Honestly, most "co-op" games are lying to you. You know the drill. You and a friend hop into a shooter or an RPG, and you’re basically just playing two separate single-player campaigns that happen to occupy the same digital space. You shoot your guys; they shoot theirs. If one of you drops the controller to go grab a sandwich, the other person just keeps playing. That isn't cooperation. It’s proximity. It Takes Two is the complete antithesis of that lazy design.
Hazelight Studios, led by the perpetually loud and passionate Josef Fares, didn't just make a platformer. They made a mandatory partnership. You literally cannot play this game alone. There is no AI bot to help you. There is no "single-player mode." If you don’t have a human being sitting next to you—or at the other end of an internet connection—the game is just a beautiful, expensive main menu. It’s bold. It’s risky. And it’s why the game managed to snag Game of the Year in 2021 against massive titans.
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The Gimmick That Actually Works
The premise is kinda heavy for a colorful game about dolls. You play as Cody and May, a married couple on the brink of a nasty divorce. Their daughter, Rose, cries over some wooden and clay dolls she made to represent them, and through some weird magic (and a very polarizing talking book named Dr. Hakim), the parents' souls are trapped inside those dolls.
To get back to their real bodies, they have to navigate the surreal, overgrown, and often dangerous version of their own home and backyard.
But here’s the kicker: the gameplay mechanics shift every thirty minutes. One second you’re playing a third-person shooter with sap-guns and matchstick launchers, and the next, you’re in a top-down dungeon crawler or a flight simulator on the back of a disgruntled squirrel. It’s relentless. Most developers find one "fun" mechanic and stretch it over twenty hours. Fares and his team at Hazelight seem to get bored every chapter, throwing away perfectly good mechanics to introduce something entirely new.
It Takes Two and the Death of the "Second Player" Syndrome
In most games, there’s a "main" player and a "helper." Think Sonic and Tails, or Mario and Cappy. One person does the heavy lifting while the other just kind of floats around helping. In It Takes Two, the roles are perfectly asymmetrical but equally vital.
Take the shed level early on. Cody gets nails he can throw and recall like Mjolnir. May gets a hammer head. Cody has to pin platforms in place with his nails so May can swing across them. If Cody misses a shot, May falls. If May doesn't time her swing, they both get stuck. It forces you to actually talk. Not just "hey, look at that," but "okay, on three, you hit the button and I’ll jump." It builds a weirdly specific kind of mechanical trust.
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Why the "Book of Love" Divides the Fanbase
We have to talk about Dr. Hakim. He’s the "Book of Love," an anthropomorphic self-help book with a thick accent and a penchant for pelvic thrusts. He is arguably the most divisive character in modern gaming history. Some people find him hilarious—a chaotic neutral force trying to save a marriage through sheer annoyance. Others? They want to throw him into a woodchipper.
Regardless of how you feel about the book, he represents the game's core philosophy: "Relationship Therapy through Trial by Fire." The game forces Cody and May (and by extension, the players) to confront their flaws. Cody is the stay-at-home dad who feels unappreciated and neglects his garden; May is the breadwinner who is never home and feels the weight of the world on her shoulders.
The Infamous Elephant Scene (Warning: It's Dark)
If you haven't played the game, you might think it's a whimsical Pixar-style adventure. It isn't. Not entirely. There is a specific sequence involving a stuffed elephant named Cutie that is genuinely traumatizing.
I’m not kidding.
Without spoiling too much for the uninitiated, the couple believes that making their daughter cry will break the spell. Their logic? They need to destroy her favorite toy. The resulting scene is a masterpiece of "what have we done?" storytelling. It’s one of the few times a game makes you feel physically uncomfortable for the actions you’re forced to take to progress. It adds a layer of grit to the story that elevates it above a simple kids' tale. It shows the desperation and, frankly, the selfishness that often comes with a failing marriage.
Technical Brilliance and the "Friend’s Pass"
From a business perspective, Electronic Arts (EA) did something surprisingly consumer-friendly here. They used the "Friend's Pass." Basically, only one person needs to own the game. You can invite a friend to play the entire thing with you for free.
It’s a brilliant move.
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It removes the barrier to entry. If you’re trying to convince a non-gamer partner or a skeptical friend to play a 12-hour campaign about a divorcing couple, "it’s free for you" is a powerful closer.
Performance and Visuals
Visually, the game is a marvel of scale. Because you’re only a few inches tall, a simple vacuum cleaner becomes a giant boss monster. A backyard pond becomes a vast ocean. The level of detail in the textures—the wood grain on Cody, the yarn texture on May—is stunning. Even on older hardware or the Nintendo Switch port (which is surprisingly competent), the art direction carries the experience.
Is It Actually Good for Couples?
This is a common question. People wonder if playing a game about divorce will cause an actual fight.
The answer is: maybe?
If your communication is already poor, the clockwork puzzles in the Cuckoo Clock level might result in some yelling. But for most, it’s a bonding experience. It requires a level of synchronization that most hobbies don't. You’re learning a new language together every hour.
Real-world impact of the mechanics:
- Communication: You have to describe what you see, as the screen is often split.
- Patience: One person is always going to be better at platforming than the other. You have to wait.
- Laughter: The sheer absurdity of riding frogs or fighting a militarized squirrel on a plane made of underpants is enough to break any tension.
The Competition: Does Anything Compare?
Since It Takes Two came out, we’ve seen a slight uptick in "true" co-op, but nothing has quite hit the same heights. A Way Out (Hazelight’s previous title) was great, but it was a much more grounded, cinematic prison break story. Portal 2 is perhaps the only other game that demands this level of mental synchronization, but it lacks the emotional narrative weight.
Some might argue that Baldur's Gate 3 offers a deep co-op experience, and while that's true, it’s a different beast entirely. That’s an epic saga where you can coexist. It Takes Two is a tightly choreographed dance.
Tips for Your First Playthrough
If you’re about to dive in, don’t rush. The game is packed with "minigames" hidden in the corners of the world. These are little competitive diversions—like tank battles or whack-a-mole—that let you blow off steam by beating your partner after a tough puzzle.
Also, switch roles halfway through if you ever replay it. Playing as May (the "doer") feels fundamentally different from playing as Cody (the "enabler" or "shaper").
Actionable Steps for New Players:
- Check your hardware: If playing online, ensure both players have a stable connection. Since the game relies on precise timing, lag is a literal game-killer.
- Choose your partner wisely: This isn't a game for a casual acquaintance. Pick someone you can laugh with for 10 to 15 hours.
- Don't skip the cutscenes: Unlike most platformers, the story actually matters here. The character growth is subtle but real.
- Explore the hubs: Each major area has a "hub" with no enemies. Interact with everything. There are dozens of Easter eggs, including a nod to Fares' famous "F*** the Oscars" speech.
The game works because it respects the players. It assumes you’re smart enough to learn a new mechanic in thirty seconds and empathetic enough to care about a crumbling marriage. It’s a rare gem that proves video games can be both high-octane fun and deeply emotional.
Whether you’re a veteran gamer or someone who hasn't touched a controller since the Wii, this is the one you need to play. Just be prepared for the elephant scene. You’ve been warned.