Finding a game that hits like Hazelight’s 2021 Game of the Year is actually harder than it looks. Most "co-op" games are just single-player experiences where a second person happens to be standing there. It's frustrating. You want that specific magic where you need each other to move a platform or distract a boss. Honestly, the industry hasn't quite caught up to Josef Fares yet, but there are a few it takes two like games that don't just mimic the mechanics—they capture the soul.
Let’s be real. It Takes Two worked because it was a genre-hopping fever dream. One minute you're playing a third-person shooter against squirrels, and the next, you're in a top-down dungeon crawler. That variety is rare. Most developers pick a lane and stay in it. To find something comparable, we have to look at games that prioritize "asymmetric cooperation." That's the fancy way of saying one player does X so the other can do Y.
Why Most Co-op Games Fail the It Takes Two Test
We've all played them. Those games where Player 2 is basically a glorified turret. In It Takes Two, Cody and May are useless without each other. If you're looking for it takes two like games, you're likely chasing that feeling of mechanical codependency.
Josef Fares, the director behind Hazelight Studios, famously said he’d give $1,000 to anyone who actually got bored of his game. He hasn't had to pay out. The reason is "narrative legibility." The gameplay always matches what’s happening in the story. When the couple is drifting apart, the game literally pulls them apart. When they need to coordinate, the screen splits in ways that force eye contact—or at least some shouting across the couch.
Most "Similar To" lists will point you toward Cuphead or Overcooked. Those are great games. They really are. But they aren't like It Takes Two. Cuphead is a test of individual skill happening simultaneously. Overcooked is a stress simulator. Neither offers that sense of a grand, cinematic journey through a shifting toy box.
The True Spiritual Successor: A Way Out
If you haven't played A Way Out, stop reading and go buy it. It’s from the same studio. It’s the literal precursor.
While It Takes Two is a vibrant Pixar-style divorce comedy, A Way Out is a gritty 1970s prison break drama. It’s strictly co-op. You cannot play this alone. There is no AI partner. That’s a bold move for a publisher like EA, but it paid off. You play as Leo and Vincent, two convicts who have to coordinate a daring escape and then survive on the run.
One of you might be distracting a guard by starting a fight in the cafeteria while the other is unscrewing a vent in the back. The screen real estate shifts constantly. Sometimes one player gets a wide cinematic view while the other is confined to a tiny box, reflecting their current situation in the story. It’s brilliant. It’s raw. It lacks the polish and "fun factor" of the magical hammer and nails, but the DNA is identical. It’s the closest you will ever get to that specific Hazelight flavor.
Portal 2: The Gold Standard of Puzzles
People forget how old Portal 2 is. It came out in 2011. Yet, in terms of purely mechanical co-op, it still sits on the throne.
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You play as Atlas and P-Body, two robots being tested by GLaDOS. If It Takes Two is about variety, Portal 2 is about depth. It takes one simple concept—shooting two connected holes in walls—and stretches it until your brain hurts.
The communication required here is intense. You aren't just jumping on platforms. You’re timing launches, momentum-swaps, and bridge-building. You will argue. You will accidentally drop your partner into a pit of acid. You will feel like geniuses when you finally click. It lacks the emotional narrative of a crumbling marriage, replaced instead by the cold, biting sarcasm of an AI overlord, but the "Aha!" moments are even more frequent.
Unravel Two: Beauty and Physics
Coldwood Interactive did something special with Unravel Two. Unlike the first game, which was a solo affair, the sequel was built for two "Yarnys" connected by a physical string.
This string is everything.
It acts as a literal tether between players. You use your partner as an anchor to swing across gaps. You tie knots to create trampolines. There is a tactile, physics-based weight to everything you do. If your partner falls, you feel the tug. It’s much more meditative than the chaotic energy of a boss fight against a vacuum cleaner, but it captures that "we are in this together" vibe perfectly. It’s also surprisingly challenging in the later levels. Don't let the cute yarn dolls fool you; the timing required for some of the platforming is tight.
Snipperclips: Cut It Out, Literally
Nintendo’s Snipperclips: Cut it out, together! is the underdog in this conversation. It’s a launch title for the Switch that many people overlooked.
The premise is absurdly simple: you are two pieces of paper. You can snip bits out of each other to change your shape. Need to carry a ball? Snip a scoop into your partner's head. Need to pop a balloon? Snip them into a point.
