We're better together
After days on end with my wife asking me to find a video game we could play together, I chose It Takes Two without knowing much about it. I knew it had won the Game of the Year award in 2021, but that was pretty much it.
What initially looked like a simple platform game quickly became a showcase of the most common video game genres in just one title. With puzzles and racing tracks, one-on-one fights, shooting scenes, and even strategy and simulation moments, It Takes Two is a brilliant introduction to video games. The scenarios, the soundtrack, and the animations are some of the best in gaming. But that isn’t what makes It Takes Two stand apart.
Playing as Cody and May, the two players need to learn about the fundamental principles (Attraction, Passion and Collaboration) to fix the characters' relationship and return to their human forms. The proposition is simple. But what they say, how they say it, and all those awkward moments from listening to relationship counselling from a videogame next to your partner make the experience unique.
As someone that never played video games before, my wife went through considerable difficulties. From coordinating both cameras, understanding her character’s position in the 3D environments, and executing multiple commands in sequence, it was nothing short of a challenge for her. Having played video games all my life, the urge to take her controller was so strong that it took me a whole week to recover from each hour-long gameplay.
As I began to calm down and forced myself to be more patient, my wife steadily became more independent, more relaxed, accurate and, at times, better than me! These improvements were so considerable from chapter to chapter that they unexpectedly matched the moments in which both May and Cody became closer and more cooperative in the storyline.
As we completed the first chapters and got told by Dr Hakim, the funny Latino-voice book of love, that a relationship needs collaboration, that was when it all clicked. This game was not about reaching the end of the story and beating “the final boss” but about trust, patience, partnership and support.
Extraordinary experiences, whether in video games or not, are meant to be shared. And whoever you experience them with, you are likely to have a great time. But after everything my wife and I have been through throughout the game, I am glad I haven’t experienced It takes two with someone else.