- It Takes Two Review
- It Takes Two Nintendo Switch Review – Is It Worth It?
- Should couples play It Takes Two? | Girlfriend Reviews
- It Takes Two Review “Buy, Wait for Sale, Never Touch?”
- It Takes Two (Zero Punctuation)
- It Takes Two (PS5) 4K 60FPS HDR Gameplay
- It Takes Two – Rapid Fire Review
It Takes Two Review
hey how was your day great the uh,toaster broke and rose refused to eat,her vegetables a healthy marriage is,like the ultimate co-op game,you have to know when to give and take,when to push and pull,and when to talk and when to listen but,most importantly you must always,remember when its your turn to take the,garbage out,something hazelite studios has certainly,done during the development of the,almost entirely garbage free,it takes two this utterly superb co-op,platformer manages to cram in enough,unique and exhilarating gameplay ideas,to give shigeru miyamoto a migraine with,not a single dud among them,centering around a pair of pint-sized,parents may and cody,it takes two is a bit like honey i,shrunk the kids if the director had been,tripping on lsd,the world around you isnt merely,super-sized but augmented with all,manner of fabulous contraptions and,anthropomorphic,everything mae uh theyre alive,what is going on here may and codys,journey from their garden shed back to,their house takes them on dazzling,detours,through everywhere from outer space to a,tiny nightclub housed inside an air,conditioning,vent and serves as a sustained 10-hour,blast of co-op platforming bliss,thats constantly conjuring up new ways,to engage and entertain,one moment cody and may are,collaboratively steering a giant pencil,around to connect the dots picture,the next theyre casting spells and,swinging swords as a wizard and,barbarian in an isometric dungeon crawl,before you know it theyll be hopping,along the tumbling crystallized interior,of a kaleidoscope,and just when you think it takes two,must be out of ideas cody will be,piloting a tiny plane through the,treetops,while mae squares off in a street,fighter style showdown with,wait is that a squirrel it just shifts,seamlessly from one brilliantly bonkers,style of gameplay to another and almost,none of it is ever recycled at any point,[Music],importantly every action feels fantastic,to perform,the platforming essentials are on point,with may and codys jump,double jump and air dash abilities being,supremely responsive,and allowing for effortless levels of,platforming precision,but its the complementary,character-specific abilities that are,refreshed in each chapter that compelled,me and my partner to work as a team,and make it takes two a special style of,platformer turning seemingly simple,ascends up the side of a cliff face,into carefully choreographed back and,forths and coordinated chants of three,two one go,here goes nothing early on cody might,have a bandolier of nails that he can,throw into walls,to plot a path of rungs for mater swing,between with her claw hammer,while later may can use her water gun to,soak fertile soil,to allow cody to plant himself and bloom,into a winding flower with petals for,platforms,wow youre so pretty cody i know,right these gizmos and abilities each,double as both platform puzzle solving,tools and boss fighting aids,maes clone ability allows her to,teleport from one weighted switch to,another to trigger timed mechanisms,but it also enables her to lure a,charging bull boss towards an obstacle,before beaming herself out of harms way,at the very last second,additionally while a lot of the elements,in it takes twos environments are there,to serve a very clear gameplay purpose,a substantial amount of objects are,interactive for no other reason than,because theyre fun,it very much adheres to the mario method,of cramming as much magical,interactivity into every square inch of,each play space,kind of snacks and ensures that your,every curious action goes rewarded,[Music],the fact that it takes two blesses you,with infinite lives and extremely,generous checkpointing,only makes you more emboldened to,experiment,what have you done what what why do you,always blame me,huh yes why do you always blame him,thank you oh,what is that the only real gripe that i,can level at it takes two is aimed,squarely at the character of dr hakeem,this walking and talking book of love,acts as a guide for me and cody on their,journey towards rekindling the love in,their marriage,and hes basically insufferably cringey,right from his first appearance,and that doesnt change in