Honestly, if you haven't slipped and slid through the It Takes Two snow globe chapter, you haven't lived. It’s peak Hazelight. Joseph Fares and his team at Hazelight Studios basically decided to take every cozy winter trope imaginable, shove it into a glass ball, and then give you magnets to break it all apart. It’s brilliant. It's frustrating. It's the moment where the game’s "divorce comedy" vibe actually starts to feel like a real adventure.
Most people get stuck on the Rose’s Room chaos, but the Cuckoo Clock and the subsequent Winter Village (the snow globe) are where the mechanics truly peak. You've got Cody and May stuck in this frozen wasteland—well, it's a wasteland that looks like a Hallmark card—and they have to find their way back to each other. Literally.
The Magnetic Pull of the Winter Village
The It Takes Two snow globe level revolves around magnetism. That's the core hook. Cody gets the red (South) piece, and May gets the blue (North) piece. It sounds simple. It isn't. You aren't just pushing and pulling blocks; you're using physics to catapult your partner across massive icy chasms.
I remember playing this with a friend and spending twenty minutes just trying to time a launch correctly. If one person doesn't pull at the exact millisecond the other jumps, you're both dead. Or at least, back at the checkpoint. The game is forgiving, sure, but the mental tax of missing a jump because your partner "thought you were ready" is the real boss fight here.
There’s this specific bit in the village where you have to ring bells to wake up the town. It’s charming as hell. You see the little wooden villagers frozen in place, and as you solve these magnetic puzzles, the world literally thaws out. It’s a metaphor, obviously. The whole game is one giant, neon-colored metaphor for fixing a broken marriage, but in the snow globe, it feels earned. The "thawing" of the village mirrors the slight softening of Cody and May’s constant bickering.
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What Most Players Miss in the Ice
The detail in the It Takes Two snow globe is staggering. If you just rush through to the next objective, you’re doing it wrong. There’s an entire frozen lake where you can just... skate. The animation work here is top-tier. Cody and May don't just move like standard avatars; they have momentum. They wobble. They feel like they’re actually on ice.
Did you find the secret photography studio? It’s tucked away. You can actually pose for photos, and they show up on the screen. It’s these tiny, non-essential interactions that make the snow globe feel like a place rather than just a level. Most AAA games today focus so much on "player retention metrics" that they forget to just let people play with the environment. Hazelight didn't forget.
Then there’s the underwater section. Everyone hates water levels. It’s a universal gaming truth. But the "Beneath the Ice" portion of the It Takes Two snow globe changes the pace. It’s claustrophobic. You're swimming through these glowing, bioluminescent tunnels, trying to fix a giant underwater heater. The shift from the bright, blinding white of the surface to the deep, moody blues of the abyss is a masterclass in environmental storytelling. It feels dangerous. It feels like the stakes are actually rising.
Solving the Magnet Puzzles Without Losing Your Mind
If you're struggling with the magnetic mechanics, you have to stop thinking about them as tools and start thinking about them as tethers.
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- Opposites attract: If May is on a blue platform and Cody hits it with red, he’s coming to her.
- Likes repel: If you’re both the same color, you’re going flying.
- Momentum is everything: You can’t just stand still and expect the magnets to do the work. You have to run, jump, and then activate the magnet to get the necessary arc.
There’s a specific puzzle involving a giant saw blade and some magnetic rails. It’s one of the few times the game demands actual precision. If you’re playing on a laggy connection—good luck. This is a local co-op game at heart, and the It Takes Two snow globe level proves why. The communication required to sync up those magnetic pulls is something that a "looking for group" random simply cannot provide. You need to be in the same room, or at least on a very high-quality voice chat, to not end up screaming.
The Ice Skates and the Sense of Scale
Once you get the ice skates, the game transforms. It becomes a racing game for a hot minute. Zipping across the frozen landscape while the orchestral score swells is easily one of the top five moments in modern gaming. It’s pure joy.
But it’s also where the scale of the world hits you. You realize Cody and May are tiny. They are dolls. The "snow globe" isn't just a level theme; it's a physical object in their daughter’s room. When you look up and see the "sky," you’re actually seeing the glass curvature of the globe. That perspective shift is what separates It Takes Two from every other platformer. It stays grounded in its own weird, domestic reality.
Actionable Tips for Conquering the Snow Globe
Stop trying to lead. That’s the biggest mistake players make in the It Takes Two snow globe chapter. One person always tries to be the "main character," but the magnets literally won't let you.
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- Sync your jumps. If you're Cody, watch May's feet. Don't look at the objective. Look at her. When she leaves the ground, that’s your cue to trigger the magnetism.
- Explore the edges. There are several "minigames" hidden in the snow village, including a snowball fight and a shuffleboard-style game. These aren't just fluff; they actually help you get used to the movement physics of the ice.
- Check the underwater heater cables. In the submerged section, players often get lost. Follow the glowing red and blue cables. They literally lead you to the puzzle solutions.
- Use the "Finder" button. If you lose track of your partner in the whiteout, use the ping system. It’s there for a reason.
The It Takes Two snow globe isn't just a winter-themed level. It’s the emotional turning point of the game. It’s where the mechanics of attraction and repulsion finally click, both for the players and the characters. By the time you reach the boss fight at the end of this chapter—a mechanical bird that is significantly more difficult than it has any right to be—you’ll realize that the game has been teaching you how to communicate without you even noticing.
Go back and play it again. This time, don't rush. Look at the way the snow deforms under your skates. Listen to the muffled sound design when you go underwater. It’s a masterpiece of level design that deserves way more than a casual playthrough.
Check your partner's controller battery before you start the ice race. Nothing ruins the immersion like a "Controller Disconnected" message right as you're about to clear the final gap. Make sure your "Friend's Pass" is updated if you're playing digitally, as the 2026 patches have streamlined the connection stability for the snowy environments. Focus on the red-blue synchronization during the bell tower climb, as that's the most common place for teams to stall. Once you clear the globe, the rest of the game feels like a breeze in comparison.