It Takes Two

It Takes Two transforms two classic ’90s film genres into one classic co-op game. The parental divorce dramedy meets the shrunk-down-people-trying-to-survive-the-human-world adventure in It Takes Two. Players take on the roles of May and Cody, a couple on the brink of splitting up who have been cursed by their unhappy daughter, leaving them in the bodies of two diminutive dolls. To survive and regain their full-size forms their only choice is to co-operate, setting up a puzzle platformer that explores themes of marriage, connection and the difficulty that comes with two people trying to make a life together. Developer Hazelight Studios, which created the critically-lauded co-op adventure A Way Out, proves once again that it isn’t interested in falling back on tired co-op mechanics. One section, for example, has Cody and May using a vacuum cleaner to navigate a shed, with one player aiming the nozzle while the other gets fired out of the tube. In another, Cody fires oddly explosive honey that sticks to hornets and wooden barriers, while May fires matchsticks to ignite the stuff for some serious pyrotechnics.