It Takes Two (2021)

"We had an undercover agent infiltrate their base. But they were seduced by power and have switched sides!"

This game is a hilarious mash up of clever puzzles, varied gameplay mechanics, cute aesthetics and a mature narrative about parenting and love. At no point is this game lacking in heart even when the disdain and vitriol between former lovers is firmly palatable. While at first this more mature narrative kept me engaged, I did feel it ultimately got too cringey and trite for the conclusion of the game. It doesn't help that the overall message of the game is a pretty mixed bag. At one point, your goal is to make your daughter sad and cry on you to "unmagic" yourself from the voodoo dolls you're trapped inside, then the whole message of "work it out" no matter what for a dysfunctional marriage. While I think there can be merit to working out a marriage, not every relationship is meant to be and can even be toxic. All of this isn't helped by how hollow and robotic the daughter is as a character. She has no dimension and is basically just sad as her entire personality. I get that divorce is hard especially when you don't understand what is going on, but they really don't give her any kind of arc. In addition, while I like the aesthetics of this game overall, the "realistic" animation looks kind of horrifying. Thus the parents as humans and their daughter look more uncanny from the animation which does make it more challenging to relate to them as characters. The rest of the animation and art is great though. When it's going for something stylized and cartoony.

All of that out of the way, the game has so much heart and creativity that the flaws mentioned above are easy to overlook and far from a deal breaker. For one thing, the varied gameplay keeps changing before a concept gets old. Truth be told though, I wouldn't have minded having these different mechanics explored more and stack ontop of each other. That said, it's not a bad design to have level design focused on a few mechanics at a time. Keeps the game simple and approachable. These varied mechanics always feels fully realized and clever with it's design around splitting mechanics between both players. Gradually escalating and culminating in a boss encounter or complex puzzle centered around said mechanics. Occasionally subverting expectation by removing split screen and having both players share the screen. To further emphasize a given set piece. The game also has a great sense of pacing. Including quiet moments that are just gorgeous while being more than a walking simulator. That is done by either forcing you to still engage with the game, even if that engagement is stress free. A Great example of this is going deep underground in a cave that is covered by Squirrel caveman drawings. It's pretty awesome and is a simple way to show an entire history of the squirrels that feels both funny and clever. Leading to a really awesome sequence where you ride on a ghost cat whale through the cave structures. The game has no lack of humor, heart or creativity.

Then there's the boss fight on a rickety plane with wings made of underpants where you fight a scarred and grizzled militant squirrel in a Tekken style fighter. This game is bombastic and over-the-top in such fun ways for most of the experience.

In the fourth chapter alone there is a constant shake up of mechanics. Including a size changing and gravity walking mechanic, a gauntlet legends style dungeon crawler, hover board and a ship with cannons ending in multiple boss fights. Not going to lie, the sequence where you need to kill the queen elephant is pretty messed up. It's sanitized by having the elephant be a stuffed animal, but even still, you rip off the leg, drag it Texas Chainsaw Massacre style, the ear of the elephant is ripped off and finally you toss the poor stuffed animal off a ledge. It's even pretty messed up that the main plot up to this point is for the parents to try to make their daughter cry, hence the attack on the Queen elephant. I'm glad that this failed because that wouldn't have been a very positive take away message for the game. Still the game is constantly escalating and never disappointing, with the exception of the games conclusion.

I really respect the game developers fully committing to the co-op experience. The downside to this design is how it requires a second player. But EA was nice about this and allows you to still play with a friend even if only one of you owns a copy. The best part for me is the couch co-op which is how I played it. I really enjoyed being able to see what my friend was doing and how the game cleverly used the split screen and contrasted this with occasional one screen moments.

My only real disappointment with the game is the conclusion. You have a really cool series of set pieces including a DDR/DJ sequence followed by a skateboarding rainbow road tunnel. Culminating in an interesting build up to a concert where for the first time each player moves on their own. Where my disappointment lies is with the concert itself. The song that May sings isn't really a song so much as it is her humming. I was really hoping for something as bombastic as the rest of the game, instead it's just her flying around and humming, then you and the other player holding down the interact button to hug each other. This should have been a fun send off with a bombastic boss fight, instead I left disappointed. Not enough to ruin the experience as a whole though.