the numerous,cutscenes he shows up in throughout,i will help you fix your relationship,chapter one fix your relationship,this is definitely a nightmare the only,positive thing about him is that anytime,he does appear you know youre about to,be handed some natty new plaything or,game-changing ability,so i never felt too sad to see him even,if each and every one of his lines had,me rolling my eyes,rather than rolling with laughter daddy,old school baby oh i dont like where,this is going,dr hakeems appearances aside i did,enjoy it takes twos story overall,especially in the way it neatly takes,elements of me and codys reconciliation,efforts and weaves them into the,gameplay at one point the pair,rediscover their attraction to each,other,by literally using two halves of the,same magnet to puzzle their way through,a level for example,i was quite charmed by the way the two,leads gradually learned to love each,other again,even if the storys final moments aimed,for pixar-style poignancy,but came off as slightly saccharine of,course a lot of the marriage metaphors,went over the head of my 10 year old son,who was partnering me on the adventure,and it made me wish for a game like this,that was made more for a parent to share,their love of gaming with a child,as opposed to a couple playing together,even so it didnt really impact the,enjoyment we shared,because so much of the bickering and,banter between the couple on screen,was drowned out by our own laughing and,shouting as an impromptu snowball fight,broke out,bullseye always struggled to draw a,smiley face on a giant etcher sketch,well thats a face only a mother could,love,the wind,it takes two is a spectacular co-op,adventure that lays down a path of great,gameplay ideas,and uses it to play a giddy game of,hopscotch its beautiful,breakneck paced and bubbling over with,creativity and playfulness and,experimentation,are rewarded at every turn,if you have any kind of co-op partner in,your life be they spouse,friend sibling or other it takes two is,a truly joyful trip,you really need to take together for,more ign reviews check out our verdicts,on monster hunter rise and paradise lost,and for everything else stick with ign
It Takes Two Nintendo Switch Review – Is It Worth It?
hello everyone Felix from Nintendo live,here and today were here to review a,very special game its it takes two on,the Nintendo switch now this review was,written by the wonderful Roland Ingram,and converted into video by me,[Music],marriage isnt always perfect sometimes,as here two presumably decent,hard-working parents whose relationship,you know nothing about and whom you can,only fold the most General human empathy,find the joy of matrimony fades so they,must support their daughter as they,carefully share the decision to separate,however in the text to the capital T,talk doesnt exactly go to plan as Dad,and Mum Cody and Mary are probably,shrunk into small handcrafted dolls by,the magic tears of their crying daughter,who we can only presume is a witch,nonetheless they seemed inclined to,return to her rather than flee and so,begin an adventure from shed to Garden,to house,following the gamers Fair cheering and,clapping last year Game of the Year this,revolutionary that it takes two has,landed on switch with its impressive,commitment to co-op gaming to be clear,theres no real way to play this without,a companion it is essentially an only,Co-op there is not a single set piece or,puzzle based on solo play Cody and may,are not two people optionally playing in,the same space the spaces are built in,every way for their pair ring theres,nothing without one another which of,course rather lends the story,anyway the meat and potatoes here is,served at your table for two is vibrant,solid creative platforming the jump feel,is rewarding and extremely generous a,double jump can be followed by a forward,Dash effectively making for a triple,jump that covers very long gaps and,saves misjudgment,coyote time is helpful without losing,the smoothness of dropping from a ledge,and a sticky wall jump lets you,basically Spidey onto stuff as well as,recover quite badly missed leaps with,this last point for example a level may,ask a partner to race about moving,platforms or clearing obstacles while,you slowly itch down a wall youve,started to and then kick off to whatever,safety that has or havent been achieved,imperiling yourself in faith that your,friend will be there creates a true Bond,the kind of bond that most hilariously,Breaks by slamming