Some cooperative games simply allow two people to play together.

It Takes Two is different.

Developed by Hazelight Studios and published by Electronic Arts, It Takes Two was built from the ground up around cooperation. Almost every mechanic, puzzle, platforming section, and story moment is designed around two players working together.

The result is one of the most creative cooperative adventures ever made.

Even years after its release, It Takes Two remains an impressive example of how multiplayer game design can be used to create experiences that simply wouldn’t work the same way in a traditional single-player game.

But is it still worth playing today?

A Story About a Family Falling Apart

It Takes Two follows Cody and May, a married couple whose relationship has reached a breaking point.

Their daughter, Rose, is struggling with the possibility of her parents separating.

After a strange event, Cody and May are transformed into small dolls and transported into a fantastical version of their own home.

To return to normal, they must work together.

The setup sounds simple, but the game uses this situation to explore the relationship between the two characters.

Their journey isn’t just about escaping the strange world around them.

It’s also about understanding why their relationship deteriorated in the first place.

Cooperation Is the Entire Game

The most important thing about It Takes Two is that neither player can experience the full game alone.

Both characters have unique abilities, and many challenges require them to combine those abilities.

One player may activate a mechanism while the other uses the resulting opportunity.

One may control an object while the other navigates through an area.

Sometimes the two players are separated completely and have to solve different parts of the same challenge.

This creates constant communication.

You naturally start talking to the other player:

“Wait.”

“Go there.”

“Press that.”

“Now jump!”

That communication becomes part of the experience.

The Gameplay Constantly Changes

This is probably the biggest reason It Takes Two remains so memorable.

The game refuses to settle on one gameplay style.

You can be solving a puzzle one minute and participating in a completely different activity moments later.

The campaign includes platforming, puzzles, combat, racing sections, mini-games, environmental challenges, flying sequences, and many other mechanics.

The game constantly introduces new ideas.

More importantly, it usually abandons a mechanic before it becomes repetitive.

That keeps the adventure feeling fresh from beginning to end.

Every Level Has Something New

One of Hazelight’s greatest achievements is the variety of its environments.

The game transforms ordinary areas of a house into enormous fantasy worlds.

A garden becomes an adventure.

A toolbox becomes a dangerous environment.

A tree becomes a massive battlefield.

A child’s room becomes an entire playground.

The developers repeatedly take something familiar and turn it into something completely unexpected.

This makes exploration incredibly entertaining.

You never know what the next area is going to become.

The Level Design Is Outstanding

The level design is where It Takes Two truly shines.

Every major section has been designed around cooperation.

The environments aren’t simply large spaces with two-player objectives added afterward.

The two-player interaction is fundamental to how the levels work.

This allows Hazelight to create challenges where both players feel equally important.

There are very few moments where one player feels like they’re simply following the other.

Both people have something to do.

Both people contribute.

And both people are usually necessary.

Puzzles Are Fun Without Becoming Overwhelming

The puzzles generally focus on communication rather than complicated logic.

That’s an important distinction.

The game wants players to work together rather than spend twenty minutes staring at the same puzzle.

Usually, the challenge is understanding what both characters need to do.

Once the solution becomes clear, the satisfaction comes from successfully coordinating your actions.

This makes the game accessible even for players who don’t normally play puzzle games.

Combat Is Surprisingly Fun

It Takes Two isn’t primarily a combat game, but combat sections are integrated throughout the campaign.

Both characters receive different abilities depending on the current section.

The combat is usually simple enough to understand quickly while still requiring cooperation.

One player may distract an enemy while the other attacks.

Another encounter might require both players to coordinate abilities.

These moments help break up the platforming and puzzle sections.

Mini-Games Add Even More Variety

Throughout the adventure, players can discover optional mini-games.

These aren’t required to finish the story, but they provide additional activities for players who want to compete against each other.

They’re especially fun when playing with a friend because they can create completely different kinds of competition.

Instead of always cooperating, you can suddenly find yourself trying to beat the other player.

These little moments add personality to the campaign.

Cody and May Carry the Story

The gameplay would already be impressive without a strong story, but the relationship between Cody and May gives the adventure an emotional foundation.

Neither character is presented as completely innocent.

Both have made mistakes.

Both have frustrations.

Both have reasons for feeling hurt.

The game uses their journey to explore communication, responsibility, family, and the consequences of neglecting a relationship.

The story isn’t subtle all the time, but it works because the gameplay constantly reinforces the central idea.

These two characters literally cannot move forward without helping each other.

Rose Is More Important Than She First Appears

Rose is the emotional connection between Cody and May.

Her perspective gives the story additional weight because the consequences of their relationship aren’t limited to the two adults.

The game frequently reminds players that children can be deeply affected by family conflicts.

This makes the adventure more than just a colorful platforming game.

There is an emotional reason behind the journey.

Visuals Still Hold Up

It Takes Two has a colorful and imaginative visual style.

The environments are extremely varied, and each area has its own identity.

The game doesn’t need photorealistic graphics to look impressive.

Instead, it relies on creativity, animation, lighting, character design, and environmental variety.

This approach has helped the game age surprisingly well.

Even today, its worlds remain visually interesting.

Sound and Music

The soundtrack supports the game’s constantly changing tone.

Funny moments receive playful music, while more emotional scenes become quieter and more dramatic.

Sound effects also help make interactions feel responsive.

The overall presentation is polished and fits the game’s colorful adventure style.

Performance

It Takes Two runs well across its supported platforms.

The game was designed around relatively controlled environments rather than a massive open world, which allows the developers to focus on visual quality and gameplay variety.

The technical presentation isn’t the main reason to play the game, but it successfully supports the experience.

What Could Be Better?

It Takes Two isn’t perfect.

The biggest potential problem is that its story can occasionally become overly sentimental.

Some jokes also haven’t aged particularly well for every player.

The game can additionally feel slightly uneven because some mechanics are much more enjoyable than others.

However, the variety is ultimately one of its greatest strengths.

Even when a particular section isn’t your favorite, another completely different mechanic is usually waiting around the corner.

Is It Takes Two Worth Playing?

Absolutely.

In fact, if you have someone to play with, It Takes Two should be near the top of your list.

The game demonstrates exactly what cooperative game design can accomplish when developers build everything around two players from the beginning.

The best moments aren’t simply the most visually impressive ones.

They’re the moments when both players suddenly understand what they need to do and successfully coordinate their actions.

Those moments create memories that are difficult to reproduce in a single-player game.

It Takes Two vs. Other Co-Op Games

Compared with other cooperative adventures, It Takes Two stands out because of its incredible variety.

Some games focus heavily on combat.

Others focus on puzzles.

Others emphasize story.

It Takes Two constantly switches between all of these elements.

That makes it especially good for players who want an adventure that doesn’t become repetitive.

It’s also a great choice for people who don’t normally play games because the mechanics are introduced gradually and the controls are generally easy to understand.

PlayOnReviews Score

9.6/10

It Takes Two remains an outstanding cooperative adventure. Its greatest achievement is making cooperation feel like the foundation of the game rather than an additional feature. With creative levels, constantly changing mechanics, memorable characters, and an emotional story, it continues to be one of the best games to play with another person.

Verdict: Must Play