It’s purely a puzzle game. There’s no sprawling epic story here. But the sheer level of "What if we tried...?" creativity matches the spirit of it takes two like games. It encourages "illegal" solutions. You don't always find the intended way to solve a level; sometimes you just jank your way through by clipping into each other. It’s hilarious, especially if you’re playing with someone who isn't a "hardcore" gamer.
We Were Here: The Communication Stress Test
Total Mayhem Games created a series that is essentially an escape room in digital form. We Were Here, We Were Here Too, We Were Here Together, and We Were Here Forever.
These are different. You aren't on the same screen. In fact, you usually can't even see each other.
You are separated in a frozen castle, equipped only with a walkie-talkie. One player sees the puzzle; the other player sees the solution. You have to describe what you see with incredible detail. "Okay, I see a red wheel with a bird on it, but the bird has three wings."
It’s pure communication. It’s the ultimate test of a relationship. While It Takes Two handles the "doing," the We Were Here series handles the "explaining." It’s much more atmospheric and spooky, leaning into a mystery that slowly unfolds as you reunite and get separated again.
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Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (The Remake)
Technically, the original Brothers was a single-player game where you controlled two characters with two different thumbsticks. It was Josef Fares’ first big hit.
However, the recent remake added a formal co-op mode. It’s short—maybe three hours—but it’s emotionally devastating. It tells the story of two brothers searching for the "Water of Life" to save their dying father.
The puzzles are simpler than those in It Takes Two, but the way the world reacts to the characters is different. The older brother is strong and can pull levers; the younger brother is small and can fit through bars. It’s a fable. It’s beautiful. It’s also the game that proved co-op mechanics could be used to tell a deeply personal, tragic story.
Sackboy: A Big Adventure
If you loved the whimsical, high-production feel of the world-building in It Takes Two, Sackboy is your best bet on PlayStation.
It’s not as strictly "co-op required" as some of the others—you can finish it alone—but the level design is top-tier. There are specific "Teamwork Levels" that require two players to coordinate perfectly. The music is incredible, with levels choreographed to tracks like "Uptown Funk" or David Bowie's "Let's Dance." It’s joyous. It lacks the edge and the adult themes of Fares’ work, but it fills that void of "I want to explore a creative 3D world with a friend."
What to Look for Next
When you’re hunting for your next fix, don’t just look at the "Co-op" tag on Steam or the PlayStation Store. That tag is bloated. It includes everything from Call of Duty to Stardew Valley.
Look for these specific keywords in reviews or descriptions:
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- Asymmetric Gameplay: This ensures you and your partner have different roles.
- Couch Co-op / Split-screen: This usually implies the game was designed with two people in the same room in mind.
- Physics-based Puzzles: These require coordination rather than just fast reflexes.
The reality is that Hazelight occupies a very specific niche. They have a massive budget for a "niche" genre. Most indie developers can't afford to build a dozen different gameplay systems for a single game. You have to be willing to trade some of that variety for deeper focus in one area.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Game Night
Don't just pick a game and dive in. The "wrong" game can actually lead to a pretty boring night if the skill gap between players is too wide.
- Assess the Skill Gap: If one player is a veteran and the other has never touched a controller, avoid Portal 2 or Cuphead. Go for Sackboy or Unravel Two. They are much more forgiving.
- Check the "True" Co-op Status: Before buying, Google "Is [Game Name] fully playable in co-op?" Some games (like Super Mario Odyssey) have a "Co-op mode" where the second player is just a floating hat. It’s boring. Avoid those.
- Use Steam Remote Play Together: If you're playing on PC and the game only supports local co-op (like Snipperclips via emulator or Bread & Fred), use Steam's "Remote Play Together" feature. It lets you play local-only games online with a friend. Only one of you needs to own the game.
- Embrace the Frustration: The best part of It Takes Two was the bickering that turned into a victory. Don't look up the solutions immediately. Give it twenty minutes. The bond is formed in the struggle, not just the ending.
The hunt for it takes two like games is really a hunt for shared memory. It’s about that one time you timed a jump perfectly or finally figured out that the book was a boss. Whether you go for the grit of A Way Out or the yarn-physics of Unravel, the goal is the same: stop playing next to someone, and start playing with them.