A glowing review of the game It Takes Two, from a nongamer

It Takes Two is the perfect game for the experienced gamer/nongamer couple. 

One of the most relatable tropes on TikTok: the gamer-reader dynamic duo, as in: a partner delves back into their spicy fantasy romance novel while another dons a headset and endeavors to become an Elden Lord. Now, normally I am a solid member of Team Reader (ACOTAR or an Austen novel for the 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th time, anyone??), while my bf happily escapes into a video game. It’s a win-win evening routine we both enjoy.

However, recently he had been expressing a desire for me to join him in a virtual world and try an Xbox One game with him. I had also been hoping for a time that he’d give a few of my favorite novels a try at some point, so we eventually agreed on a compromise. And that is when we switched up our normal evening routine of engaging separately in our hobbies, did them together, and thus I finally began to understand the appeal of gaming.

Don’t get me wrong. I missed the novels immediately, and I struggled immensely in any game we tried. My mind seemed unable to memorize the button locations and sequences, and I did not understand why my view did not follow my movement—leaving me trying to walk to the right but somehow looking behind me or zoomed in too close to the ground. It was infuriating, but I stuck with it (witnessing my partner’s inner child’s joy come out while sharing a game with me was too good). We tried a variety of games, that while did slightly help grow my almost nonexistent coordination, were not keeping me hooked. Castle Crashers was a fun level-based game with the cute, nostalgic feel of a handheld, but I quickly grew bored of the repetitive gameplay. Lego Harry Potter was promising (big HP girlie here), but ended up being weirdly imbalanced—swinging from an almost too easy exploration of Hogwarts to extremely advanced and confusing boss battles that were needed to level up. I found the zero to 100 aspect of necessary skill frustrating, and I longed for something more consistent. 

So then, as a fan of high fantasy anything, I briefly tried Zelda, but it was entirely too advanced. For someone who had never navigated a video game world before, the map was simply too big and too confusing. I quickly became disoriented, so we quickly moved on. We then tried playing Minecraft together—my partner wondering if the creativity and open-endedness of the building would appeal to me. It was better, but I was quickly frustrated and bored trying to remember the endless variation needed to build all the tools I needed. Eventually, I just ended up picking flowers and replanting them over and over, while he built us an entire island mansion and a cliff tunnel that led to the beach and sea.

Finally, we tried the game It Takes Two, and it was exactly what we had been searching for in a co-op game. It was perfect. We both quickly fell in love with the plot, world, and the perfectly struck balance of open-ended play and discovery while still having a goal structure for each level. I was immediately drawn in and hooked by the rom-com sort of plot between the two main characters and the sense of serendipity ensuing their becoming tiny, personified toys in the then huge world of their house. Then, upon starting the game, I found I fell in love most with the beautifully illustrated, whimsical, and immersive worlds each level provided. While each level and world had a somewhat easily derived puzzle or objective, there was still plenty to explore and play on the way. From bouncing on flowers in the colorful garden level, sliding along the swirling, huge tree branches of the tree level, and ice-skating on the enormous village-sized ice rink in the snow globe level (my favorite)—all the while playing mini games and races as discovered here and there—the game was perfect.

Each level took the characters (named May and Cody) to a new “world” (or area of their house, as they were now miniature), in which to fall back in love with each other, they had work together profusely to become regular sized humans again. We slid through colorful kaleidoscope tunnels of trippy moving colors in the musical world, navigated through a huge pillow fort in the under-the-bed world, fought off their tree’s soldier squirrels in the yard world, traveled to outer space and entered alien worlds, rescued their garden from evil flower monsters in the garden world, and so much more. 

The mini games, boss levels, and varying sorts of obstacle courses in each level were perfectly tailored to help a gaming beginner grow their coordination by memorizing button locations and sequence, practicing jump timings and other various movements, and exploring in a puzzle-solving mode of thinking that is very unique to gaming. The two characters have varying, complimentary abilities that switch up in each level, keeping the game fresh (along with those fantastical worlds!), and elevating the super fun teamwork aspect I had yet to find in a game. While I believe May is the main character meant for the gaming beginner and Cody plays a more supportive role for the more experienced gamer, my partner still found the fun powers and play were evenly balanced between the two.

We have since finished the game, and it has left us with a hole in our evening routine. There is not a game out there like it, as I have discovered in my myriad of game trials and tribulations, as it is so perfectly leveled and balanced to appeal for a wide range of gaming experience. We made so many fun memories playing together, and I crave being able to ski and ice skate in the cozy, picturesque, and glittery snow globe world! It is a game I could see us playing again.

Now, my partner chose Dune by Frank Herbert as the first novel on his TBR list… it was started long before we started playing It Takes Two, and has yet to be finished. I can safely say though, with as much fun as I had playing this game, I’m not mad about it. And I promise with one step into this beautiful game, you’ll too forget about your book and its handsome, dark-haired, morally ambiguous high fae antihero (for at least a little while!).

We aren’t the only players immensely enjoying It Takes Two. According to a Game Rant article by Peter Hunt Szpytek, the game, created by Hazelight Studios with game director Josef Fares, has won several gaming awards in 2021, and has been raved about by many fans for its variety, unique co-op nature, and memorable worlds. It has about 10 to 15 hours of playtime and is available on PS4 and PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, and PC to try for yourself!

Sources:

Szpytek, P. H., & Peter Hunt Szpytek, (2021, December 10). It takes two's game of the year win explained. Game Rant. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from https://gamerant.com/it-takes-two-game-of-the-year-win-reasons-explained/