Split Fiction Side Stories: All 12 Locations

Split Fiction has 12 side stories, three each in chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5. They're optional, but you need all of them for the Bookworms achievement, and three of them hold extra achievements of their own. This guide lists every side story with the mission it's in and how to reach its portal.

Last checked: November 9, 2026. Locations are cross-checked between PowerPyx's side story guide, two Steam Community guides, and the mission lists from Backdash and PlayerAuctions.

What side stories are

EA describes side stories as completely optional detours behind out-of-place, glowing portals that you find during the main story. In the plot, they're glitches in the simulation Mio and Zoe share: the Machine pulls in old, unfinished stories the two wrote when they were younger, and those become short, separate levels.

Each one is built around its own mechanic. EA's introduction to side stories mentions riding sandfish across a desert, turning into pigs, snowboarding down a mountain under fire, a water-skiing chase and a spacewalk that goes wrong. When you finish one, you come back out through the portal to the spot where you went in.

All 12 side stories at a glance

Chapters 1, 6, 7 and 8 (Rader Publishing, Isolation, The Hollow and Split) have no side stories. Our Split Fiction chapters list shows where each mission sits in the story.

Where to find each side story

Portals usually sit just off the main route, so the general rule is simple: when the path splits, check the branch that isn't obviously the way forward, and look for a bright glow.

Chapter 2: Neon Revenge

1. The Legend of the Sandfish. This one is right at the start of Play Me Techno. After the opening cutscene, the portal is directly in front of you.

2. Farmlife. Early in Streets of Neon. The elevators on the left carry on with the story, so ignore them, look to the right and get over the fence to reach the portal. This is the pig side story, and it has two achievements: get inside the giant pig for Goin' Whole Hog, and knock down the brick house from behind for Huffing and Puffing.

3. Mountain Hike. In Big City Life, on the rooftop with the portable toilets. Normally one player throws the other, inside a toilet, across to continue. Instead, throw them onto the high balcony behind you. The player up there knocks down a ladder so the other can climb up to the portal.

Chapter 3: Hopes of Spring

4. Train Heist. Late in Lord Evergreen. Skip the route on the left and head for the glowing area, then wall-run and swing across to the portal.

5. Gameshow. In Walking Stick of Doom. After you cross the bridge into a large open area, take the left side instead of the right and look for the glow. Gameshow holds Cold Potato, the rarest achievement on Steam: you have to clear all seven rounds without the bomb going off.

6. Collapsing Star. In Halls of Ice, around the Ice King's castle early in the mission. Keep an eye out for the glowing portal off the main path as you approach and enter the castle.

Chapter 4: Final Dawn

7. Kites. In Toxic Tumblers, in the hallway with large rotating cylinders. Rather than turning left with the main path, go straight to the far end of the hallway, where the portal glows.

8. Moon Market. In Test Chamber, in the hallway with red and blue targets. Leave the main route, shoot the targets and cross the moving platforms on the left side to reach the portal. Moon Market has two achievements: turn your partner into a chair with the wand and sit on them for Chair the Load, and brew and drink every potion on the list for Potion Chef.

9. Notebook. In Soaring Desperados, during the jetpack section. Fly over to the left side of the huge pipe and you'll see the portal on a small island.

Chapter 5: Rise of the Dragon Realm

10. Slopes of War. In Water Temple. Take the left path first, then use the levers to move the platforms and ride them across to the portal.

11. Space Escape. Near the start of Craft Temple. After you leave the cave, take the path on the right instead of heading straight on.

12. Birthday Cake. At the very start of Treasure Temple. Follow the pink crystal path and stay to the left. The portal is on a floating gummy bear in a glowing area.

Missed one? Use chapter select

You can't lose a side story for good. Every mission you've finished appears in chapter select, and you can load any side story from there and replay it as often as you like. Finished side stories get a checkmark, so you can see at a glance which ones are left.

If a friend has already played a side story, they can host it and invite you, even if you haven't reached that part of the game yourself. That also works when you're joining through the free Friend's Pass, although Friend's Pass players don't earn achievements.

The Bookworms achievement

Bookworms ("Complete all side stories") unlocks when you've finished all 12. For a side story to count, you have to play it through to the end and come back out of the portal. Leaving partway doesn't count.

Bookworms is a Gold trophy on PS5. On Steam, about 18% of players have unlocked it, compared with about 28% who have finished the story (the BFF's achievement). See the full list in our Split Fiction achievements and trophies guide.

How long do side stories take?

They're short. Time estimates from guide sites put the main story at roughly 10 to 13 hours and the main story plus all side stories at about 15 to 16, so all 12 together add around 3 to 4 hours, or roughly 15 to 20 minutes each on average.

Frequently asked questions

How many side stories are in Split Fiction?

There are 12 side stories. Neon Revenge, Hopes of Spring, Final Dawn and Rise of the Dragon Realm each have three, and the other chapters have none.

Are Split Fiction side stories missable?

No. You might walk past one, but every side story can be replayed from chapter select after you've reached its mission. Finished ones get a checkmark there.

Do you have to do side stories in Split Fiction?

No. EA calls them completely optional, and you can finish the game without them. You only need them for the Bookworms achievement and the five achievements found inside side stories.

Where is the first side story in Split Fiction?

The Legend of the Sandfish is the first. It's at the very start of Play Me Techno in chapter 2, Neon Revenge, right after the opening cutscene.

What is the last side story in Split Fiction?

Birthday Cake is the last. It's at the start of Treasure Temple in chapter 5, Rise of the Dragon Realm, on a floating gummy bear off to the left.

Which side stories have achievements?

Farmlife has Goin' Whole Hog and Huffing and Puffing, Gameshow has Cold Potato, and Moon Market has Chair the Load and Potion Chef. Finishing all 12 unlocks Bookworms.