This is an easy recommend if you want a great co-op experience. This is definitely one of the best ever crafted even if I felt the writing was very inconsistent and at times cringeworthy. The writing isn't a deal breaker at all though. This game is so creative and full of heart to easily make up for that. It's also fairly long at about 13 hours or so, and always switching up the mechanics in interesting ways. The only thing that would have improved this game is keeping a more consistent tone with the writing and perhaps including a final gauntlet where every mechanic presented throughout the game was stacked on-top of each other for some kind of pay off. Still this is a great time.

I plan to check out this studios other co-op experience, A Way Out soon. I played their first game, Brothers a long time ago but I played it solo. It was interesting maneuvering through that game using both thumbsticks to control the characters. I might check it out again but with a friend and see how fun it still is. I remember liking the game when it first came out.

I was not going to give this a 5 stars, but... it deserves it.

It is not perfect, I didnt like the "human" (all three humans) art direction, it seems off, which took away some immersion that I felt when they showed up. And the main characters are quite annoying at first.

But the game brings too much creativity and it shows the care and joy that went into this game. It has a diverse lineup of game styles, great art direction and the game is SUPER FUN playing in coop, like... really.

I played and just cleared it with my wife, we had an amazing and deep experience together. This is a lovely, fun and enjoyable experience.

CO-OP PLATFORMER - Cody and May embark on a miniature adventure in order to rekindle their love for one another.

PROS:

++ One of my favorite co-op gaming experiences ever. I played with my GF (who doesn't play games) and we had a blast from beginning to end! The game cannot be completed without proper co-operation, so it really forces you to be vocal with one another. At times, it lead to frustration and arguments, but most of the time, it lead to satisfying moments of teamwork. Overall, it was a terrific way to bond with my non-gamer girlfriend and made her interested in playing more games and this alone makes this game one of my favorites of all time!

++ Great level and gameplay variety. Chapters had a ton of variety that incorporated all sorts of gaming genres and gameplay mechanics. Even though it is a platformer at its core, there was enough diversity in each chapter that the game never really felt stale and boring.

++ Great visuals and level design. The level design had lots of charm. And graphically, the game looked phenomenal for a platformer!

++ Positive message. Even though the writing and the characters didn't impress too much, I still really enjoyed the narrative of the story. At the end of the day, it was a positive message about the importance of communication in a relationship.

++ Mini-games. The small mini-games throughout each chapter were good diversions that led to more bonding experiences.

CONS:

-- Longer than it needed to be. I say this because it seems that the best and the more clever gameplay mechanics were given in the earlier chapters.

-- Cody and May. I wasn't incredibly attached to the two main leads, Cody and May. Their development and the resolution felt underwhelming too.

-- Jarring elephant scene.

Bought and finished in two days. Amazing game damn.

Narrative

The game is about a girl whose parents are on the verge of divorce. She does a wish on a book, holding two figures she made of her parents that they should be friends again. After that the parents transport into the bodies of the figures and they have to work together to change back. During the gameplay the banter between the two characters mostly tells the story, but there is also the occasional cutscene.

Gameplay

It's an action/adventure game with puzzles. The gameplay is very varied. Every level you gain new powers you only use throughout that level. For instance in one of the first level you gain a hammer as the girl and nails as the guy you can use these to solve puzzles in this level together. Every level has a final boss, you need to defeat using a certain mechanic. There is also competitive minigames you can find. It's really fun. Every level has a new surprise, everything works well and smooth. It's just great! Wouldn't think a game with so many different gameplay mechanics would work, but it really does.

Setting

The game takes place in your house, but you are small. Every level is a part of the house or yard. There is a garden level, a level inside the girls bedroom (toyland basically) and one inside a snowglobe. All the levels are really creative and beautifully designed. The eye for detail is amazing, there is something to discover in every nook and cranny. I absolutely loved it. The music in the background makes it all feel very adventurous and a bit like a movie honestly. Graphics are cartoony but stunning. Just I can't describe it, just play!

