It Takes Two

 PlayStation 5
User Score
9.0

Universal acclaim- based on 927 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 845 out of 927
  2. Mixed: 32 out of 927
  3. Negative: 50 out of 927

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  1. LucasK001
    Feb 21, 2022
    6
    The game is incredibly diverse in terms of gameplay and that's cool. It's also fun to play two and we have a good time. But for me the game quickly became nondescript and I couldn't wait for it to end. The challenge is nice but nothing more, it's certainly not a GOTY for me anyway!
  2. TomRoller
    Apr 7, 2021
    6
    The most creative level design since Psychonauts gets paired with cringe-inducing cast of extraordinarily unlikeable protagonists. Characters have little to offer beyond vapid quips and non-stop obnoxious banter. All attempts at emotional moments have a subtlety of a hippopotamus and depth of a puddle. Once Hazelight ups their writing to the same level as the rest of the team, we're in forThe most creative level design since Psychonauts gets paired with cringe-inducing cast of extraordinarily unlikeable protagonists. Characters have little to offer beyond vapid quips and non-stop obnoxious banter. All attempts at emotional moments have a subtlety of a hippopotamus and depth of a puddle. Once Hazelight ups their writing to the same level as the rest of the team, we're in for a timeless classic. It Takes Two ain't it.… Expand
  3. SebboBastian
    Dec 12, 2021
    7
    Fun game to play with my partner. The game is a bit all over the place from time to time. The studio really need to get some better actors for their child rolls. Both this kid and the kid in a way out is just anoying.
  4. KhaOS128
    Dec 13, 2021
    5
    It had coal in the story, cool game, ill play it when i have more friend...
  5. Brainsblow
    Sep 8, 2021
    5
    Mini games is good, graphics is good! But some scenes are awful! It’s too cruel! At any cost don’t give it to the kids!! For castle part I hate creators!
  6. nandika
    Apr 1, 2021
    7
    It would be absolutely awesome... if you have a (girl/boy)friend who's at least as good with the controller as you. If he/she is a beginner, then it's not worth it, in fact this game is getting very frustrating very fast for people not used to 3d platforming :( I had to sell my copy so it wouldn't stare my and my girlfirend in our faces...
  7. nicenaima
    Mar 29, 2021
    5
    The gameplay is a lot of fun! But I must warn that the storyline is very cringe. Heteronormative stereotypes, racism. And these cutscenes can't be skipped... But the actual mechanics of the game are enjoyable.
  8. Wweald
    Jun 9, 2021
    7
    Pretty fun game, the story was cool it felt like a Pixar movie or something. None of the characters really interested me but the story overall was nice. The puzzles were all really easy but that makes it great casual co-op fun, but I would have liked something harder personally. I really dislike how you're forced to play in split screen even if you're on different computers. I get thatPretty fun game, the story was cool it felt like a Pixar movie or something. None of the characters really interested me but the story overall was nice. The puzzles were all really easy but that makes it great casual co-op fun, but I would have liked something harder personally. I really dislike how you're forced to play in split screen even if you're on different computers. I get that it's helpful to be on split screen for some of the puzzles but they could have made it transition to it specifically for those puzzles or have it be an option we could toggle at will. Very cool level designs as well.… Expand
  9. CauzeMythical
    Apr 8, 2021
    7
    with a friend this game is amazing but we both ended up skipping cutscenes and just wanted to get over it
  10. Rep_
    Mar 24, 2022
    5
    Quite overrated game honestly, played this with my friend and we never managed to get past chapter 3 I believe, there was quite a bit of connection issues (even though we both had good internet) as well of other distinct issues like the camera, extremely linear and simple ‘to the point of being a cakewalk’ level design, story isn’t as incredible as people make it out to be, don’t know whyQuite overrated game honestly, played this with my friend and we never managed to get past chapter 3 I believe, there was quite a bit of connection issues (even though we both had good internet) as well of other distinct issues like the camera, extremely linear and simple ‘to the point of being a cakewalk’ level design, story isn’t as incredible as people make it out to be, don’t know why it is considered to be overall the game of the year in 2021.… Expand
  11. ZXSth
    Mar 7, 2023
    5
    A profoundly disappointing experience whose successes mostly lie in its accessibility, graphics and voice acting. I was not quite sold on the story, and found the overall gameplay frustratingly easy in a way that verged on being detestable. While the game is certainly pretty and runs quite smoothly, I found it lacking when it comes to what I see as true substance.

