It Takes Two is a cooperative-only platforming game that, although the looks might tell you differently, deals with a very emotional and controversial topic: the implications of a divorce and how children cope with such a situation. If you're okay with a little bit of drama in your games, then we definitely recommend you this adventure. It's not a tearjerker, but be careful, though, as the story could hit very close to home for some of you.

Again, this is a cooperative-only game, so you'll need a second person to play it, either in local mode or online. For gameplay reasons, seeing what the other playing is doing and being aware of where they are is essential, so that leaves us with a split-screen and the need for communication; it's better if both players are in the same room, but you can always go for voice chat if both players are online.

It Takes Two will show you everyday situations, home tools, and even house animals through the eyes of these parents-gone-toys, who now must look for a way to reverse the spell their daughter cast on them. If they want to go back to normal, Cody and May will have to put their differences aside and work together as a team!

It Takes Two feels like a playable Pixar or Dreamworks movie, which is really good. All levels are full of detail and, since we play as small toys exploring the real world, that really helps with immersion. Some parts of the house are dark and hard to traverse, while others are full of color and light, but all of them are impressive regardless. To be honest with you, most people will come to this game because of how good it looks, not knowing about Cody and Amy's situation or the topics this game deals with... and that's okay. It Takes Two is not the first game—or animated movie, for what it's worth—to use a toy or small animal perspective to show us everything we're missing around us, even in our own houses, but you don't have to be 100% original if you can still do such a magnificent job at portraying it.

The music is another vital element to It Takes Two. It does a great job at transmitting emotions and also serves as a perfect and intentionally blurry boundary between drama and comedy. Besides the great use of the OST, the star of this game has to be the voice acting. Cody and May's interactions feel all-too-real; it doesn't matter if they are barking at each other or addressing talking tools and animals. In fact, the voice acting is important even outside the cutscenes, giving the players clues about what to do and delivering some jokes here and there.

It Takes Two starts when May and Cody, parents of Rose, decide to divorce. For adults, divorce tends to be the product of a long process, but it could come as a shocking, devastating surprise for the kids. When Rose is told by their parents that they will be going separate ways, she goes back to her room and gets 2 dolls representing the adults. Sad and hopeless, she resorts to Dr. Hakim's Book of Love and that's when something magical happens: her tears of sadness fall on 2 dolls representing her parents, and Cody and May's minds suddenly end up trapped inside the toys.

Since this is Cody and May's adventure, you need a friend to play this game, but It Takes Two makes it easy to find who to play with. If you have siblings or a friend coming to your house, you both can play local co-op and you don't even need two controllers, as one player could use the mouse and keyboard. If you have online friends and both of you own a copy of It Takes Two, then you can just join each other like you would in any other game. And what if none of your friends own the game or are too afraid to buy it without trying it first? Well, then they can just download the It Takes Two Friend's Pass for free and enjoy the full thing! Forcing you to play co-op is not a strategy to sell more copies...

Jumping and dashing is just a tiny part of this platforming game. Both Cody and May have unique abilities that complement each other, so the only apparent solution to their problem is teamwork. Luckily for them, a living representation of Dr. Hakim's Book of Love is there to help them! Is this help well-received, though?

All stages are full of sections worth exploring, but the gameplay is linear nonetheless. Both characters must help each other open doors, activate buttons, pull and push things around, etc. While you get from point A to point B, you can also find minigames you can later access from the menu, with no rewards or penalties involved.

What we love about It Takes Two is that it can be moving, but all puzzles are entertaining and the whole thing feels exciting to play because it never forgets about being fun, just like a video game should—it's weird we have to point this out, but some movie-like adventures often forget about it. There's no timer, there are no real penalties for dying, and unless the other player gets impatient, you can take all the time in the world to explore every corner of this house and interact with all objects just for the sake of it. Oh, but don't think the enemies and bosses will be nice to you!

It Takes Two is one of those games you'd like to easily forget about, just to come back a few days later and enjoy them again like the first time. It's a universal love story that will hit you one way or the other; it doesn't matter your age or marital status. People with divorced parents will know what Rose is going through, and those whose parents are still happily married might get curious about what would happen if they were in this girl's position. Players who are divorced or currently going through the process will also be affected, regardless of having kids or not.

While the story definitely leaves a mark, the best part is that It Takes Two would be a fantastic platformer even if we isolate the gameplay from the plot.

It takes two games (A Way Out and this one) to confirm Josef Fares and Hazelight Studios are the best when it comes to split-screen cooperative adventures. If you want to give it a try, you can find It Takes Two on Steam and Origin, but it's also available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.