It Takes Two levels are so much fun

Hazelight Studios, the team behind Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and A Way Out, has managed to create one of the greatest games I have ever played.

I’m a little late to the game here (no pun intended), but my husband and I just started It Takes Two a few weeks ago. We had been interested in it but never got around to picking it up when it was released in March. We sat down to play it together, and we both immediately knew it was going to be something special.

If you’re unfamiliar, It Takes Two is a couch or online co-op game in which one player controls the female character, May, and the other controls the male character, Cody. The premise of the game is that May and Cody are a married couple that is basically on autopilot; May brings home the bacon and is the main source of financial support for the household, and Cody helps take care of their daughter, Rose. May and Cody are no longer in love, or at least that’s what they think. They decide they want to just get divorced because they clearly aren’t happy anymore. What they don’t know is that Rose has a plan to get them back together, or, in her words, “make them friends again.” Through a magic spell, Rose turns her parents into dolls ... and that’s where the gameplay begins.

The gameplay is some of the most exciting, engaging puzzle-platforming I have experienced in quite some time. The game feels like a living, breathing Pixar movie that you get to inhabit and experience firsthand. I have never played a game that makes me feel that childhood wonder and imagination as an adult. The gameplay revolves around you having to work together - hence the name of the game - to complete puzzles and move on to the next area. As May and Cody, your collective goal is to turn back to humans again. As my husband and I kept playing the game, we found ourselves feeling increasingly motivated to keep going because the levels are genuinely so much fun to play - and we never knew what was coming next. 

I really don’t want to spoil too much, but It Takes Two is a game that you must absolutely play with a partner or a friend. If you’re a frequent reader, you know how much I typically dislike playing games with other people - yes, even my husband - because I like to play games and explore at my own pace, but this is a game I truly think benefits from being a two-player adventure. As with A Way Out, which is also one of my husband’s and my favorite games, It Takes Two would not be nearly as engaging if you were playing alone. The story revolves around May and Cody learning to love each other again and being forced to work together, making the gameplay and story marry beautifully to create one of the greatest games I’ve ever played.

I highly encourage you to play It Takes Two with someone in your life. If you live alone or want to play with a friend online, you can invite someone to play the game with you, or you can join their game; the bottom line is, only one person needs to purchase the game, and the other can play for free. 

I played as May and my husband played as Cody for our first playthrough, and we are getting ready to switch it up for our second playthrough to experience the unique mechanics each character possesses. 

Have you played It Takes Two? Let me know what you thought of it at twitter.com/pixelsnplanners.