Platformer · 2021 · Hazelight Studios · local · online
It Takes Two
Two parents on the brink of divorce wake up as rag dolls. Neither of them gets back into their own body alone.
What it is about
Two parents on the brink of divorce wake up as rag dolls and have to work their way back into their own bodies. What follows is an obstacle course through a toolshed, a treetop and a child's bedroom, where every chapter is its own world with its own rules.
You play in split screen throughout, and each chapter hands the two of you different abilities: one throws nails, the other swings from the hammer; one freezes water, the other sets it alight. Almost nothing can be solved alone — usually one of you has to hold, trigger or catch something while the other acts.
In between sit minigames you are allowed to compete at — and a story about a broken marriage that is considerably more serious than the bright coat of paint suggests.
Our verdict for couples
There is no solo mode, no practice room and no point at which one of you could just carry on for a moment: every obstacle is built so that two hands are not enough. One holds the hatch open, the other jumps through, and when it goes wrong it was always both of you. On top of that, almost every chapter throws out the rules again — no sooner have you settled in than one of you can stop time and the other can split in two, and you start working each other out from scratch. One copy covers you both; the second person downloads the Friend's Pass. That the story is about a divorce of all things is laid on thick, but it hits exactly the tone of an evening spent pulling each other out of trouble.
Pros
- One copy covers you both
- Two new abilities every chapter
- Works for the one who usually just watches
Cons
- Nothing works without the second person, not even briefly
- No crossplay: PlayStation and Xbox cannot meet
Suitable from
Casual–Hobby
- Conflict potential
- Harmonious
- Cosiness
- Mixed
- When you can stop
- Any time
- How long it lasts
- 5–15 hours
What other co-op fans say
Two players or nothing — that is the verdict, and the reviews mean it as praise. Again and again they say the game forces both of you to genuinely play together rather than alongside each other, and that the dialogue sparks conversations for many duos that go well beyond the game. Those who see it through with a partner or a close friend rarely come out without having talked about their own relationship. There is barely any pushback, and it does not concern the co-op: a scene involving an elephant is described here and there as disturbing, and it hits hard if you are not expecting it.
- “every duo/bestie or couple should play once”
- “was fun up until the point where you have to brutally rip a cute baby elephant limb from limb”
Summarised by machine from 60 Steam reviews, not written by our editors. The quotes appear verbatim in those reviews.
If you like this one
Runs on the same devices as this game.
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