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dkirschner's It Takes Two (PC)

[February 6, 2022 10:29:39 AM]

It Takes Two is hands down one of the best co-op games I've ever played. Everyone should play this. It's so FUN. I started a couple months ago with my girlfriend. She liked the story and the creativity, but doesn't like 3D action game controls, so I finished it over several sessions with her brother (with her [and one time her mom] watching).

In this game, the two players control separating parents, Cody and May. Well, little dolls of separating parents created by their sad child and brought to life by magic. You play through a huge variety of levels, guided by "the book of love," a crazy anthropomorphic book-cum-therapist, who helps them reflect and work on various aspects of their relationship.

Some of the levels are among the most creative I've seen and are like magical representations of locations around their house, as Cody and May try to solve their problem of being turned into dolls, overcome their dislike of one another, and work together to get the attention of their daughter, Rose. Rose, by the way, is unintentionally the funniest part of this game. Whoever was in charge of her facial animations did a terrible job. Her eyes are always wide and she always has a slight smile. Hilarious when saying things like "I'm the reason you're getting a divorce." We also joked a lot about her wandering around her house with her parents passed out and unable to wake up (they're physically there but are really inside the dolls out in the garden or wherever). Her mom is passed out on the couch like she had a drug overdose and dad is slumped in his office chair like he had a heart attack. She's like 5. Is she hungry?! Worried that her parents are completely nonresponsive?! Does she have school!? Is anyone coming to the house?!

Poor Rose, but the character that got it the worst is Cutie the Elephant (aka the Queen). You find Cutie atop her castle in Rose's room after you've played through the pillow fort, Moon Baboon's space area, the train station, dinosaur land, pirate land, and fought through the Queen's dungeons (an action-RPG part that's got a better feel than many complete action-RPGs). I won't spoil it, but you'll feel like a terrible person before leaving Rose's room. Poor Cutie.

There are innumerable level highlights and no way I could pick my favorite, as they are all a joy to play through. The crazy thing about It Takes Two is that each level has different, fully realized mechanics. For example, in the shed, May uses a hammer to smash through things and swing on nails, while Cody can throw nails into the wall for May to swing on and can hurl them at switches. In the snow globe (which is in their living room and is from the vacation they took where Cody proposed), each of them get a colored magnet, and all the puzzles revolve around manipulating the push/pull forces to progress. In the garden, May gets a sickle to attack things and a water gun to make plants grow, while Cody gets a plant grappling hook and (super cool) can morph into various plants with special properties (a cactus which shoots needles like a minigun, a flower that can grow and sprout leaves that helps May traverse obstacles, etc.). In Rose's room (the longest level), Cody and Rose each get a few unique powers over the course of it. Every level is fresh, lasts like 1-2 hours, has mini-games to find and play with your partner, and is beautiful and creative. I mean, I was amazed over and over and over, all the way to the end.

It Takes Two is a MUST PLAY. I really enjoyed Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and thought A Way Out was interesting, but this is a whole new level. I mean, for me this is right up there with the best co-op games I've ever played like Portal 2.