an iron Vice onto a,gullible idiot respawn is instant and,unlimited inviting to this kind of,larking about all times its fun its,playful its murderous a variety of,gadgets are handed out in patient,stretching cutscenes by a salacious,talking book that your daughter,ought not to be reading which or no,witch neither Gadget is too powerful for,its owner a hammerhead with no nails or,some flammable gel with nothing to,ignite but together you are equipped to,make a surprisingly visceral violent,progress no spoilers but the boss fights,are just wonderful the average person,needs to cooperate goes as far as,agreeing that the cutscenes are too long,and skipping them by both holding a at,the same time,it takes two and no fan is its hinted,at by the title does indeed take two,sitting on the sofa with a full,controller each sharing a nice big Telly,the Coldplay experience makes perfect,sense however after switches three,models the outlet is for handheld,enthusiasts the switch light is for,handheld exclusivist and even standard,model players are at least handheld,curious so are hazelite and EEG cut off,from a major chunk of switch owners with,this two-player game well thankfully the,same options are provided here as on,other consoles you can play online with,a friend whether they have the game or,not which is nice although the friend,pass was not live for testing during our,review or you can turn on local Wi-Fi,across two switches the flying the,ointment for online play remains,Nintendos voice chat non-solution not,great for a game that is so dependent on,Communications but you can improvise for,example with Discord we tested online in,local co-op and found the experience,mostly solid a couple couple of drops,from the server in several hours online,didnt lose us much progress but the,switches of ways to play is of course,tabletop mode holding a joke on pair,each and huddling around the kickstarted,screen with the switch so bare on the,table the fact that the Slender Wireless,slab was able to pump out two play,Windows smoothly was all the more,pleasing squashy resolutions gunji,models acids popping in cutscenes none,of it was going to bother us on our tiny,split screen we had tons of fun and,those graphical compromises are indeed,here this game looks like what it is a,switch Port from a game from 2021,however the frame rate was actually much,better than we initially thought much of,the fun up it takes 2 is happening in,the room and not in the game so the,switch version delivers everything it,needs to in summary Acer light just,decided that gameplay triumphs well,prettiness but putting these Graphics,aside the audio in it takes 2 is fan,fantastic the sound design is Rich and,Whimsical not presenting any obvious,Corner cutting in quality for the sake,of Nintendos Hardware meanwhile we get,a musical score grinning with cinematic,Prestige nodding enthusiastically at,Danny Elfman and Johnny Williams,footsteps and voices reverberate through,vacuum cleaner pipes and shouts get,blown away as you saw through winds on a,hangpans Glide,the fun of your gadgets is garnished by,silly but nicely produced thuds and,bunks to extra irritate anyone on the,accidentally receiving end,in conclusion if you were even half,aware of games news at the end of 2021,you were already a bit interested in,this game its brimming with fun,uniquely committed to co-op gaming plays,solidly and distinctly and usually,discards one cool idea in favor of,another before theres time to get bored,it takes two and the good old switch may,not be a perfect marriage but its,probably worth sticking out since were,now five years in,we here at Nintendo live give it takes,two on the Nintendo switch and 8 out of,10.,foreign,for Felixs personal thoughts now I,think not mentioned in the review are,the mini-games we have everything from,racquetball 2 who can press a button,quickest to make the other one full in a,pits this is just a really nice change,of pace because youre always working,together and suddenly you get to battle,it all out I myself played this with my,fiance and its safe to say that its,definitely one of my most enjoyable,parts of the game,now the game might look okay in tabletop,but when you put it on a big TV screen,Madness it look rough I can understand,that Roland didnt like the cutscenes,because they just dont look very good,its a shame because when we played it,on Xbox the cutscenes were just one of,my favorite aspects they looked gorgeous,and it had some really nice