If you want better protagonist appeal
Choose Goodnight Universe. It scores 4.9 vs 2.6 for protagonist appeal, with a 4.1 overall score.
It Takes Two Review
Bottom Line
Choose It Takes Two for joyful, inventive co-op with a partner, especially on couch. Skip it if divorce themes, uneven story tone, or Switch visual compromises would distract you.
Best for
Best for two players who want a communication-heavy co-op adventure with constant new mechanics, strong platforming, replayable minigames, and a couch-friendly feel.
Not for
Not for players wanting solo play, deep challenge, a universally loved story, or the best visual version on Switch.
Verdict
It Takes Two earns unusually broad praise as a co-op-first platformer because almost every review highlights its constant mechanical variety, responsive movement, generous checkpoints, and playful environments. The strongest evidence centers on how completely the game is built around two people communicating, experimenting, and solving problems together. Its tradeoff is narrative: several reviewers liked the heartfelt marriage-repair premise, but others found the tone shallow, cringy, or uncomfortable, especially around Dr. Hakim and May and Cody’s behavior. Switch coverage adds another tradeoff, praising performance and play options while noting rougher visuals. Overall, the review evidence points to a highly polished, joyful co-op game whose gameplay consensus is much stronger than its story consensus.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
55 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.037 (67%)
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Positive 3.5-4.410 (18%)
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Neutral 2.5-3.46 (11%)
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Negative 1.5-2.42 (4%)
Pros
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Co-op experience is the clearest strength, with every review praising how essential, joyful, collaborative, or unusually strong the cooperative play feels.
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Content variety is one of the strongest consensus points, with reviewers praising constant new mechanics, tools, genres, settings, and minigames.
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Movement is repeatedly described as freeing, smooth, delightful, and enjoyable across jumping, dashing, and traversal.
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Sound design is repeatedly praised as outstanding, top-notch, rich, whimsical, and technically impressive.
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Checkpointing is praised as extremely generous or instant, making experimentation and deaths less punishing.
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Frame rate stability is praised across PC/console/Switch coverage, with reviewers noting steady or smooth performance.
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Innovation is strongly praised for its original, constantly changing co-op mechanics and creative approach.
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Multiplayer design is praised as fully built around two players, with local, online, and cooperative structure central to the experience.
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Platforming precision receives strong praise, with reviewers calling it responsive, precise, and effortless.
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Couch co-op is repeatedly praised as a natural or superior way to experience the game.
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Polish is praised through comments about thoughtful production, virtual glitch-free execution, and masterful construction.
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Puzzle design is praised for making both players collaborate, with tools and level setups creating satisfying shared problem solving.
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Animation is praised for Pixar-like presentation, squash-and-stretch style, and strong mocap-style character work.
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Atmosphere is praised for wonder, warmth, and imaginative environmental mood.
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Environmental detail is praised in both character materials and intricate level spaces.
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Exploration is praised where reviewers emphasize that playful, interactive spaces reward looking around and traversing levels.
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Immersion is praised through absorbing environments and gameplay that reinforces the couple/co-op premise.
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Monetization fairness is praised because Friend Pass/pro-consumer ownership rules let two people play without both buying full copies.
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Originality is praised through reviewers calling the game rare and among the most creative co-op experiences they have played.
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The core loop is described as a well-crafted platforming foundation that supports the game's cooperative variety.
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World-building is praised for imagination and character shining through the whole adventure.
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Fun factor is exceptionally strong, with most reviewers calling it joyful, blast-like, highly enjoyable, or one of their most fun recent games.
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Interactive spaces are a major strength, with reviewers praising playful objects, rewarded curiosity, and dense environmental interactions.
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Level design is consistently praised as creative, intricate, masterfully mapped out, and varied across imaginative environments.
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Value for money is praised due to long runtime, Friend Pass, replay value, sale pricing, and perceived worth.
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Reviewers overwhelmingly praise the mechanics as simple to grasp yet constantly inventive, with several genres and toolsets executed well.
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Controls are widely praised as responsive, tight, natural, and accessible, with only the Switch Joy-Con feel drawing a mild caveat.
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Art direction is widely praised as remarkable, gorgeous, imaginative, and strong enough to survive Switch visual compromises.
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Voice acting is strongly praised across reviews as fantastic, phenomenal, well acted, and top-tier.
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The onboarding is praised for welcoming new or non-gamer partners without heavy-handed teaching.
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The soundtrack is usually praised as fitting, cinematic, and emotionally effective, though one reviewer found some music generic.
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Bosses are praised as fun, challenging, cinematic, and sometimes wonderful, with checkpoints supporting the tougher encounters.
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The learning curve is viewed positively, especially for non-gamers, with gradual skill development and inclusive design.
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The emotional impact is often strong, especially around relationship reflection, ending moments, and co-op connection, though divorce sensitivity is a caveat.
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Side characters are generally praised for providing laughs and inventive background flavor.
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Split-screen quality is praised for companionship and smooth two-window play, especially despite Switch limitations.
