“It Takes Two” evoked an incredibly positive emotional response the first time I played it, and not just because it was with my significant other, or because we played while still quarantined together away from our families.
The game design forces players to dwell in and reflect on the feeling of being interdependent with a partner. Two players play as Cody and May, who challenge after challenge cannot move on in the game without collaboration. For example, Cody and May encounter a boss battle where one has to shoot nails while the other swings at the villain, or both have to turn valve and cross trespasses and then alternate. Whereas lots of the games my boyfriend and I play together let us separate and focus on our respective fortes (shooting vs. flying vs. puzzles vs. speed vs. etc.), “It Takes Two” forces Cody and May to work together. No alternative, no solo path, no shortcut, no breaking up tasks. The game’s narrative begins with their marriage being in a shaky place, and then through the interdependent mechanics of the game focuses on the inescapable need for cooperation and how because of that bond they still need and love eachother. The game essentially rebuilds their need for eachother mechanically, which makes the player rebuild that need emotionally. There’s no opting out, there’s no skipping a level… you simply can’t continue playing until you get along. So it’s not a game about marriage, but also a game that behaves and is constructed like one.
