure point beside you,” “the movable raft under me,” or “the target connected to the door.”

At the early pressure-plate room, Mio identifies the live positions and directs Zoe to the matching spot in her version. In the water/void room, Zoe swims to the raft while Mio sees her suspended over empty space. Zoe pulls the raft into Mio’s reachable position, Mio boards, and Zoe moves it while Mio calls invisible electric gates. At the cannon room, Mio enters the cannon and targets the wire over the red door while Zoe uses the lever to send water buckets through her fire barrier. The actions solve different-looking halves of one machine.

A Warm Greeting collapses the display into one shared presentation split between fantasy and science fiction. Move based on the safe half currently under the character, not the side the character began on. Face-to-Face begins the Rader fight. Red floor warnings identify sections about to disappear. Survive until glitches spawn, collect them, and then both players interact with the combined glitch at the same time. The reward is the weapon for the current damage phase; firing before the shared interaction is impossible, so the stalled state always means one player is not on the trigger.

Worlds Apart returns separate rules. At the launcher/statue puzzle, Mio and Zoe activate their consoles together so the rockets feed the fantasy-side statues and create Zoe’s crossing while Mio uses her own bridge. Cross Section then slides visual layers across a shared physical layout. Trust collision and the partner’s position, not the temporary texture covering the floor.

Fight a God repeats the glitch cycle with a different weapon. Dodge the sword sweeps and the flame wave from the overhead slam, gather the spawned glitches, activate the central mass together, and use the granted sword beams during the damage window. A New Perspective puts Mio inside a screen while Zoe moves from above: Zoe stomps controls and supply crates so Mio can stay ahead of the grinder. Outside the Box reverses the device relationship — Mio tilts the screen that contains Zoe. Tilt for one obstacle at a time, let Zoe reach stable ground, and only then create the next slope. During the minecart chase, tilt back to control speed if Zoe cannot keep pace with the moving route.

Final Showdown reuses threats from earlier chapters. Treat each as recognition, not as a request to relearn the whole boss: avoid the returning attack pattern, wait for the central glitch, activate it together, and use the new weapon. The final phase is won by maintaining that shared trigger-and-damage loop while surviving the callbacks, not by finding a hidden collectible or alternate ending branch.

Use Chapter Select as a checklist, not a second campaign#

After the story, inspect the Side Story marks in Chapter Select. A completed Side Story has its own confirmation; if a portal was entered but abandoned, replay that subchapter and finish the scenario. The twelve-item audit is finite:

1. Play Me Techno — The Legend of the Sandfish
2. Streets of Neon — Farmlife
3. Big City Life — Mountain Hike
4. Lord Evergreen — Train Heist
5. Walking Stick of Doom — Gameshow
6. Halls of Ice — Collapsing Star
7. Toxic Tumblers — Kites
8. Test Chamber — Moon Market
9. Soaring Desperados — Notebook
10. Water Temple — Slopes of War
11. Craft Temple — Space Escape
12. Treasure Temple — Birthday Cake

The six benches form a second, smaller audit: Big City Life after the pool, Halls of Ice after the castle-entry puzzles, Soaring Desperados after returning the jetpacks, Water Temple after the partners reunite beyond the water wheels, Waste Depot beside the large container, and Mosaic of Memories after the light-shard crossing. Both players should sit; let the scene play instead of standing immediately.

Use checkpoint skipping only to reach a missed location more quickly. It does not replace the requirement to finish a Side Story, and it does not turn a partial portal visit into completion. For an achievement-specific challenge inside a Side Story, restart that Side Story when the attempt fails rather than replaying the surrounding main chapter.

Your final route check is simple: eight story chapters cleared, twelve Side Stories marked, and any wanted bench or challenge revisited through its named subchapter. Nothing in Chapters 6–8 requires searching for a thirteenth portal.

Sources & credits#

The official Split Fiction Steam listing and AppID 2001120 appdetails response establish Hazelight Studios as developer, Electronic Arts as publisher, the March 6, 2025 release, co-op features, and the official screenshot array. The five 1920×1080 images in this article are byte-unchanged JPG files from that array. Current co-op, account, cross-play, Friend’s Pass, and offline local-play conditions were checked against the official Friend’s Pass page.

The version boundary and affected puzzle notes come from EA’s official March 17 update notes. Chapter order, role handoffs, puzzle states, boss detectors, portal locations, Chapter Select behavior, and bench cleanup were reconciled across the readable supplied walkthroughs, community guides, and verified walkthrough references. Two supplied Steam Community guides carried removal/incompatibility warning markup and were kept as limited cross-checks; the Reddit input was only a user video post and supported no article fact. No competitor image or unverified video was used.