It Takes Two Review

00:00:00.240hey how was your day great the uh

00:00:03.600toaster broke and rose refused to eat

00:00:05.440her vegetables a healthy marriage is

00:00:07.520like the ultimate co-op game

00:00:09.440you have to know when to give and take

00:00:11.360when to push and pull

00:00:12.799and when to talk and when to listen but

00:00:14.960most importantly you must always

00:00:16.160remember when it's your turn to take the

00:00:17.760garbage out

00:00:19.760something hazelite studios has certainly

00:00:21.520done during the development of the

00:00:22.800almost entirely garbage free

00:00:24.800it takes two this utterly superb co-op

00:00:27.680platformer manages to cram in enough

00:00:29.599unique and exhilarating gameplay ideas

00:00:31.920to give shigeru miyamoto a migraine with

00:00:34.559not a single dud among them

00:00:44.640centering around a pair of pint-sized

00:00:46.480parents may and cody

00:00:47.840it takes two is a bit like honey i

00:00:49.520shrunk the kids if the director had been

00:00:51.360tripping on lsd

00:00:52.879the world around you isn't merely

00:00:54.320super-sized but augmented with all

00:00:56.079manner of fabulous contraptions and

00:00:57.840anthropomorphic

00:00:58.960everything mae uh they're alive

00:01:02.079what is going on here may and cody's

00:01:04.000journey from their garden shed back to

00:01:05.439their house takes them on dazzling

00:01:07.119detours

00:01:07.840through everywhere from outer space to a

00:01:09.600tiny nightclub housed inside an air

00:01:11.520conditioning

00:01:12.000vent and serves as a sustained 10-hour

00:01:15.680blast of co-op platforming bliss

00:01:17.680that's constantly conjuring up new ways

00:01:19.520to engage and entertain

00:01:21.280one moment cody and may are

00:01:22.560collaboratively steering a giant pencil

00:01:24.400around to connect the dots picture

00:01:26.080the next they're casting spells and

00:01:27.520swinging swords as a wizard and

00:01:28.960barbarian in an isometric dungeon crawl

00:01:31.520before you know it they'll be hopping

00:01:32.720along the tumbling crystallized interior

00:01:34.560of a kaleidoscope

00:01:35.759and just when you think it takes two

00:01:37.040must be out of ideas cody will be

00:01:38.960piloting a tiny plane through the

00:01:40.479treetops

00:01:41.280while mae squares off in a street

00:01:42.640fighter style showdown with

00:01:44.479wait is that a squirrel it just shifts

00:01:47.600seamlessly from one brilliantly bonkers

00:01:49.520style of gameplay to another and almost

00:01:51.600none of it is ever recycled at any point

00:01:53.880[Music]

00:02:00.079importantly every action feels fantastic

00:02:02.320to perform

00:02:03.439the platforming essentials are on point

00:02:05.680with may and cody's jump

00:02:07.040double jump and air dash abilities being

00:02:09.039supremely responsive

00:02:10.479and allowing for effortless levels of

00:02:12.160platforming precision

00:02:13.599but it's the complementary

00:02:14.640character-specific abilities that are

00:02:16.239refreshed in each chapter that compelled

00:02:18.000me and my partner to work as a team

00:02:19.920and make it takes two a special style of

00:02:22.080platformer turning seemingly simple

00:02:23.920ascends up the side of a cliff face

00:02:25.680into carefully choreographed back and

00:02:27.360forths and coordinated chants of three

00:02:29.280two one go

00:02:30.640here goes nothing early on cody might

00:02:32.959have a bandolier of nails that he can

00:02:34.400throw into walls

00:02:35.519to plot a path of rungs for mater swing

00:02:37.519between with her claw hammer

00:02:40.560while later may can use her water gun to

00:02:42.560soak fertile soil

00:02:43.840to allow cody to plant himself and bloom

00:02:45.680into a winding flower with petals for

00:02:47.599platforms

00:02:48.800wow you're so pretty cody i know

00:02:51.840right these gizmos and abilities each

00:02:54.000double as both platform puzzle solving

00:02:55.920tools and boss fighting aids

00:02:58.000mae's clone ability allows her to

00:02:59.599teleport from one weighted switch to

00:03:01.120another to trigger timed mechanisms

00:03:04.000but it also enables her to lure a

00:03:05.440charging bull boss towards an obstacle

00:03:07.440before beaming herself out of harm's way

00:03:09.200at the very last second

00:03:13.360additionally while a lot of the elements

00:03:14.959in it takes two's environments are there

00:03:16.720to serve a very clear gameplay purpose

00:03:18.959a substantial amount of objects are

00:03:20.560interactive for no other reason than

00:03:22.080because they're fun

00:03:25.360it very much adheres to the mario method

00:03:27.440of cramming as much magical

00:03:28.720interactivity into every square inch of

00:03:30.480each play space

00:03:32.000kind of snacks and ensures that your

00:03:34.319every curious action goes rewarded

00:03:37.920[Music]

