I stand on a platform ahead of my partner, a bridge full of moving saw blades blocking the path that connects us.
It had taken me a few attempts, but I had already crossed the treacherous path.
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All that is left is for me to survive the oncoming barrage of nails while my partner makes it across.
“Don’t worry about me,” he says “I’ll get there eventually.”
Our relationship is often full of humour, so I reply: “Oh I know you will. I’m just worried about dying of starvation first.”
Combined with the frustration of the difficult task, his expression was joyless. It was the first time I’d ever seen him angered by a quip.
It Takes Two started as a competition. I am an avid gamer and platformer fanatic, while my partner is merely competitive by nature.
Soon it wasn’t about completing the level together, but who could find the most mini-games? Who could finish a difficult section first? Who could survive against the boss for the longest?
Despite being wrapped in the colourful, puppet aesthetics of a kids’ game, It Takes Two can be surprisingly challenging.
The platforming is fast-paced and slick. The puzzle-solving, and item-finding can be tricky. There are vast areas to explore, and each is brimming with secrets.
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Sometimes, these are small Easter eggs, such as a carousel you can ride, while others are a mini-game where you are forced to compete.
However, the journey through It Takes Two is long, in particular if you are taking the time to smell the overgrown roses.
There is a lot to figure out. Aside from the puzzles that literally take two people to solve, there are platforming challenges, and strategies which are easier dealt with if two brains are at work.
As you play It Takes Two it’s not only the relationship between May and Cody that grows and changes, but the relationship with your partner and the game itself.
Soon we weren’t competing against each other but with the game. Any frustration was directed at a stubborn camera angle or an eaten button input.
When it came to the game’s more complex optional challenges, such as Hell Tower or Track Runner, it wasn’t about beating each other to the end.
If one of us could conquer it at all, it was a victory for us both.
When one of us figured out the controls of an obtuse mini-game, we’d immediately tell the other.
No strategies were kept secret as we turned into a team. And our hatred for Dr. Hakim, an annoyingly chatty book, united us.
While there were still times when we’d be part-way through a difficult puzzle, only for one player to purposely kill the other, we did it because it was funny, and most importantly, both of us laughed.
Above all, It Takes Two is fun. There are fast-paced sections, and gorgeous environments, mixed in with some surprisingly difficult yet rewarding platforming.
While the loading times can be quite the drag on Nintendo Switch, we took the time to talk, or pet one of our cats who had joined us on the sofa.
It’s a game that is truly co-operative, both in-game and in real life, and as you work through each challenge, you develop better ways to communicate.
My non-gamer partner still struggled with a lot of the platforming, but with my encouragement never found himself overwhelmed.
His spirits were boosted by his complete domination in the mini-games, which I didn’t mind losing as long as I understood how they worked.
Despite all the challenges you face in It Takes Two, the hardest part is finding someone to play with.
While it’s easy to find a willing playmate, it’s harder to find one that will see it through to the end with you.
It challenges your relationship with your partner, requiring solid communication, and the ability to both give and take instruction without taking things too seriously.
Both parties need to be self-assured so they don’t lose heart whether excelling or failing, or have enough encouragement through the hard bits to make it to the beautiful parts.
Most of all, a sense of humour is needed, in order to complete the game with your relationship intact.
It’s one of the few games I’ve played that not only tests your gaming skills, but your relationship too.
If you can come through it, and both still have a smile on your faces, then you know you’ve found someone, and something special.
Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
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