    For all the hype that    A profoundly disappointing experience whose successes mostly lie in its accessibility, graphics and voice acting. I was not quite sold on the story, and found the overall gameplay frustratingly easy in a way that verged on being detestable. While the game is certainly pretty and runs quite smoothly, I found it lacking when it comes to what I see as true substance.

    For all the hype that had been generated around this game's quality, I found myself increasingly annoyed as I continued to play the game more and more. While the plot certainly could have been worse, it felt schmaltzy, somewhat unrealistic and oversimplified as it carried on - and considering that this game is quite dependent on its plot, I felt increasingly annoyed as this game carried on. As such, despite the greater opinion on It Takes Two, I would be lying if I said I enjoyed myself while playing it.    … Expand
  12. Akma
    Dec 30, 2022
    7
    I liked this game very much and fun experience which I would give 10 by myself but it was bit too difficult for my wife so...
  13. LazyScorpion
    Sep 3, 2022
    6
    FULL DISCLOSURE: I did not finish this game. My co-op partner and I got bored by level 2 (of 7) and set the game down.

    TL;DR: It Takes Two is a competent game in a genre (co-op platformer) where it has virtually no competition. While not spectacular, the visuals and voice acting are better than your average videogame. It also does a good job of telling a story that is a little more    FULL DISCLOSURE: I did not finish this game. My co-op partner and I got bored by level 2 (of 7) and set the game down.

    TL;DR: It Takes Two is a competent game in a genre (co-op platformer) where it has virtually no competition. While not spectacular, the visuals and voice acting are better than your average videogame. It also does a good job of telling a story that is a little more grounded, relatable, and coherent than most games. However, people who play a lot of videogames may notice the sub-par level design, platforming, and puzzles.

    I think if you and your significant other / co-op partner are reasonably capable videogames players (e.g., grew up with games), but you aren't like, playing 15+ hours of videogames per week, It Takes Two may be one of the better videogames you'll play. Many people probably fall into this category, which I think is why it has so many favorable reviews and won PS game of the year.

    But from a design perspective, I think the level design and puzzles are weak, and there are GameCube, Xbox, and PlayStation 2 games from the early 2000s that have comparable or better platforming.

    In my experience, most of the levels played out exactly the same. First, the game gives both players a tool. These tools work together to enable the players to solve the puzzles. For example, one player gets a hammer and the other gets a nail gun. Simultaneously, the game takes away whatever tools the players received in the previous level. Then the players run down a hallway until they hit a puzzle. The players do the puzzle which lets them run down another hallway, where they do another puzzle. This repeats until the players hit some sort of autoscroller / "run away from the collapsing stage" section, which is followed by a boss.

    Its really obvious based on the puzzle design and the game's theme (e.g., two people learning to work together and repair their dysfunctional relationship) that the developers did not want players to get stuck on the puzzles and get frustrated with one another. To avoid this problem, they made the puzzles pretty easy, so much so that all the puzzles (that I played) were identical from a gameplay standpoint.

    First, the players are put into a room. One and only one of the players will be able to interact with something using the tool they received at the start of the level. That player presses R2 to interact with the thing. This will enable the other player to press R2 to interact with something else. This "P1-P2-P1-P2" or "P2-P1-P2-P1" pattern is repeated until the puzzle is solved. The actual "tool" you use to solve the puzzle is mechanically irrelevant. In one level, one player receives a hammer and the other receives a nail. The puzzles are solved by one player pressing R2 while looking at something, followed by the other player pressing R2 while looking at something. In the next level, they take away your hammer and nailgun and replace them with a sap (?) launcher and a match gun. The puzzles are solved by one player pressing R2 while looking at something, followed by the other player pressing R2 while looking at something.

