Chapter 148: Solo Play
Mike and Sarah were sitting in front of their computers; the room filled with laughter.
They encountered some puzzles along the way, but in It Takes Two, the instructions for each puzzle were very detailed. Key information was highlighted with prominent colors, known as "attraction anchors" in game design.
In the previous game, the most perfect example of this concept was the picnic. But in It Takes Two, while the player has numerous accessible locations, the scope of each is relatively small. Therefore, several "attraction anchors" are inserted to instantly grab the player's attention.
Even if they don't notice, if they stay in a level for too long, Cody and May will give corresponding dialogue cues. It's safe to say that, unless you intentionally get stuck, getting stuck in It Takes Two is virtually impossible. After all, this is not a hardcore platformer like Celeste; it's a two-player game designed to be fun.
"That's so cool!" Sarah and Mike exclaimed in awe.
With a similar tube, they both performed an alley-oop, coming out of one tube and getting sucked into the other. Combined with the game's storyboards, it looked like a thrilling action-adventure movie, absolutely exhilarating.
Advancing through the levels, they soon reached the first boss battle. The enemy they were facing was the vacuum cleaner that had kicked them out.
Seeing Cody and May return to their position, the vacuum cleaner reacted with fury. But Cody and May claimed they could fix it after they transformed back, since May was a very skilled engineer.
Just then, the Book of Love suddenly reappeared.
"Wow! Really?"
"Then why did you buy that expensive Turbo X2000 vacuum cleaner? Huh?!"
With that, the Book of Love disappeared without a trace.
"Oh my God! Did this guy just come out to stoke the flames?!" "How abominable!"
Clearly, as the driving force behind the game, the Book of Love drew the shared hatred of Sarah and Mike.
However, their attention quickly shifted from the infuriating Book of Love. The game officially entered its first boss battle. The boss's attack was simple: it simply spit out incendiary cartridges.
At that moment, the player only needed to dodge. Once the boss stopped shooting incendiary cartridges, one player would go up the stairs and aim at it, while the players below would use the pipe to suck up the incendiary cartridges.
While the boss had a supposed second phase, it clearly didn't look anything like the bosses of It Takes Two. They simply maintained their position carefully and repeated the same steps to easily defeat it.
After successfully defeating the vacuum cleaner boss, a cinematic scene played. After escaping, they saw their daughter, Rose, but she couldn't hear them. The nearby hammer sounded, indicating that it could help them, but only if they helped rescue the friends in the toolbox.
Meanwhile, May and Cody received new tools: a hammer and a nail. May received the hammer, while Cody received the nail.
After acquiring the tools, all the puzzles required the use of these new tools. For example, using May's hammer to pull a switch allowed Cody to get onto a platform and move to the opposite position.
Then, Cody would swing the nail over a wooden board, and May would use her hammer to hook it and swing across.
"You can actually play like that!" Mike exclaimed in astonishment, watching Sarah swing through the game, hooking her nail.
It was the most he had said so far. Although it was only the third level, the game was crazy. It completely shattered his understanding of two-player games.
As the game progressed, the purple Book of Love, which had fanned the flames earlier, reappeared, this time with a mini-game called "Beat Cody."
"This game actually has mini-games!"
"Impressive!"
Sarah and Mike looked at the whack-a-mole mini-game in front of them, never expecting it to include a challenge.
"But why? Am I the one getting beaten?" Watching the hammer Sarah swung from the top of the box, Mike, the mole, felt a little annoyed. Since Cody's mole had to wait outside for a while to score points, he was being beaten until he saw stars.
"That's just the way it is! You can't do anything to me!" Sarah laughed, easily winning the whack-a-mole game.
"That's not necessarily true!" Mike laughed, looking at the nail in his hand. He distanced himself quietly, took aim, and shot!
With a thud, May was nailed to the wooden board.
"Don't run! Nail me if you can! Don't run!"
After repeatedly freeing herself, Sarah chased Mike with her hammer.
May's hammer could also damage both of them, but the key was that it was a hammer. After she gained distance, she was completely unable to reach him. Just as she was about to catch him, bang! A nail immobilized her.
"Hey, I'm an archer. Have you ever seen an archer and a warrior in close-quarters combat?" Mike laughed, who had regained his composure after the mini-game.
"Alright, alright, childish or not, let's pass the levels and move on with the story!" Trapped on the ground again, Sarah, feeling that she couldn't win head-on, coughed softly to change the subject.
Hearing this, Mike smiled, remembered the nails, and continued to advance the story.
With the hammer and nails, the puzzles became more complex and required greater chemistry. For example, when Cody got three nails, there was a platform level where the platform only appeared after they were nailed in.
This level requires May to continuously climb, including a reverse wall jump, which can be quite difficult if you don't have good synergy. Although this level may seem very sequential, it's actually quite easy to complete if you follow the sequence and approach it step by step.
The reverse wall jump leaves you suspended against the wall for a while, but as long as you don't rush to remove the nails clinging to the wall, it's quite easy to complete.
Finally, Cody and May navigated through a series of levels and arrived at the Toolbox boss.