00:03:40.159the fact that it takes two blesses you

00:03:41.680with infinite lives and extremely

00:03:42.959generous checkpointing

00:03:44.239only makes you more emboldened to

00:03:45.760experiment

00:03:50.640what have you done what what why do you

00:03:53.439always blame me

00:03:54.720huh yes why do you always blame him

00:03:58.239thank you oh

00:04:00.080what is that the only real gripe that i

00:04:02.159can level at it takes two is aimed

00:04:03.840squarely at the character of dr hakeem

00:04:06.560this walking and talking book of love

00:04:08.560acts as a guide for me and cody on their

00:04:10.560journey towards rekindling the love in

00:04:12.239their marriage

00:04:13.200and he's basically insufferably cringey

00:04:15.120right from his first appearance

00:04:16.639and that doesn't change in the numerous

00:04:18.000cutscenes he shows up in throughout

00:04:20.160i will help you fix your relationship

00:04:23.360chapter one fix your relationship

00:04:27.440this is definitely a nightmare the only

00:04:29.840positive thing about him is that anytime

00:04:31.520he does appear you know you're about to

00:04:33.120be handed some natty new plaything or

00:04:34.880game-changing ability

00:04:36.240so i never felt too sad to see him even

00:04:38.160if each and every one of his lines had

00:04:39.680me rolling my eyes

00:04:41.040rather than rolling with laughter daddy

00:04:44.880old school baby oh i don't like where

00:04:47.199this is going

00:04:48.080dr hakeem's appearances aside i did

00:04:50.400enjoy it takes two's story overall

00:04:52.960especially in the way it neatly takes

00:04:54.320elements of me and cody's reconciliation

00:04:56.479efforts and weaves them into the

00:04:58.000gameplay at one point the pair

00:04:59.680rediscover their attraction to each

00:05:01.199other

00:05:01.600by literally using two halves of the

00:05:03.199same magnet to puzzle their way through

00:05:04.960a level for example

00:05:06.320i was quite charmed by the way the two

00:05:07.919leads gradually learned to love each

00:05:09.440other again

00:05:10.160even if the story's final moments aimed

00:05:12.080for pixar-style poignancy

00:05:13.840but came off as slightly saccharine of

00:05:16.000course a lot of the marriage metaphors

00:05:17.360went over the head of my 10 year old son

00:05:19.199who was partnering me on the adventure

00:05:21.280and it made me wish for a game like this

00:05:22.720that was made more for a parent to share

00:05:24.240their love of gaming with a child

00:05:25.919as opposed to a couple playing together

00:05:28.240even so it didn't really impact the

00:05:30.000enjoyment we shared

00:05:31.280because so much of the bickering and

00:05:32.880banter between the couple on screen

00:05:34.880was drowned out by our own laughing and

00:05:36.639shouting as an impromptu snowball fight

00:05:38.560broke out

00:05:40.720bullseye always struggled to draw a

00:05:42.960smiley face on a giant etcher sketch

00:05:45.759well that's a face only a mother could

00:05:47.800love

00:05:50.160the wind

00:05:53.199it takes two is a spectacular co-op

00:05:55.039adventure that lays down a path of great

00:05:56.720gameplay ideas

00:05:57.919and uses it to play a giddy game of

00:05:59.600hopscotch it's beautiful

00:06:01.600breakneck paced and bubbling over with

00:06:03.440creativity and playfulness and

00:06:05.199experimentation

00:06:06.160are rewarded at every turn

00:06:11.120if you have any kind of co-op partner in

00:06:13.039your life be they spouse

00:06:14.560friend sibling or other it takes two is

00:06:17.120a truly joyful trip

00:06:18.400you really need to take together for

00:06:20.240more ign reviews check out our verdicts

00:06:22.000on monster hunter rise and paradise lost

00:06:24.479and for everything else stick with ign