As a co-op game, It Takes Two is pretty big in size.
But if you don't count replaying the mini-games, the whole playthrough is about 12 hours.
As the first batch of players finish the game, the content sparks a lot of discussion.
"To be honest, this is probably the most fun game of the year so far!"
"Agreed, and I think it's not just the best game this year—it's one of the most fun games in recent years. And if we're talking co-op, I'd put it right at number one!"
"+1, this game is insanely cool! Every level has a different theme and special tools, it's just amazing!"
"Yeah, it's like watching an animated movie!"
"The best part is the huge variety of gameplay. From the first level to the last, the tools and level designs are just top-notch."
"Haha, totally! Playing this with my girlfriend was so much fun! Lucas really wasn't lying this time!"
"True, the warrior of love has finally made a game that warms your heart!"
"Yeah, and by the time you get to the end of the story, it really hits you emotionally."
"Totally, especially at the ending, when they showed all the items you'd seen before—it was amazing."
"But the part where they destroy Cutie the elephant… that was really hard to watch."
"Yeah, that part almost made my girlfriend quit the game."
"Damn, you actually played this with your girlfriend!?"
"By the way, did no one remember the stag beetle in the big tree? What happened to the nectar? Why did they blow up the beehive instead!?"
"LOL, I totally forgot until you mentioned it. The poor stag beetle!"
"Haha, the forgotten stag beetle—when you put it like that, it's actually kind of tragic."
"Stag beetle: Haha, maybe I'm not human, but you guys are real dogs! Just using me as a tool?"
On all the related forums and communities, many people who played It Takes Two were completely impressed by it.
When it came to gameplay, almost every player gave it glowing reviews.
On the Nebula Games platform, It Takes Two had a player score of 9.8.
And for the small number of bad reviews, most were either jokes or focused on one controversial part of the story.
That was the part where Cody and May thought their daughter Rose's tears were the cure—
So they decided to destroy Cutie.
Many players said this part of the story was too upsetting.
After all, Princess Cutie the elephant was completely harmless in the game.
She was innocent and adorable, yet still got torn apart by May and Cody.
It was hard for people to accept.
Many players sided with Rose and the toys, feeling that Cody and May were being awful parents.
Just like Moon Baboon, the toys wanted to keep Rose happy, but her parents, Cody and May, were trying to make her cry.
Still, some players said they could understand Cody and May.
From the story and character point of view, May and Cody had suddenly turned into a wooden doll and a clay figure—how could they stay calm?
Once they thought they'd found the solution, of course they would go for it.
And it's not like they really wanted to hurt Rose—they just wanted her to cry.
In real life, what parent hasn't made their kid cry at some point? Saying Cody and May didn't love their daughter just because of this doesn't make sense.
The game's dialogue even showed that May, though busy working overtime, still remembered her daughter's dentist appointment.
And Cody, even though he was a stay-at-home dad and forgot to take Rose to the dentist at the start, still cared for her deeply—he even built her a Lego castle in the game.
If there was something Cody and May truly got wrong, it was their "I know best" attitude—whether toward each other or toward their child.
That was their biggest flaw.
Of course, this was just one of the debates among players who focused on the story.
Another group of players cared about something else entirely.
"Hey, did no one pay attention to Rose? If you think about it from another angle, this happy game could instantly turn into a horror game!"
"Haha, now that you say it… you're right! Parents mysteriously fall into a deep sleep, strange things keep happening at home—what's the real reason? Tune in tonight for our science mystery program!"
"Rose is home minding her own business—then the vacuum blows up, the toolbox breaks, her favorite toy Cutie falls from the sky, the cuckoo clock repairs itself, dead flowers in the garden suddenly bloom again, creepy sounds come from the attic gramophone… holy crap, the more you think about it, the scarier it gets!"
"Stop it! This was such a happy game, but now you've given me goosebumps!"
And besides the content in the game itself, the experience outside of it also got a lot of funny complaints.
The theme was fixing a married couple's relationship, the characters were a husband and wife, and the gameplay was two-player co-op.
Plus, it was announced on Valentine's Day, so of course people labeled it a "couples game."
The problem is… not everyone has a partner.
Some players didn't even have a female friend to play with—many were just lone wolves playing solo!
And since It Takes Two is also an adventure game, besides coordination, some stages also require a bit of skill.
So the online chatter started to shift.
At first, everyone was praising the level design, the artistic style, and how well the story was integrated.
But after two or three days, as more people finished the game, all kinds of strange complaints started to appear.
And many players agreed with those comments.
Game forums and review sections were full of posts like these:
"This game is such a great deal! At $20, it's as good as a AAA title. My only regret is that I don't have a girlfriend to play with!"
"This is a masterpiece! But I thought my wife was too bad at the game, so I ditched her and played with my buddy for two days. Brothers, did I do the right thing?"
"The game is great, but the title is misleading. Other people played 'It Takes Two,' but I played 'Two Bros Together.'"
"Help! I played this game with a close friend from my dorm, and now the way he looks at me feels a bit off. And every time he showers, he insists I join him!"
(End of The Chapter)
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