It Takes Two is the beauty of playing together
In this formula, in its purest interpretation, lies the secret of the success of the project, which has been able to bewitch millions of players in a short time, even if it is not even particularly zealous in ruffling the large public, given that the theme covered by the story is almost a taboo for many, at least as a subject to be told in a video game.
In fact, we speak of a couple in crisis, of an impending divorce and of the dramatic repercussions of this in the balance of a family destined to break up, with the desperate desire of the daughter who - in the most classic style of films from 80s family - manages to perform a magic and transform parents into animated dolls, forced to collaborate with renewed harmony in order to return to their own life. Already in the contrast between the heaviness of the theme and the facetious tones of the gameplay, something strange can be seen, far from the canons imposed by videogame blockbusters, but to this we must also add the quality of the actual game and the fun it is capable of. spring, in an unpredictably perfect balance of the parts.
Between heaviness and free flight
It Takes Two, the two protagonists are a couple in crisis, close to divorce Beyond the fun that arose From the action on the controller, the most striking thing about It Takes Two, viewed as a whole, is its ability to tell a heavy-to-digest story with the air of an adventurous 1980s teen movie, or a Pixar cartoon. . Mind you, there is something bizarre in the way the subject is treated, which perhaps betrays a somewhat naive approach on the part of the authors, but this is also a bit of Fares' trademark, and just see one of the his historic interventions in front of the Game Awards cameras to understand that we are not dealing with a subtle tightrope walker of psychological tension. In short, the story of It Takes Two alternates moments of great intensity with scenes of humor capable of making people laugh, putting us in the middle of situations that are so absurd as to make us uncomfortable (the sadism of the elephant scene can remain imprinted more than what one might think), a sign of a writing that is not too balanced, even with respect to certain mature and profound scripts that we now find above all in the indie field.However, it is precisely in this strangeness that Fares' genuineness is found: the his famous middle finger to the videogame majors - which makes you smile even more thinking about the fact that his games are published by EA - never seems to be tied to a well-balanced communication strategy.
It Takes Two proposes the good old multiplayer with split screen It is not a histrion built in a somewhat hypocritical way, but just a kind of crazy splinter that, with this game, has fully demonstrated its genius, while maintaining evident imbalances in the tones that are reflected in the alternation of dramatic, humorous and simply crazy scenes, with an underlying message that is perhaps not even completely correct (separation and divorce are themes of such depth and complexity that they cannot be simplified into a series of coordination tests in order to get back together, even if the idea is still pleasant).
To make it all the more explosive, this strange pastiche between Kramer versus Kramer and Tesoro has shrunk the boys is casually based on masterful gameplay.
Let's play together
It Takes Two: Dr. Hakim's Book of Love forces the protagonists to face various tests We are so used to chasing performances that we are blown away by a cooperative multiplayer that requires total coordination even just to perform seemingly basic actions. On a closer look, beyond the direct competition that is now prevailing in video games, even co-ops are structured to achieve specific objectives, supporting each other to obtain some personal advantage. There are not many games that require you to simply rely on each other in order to overcome obstacles against which we are essentially powerless alone, being able to face them only by working in pairs with perfect harmony. In many ways, It Takes Two is reminiscent of the times when, in the absence of structured multiplayer, one would have to split the controls of a single joystick to find the perfect match. "I'll shoot and you go": This is the level of collaboration that Hazelight's game requires, and it's great to find especially when playing face-to-face with split screen, but also with a good friend on headphones.L The basic system is already interesting, but the capacity with which it has been expanded and modeled over the course of the entire game is also impressive. It Takes Two is a continuous surprise, a succession of brilliant ideas applied to level design, so much so that it is incredible that this is the first attempt ever, for Hazelight, to try their hand at a 3D action platform, given that the previous titles were structured in a decidedly different way.
It Takes Two, the two protagonists grappling with one of the tests of the game Beyond a remarkable technical achievement, supported by an always very coherent artistic direction, what is surprising is the quality of the controls that are placed from the parts of the Nintendo titles in terms of response and feedback, which is essential to support a gameplay structured precisely on the varied interaction with the scenarios. To all this is added a frenzied rhythm of different ideas and situations, which really make it impossible to get bored, even if in the long run the recycling of "gimmick" emerges, sooner or later. Being continually thrown from one situation to another, in completely different scenarios, makes you lose the thread of a sensible progression, putting all the game design at the service of the ideas proposed in the individual micro-events, with an effect that can seem dispersive, but characterizes the whole gaming experience.
Nothing for granted
It Takes Two takes us into completely different scenarios and situations In this sense, the choice of the subject by Hazelight reveals her genius: It Takes Two is an atypical 3D platformer because it continuously presents new game solutions, therefore there is nothing for granted in its structure and each level is a surprise that must be understood and faced together. Putting on the scene two quarrelsome characters, who badly tolerate each other, makes much more sense than the usual pairs of close-knit and winning characters: with each new challenge they must understand how to act, not without initial contrasts, and find a perfect agreement after a few attempts. , perfectly transferring the feelings of the players themselves onto the screen. The pairs of video game heroes (Ratchet and Clank, Banjo and Kazooie, Jak and Daxter, to name a few) are well-established and hardened by years of experience, they know exactly how to move in pairs to face adversity and make the most of their respective skills to overcoming problems.Cody and May have no desire to live incredible adventures together, they don't want to save the world and probably not even their marriage, at least at first: they just want to get back to normal and get over it as soon as possible the absurd challenges to which they are subjected by Dr. Hakim's "hateful" Book of Love. In this way, they face obstacles with a mixed spirit of improvisation and adaptability: "let's try this, or rather, do this, I do this, you do that".
The cartoonish style of It Takes Two has a justification in the story Thus situations emerge that we would never have seen in a game structured according to a standard canon: to kill a vacuum cleaner by sucking its eyes or to condemn it to "death. "a tender elephant are situations that emerge coherently with the situation in which the two find themselves, in a truly unorthodox but enthralling emotional progression. The reactions of the two unfortunate adventurers reflect a little those of the players themselves and the same happens for the enthusiasm in overcoming adversity which is, in this way, even more genuine and credible.
It Takes Two is a game that may seem naïve in terms of construction, narration and way of dealing with an important subject, but which for this very reason is frank and genuine: it abandons many of the canons and superstructures typical of modern games, putting aside heroes and worlds to save as well as a perfectly straightforward compact progression to simply re-propose the joy of playing together, allowing players the pleasure of discovery and the freedom to try, fail and ultimately succeed, relying on each other.
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