character,building I could best describe this port,as compared to The Witcher 3. now it,takes two its not nearly as big but I,think its much bigger than people,actually realize you enter new areas new,mechanics and theres so much happening,on screen and that the frame rate almost,never drops well thats just an,achievement in its own they have of,course needed to sacrifice the graphics,just like Witcher 3 but then you can,play it on this tiny little tablet its,just a giant victory,and that was my thoughts if you like,this video why did you team up with,another person and click that subscribe,button and dont forget to check out our,website nintendolov.com for all sorts of,Nintendo related content,stay safe play some co-op games together,and Ill see you in the next one Felix,from internal life,[Music]
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Should couples play It Takes Two? | Girlfriend Reviews
hey guys thank you so much for all of,the love and support on our e3 video,yeah a lot of you said it was our most,high effort video,ever so i thought what better way to,follow that up than with our lowest,effort girlfriend review ever yeah but,you know im still going to put a lot of,effort into it,i know you cant help it,[Music],girlfriend reviews is typically just,done by me narrating off screen,and then i on the computer with the fart,sounds but the more requests we got for,it takes two,we realized that just like playing it,takes two,reviewing it takes two do you like that,i knew where she was going with that,that was pretty smart,people ask us all the time what game,should i play with my significant other,and the answer has always been,pretty complicated because it matters,what their video game experience,level is uh oh i blew myself up by,accident what their favorite,entertainment genre,we dont know you but now the answer to,that question,is really easy the answer is it takes,two,it takes two is not only one of the best,games to play with your significant,other,but one of the best games to introduce,someone to the wonderful world of gaming,so this isnt a girlfriend review if it,takes to this is a co-op,takes two this video was sponsored by,rocket mortgage,we have some fun stuff to tell you about,so stick around to the end of the video,to hear all about it,shelby yes why dont you tell us what it,takes to,is about set it up the year was 1948.,was it no the year was,recently theres a man and a woman and,they are married but they are not happy,so one day they go to their daughter,and they tell her rose mummy and daddy,are getting a divorce,okay and then rose she runs up to her,room and she grabs the little dolls that,she made of her parents this is the best,part,and she goes mommy daddy please just,love each other and then she,cries oh and then her tears go into the,dolls and then we get a freaky friday on,our hands,and it would have been nice if when she,was so sad about her parents getting a,divorce that she cried onto like a,batman toy or something the legend the,dark knight the bat unleashes an ambush,attack,you know or a race car so their goal is,to become,human again and their success is,dependent not only on how well,they can work together and resolve their,differences but how well you,and player two can work together and,resolve your differences,i think we should definitely try to,shoot a pinky no i think we should,no dont stop let me shoot a pingy,yes,see what you did and thats why it takes,two feels like it was made for couples,like matt and i,actually may and cody kind of look like,me and thats true they do,this is straight up us that is they just,make a game about your phone,have the same class and sometimes they,even acted like us,thats right mae loves to sing like me,yeah,im gonna swing from this 45,ive been shrunken down and knocked,around and now im in a jukebox all over,the town,yeah and just like matt cody,loves to fart i really should have,skipped those beans,i dont know what was that and that plot,about a bickering couple on the verge of,divorce feels so,immersive and it takes two because the,gameplay makes you feel like a big green,couple on the verge of divorce,oh my god caterpillar foot massage oh my,god,stop youre ruining my massage,she loves it did you hear that the,interesting thing about the gameplay is,that for each level,you have complimenting abilities and,while youre able to do,some things on your own most of the,progressing through the level you really,need the other person to help you,platform its