    The platforming seems to have been designed by someone who knows what a platformer is, and is aware of platformer mechanics, but does not really seem to understand them. For example, with regards to mechanics like jumping, in a 3D platformer, a character might have e.g., a jump, a double jump, a spin jump, a dive jump, etc. In a good platformer, the levels are designed where each of these movement options is appropriate in different circumstances, so the player has to decide between them while playing, making the gameplay more varied and interesting. In It Takes Two, the impression I got was "you might as well double jump and dive," because most of the gaps can't be covered by a single jump anyway, and there isn't really anything the single jump does better than the double jump. So it seems like the developers included multiple jump options because "that's what good platformers have," without really understanding why they have those options.

    Some of the action sections in levels can get kind of tedious, and it seems like the developers were aware of that, but didn't bother to redesign or address these sections. Like in one level, there is an autoscroller where you ride on the back of a glowing fish and literally do nothing for a couple minutes, and I kinda enjoyed it. I realized the reason I enjoyed it was because setting the controller down was more enjoyable than playing the sections that came before it. The developers included this section as an intermission to make the level more tolerable, rather than simply making a more fun level to begin with.

    So overall the gameplay and puzzles aren't great, but if you don't play much videogames, you might not even notice or appreciate that, and you may end up enjoying one of very few polished functional co-op platformers on the market.    … Expand
  14. builttwospill
    Aug 22, 2023
    7
    It takes all the fun of a mandatory co-op game and as a bonus, throws in your parents’ constant fighting and sniping at each other due to years of resentment!!! How could you lose? Seriously, though, the game is very fun. Any other storyline would have been a thousand times better, though. May and Cody are both intolerable and I found myself praying for their demise and Rose’s liberation.It takes all the fun of a mandatory co-op game and as a bonus, throws in your parents’ constant fighting and sniping at each other due to years of resentment!!! How could you lose? Seriously, though, the game is very fun. Any other storyline would have been a thousand times better, though. May and Cody are both intolerable and I found myself praying for their demise and Rose’s liberation. 7/10 - a story so bad you lost two points for it. So much nagging, whining, and blaming each other going around it’s really hard to play with the volume up. At least you learn teamwork all the better by both of you needing to hold down a button to skip the painful cutscenes.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

6
#6 Best PlayStation 5 Game of 2021
14
#14 Most Discussed PlayStation 5 Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 50 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 49 out of 50
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 50
  3. Negative: 0 out of 50
  1. Impulsegamer
    Feb 26, 2025
    100
    It Takes Two is a fun cooperative game on the PlayStation that is filled with consistent surprises and delights, offering a unique and unforgettable experience. Whether you’re playing with a significant other, a friend or a family member, It Takes Two is an essential title for any PS5 owner who is looking for a cooperative challenge and from an incredible moving perspective from a story point of view that can easily be knocked over in a few binge gaming sessions.
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  2. CD-Action
    Nov 15, 2021
    70
    I adore A Way Out, so I had really high expectations for Hazelight’s new game. Instead of sticking to the proven, perfect formula of AWO, the developers decided to give us more of everything and as a result overdid it in many respects. The levels are too long and there are too many minigames, while the story can’t keep up. It seemed to me the narrative is just a pretext to introduce as many different gameplay mechanics as possible, and as a result the relationship between the protagonists is implausible. [05/2021, p.26]
  3. Checkpoint Gaming
    May 29, 2021
    90
    It Takes Two is a one-of-a-kind experience. There is a joy and whimsy to the entire game and so much variety it’ll keep players entertained and surprised from beginning to end. The world is so detailed and gorgeous and the cohesion between storytelling and gameplay is incredibly impressive. It’s the kind of game that proves there’s still plenty of room for innovation in games.
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