Why I Think It Takes Two is Overrated

Okay, I said it. I think It Takes Two is overrated. But before you bring out your pitchforks, start chanting "witch" at me, and try to burn me at the stake, let's talk about it like two civilized adults. Yes, put down the pitchfork.

I want to preface this by saying that I love co-op games. Anything that lets me play with my wife — cooperatively or otherwise — gets points with me. And I want to make it clear that I don't hate It Takes Two, I just think the game could have been great and missed many excellent opportunities.

When my wife and I booted the game, we were jubilant and excited. Not only had the game already been nominated for Game of the Year, but it was also regarded as a great co-op experience, something we'd been lacking for many months.

However, swiftly we were met with things that I found disappointing, and I found myself nitpicking at it as if I was writing a review even within the first cutscene. It took me less than an hour to know that I couldn't have rated the game highly, and by the fifth or sixth hour I knew I personally didn’t believe it deserved GOTY.

Let's start with the first thing we noticed: the lack of exploration and collectables.

Early on in the game, past the first and second worlds, my wife and I were exploring every nook and cranny; with the countless options for movement, this was extremely fun to do. But it began falling short the moment I noticed that we weren't going to be rewarded for it.

You see, I think collectables are important in just about any game. As a completionist, I feel that it's important to be able to get something out of the game to prevent it from becoming more of a mind-numbing “go there” and “do that” sort of experience. I wanted to be encouraged to explore, even if it was for some silly little item to collect in each world. Instead, I found that a lot of the areas opened needlessly; no special dialogue, no special item to collect, nothing to 100%.

My wife and I immediately agreed on this. It felt like the game just offered us a vast and very beautiful world with little reason to see more of it. I didn't feel the explorer's drive to go out and find something because I knew in my heart there was nothing. This really put a dent in my enjoyment because I then didn't feel like I was in a vast new world with fun little things to do, but instead in a quest where I have to do steps A, B, then C in that particular order with no other way around it.

Although I get that It Takes Two is not meant to be a very vast adventure game, I saw little reason for there not to be. The worlds were big enough to hide some collectables and we were offered enough movement options to open up interesting hiding spots. And yes, I get that Cody and May wouldn't be searching for random collectables as tiny figures. But if that were a valid argument, they wouldn't have time to play Whack-a-Mole either.

Storywise, the game felt like a bore. I understand that It Takes Two is supposed to be a co-op game mainly, but that doesn't mean that it shouldn't aspire to be more; you don't see me saying that Kratos shouldn't have struggles because God of War (2018) is supposed to be a fighting game.

We are introduced to a character called Dr. Hakim, who plays the main antagonist of the game. However, he stops being funny and starts becoming more of an obstacle to the fun, oftentimes repeating the same joke; for a game so great at innovation, you'd think the writers would have come up with funnier and more unique things to have the character say. And, of course, you have the two protagonists May and Cody, who have some of the most uncomfortable arguments at the most random situations for apparently no reason at all — oftentimes, it was just May throwing a tantrum for no reason and Cody trying to defend himself. 

It isn't that I don't like flawed characters — I will die on the hill that I'd much rather a protagonist have flaws — but rather that all of the arguments felt baseless and like they were picking fights over absolutely nothing. It was misplaced, random, and just felt like it was there to remind us why they were going through this journey to begin with — not that Dr. Hakim doesn't remind you in every cutscene.

I didn't like the characters, the story and writing didn't do it any favours, but at least the gameplay was fun, right?... Sort of. You see, each level offers so much innovation and so many great possibilities, and it really did excel at bringing new things to the table, but it felt like it brought too many things to the table and built upon none of them.

It Takes Two tries to be many genres; it has shooter aspects, dungeon-crawl ARPG, platforming... and although it's great that the game brings so many things to the table, I felt that the puzzle tag was just misplaced. There was little that truly felt like a puzzle; it was just straightforward and obvious. The puzzles eventually boiled down to us arriving at an area, the characters practically spelling out what we have to do, and us doing it, thus moving on to the next area.

I wish the game had been more challenging, and I really wish that it felt like there were absolutely any stakes at all whenever I was progressing through the story, but the fact of the matter is that it didn't. It felt like it tried to aim itself towards a fun experience for parent-child players, but also added elements that felt insinuated for two adults, and it ultimately culminated in failing to do both. I wish that it had focused more on one of the many genius and innovative ideas that the worlds had, making those a tinge tougher and longer rather than bringing dozens of different new mechanics and building on none. It felt like every new world, I was playing the introduction phase to a new game, where you have to play through a tutorial to understand the mechanics — forever.

It ultimately ended up in me wanting to breeze through the levels to be able to enjoy the boss fight at the end of each one. It Takes Two was indeed close to being a masterpiece; it truly did excel as a co-op game, and brought a lot of innovation to the table. But ultimately, it works solely as a co-op game rather than a game in and of itself, and the experience would have been just as fun — if not more so — as a film.

What do you think? Did you enjoy It Takes Two? Do you hate me now for writing this article? Let's talk about it in the comments below!