like yin and yang right,peaches and cream,and because you have cookies and milk,and because you have complimenting,abilities it leaves a lot of room,for tomfoolery somebody tells me im,gonna have to throw a nail for you,see yeah,that is so rude how can i ever trust you,and the really fun,thing about a lot of these activities is,that theyre not always skill based,so even though matt is obviously a,better gamer than i am,oh that one popped on my eyes,obviously there were a lot of times,where i might,see the solution before he did to a,puzzle i know what to do what you need,to make a,path that leads on this wall to the,thing oh youre so,freaking smart why are you so freaking,smart,im a genius you try it,oh yeah but over the course of the whole,game,are many other gameplay mechanics that,you get to experience together its,equestrian,mainly in the form of mini games where,youre often,pitted against each other in heated,competitions,and this is where you really get to show,off your strengths,and also reveal your weaknesses,for example im pretty experienced with,third-person,shooters so obviously i crushed her in,the snowball game,no oh im crushing you,but when it came to the guitar hero,rhythm mini game,i was confident i would win and,discovered that,shelby wasnt lying she really is really,good at rhythm games,i thought i did okay lets try it one,more time oh,no why do you mean no its so fun,damn it youre really good at that,and not only are there 25 mini games in,each level theres,tons of interactive little things to do,it is,crammed with a mind-boggling amount of,devices,and gadgets and toys that most people,even,non-gamers will recognize that they can,then go,play with and know exactly what to do,great are you ready yeah you want to go,for a little ride here,oh like etch-a-sketch crocodile dentist,right,rube goldberg machines making it,accessible to people who may not be as,familiar with games because they know,how to approach those things,and that is a genius and inclusive way,to,welcome non-gamers into the gaming world,so now that weve been over the story,and the gameplay lets discuss,how those two things transcend your,television,wow and make you feel exactly what,the characters are going through almost,exactly at the points,in the level when mei and cody are,bickering,youre doing gameplay that feels more,competitive and at the end where it,feels way more cooperative working,against a boss,its at that point when you really need,to take everything youve learned about,each others abilities and theres no,more goofing around you gotta,work together to succeed and that is,what may and cody realize,at the same time that the game forces,you to realize that,meaning that all that crazy,ever-changing gameplay,is about the importance of listening to,your partner,understanding your partners needs and,identifying what,qualities you possess to help your,partner,which is the plot of the game as well,its crazy yeah,every good relationship needs,communication,trust taking an interest in each other,love and,support a great body right those are all,of the things that you do,in order to get through this game thats,why were so,thankful that hazelite studio is,dedicating their time to making,cooperative experiences like this,blessed be thy haze light studio,thank you for thinking of the little,people who want to play co-op games with,their significant other amen,and bless it be thy rocket mortgage for,sponsoring this video,what if leveling up your finances was as,fun to do as leveling up in video games,now what if i told you it can be by,taking concepts you learn in video games,you can find ways to save enough money,for like i dont know maybe,a down payment on a house point systems,collecting achievements,co-op crushing your enemies are all,valuable tools gamers can use,to make their goals a reality listen id,love to tell you more about gamifying,your finances but if you want the,details youre gonna have to go listen,to our interview with gabe bolt on the,rocket learn youtube channel,we talk about how we turn saving money,into a game our youtube journey,and our goals for the future spoiler,alert,humongous backyard for our dogs and a,nice patio in the sun for the cats,and a basement full of arcade cabinets,and every console ever and,every game ever and,a ddr pad oh it was a lot of fun so,please go check it out and let us know,what you thought,th
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It Takes Two Review “Buy, Wait for Sale, Never Touch?”
