It Takes Two

It Takes Two - Navigate a World Made Strange with a Good Friend!

A Beautiful Action-Packed Adventure for Two

A Beautiful and Original New Cooperative Action Game from the Makers of A Way Out

It Takes Two is an innovative action-platformer-puzzler from developer Josef Fares and Hazelight Studios, published by EA Originals. It launched in March 2021 on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4|5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

The game launched with popular and critical success. It’s been widely praised for its creative storytelling and its engaging and varied gameplay.

The Gameplay Subtly Mirrors the Story’s Themes, then the Story Hits You Over the Head with Them

It does take two. Like Fares’ previous game A Way Out, It Takes Two is only playable in a co-op team of two players. The gameplay requires teamwork every step of the way. Generally, the players are given complimentary abilities that have to be used in tandem to solve each level. Even in online play, the screen displays in split-screen mode, because you need to be aware of what your partner is seeing and doing.

It Takes Two is only playable in a co-op team of two players.

The gameplay mirrors the story’s themes. In It Takes Two, you play the wife-and-husband team, May and Cody. The couple has decided on divorce, but when they break the news to their daughter Rose, Fate takes a hand. Rose’s tears somehow transport the souls of her parents into two of her dolls. As the dolls, you have to navigate an out-of-scale world that grows increasingly surreal as you make your way back to Rose and try to undo the curse. In the process, you learn to communicate and work together, with the help of a talking, animated self-help book - The Book of Love.

If that last part sounds a little on the nose, well, it is. The story can sometimes come off a bit simplistic and preachy. But it’s great to see a game whose story and gameplay harmonize so well, and it’s a ton of fun to boot.

Concept Rating: 4/5

A Fantastic World Beautifully Rendered

It Takes Two presents a strange and beautiful world that’s constantly changing yet always grounded. The action, as fantastic as it is, feels convincingly real. Your doll avatars look simple, but they convincingly portray a wide range of actions and emotions.

Your doll avatars look simple, but they convincingly portray a wide range of actions and emotions.

In creating an emotionally moving game, the audio is as important as the graphics. It Takes Two features a charming soundtrack that conveys a wide breadth of emotions. The voice acting (with the possible exception of the book’s parts) is also engaging - by turns funny, sad, and exciting.

Graphics & Audio Rating: 5/5

Harmony, and Variety

The gameplay of It Takes Two is all about two-player cooperation. At each stage, the characters are given new and complementary abilities. You’ll need communication and teamwork to use these abilities together and make it through the stage.

These abilities are amusing, inventive, and fun to watch. At one stage, Cody has a launcher that fires gobs of explosive honey, and May has the matches to ignite it. At another, Cody has a bunch of nails and May has the hammer. You have to use them together - but not in the way you might expect!

It Takes Two makes sure that your experience is always fresh and new.

Every challenge is different. None of them are excessively complex, but you never have time to settle into a rut. As soon as you master your tools and techniques, along comes a new scene and a new set of rules. Again, this is a clever match for the game’s theme: in a game about rediscovering your love for your spouse, it wouldn’t do to get tired of doing the same old thing. It Takes Two makes sure that your experience is always fresh and new.

While not everybody will want to put hundreds of hours into this game, most people will want to replay it at least once - to experience the gameplay from their partner’s side!

It Takes Two is a cooperative gamer’s delight - exciting, inventive, and moving. If you have a friend that you’d like to spend 5 to 15 hours with, it should be time well spent.

Gameplay Rating: 5/5

TL;DR

It Takes Two is great co-op fun - a delightful two-player game in which you use clever tricks and gadgets to navigate a surreal version of our world.