It Takes Two charmed nearly everyone who played it in 2021. From the eccentric mind of Josef Fares founder of Hazelight studio, It Takes Two has a common lineage from Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons and A Way Out. This Co-op Action Platformer showed the evolution of the studio and the honing of making approachable and collaborative games. Earning a good number of accolades upon release, the original has been ported to Nintendo Switch by Turn Me Up Games, and it fits this ecosystem like a glove. Currently asking $39.99 on the Nintendo Store, this port hopes to find a new audience.
If you feel inclined to come out from under your rock, It Takes Two tells the story of a couple whose relationship is dying on the vine. Cody and May are trying to find a way to tell their daughter that the spark is gone when they are dramatically turned into two toys. A living book about relationship-help sets them on a journey to overcome puzzles and bosses that will force them to work together and face their relationship woes. You’ll battle vacuums, solve platformer puzzles, and scale your daughter’s toys all while examining what went wrong with your relationship.
The story is rich, and the voice acting is fantastic. This is no doubt due to thoughtful writing that hits deeper than the silly situations you find yourself in. It’s goofy to be a miniature-sized Cody overcoming his neglected plants in the garden, but it’s earnest to hear that this character gave up the loved gardening hobby he once had. Walking this line of humor with serious themes is difficult to write, and It Takes Two showcases how intriguing it can be when a game is written well.
The writing is complimented by the pacing and diversity of levels and puzzles. The game clocks in at about 15 hours and each new mechanic never overstays its welcome. At an early level, you’re collaborating on how to propel yourselves through vacuum hoses, but you’re quickly transitioned to spelunking your way through the shed with hammer and nails. The crescendos of each segment are boss battles. Never too difficult in skill, each battle has you implementing a new mechanic you’ve learned.
It Takes Two is only playable in co-op mode, and you will not get very far without a second player. This port supports Couch Co-op, Local Wireless Play, and online Co-op. The latter supports the “Friend Pass” in which only one player needs to own the game provided both have Nintendo’s online subscription service. My main criticism lies in the Couch Co-op mode. The natural use-case for this instance is to take off the two separate Joy-cons and hand one to the second player. Unfortunately, you will need to own two separate sets of Joy-cons or an equivalent controller. It’s beyond me why the puzzles and interface could not have been adapted to the limitations of the separate left and right joy cons. At this point in the Switch’s lifecycle perhaps it’s reasonable to assume people own multiple sets of Joy-cons, but I did not and ended up having to run out and buy a second controller. While I don’t think any of the advertising materials were misleading, it seems like a no-brainer to make the bar of entry as low as possible.
Visually, It Takes Two was never a showstopper, but sacrifices have been made to keep a steady frame rate on this long-in-the-tooth console. The game is passable in tabletop mode and perfectly playable in docked mode, the art design and set pieces are still creative and delightful. However, the textures and character models look muddy and outdated. I think this is less of a criticism of Turn Me Up Games and more of a comment on how behind the curve Nintendo always is with their hardware. It’s commendable how steady the frame rates are, however, there are a few segments that require precise timing and clear vision. I died a few times because of the underpowered hardware, but luckily, it’s an exceedingly generous game when it comes to timing and precision.
I loved the first time my wife and I played this game, and I had a blast this time too. Turn Me Up Games should be given a gold star for what they were able to push out of the little system. It Takes Two is a special game that genuinely brings people together. The writing, user-friendly puzzles, and charming story have put a grin on pairs of peoples’ faces for over a year, and I hope it finds new couples on this new platform. It’s absolutely worth the price of entry if you’re traveling or have never jumped in, this is a great time.