sup everybody this is carrick with acg,and once again its my continuing,mission to bring you reviews that arent,two minutes long or filled with,sponsored bull crap and it takes two,is the title were gonna talk about,today it takes two is a story about two,parents getting a divorce that somehow,turn into dolls and you have to work,together,in platform cooperative environments so,you can well yeah we all know divorce,stories are like tattoo stories no one,ever has an interesting one but the,developer of a way out who made this,game promised us that each and every,moment in the title,would be unique that you would never be,doing the exact same thing,at the same time a platform co-op in,nature and requiring that you work,together throughout the entirety and,looks a bit like a modern day cartoon,sign me,up it takes two is out thursday the 25th,as always if you like the video,maybe subscribe and one little,disclaimer no the game in no way shape,or form makes you sit down and cry into,your buttermilk as it deals with divorce,at every single moment,and im sure somebodys complaining,about that that kind of is,inevitable as mothers finding single,socks all over a teen boys room while,the dad just nods on a mysterious,judgment im gonna tell you right now,that isnt here they dont treat it as a,poignant moment as much as they treat it,as a means to get you to play the game,in co-op your two dolls that some kid,blackmagic into life by crying on it,get over it graphics are up first,speaking of black magic,it takes two looks majestic its,understanding that a game can look a bit,like a pixar movie as well as some old,disney flick and still work,that to me shows the incredible power in,modern day gaming its this work on the,mocap and the animation when the main,characters find out that theyre lumps,of material that would only be roughly,called,dolls and codys first realization hes,gained a bit of weight around the,midsection,as a doll that works so well its the,animation from rails sliding across,electrical wires to holding them,together as the current passes through,you to continually progressing,into amazing looking moments like the,layers of forest animals but for me,probably the best part of the game is,how well this thing,runs while its looking so good it,doesnt matter if youre online or if,youre in split screen co-op the game,almost,never has a moment where its not a,steady frame rate regardless of what,goes on in the title like it exhibits,this magical warmth at any one time and,youre always expecting a stutter it,never really happens whether youre,running around a backyards massive tree,or floating on a garbage can lid through,nasty undescribable locations few games,to me,capture that moment where animation,their look and just the purely,imaginative stance of a child,ends up coming through in a game from,start to finish,it takes two does that and one special,kudo has to be to the way the characters,look on screen and their overall,identity from the antonio banderas love,book to outrageous pissy hornets to one,of my favorites in this game,which are the squirrels that you find,inhabiting the backyard tree,they are phenomenal split screens,fantastic and while you can,and will be able to do co-op online that,choice of split screen vertical adds,something to the game in a feeling of,companionship that i want to point out,it really does help to actually be able,to see what the other person is doing,and that was actually the choice,that i took when playing the game and,speaking of choices thats the way games,work and theres a choice here in the,music i want to talk about because it is,a bit,different music for me it takes two has,this part good idea part bad idea and,im not really sure how everybodys,gonna treat it its very lean its,downright not there in a number of,places and that works incredibly well,to really make you feel like youre,within the environments it solidifies,all of the sound,envelopes that you end up playing in and,everything feels like this,canopy of sound around you that works,and when youre in the moment it works,to add a completely different feel to,the game,however the music itself when it plays,it does not theres exciting moments and,theres a tense bit of music here and a,tense bit of music there or something,a little bit generic for my tastes when,it comes to some of the epic moments,but it never ends up really nailing it,it never ends up going that next step,like i expected,additionally this is a choice i want to,make sure thats clear it might be a,better choice than just having really,epic music,because were going to talk about sound,now due to the variability and the sheer,dynamics in the consistently piped in,gameplay elements,the sound is front and center and then,its to your right and then its to your,left and all about you and then tighten,down as a character slips through a fan,set on,character killing hesitant instead of,just completely off,i cannot believe how good the sound is,in the game it,is brilliant in one scene you may slide,through nine switches and turning,directions with audio changes and,cues and echo and reverb and occlusion,even bits of