Review | It Takes Two

It Takes Two released by AND THE in Brazil, it's a game full of inspiration, it's impossible not to compare it with the animations from Disney Pixar that transports the player to a genius story with emotion in a formidable 3D puzzle-platform. The level designs work seamlessly with cooperative play, which is also reflected in the story of May and Cody.

Starting a review already delivering that the game is without a doubt one of the best of the first semester, is practically a spoiler. But it's impossible not to play It Takes Two and not being moved by each passage of the title and not wanting to speak well of the title.

Here the hero's journey is totally different as it is the player's journey! And she's totally unpredictable. Everyone is used to just evolving with a few new moves or moves their characters, but in It Takes Two, this is taken to another extreme, as the player will never know what the characters' new abilities are.

Another interesting aspect of this game is its genre, oops, which genre? It turns out to be a game that mixes flying a plane, shooting, fighting among so many, that the game becomes much more than interesting. And again, it's another plus, because if you're tired of repetitive games, It Takes Two is far from it.

The invigorating game cycle of It Takes Two and the heavy focus on cooperation and time results in some of the most satisfying puzzles, platforms, and combats that have been presented in a long time. Hence the question: why has no one done this before?

It Takes Two is the consecration of the vision of Josef Fares, and a well-deserved leap for your company, the hazelight. If you're looking for a game to play with a friend, an experience where you can breathe the passion of its creators or simply love games with content, It Takes Two is something you won't want to miss.

Story

The history of It Takes Two is clearly inspired by animated adventures for families in distress, such as Toy Story, Frozen and Madagascar. A young woman is upset that her mother and father are getting divorced and when she cries over two dolls she made, her parents' minds are transferred to these miniature bodies of cloth and clay.

Guided by a self-help spoken relationship book called Dr. Hakim, they must work together to get back to their daughter, save their relationship, and reverse the spell.

Challenge

Through a series of beautiful home environments – from a workshop to a garden to a house – It Takes Two offers an engaging two-player challenge built from clever asymmetrical puzzles. Combining platforming sections, running elements and some mental teasers, the game often has one character running, jumping and climbing while the other prepares the route.

This could mean firing a nail gun to create handholds on the wall or completing an electrical circuit while the other person presses a button. Crucially, players must speak and plan, and characters are often given different devices that need to be used together to be effective.

In the garden section, one player uses a bazooka that shoots highly flammable honey (don't ask, just go with it), while the other fires matches to light up globes of sticky liquid.

Is it really worth it or is it just a fad?

It Takes Two it arrives at the perfect time and is an adventure that will warm your heart. It is also very well scripted, with a plot that maintains its pattern and well-built characters. As well said during script classes at Factory of Cinematic Ideas (FIC´s), the game has the right elements to be successful: empathy and social content.

It's no use just exposing your characters to dangers that everyone knows are not dangerous if there really isn't a component that scares those who play or watch. The screenwriter has to be cruel to the heroes, make them suffer at every moment and learn everything they didn't want in their life.

And here this is what happens with the "little dolls", as explained by the screenwriter Rafael Peixoto using animation Looking for Nemo in his comment on the FIC's course: losing everything in front of his eyes (his kidnapped son), taking several slaps about his ego (Marlin knows everything and doesn't listen to Dory), until he starts to understand everything that goes on , to finally – and maybe – kill who he was to become a new person.

So as well exposed in some discussions of the FIC's that give more than merit to the title of Hazelight and is what makes It Takes Two a great game: a story that is for everyone and not just a set of hitting buttons at the right time. The content is there, now it just needs to be experienced by the player.