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Camera behavior receives a positive note for keeping up with fast, dynamic action.
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Pacing is mostly praised as breakneck, fantastic, and expertly paced, though one reviewer felt the game overstayed its welcome and another noted one section ran long.
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Platform-specific support on Switch is praised for multiple play options, though practical compromises remain.
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Graphics are praised on stronger hardware but notably compromised on Switch, where reviewers describe rough visuals and graphical tradeoffs.
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Competitive balance is mixed: core roles are praised as equal, but some minigames or character roles are described as one-sided.
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Handheld suitability is positive overall, with similar handheld and docked performance, though controller and visual compromises remain.
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Bug frequency appears low in the evidence, with one review reporting only minor graphical bugs plus one checkpoint-reset issue.
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Performance optimization is mostly positive in the cited review, with only occasional frame-rate dips in heavier scenes.
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Replay value is generally positive due to swapped characters and replayable minigames, though one reviewer personally had no desire to replay.
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Online stability is mostly positive but not perfect, with rare rubberbanding or server drops not erasing much progress.
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Server reliability is mixed in the Switch evidence because online play was mostly solid but had a couple of server drops.
Cons
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Narrative quality is divisive: some reviewers found the relationship story moving or healthy, while others called it shallow, predictable, or poorly told.
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Writing quality is split between praise for snappy, excellent writing and criticism that the tone is uneven or disappointing beside the gameplay.
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Difficulty is mixed: several reviewers found it forgiving or not very challenging, while others noted frustration or a gradual, approachable curve.
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Age appropriateness is mixed-to-cautious: reviewers note mature themes, marriage metaphors, and challenge that may not fit younger children.
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Family friendliness is limited by language and teen-rated content despite the otherwise loved cooperative experience.
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Protagonist appeal is polarized: some reviewers found Cody and May real or excellent, while others found them irritating, bitter, or unlikeable.
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Dialogue quality is mixed, with some humorous or realistic dialogue but repeated criticism of Dr. Hakim as cringy or uncomfortable.
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Character development draws criticism from two reviews that felt May and Cody's marital issues were not explored deeply enough.
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other Video Games, this product is above average in platforming precision, monetization fairness, camera behavior, near average in narrative quality, difficulty balance, below average in character development, protagonist appeal, dialogue quality.
Summary
55 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher41 (75%)
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Same as average within 0.3 pts9 (16%)
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Below average 0.4+ pts lower5 (9%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| character development | 2.0 | 4.0 | -2.0 |
| platforming precision | 5.0 | 3.2 | +1.8 |
| monetization fairness | 5.0 | 3.2 | +1.8 |
| camera behavior | 4.5 | 3.0 | +1.5 |
| protagonist appeal | 2.6 | 3.9 | -1.3 |
| puzzle design | 5.0 | 3.7 | +1.3 |
| checkpoint system | 5.0 | 3.7 | +1.3 |
| co-op experience | 5.0 | 4.2 | +0.8 |
Consider This Instead
If you want better pacing
Choose Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. It scores 5.0 vs 4.4 for pacing, with a 4.2 overall score.
If you want better character development
Choose Donkey Kong Bananza. It scores 4.9 vs 2.0 for character development, with a 4.4 overall score.
If you want better narrative quality
Choose Hollow Knight: Silksong. It scores 4.7 vs 3.4 for narrative quality, with a 4.3 overall score.
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
A Way Out
- Worse: gameplay The reviewer says It Takes Two even tops A Way Out's great gameplay.
- Worse: gameplay depth The reviewer says A Way Out's gameplay suffered, while It Takes Two's gameplay is fleshed out.
- Worse: overall quality The reviewer says the leap in quality from A Way Out to It Takes Two is incredible.
Diablo
- Compared: genre-shifting gameplay style The reviewer compares one medieval section's gameplay style to Diablo.
God of War
- Compared: recallable tool feel The reviewer compares Cody's recallable nails to the axe recall in God of War.
FAQ
Can It Takes Two be played solo?
No. The review evidence consistently describes it as co-op-only and built around two human players working together.
Is it good for non-gamers?
Several reviewers say it works well for new or non-gamer partners because the controls are approachable, the learning curve is gradual, and the game teaches through play.
Is couch co-op better than online play?
Reviewers praise both, but couch co-op receives especially strong support as the more natural and enjoyable setup. Online play is still workable, with only rare stability caveats in the Switch evidence.
How strong is the story?
The story is the most divisive part. Some reviewers found it heartfelt and moving, while others criticized the tone, Dr. Hakim, and May and Cody’s characterization.
Is it appropriate for kids?
Not always. Reviewers note teen-rated language, mature divorce themes, and moments that may be too mature or challenging for younger children.
Does it have good replay value?
Yes for many players, thanks to character-swapping, replayable minigames, and Friend Pass value, though one reviewer personally found the co-op pressure too exhausting for a replay.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
Video Reviews
Article Reviews
eurogamer.net
- Review score
- 4.1
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