height data as you slip and,slide across,the games different locations with that,camera consistently keeping up with the,action strangely enough something i,wasnt,expecting its an auditory feast as the,characters shoot explosive honey on,gears of war hornets and then,the other lights their wood stick match,rocket launcher on fire and blows up,theres this cacophony of explosions and,dying pissy hornet sounds,that is fantastic then you roll out into,the branches of that massive backyard,tree ive talked about like a childhood,fantasy and graphical form the wind,blowing around used to take a long-lost,paper airplane,and you send it soaring towards an open,window in the house by the way an open,window i could never hit i dont even,know if you can,all of the moments there are great even,the stretch of the rope,as you swing from different locations,consistently changes it up,its nostalgia and excellence like the,developers had sliders for both and then,rewrote the numbers that went 1-10 and,just scribbled yeah,on the top of it a little less yeah but,still very good,is the voice this works well with me and,cody and their daughter and some of the,side characters that you actually,meeting as i stated first,the squirrels as most likely this is,going to be something talked about a lot,i love them in this game when that,character slides open,the door inside of the tree and the,first time he talked the people i was,playing with,we all ended up laughing it was just a,perfect pitch may and cody back,and forth and like it or not i found,myself actually,enjoying the game because i did not,enjoy,them let me explain mary jane in the,original spider-man game i hated her i,tried to let the terrorists in the bank,kill her like 11 times just leaving her,alone and sadly,they couldnt end up assassinating her,that doesnt mean she was actually,poorly acted though i did find her,somewhat poorly written in that game,its an example of a character that can,be voiced incredibly well and yet you,hate them as a character even though in,fact some of the strongest deliveries,and games are that and may is smack,dab in the middle of that at least half,of the game that chick hasnt seen,anything good she couldnt squat and,take a on in her life which is,annoying yes but it also makes you think,man is cody that much of a jackass in,the real world that mays mostly solid,responses that sound a little bit like,william shatner when hes thanking a fan,are called for that is the engagement,im okay with it,it works and actually ends up offering a,little bit of a side flair to the story,that the story itself,doesnt have to hammer into you to me,that was cool and showed a bit more,subtlety than i think a lot of people,will probably see from it,speaking of subtlety lets begin,gameplay and a bit about the story,a story thats not so subtle
It Takes Two (Zero Punctuation)
People often say to me “Yahtzee, why is it that you avoid multiplayer games, and when,will you let me off this red hot grating?” Well, you know, its just that I prefer playing,games to relax and unwind at my own pace and not be disappointed once again by other people,and their unwillingness to learn how to tap dance properly. But as I said in my Outriders,review stroke widdling session, I can appreciate a multiplayer game that actually designs itself,around an essential multiplayer experience and isnt just chucking three extra players,into The Adventures Of Captain Scowlybuff and his Many Identical Friends for the sake,of maximising user engagement the way one maximises the food order of an unpopular restaurant,critic with the addition of bogeys and spit. So when my editor asked me to check out It,Takes Two, a two and strictly only two player game, I was like “Im down for that, as long,as its not like that last strictly two player game I played, the laughably awful A Way Out,,by Hazelight Studios, which played like if David Cage tried to adapt the Shawshank Redemption,,realised it wasnt long enough and filled in the rest of the time with three random,DVDs he found in a bargain bin. Whos this new game by, anyway? Oh. Hazelight Studios.,Well, that might have been embarrassing for someone capable of shame.,Same director as Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons, of course. What is it with this fucker and,dual protagonist gameplay, does he just have really wonky vision? Im teasing, put away,those widdle umbrellas, audience, because to my not inconsiderable surprise, It Takes,Two is actually pretty fun. A Way Out was shooting for gritty crime drama and fell flat,because its rampant cliches, terrible writing and secondary protagonist with a nose so big,he cant swim the back stroke without setting off shark alerts, made it impossible to take,seriously, and so It Takes Two embraces a lighter tone and a more abstract setting so,that were more laughing with it than at it, and its full of enough over the top gameplay,and visuals to keep me distracted from the frankly still terrible writing. The premise,is, a married couple whose relationship is bottoming out so hard its getting carpet,burns inform their friendless, presumably homeschooled and probably on