When Hazelight Studios released their co-op magnum opus, people weren’t just talking about the divorce plot or that traumatic elephant scene. They were obsessed with the look. Honestly, the modern aesthetics It Takes Two brought to the table changed how we think about "dollhouse" scale in gaming. It isn't just a pretty game. It’s a chaotic, maximalist fever dream that somehow feels cohesive. You’ve probably noticed how every single room in Cody and May's house feels like a distinct universe, yet they all share this tactile, physical DNA that makes you want to reach out and touch the screen.
It’s rare.
Usually, games pick an art style and stick to it like glue. If it’s gritty, it’s gritty everywhere. If it’s toon-shaded, it stays that way. But Josef Fares and his team decided to throw that rulebook out the window. They blended photorealistic textures with exaggerated, almost Claymation-style character designs. This creates a weirdly effective "toy-centric" realism. It’s a design philosophy that relies on the contrast between the mundane and the magical.
The Secret Sauce of the "Toy-Scale" World
The brilliance of the modern aesthetics It Takes Two utilizes starts with the sense of scale. Think about the shed. In most games, a shed is a boring brown box. Here, it’s a sprawling industrial complex filled with sentient vacuum cleaners and glowing wires. The developers used a technique often called "Macro Photography" aesthetics. This means the depth of field is incredibly shallow. Backgrounds blur out softly, just like they would if you were filming a tiny object with a high-end Sony camera. This trick tricks your brain. It makes you feel small. It makes the plastic of a toy feel like real, textured polycarbonate.
Look closely at Cody’s skin. Or May’s hair. They don’t look like humans; they look like wood and yarn. This was a deliberate choice to avoid the "Uncanny Valley." By leaning into the toy aesthetic, the emotional weight of their failing marriage actually hits harder. It’s a paradox. We care more about these little puppets because their world looks so tangibly real.
The lighting does the heavy lifting here. Hazelight used a global illumination system that mimics how light bounces off specific materials—the way a red plastic button would cast a faint pink glow on the wooden floor around it. That’s the "modern" part. Ten years ago, hardware couldn't handle that kind of real-time light bounce. Now, it defines the mood.
Why the Cuckoo Clock Level is a Design Masterclass
If you want to talk about the peak of modern aesthetics It Takes Two, you have to talk about the Cuckoo Clock. This level is a sharp pivot from the organic, messy garden. Suddenly, everything is gold, brass, and velvet. It’s Steampunk, but refined. It’s "Clockwork Chic."
The aesthetic here moves away from the "found object" look of the earlier levels. Instead, it embraces precision. You see the teeth of the gears. You see the polished sheen of the metal. This shift is vital because it prevents "visual fatigue." In a long game, looking at the same art style for 15 hours is exhausting. By switching the visual language every two hours, the game stays fresh.
Specific design choices in the clock level:
- Heavy use of metallic shaders that reflect the environment in real-time.
- A color palette dominated by deep blues and burnt oranges (classic complementary colors).
- Rigid, geometric shapes that contrast with the fluid, "squash and stretch" animation of the characters.
It’s basically a lesson in art history. One minute you’re in a Dutch landscape painting in the snowy globe, the next you’re in a neon-drenched synthwave space trek. It shouldn't work. It’s too much. But because the core "toy-like" lighting remains constant, it feels like it’s all part of the same toy box.
The "Messy Room" Philosophy
Most modern games are too clean. The modern aesthetics It Takes Two leans into the "lived-in" look. This is especially true in the attic and the shed. There’s clutter everywhere. Dust motes dance in the light shafts. This isn't just for decoration; it’s storytelling. The mess in the house reflects the mess in their relationship.
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When you’re playing, pay attention to the textures of the "junk." The developers didn't just use a generic "metal" texture for a nail. They added rust, scratches, and slight deformations. This level of detail is what we call "Micro-Storytelling." You don't need a cutscene to tell you the shed has been neglected for years; the peeling paint on the toolbox tells you for them.
Real-World Inspiration and Expert Takes
Concept artists like Claes Engare and the team at Hazelight have mentioned in various GDC talks that they looked at everyday objects through a literal magnifying glass. They wanted to capture the "soul" of materials. If it’s wood, it shouldn't just be brown; it should have splinters and grain that catch the light.
- Tactile feedback: The visuals are designed to make you "feel" the resistance of the world.
- Color as Navigation: Notice how yellow is almost always used to guide your eye toward an objective. It’s a common trick, but here it’s integrated into the aesthetic, often appearing as yellow tape or golden mechanical parts.
- The "Handmade" Feel: Even the UI feels like it was pasted together in a scrapbook.
Breaking Down the Visual Variety
The game is basically an anthology of art styles. You’ve got the Garden, which is hyper-saturated and organic. Then you’ve got the Space level, which uses glowing emissive textures and deep blacks. The transition is jarring in the best way possible.
In the "Rose's Room" chapter, the modern aesthetics It Takes Two showcases its most whimsical side. It’s a kaleidoscope of primary colors. Soft plushie textures sit right next to hard plastic blocks. The physics engine works overtime here to make the soft things look soft and the hard things look brittle. This is where the game’s "Modern" tag really shines—it’s the technical ability to render 50 different material types on screen at once without the frame rate tanking.
It’s honestly a flex.
Hazelight is showing off. They’re saying, "We can do a dungeon crawler, a flight sim, and a platformer, and we can make them all look like they cost $100 million."
How to Apply These Aesthetics to Your Own Space
You don't have to be a game dev to appreciate this stuff. The "It Takes Two" look—that blend of cozy, tactile, and slightly chaotic—is actually a growing trend in interior design and digital art. People are tired of the sterile, minimalist "Apple Store" look. They want soul. They want "Cluttercore" but with high-end execution.
If you’re looking to bring a bit of this vibe into your world, think about Material Contrast.
Mix a rough wooden table with a sleek, neon-lit lamp. Put a plush, oversized knit rug next to a metal bookshelf. It’s about the friction between different textures. In the game, the most beautiful moments happen when something soft (like a pillow) interacts with something sharp (like a sewing needle). That’s where the visual magic lives.
Practical Steps for Gamers and Creators
- Study the Lighting: If you’re a virtual photographer or a hobbyist designer, look at how the game uses "rim lighting" to separate characters from the background. It’s why Cody and May never get lost in the busy environments.
- Embrace Saturation: Don’t be afraid of color. The modern aesthetics It Takes Two proves that "serious" stories don't have to be grey and brown. You can talk about divorce and trauma in a world that looks like a Rainbow Sprite factory.
- Texture is King: Whether you're building a PC setup or a room, focus on how things feel. A mix of leather, felt, and brushed aluminum creates a "modern tactile" look that mimics the game’s depth.
- Scale Play: Use oversized decor to create that "dollhouse" feel. A giant clock or an oversized desk lamp can shift the perspective of a room instantly.
The takeaway? Modern aesthetics aren't about being "clean." They're about being "present." They're about making every pixel—or every inch of your room—feel like it has a history. It Takes Two didn't just win Game of the Year because it was fun; it won because it gave us a world that felt more real than the one outside our window, despite being made of yarn and plastic.
Start by looking at the mundane objects on your desk. See the scratches on your keyboard? The way the light hits your coffee mug? That’s where the beauty is. Capturing that "smallness" is the first step to mastering the aesthetic.