Why you’ll be able to belief TechRadar
We spend hours testing each services or products we evaluate, so that you could be certain you’re shopping for the very best. Discover out extra about how we check.
A {couples} counselling puzzle platformer may sound like an odd elevator pitch. But, this quizzical pairing is the spine of Hazelight Studios’ co-op recreation. Following the studio’s success with its prison-breaking simulator A Approach Out, It Takes Two inspects a brand new sort of high-stakes relationship… marriage.
Overview information
Platform reviewed: PlayStation 5
Out there on: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox X, Xbox Sequence S, Nintendo Swap
Launch date: March 25, 2021
Right here, you play as a separated couple, Cody and Might, whose consciousness is magically transported into doll variations of themselves after their daughter makes an unorthodox want to a secret magic romance ebook. From this sudden transformation, the duo are pressured to navigate a jumbo-sized model of their dwelling, the place inanimate objects and carelessly tossed junk have gained sassy omnipotence. As they decide bric-a-brac buddy from foe, their points continuously rear their head, providing you with an impression of how their marriage slid in the direction of breakdown not by one incident however somewhat a collection of gradual nudges.
In co-op, gamers cut up management, working by means of the couple’s points in a literal and metaphorical sense by speaking their method throughout more and more complicated platforming ranges. To navigate this danger-filled toy field, you’ll be able to dash, leap, sprint and equip your self with level-contextual instruments that complement one another. Platforming throughout the sport has a fluid and floaty really feel, hammering dwelling the plaything nature of the pair’s new doll our bodies.
What’s your love language?
Regardless of ranges being so filled with element, Hazelight manages a way of development and circulate effectively. Factors of curiosity like breakable glass bottles draw your consideration, naturally calling you in the direction of the subsequent checkpoint. Whereas it is not at all times the case, the obstacles typically require you to make use of your particular assault to work together with them, which additionally helps set the tone for future boss battles and teases puzzle options inside the stage.
Bouts of platforming are bookended with multi-stage boss battles primarily based on the encircling litter of the world. The connection between every specific boss and the extent made the world really feel cohesive and considerate and helped to immerse me in Cody and Might’s tragic love story. The grumbling, rusted toolbox that marks the tip of the primary zone requires gamers to work collectively utilizing their respective hammer and nail instruments to deal injury because it cuts away at your fragile metallic stage one assault at a time.
This casually instructive type is particularly noticeable as puzzles grew in complexity. Regardless of stopping and beginning play classes, my companion and I maintained strong momentum all through It Takes Two. That’s to not say we have been with out arguments or errors when navigating the degrees, although.
Finest bit
There’s nothing extra hilariously irritating than making an attempt to time and execute a particular transfer together with your co-op companion, particularly when it retains going flawed. It Takes Two continuously requires you to synchronise rigorously, whether or not or not it’s one participant throwing a nail for an additional to swing on or grinding throughout electrical wires to show off switches. Irrespective of how typically my co-op companion and I ready for a sequence, we at all times fell into the identical disorganised traps, laughing or accosting one another as we hit the reset button.
What did trigger irreparable injury to my co-op relationship, nonetheless, have been the PVP minigames that enable you and your companion to tackle challenges head-to-head. Discovered throughout the map, the parlour video games can help you vent frustrations and brutally thwart your bestie.
Early within the marketing campaign, my companion and I occurred upon a recreation referred to as ‘Flip the Swap’, which concerned one participant hammering buttons whereas the opposite shoots them with nails from an aerial perspective. The participant who shoots essentially the most inside the timer wins – easy, proper? Flawed. What ensued was a collection of upsets that resulted in a solemn vow to not have interaction with these distractions ever once more — till the subsequent one arrived, and it was simply as difficult and fascinating. Toys-out-of-the-pram second apart, It Takes Two does effectively to shock you with these distinctive offshoots all through its story.
Belief fall
The considerate set dressing and character designs are a standout characteristic throughout It Takes Two, with valuable tidbits of lore hidden all through the degrees. For instance, if you happen to flip up a pathway of their daughter’s room, you could find motion figures that pay homage to the protagonists of Hazelight’s earlier co-op prison-breaking recreation, A Approach Out. Different hidden areas reveal extra tender references to video games from the previous, reminiscent of Tremendous Mario and The Legend of Zelda. As I explored every micro world, I used to be typically reminded of The Debtors or Stuart Little, gawking at how on a regular basis objects might be repurposed as obstacles or idiosyncratic decor.
The take care of world-building applies to Cody and Might’s doll designs, too, which have been clearly handmade by their artistic daughter, Rose. Might’s fuzzy picket tendrils and Cody’s rope belt really feel haphazardly artful in a method that represents Rose’s endearing affection for them. The softened, comforting nature of the dolls additionally appears like a pointy distinction to the couple’s real-world angle, which is commonly barbed and biting. The longer they spend outdoors their bitter, bickering our bodies and of their patchwork personas, the extra they resemble Rose’s view of them, which appears like a heat visible metaphor for the overarching themes.
Hazelight has constructed its latest puzzler with loads of care, permitting you to immerse yourselves in beautiful fantasy worlds with appreciable depth. In exploring Cody and Might’s household dwelling and interpersonal hassle, It Takes Two is a surprisingly grounded recreation, and I adored flipping and dashing by means of the household’s difficult lives.
Ought to I play It Takes Two?
Play it if…
Don’t play it if…
Accessibility
Within the accessibility menu, you’ll be able to alter each the distinction and brightness. From right here, there are additionally three colour blindness choices to decide on between (Tritanopia-Blue Weak, Protanopia-Pink Weak, and Deuteranopia-Inexperienced Weak). You may toggle on Textual content-To-Speech and toggle the choice to transform voice chat to textual content. Subtitles and vibrations can moreover be toggled on for both Might or Cody.
The place digicam settings are involved, you’ll be able to toggle settings per character. You may invert the vertical and horizontal cameras and select how sturdy the automated digicam rotation is (None, Weak, or Sturdy). You may also alter the digicam and intention sensitivity for each the horizontal and vertical digicam from 1 to 100.
How I reviewed It Takes Two
In anticipation of the launch of Spit Fiction, I performed by means of the whole thing of It Takes Two in native co-op on a PlayStation 5 and likewise replayed A Approach Out for comparability.
I used an AOC CQ27G2 27-inch QHD VA 144Hz gaming monitor with my PS5, and for audio, I used my exterior Inventive Pebble V2 pc audio system.
First reviewed February-March 2025