A tense melody and the roar of the Toolbox signaled another boss fight. However, unlike the previous vacuum cleaner boss fight, this one was a little more challenging. First, numerous nails rained down from the sky; two consecutive hits would decimate the enemy. Fortunately, the first stage involved dodging the sweeping blow of the Toolbox's shovel and the falling nails.
But the second stage was different. Blades and chainsaws cut through the wooden platform, and finally, players were hit by the shovel in the toolbox, leaving very little room for maneuver.
Sarah and Mike died several times.
"Thank goodness there's unlimited resurrection and progress doesn't reset, otherwise it would have been very difficult!"
"Yes!"...Sarah and Mike lamented.
Compared to his previous life, Alex had reduced the difficulty of It Takes Two. Additionally, as long as one player is still alive, there is unlimited resurrection, and even if both die, progress does not reset. And if players are really in trouble, the game also has a dynamic difficulty level.
For example, being hit by two consecutive nails will normally kill you. But a single hit from a large shovel will kill you. If players get stuck, they can activate this difficulty level. This reduces the boss's attack power, giving them more time to make mistakes.
After all, not all players are experts. Many people think some controls only require one hand. Many people, despite playing consistently, simply cannot complete these tasks.
It Takes Two is not a demanding game, so Alex added these features to the original version to help players who constantly get stuck with a simpler progression. Of course, this also gives them the option to choose: if they want to challenge themselves, they can disable them; if they want to progress faster through the story, they can enable them.
As the game progressed, the phrase that Sarah and Mike exchanged most frequently was: "It really is possible!"
As they advanced, they discovered the richness of the content! In addition to the main story puzzles, the game also includes a large number of fun mini-games. It's like a collection of bonus mini-games! Each level has a unique theme.
For example, the vacuum cleaner and the toolbox are part of a large level. The theme of this level is a shed. The surrounding scenes are related to the shed, and the tools players receive in this large level are a hammer and nails.
After defeating the toolbox, the tools are returned to their daughter as a thank you. But the daughter did not notice them. Dr. Hagin reappeared, telling them to get to the top window to see their daughter.
In the scene that led outside, the two had to slide down a cable, whose current created a sense of time travel.
After the shed scene, they entered a new themed scene. Each item they acquired also matched the theme.
For example, Sarah and Mike arrived at a large tree in the yard and entered its heart. However, they were captured by a squirrel, which believed they were enemies sent by wasps. After negotiating, they decided to help eliminate the wasps.
From the squirrel, they received new items: a special tool that sprays sap and sticks to wood, and a weapon that emits flames and detonates the sap. The game's style instantly transforms into a shooting game. One person sprays, the other lights it, overcoming obstacles together.
Leaving the shed and entering the outside world is like opening the door to a new world, and entering the heart of the tree presents another fantastic adventure.
With the acquired items transformed into "weapons," the puzzles become more and more complex, requiring players to use their wits, and the game's pace accelerates.
This cartoon-style game surprises with spectacular scenes. Cody and May slide down the rapids on a barrel lid, staging a whitewater odyssey. Upon entering the heart of a tree, the dreamlike landscape is captivating. You can even sail on the water aboard a beetle, which has been defeated and turned against the wasps.
After defeating the "Queen Bee," Cody and May discover that it is actually a robot, and that the supposed Queen Bee hiding inside is actually a small, plump drone. Cody, May, and the drone are chased by a swarm of wasps, from which they finally escape by detonating a barrel of honey.
The scene is like watching a sci-fi movie where the protagonist destroys an alien beehive: a spectacular sight.
And that's just the beginning.
While Cody and May comfort the bees, a troop of squirrels arrives and opens fire. The newly rescued Fat Bee immediately flees. The battle moves from the ground to the sky. Cody and May, aboard the "Underpants" plane, engage in a masterful aerial combat.
While navigating through a deep tunnel, Squirrel Head climbs onto the roof of the plane. And so, the puzzle game instantly transforms into a 2D side-scrolling fighting game.
Mike and Sarah spent the whole day playing It Takes Two, until nightfall when their stomachs rumbled, which forced them to put down the controllers.
"This game is so fun!" Sarah exclaimed, wanting more.
"Yes, and it's hilarious. It seems there's a lot more to come. At least there's much more than what we saw in the trailer!" Mike exclaimed enthusiastically.
Unlike the addictive Overcooked, the two players of It Takes Two had a great time, but all with a smile. And most importantly, this game had a lot of content. After playing for a whole afternoon, I felt that there was still much to discover.
"I'm going to change. Let's have stew tonight and continue when we get back," Sarah said after looking at the time.
"No problem." Mike nodded with a smile.
Sarah went to the room to change. Mike leaned back in his chair, opened his phone, and posted on his social media. Then he opened the friends interface, found Tom's avatar, clicked on it, and sent a message: "Tom, have you played It Takes Two? This game is so much fun! I never thought a cooperative two-player game could be this good! And the key is that Alex didn't lie this time. This game is very warm and loving!"
Mike was still clearly a little lost in the experience of It Takes Two. About ten seconds later, Tom replied with a message and an emoji.
The message was simple, but Mike perceived a touching note.
"Am I playing alone? (smile.jpg)".
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