Other

Nothing else to say. Game looks lovely. Got stuck twice but otherwise no bugs encountered. Voice acting was good as well.

Conclusion

I've got nothing bad to say about this game. Only that I really wanna 100% it, but my partner won't comply. And well... it takes two... Really highly recommend. Play with your partner, best friend, mother. It's for everyone.

Played this with my wife, and we were each blown away. The variety in the gameplay is astounding. Each section has different mechanics, making the game largely a series of smaller games tied together by consistent characters and through line. If I had to guess there are two dozen different sections and each section often ends just before the design overstays it's welcome. On top of that there are several mini-games strewn about for good measure.

For a gamer like my wife who has the medical condition, 'Goopy Goblin Gamer Brain', as described here, this game was perfect.

I'll leave you with one other accomplishment this game can add to it's list of accolades. We almost stopped playing the game at a point, we were so affected by what the game was showing us and asking us to do, I turned to her and said 'We don't have to do this.. the game can end HERE for us.' You'll know it when you get to it. It made me consider the lengths parents often go to set something right with their children, only for those actions to ultimately be in vain. I hope there was an intent behind this particular scene and that its use of violence, too, was not in vain.

Play this game if you have a friend or partner looking for some fun co-op gameplay!

This game is so full of ideas and never bores you. It combines a lot of gameplay mechanics. The only game I can really compare it to is LocoCycle, which tried a similar thing of combining many different ideas for a game; but it got repetitive rather quickly. It Takes Two doesn't, ever. There may be one or two levels that feel a bit too stretched, but it never really induces boredom. There is not only gameplay and story, but a lot of detail, minigames and... ideas, ideas, ideas. You can sense the creativity at every point in this beautifully crafted underpriced gem.

Of course it's not perfect; some controls felt clunky during some minigames. A few moments give you a sense of unpolishedness; but it's no match to the polishedness of the rest of the game. But I'm just pointing out minute stuff that could never knock a star off my very easily decided five star rating.

Oh, one or two reviewers here have mentioned a disturbing scene in the game involving a toy elephant. Yes, it is disturbing, and I still can't get over the fact it's in the game. But I cannot say I hated it.

This game is SUPER fun to play with a significant other! The game itself encompasses all gaming styles (platformer, fighter, dungeon crawling, etc) and requires teamwork all the way through. I found it to be extremely intuitive and the mechanics were really amusing. The different worlds were well made and the story was heart warming. The only thing I will say is that it's a very long game, although enjoyable, it came to a point where I was just like "okay lets just get this over already" xD

Definitely entertaining and I recommend it 100%!

I'm half through the game. And I am loving it - the gameplay is so smooth and satisfying. The design is beautiful. Yes, It has a strange sense of humor - but for me is a bonus.

After the announcement, I was afraid it would be something purely educative - and lacking personality (like happened in Tell Me Why  - Dontnod ). Instead, I'm getting vibes of No More Heroes - including the dynamic design of chapters. (But here, it actually works!! )

And I'm sorry, but the polemic scene of the earless Elephant?  I couldn't have loved more.  Is something so surreal and out of place that creates a priceless tension.   We weren't expecting this twisted actions - in a supposed Second Chance RomCom. So overall it feels surprisingly fresh ! Yes, they are terrible people, and maybe break up is a better option.

But I reserve my final thoughts for after I finished. Because I really don't know where the narrative is leading - but so far, this is a good thing.

The title of this game I saw on Grouvees sidebar made me curious.

A healthy marriage is like the ultimate co-op game: You have to know when to give and take, when to push and pull, and when to talk and when to listen. But most importantly, you must always remember when it’s your turn to take the garbage out - something Hazelight Studios has certainly done during the development of the almost entirely garbage-free It Takes Two. This utterly superb co-op platformer manages to cram in enough unique and exhilarating gameplay ideas to give Shigeru Miyamoto a migraine, with not a single dud among them.

From this review

Perhaps the next game to play with my girlfriend?