It Takes Two [Xbox]
Hazelight’s It Takes Two is a co-operative platforming adventure, that sees you and a friend (either local or online), taking on the role of Cody and May - parents of a young girl named Rose - who are about to file for divorce. It has a very movie-like quality, with a fantastic premise, illustrating the daughter’s wish for her parents to be friends again amid the news of their divorce, with tears dripping on the dolls, setting in motion a Freaky Friday-like event. When Cody and May wake up, they are horrified to discover they are trapped in the bodies of dolls, when Dr. Hakim, the Book of Love, appears to talk them through this revelation, and help them get back to their human forms.
Right off the bat, gameplay feels fantastic, with very fluid movements and different styles of motion and play depending on which character you control. Both characters can double jump as well as dash, and these movements feel very precise and satisfying when platforming, especially as there’s quite a few points where timing is key. Couples playing together are likely the intended audience, and each player can choose the character they wish to control. As you progress, you will gain access to new abilities and utilise different puzzle-solving techniques that are tied solely to individual levels, with Cody and May’s abilities being different, forcing you to rely on each other and work together. These abilities included things such as Cody tossing nails that May could use her hammer to swing on in the Shed, and May being able to ignite Cody’s sap within the Tree level. Enemies and objectives being tied to different points of contention within Cody and May’s real-world relationship melds everything together and it does a fantastic job at drawing you in, and you really feel for both characters, as well as their daughter Rose. Likewise, other characters you run into - friend or foe - are well developed and have clear intentions that fit their individual story arcs. It all works together so well that we’ve found ourselves repeatedly singing its praise as we go - and you know that’s a good sign!
It Takes Two is visually very impressive. The ‘real world’ cutscenes are good, but fairly standard; it’s when you’ve been transformed into dolls and see the world from a miniature perspective that it truly shines, with a warped reality that is immaculately presented. The character models look fantastic, and the world itself is filled with detail. Boss designs are amazing too, representing various things in their relationship such as Cody sucking up all kinds of crap with the hoover and breaking it and May subsequently failing to repair it; and May’s long-lost hobbies rusting away in the shed. These lead on to inventive boss fights that provide a great challenge, further pushing the duo to their limits of collaboration. Each chapter is set in a different area of the house or garden, and this ties in all of the location designs, enemies and current weapons and skills beautifully.
Voice acting is fantastic throughout, and the characters feel very authentic in their reactions to the strange, new world around them. It has strong British kids’ movie vibes with their accents and wide range of humour. Likewise, the soundtrack by Gustaf Grefberg and Kristofer Eng is enjoyable and really adds to the overall movie-style quality of the game, with varied tracks that evolve through the levels and make full use of the environments. Everything from the character’s personalities shining through from their dialogue, to the sound effects of the world, and musical prompts such as the drumming to help you locate the Couples Challenges, is perfectly designed to immerse you deeply in the world.
The Couple Challenges that you’ll find consist of 25 Minigames that are super entertaining and definitely bring out each of our competitive sides. Each will have you going head to head in tasks such as tug of war, or whack-a-Cody, and you can play as many times as you like to see who comes out on top. You can also access unlocked Minigames within the pause menu, and this shows any previously held high scores, which is good for if you’re trying to improve. Having them be accessible like this is great, as it gives a fun way to still get involved with the game at a later point, if you’ve completed the game or just don’t have time to sit down to work through a chapter. There are different experiences to come across, along with the Couple Challenges, that take the place of typical collectibles, including one that references back to Hazelight’s previous title, A Way Out, as well as different interactive items and little creatures peeking out at you from various boxes and tins, and these are such a fun and unique addition as they feel rewarding to come across organically, rather than stressing to try and find them. You’ll often find yourself being distracted by random things you discover, such as winding up toy cars to pull off some stunts, and trying to butt-bash little spying creatures.
It Takes Two will set you back £34.99 on Xbox, with a slight discount for EA Play members, which can seem expensive but this not only gets you a very high quality game, but also gains you the ability to have a friend join you online for the full game, at no extra cost. All they need to do is download the associated Friend’s Pass, and they’ll be able to jump right in with you. Additionally, you can download the Friend’s Pass to try out the first level for free, even if neither of you owns the game - and this will give you a feel for if it’s something you want to spend your money on. It’s a great game to play, and we really enjoyed playing it together, so we’d highly recommend it in particular to other couples (although everyone should give it a go!), as it adds another layer to the gameplay in making you both work together well, just like the characters. It requires a lot of communication, and that’s part of what makes it so fun - and really makes you feel like you’ve achieved something by working together well.
In the end, we decided to give It Takes Two the Collecting Asylum rating of 10/10.
Have you played It Takes Two yet? What did you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!
- V x
Thank you to EA for the It Takes Two Xbox review code!
