What if the best video game of 2021 had already been released? It Takes Two, the new work of Hazelight Studios, surprised his world. The studio’s previous (and first) game, A Way Out (2018), had received a decent but mixed reception: its concept, a game playable only for two, featuring two prisoners seeking to escape was full of good ideas. , but a little … rustic, in execution. The story and the variety of situations still saved the weakness of the different phases of the gameplay. It Takes Two takes up this concept. Except that it allows itself to be even more varied, to go at 100 per hour, to be magnificent, and, above all, to offer truly successful and pleasant phases of the game.
The two characters, Cody and May, are about to divorce. Which saddens – inevitably – their daughter, Rose. After yet another argument, Rose’s tears flowing over two dolls that she created in the effigy of her parents will, by magic, transfer the spirit of the latter into the two toys. Trained by Dr. Hakim, a “living” magic book as funny as it is unbearable, Cody and May will have to work together and overcome their differences to find their real bodies. For that, they’ll have to go through an epic halfway between Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Toy Story.
Perfect for playing as a couple
This intense adventure is only playable for two, either “physically”, on the same sofa, or online, with a sidekick. Fortunately, only one copy of It Takes Two is necessary: it is possible to invite an acquaintance online to play, even if they do not own the game. And it is good to experience this game together – it is perfect for playing as a couple – which makes all the salt out of it.
The two characters – who never stop bickering, in subtitled original version only – must collaborate to cross levels of incredible variety. Here, it will be necessary to solve puzzles, one being able to control time, the other, to create a clone of itself; there, it will be necessary to overcome swarms of wasps, one with a weapon throwing a sticky gel, the other with a “matchstick” allowing the wasps to explode once stuck by the other player …
A new idea every 5 minutes
Puzzles, shooting, driving vehicles (often incongruous), platform, and many more: players never have time to see boredom point because a new idea, a new way of twisting the rules of the game. game appears every 5-10 minutes. So much so that we imagine, after a handful of hours, that the end of the game will come quickly, as it is unthinkable to keep such a rhythm, such a variety. But no, there again, It Takes Two is surprising and more than generous with a good dozen hours of play.
And what about the visual universe, this world we are going through? It’s very simple: from start to finish, you have the feeling of being immersed in the heart of a Pixar film. It Takes Two is beautiful, lively, shimmering and makes you want to linger in different environments (the garden tree, Rose’s room, etc.) over and over again rather than rushing in a straight line. The game is full of little completely optional details, such as these mini-games to discover, which allow the two characters to compete “for fun”, here in tug of war, there in a version of the “mole game. and the hammer ”in which Cody plays the part of the burrowing mammal.
Generous, funny, magnificent: It Takes Two is undoubtedly the most beautiful video game surprise of the start of the year. Highly recommendable, as long as you are sure you have a playmate.
It Takes Two, sur PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X et S. 40 €.
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