I almost turned it off. Genuinely, after 10 minutes, I’d had enough. A story about a girl’s divorcing parents who are magically shrunk so they can go on an adventure together, and in doing so work out their differences and get back together? Do me a favour. People divorce and families move on. It’s a normal part of life and shouldn’t be construed as anything but. Are children supposed to play this and believe their parents could have rescued their relationship? Are divorced parents supposed to play it and feel bad? It’s a dangerous idea to play with and I wish It Takes Two hadn’t.
It Takes Two reviewDeveloper: HazelightPublisher: EA OriginalsPlatform: Played on Xbox Series SAvailability: Releases 26th March on Xbox Series S/X, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, and PC (Steam, Origin).
Moreover, the story is excruciatingly told. Your daughter finds a book about love at school, and it manifests as some all-powerful, passionate latin love guru, an over-the-top love therapist for shrunken Mum and Dad. All they – you – need to do is to learn to work together again! Rediscover your passion! . Pass me the sick bucket. It’s like being pitched a condescending, sugar-powered seminar on marital relations by the Cartoon Network. Every time a cut-scene pops up to tell more story, the game suffers, particularly when that book appears.
However, there’s also a lot about this game to love. Mechanically, it’s wonderful, and one of the best co-op experiences I’ve had in years. It seems like just last week I was lamenting the dwindling amount of local co-op experiences, then along comes this, a game you can only play with someone else (and which gives you ‘Friend’s Pass’ to play online with someone for free). What this means is that the co-op isn’t just superficial, it’s not an extra thing the game offers: it’s fundamental, and the entire experience is designed around it.
Take, for instance, a level early on. It’s a DIY-themed level where you’re adventuring through a gigantic tool box-inspired land. For this adventure, like every adventure in the game, you’re given a set of special toys. May, the mum, slings the head of a claw hammer on her back and uses it to whack things as well as swing on nails stuck in walls. Cody, the dad, gets the ability to throw nails into walls and then recall them like Thor does with his hammer. Cue puzzles with wood for Cody to sling nails into, so May can swing on them, and platforms which need nailing up after May finds ways to whack them higher. The entire level is a never-ending variation on this theme, overlapping and interlocking so you have no choice but to talk and collaborate with the person you’re playing with, the screen splitting and then sharing as it ebbs and flows around the puzzles at hand.