the spectrum,daughter that theyre getting divorced. Said daughter proceeds to cry on some dolls she,made of her parents for Christ knows what reason and the parents souls get magically,transferred into the dolls.,Blimey, lucky she didnt cry into some bog roll or the sandwich she was eating, thatdve,been a bit Kafkaesque. The parents must then work together to find a way back to normal,by navigating abstract puzzle platforming fantasy worlds based on aspects of their family,home, which appears to have been about the size of Windsor fucking Castle. Harangued,from start to finish by an omnipotent self-help book with a slightly racist accent whom you,and the protagonists will swiftly want to murder. In fact, Idve given the games story,more points if itd ended with the family finally coming together over a cheerful backyard,book burning. What should be as obvious up front as a drastically botched tit job is,that this story arc is going to centre around a divorcing couple reconciling for the sake,of the kid and I dont know if thats a healthy message to bring across to troubled families,,that divorce only happens cos you didnt try hard enough. Honestly I kept wondering,what the fuck these two ever saw in each other cos the mums bitchy and uptight and weirdly,reminiscent of Sue Pollard, and the dads whiny and ambitionless and apparently did,nothing with his time other than construct increasingly elaborate playrooms for his emotionally,stunted offspring.,So the dialogue is a bit cringe… worthy – Cringeworthy. Worth cringing about. That,is the word. Whos this fuck whos been going around telling you you can use cringe by itself,as an adjective – because the characters are grating and we have the Sonic Boom problem,where the game is constantly complimenting itself: “THIS IS AMAZING. THIS IS FANTASTIC.,WOW THE ARTIST OF THIS SHOULD DEFINITELY BE EARNING A LIVING WAGE”. But none of this is,a deal breaker because (1) youre playing with a friend so when it starts getting sappy,you can lean back and take the piss out of it like the emotional ghoul that you are (2),it has occasional darkly hilarious moments, like the extended sequence where the protagonists,set out to drink their daughters tears (in the literal rather than edgy coffee mug sense),and end up trying to murder her favourite toy in the most ineptly drawn out way imaginable.,And (3) the game design is actually really good. At its core its an exaggerated Marioesque,3D platformer with a decent enough feel, but it also layers on puzzles where the two protagonists,are given different, complementary abilities and have to work together to proceed, and,theyre generally very well designed.,Making the most of the strict two player setup while relying very minimally on “door is very,heavy, needs two people to lift,” the multiplayer gameplay equivalent of white noise. Also,,the mechanics are constantly changing. First shes got a hammer and hes got a nail, then,hes got a spooge gun and shes got a gun that detonates spooge and I guess were a,fucking third person shooter now, its almost impossible to be bored as the gameplay never,becomes unintuitive enough to break up the constant flow from scenario to scenario. The,quality isnt quite consistent, theres the odd boring rail shooter bit or we get dropped,into an open area full of pointless toys and minigames where were tacitly invited to fuck,around for a while, but that would force me to spend more time in the presence of the,main characters and frankly if Id met them at a dinner party Id be fobbing them off,to make small talk with the fucking aquarium. But these moments never last and three minutes,later youre standing on an aeroplanes wing kung fu fighting a squirrel and your engagement,jumps back up again. It does mean that the plot feels like its pinging around all over,the place and is more a pile of unrelated ideas strung randomly together than a cohesive,journey with a beginning, middle and end,,But at least its always pulling out something new and interesting. Which is all the more,impressive cos its such a long game at around 10-12 hours. Obnoxiously long, Id say, but,then Im a professional reviewer with deadlines to meet who cant even last two hours around,another person without completely alienating myself. Which tangentially brings me to one,awkward overhanging question that I have – who the fuck is this game for? Its designed for,couch co-op and theres outwardly a family friendly vibe but I couldnt picture myself,playing through it with a child of my own. Tonally its all over the place, and it might,lead to some awkward questions if your own family has seen some drama. “No, of course,mummy and daddy didnt split up because of you, we just never quite figured out how to,get past the boss fight with the vacuum cleaner.” The bottom line is, its a game throwing an,awful lot of shit at the wall, a lot of which doesnt stick but enough of it does, and moment,to moment gameplays as tight as a gnats arse. I just wrote a compliment that included,the words arse, shit, and bottom. And thats why Im a professional, kids.
It Takes Two (PS5) 4K 60FPS HDR Gameplay
It Takes Two – Rapid Fire Review