It Takes Two

Although we didn't go anywhere last July 4th holiday weekend (except for the Foodieland), we had a great family time with a game: It Takes Two.

It is an action-adventure co-op video game. I've heard about it from many media because it swept many GOTY (Game Of The Year), such as The Game Awards 2021 and the 25th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards last year. I wanted to play it but couldn't because it was the 'absolute' co-op game: I needed another player to play it. This July 4th weekend was a 4-day holiday, so we had plenty of time. My wife and I grabbed the controller to challenge the highly reputed masterpiece.

It was a marvelous experience. I can say it was the best game in my life. The graphic was great, just like many contemporary 3D games - it used Unreal Engine. Basically, the game is a puzzle adventure in that we should solve puzzles to proceed, but the only cooperation of two players could solve the puzzle.

It was neither an open-world nor a sandbox game but rather an episodic one. However, it wasn't a downside at all; we could always focus on one problem at a time, preventing us from getting lost. The difficulty level was always so appropriate; we could break every hurdle without watching any playing review, which maximized our feeling of fulfillment.

The gameplay ran across all game genres; sometimes it was 3D first-person shooter, then it turned into a racing game, a quarter-view action RPG, and even a rhythm action game. Every play was so elaborated; none of them was mere cosmetic.

The game's main plot was to set back a married couple's divorce: Cody and May. I've heard that the game was notorious for a couple-breaking (the players) game - even the goal of the game is preventing divorce in the game. I could tell we could get it; my wife was not good at action platformers, so to speak, jumping and shooting. But our daughter saved us by snatching the controller. It was priceless: the time a whole family enjoyed a game collaboratively. I thought that co-op would be a bad idea because it could be a huge entry barrier. I was wrong. I am so grateful to this game for giving us unforgettable 12 hours.

Life is short, and there are so many games to play.

P.S.: But I still cannot like the book.