It Takes Two

It Takes Two is a game that can't be played alone, and that's the entire point of it. A couple of parents on the verge of divorce are turned into rag dolls and must fight their way back together, with every step requiring the other player's cooperation. It's played exclusively by two people, either on one screen in split windows or online, and the game shows both halves at all times, so players can see exactly what the other one is doing and when they need to pull a lever or jump.

What makes It Takes Two exceptional is the pace at which it discards old mechanics and introduces new ones. Players have barely gotten used to a pair of abilities before the chapter ends and the next one starts with something entirely different, whether that's a nail and hammer, a magnet and attraction, time manipulation, or flight. Almost every section is built so that one player has the tool and the other has the target, so neither can progress alone. Scattered throughout are dozens of small competitive minigames, from tug-of-war to hockey, serving as a breather. The Switch version arrived later and is technically among the more modest, with lower resolution and softer visuals, but it's content-complete and split-screen works even in handheld mode.

Visually it's a colorful fairy-tale world seen from the perspective of shrunken characters, where a shed or a garden becomes a giant adventure, and the music gives it a cinematic touch. Reception was extremely positive, with the game collecting numerous awards including Game of the Year, and it's often cited as proof that co-op doesn't have to be a mere add-on to a single-player game. The story about a relationship falling apart never feels like an excuse for a string of minigames, since every chapter comments in some way on what's happening between the two leads. Critics especially praised the inventiveness of individual levels and the fact that the game never lets itself repeat the same trick twice. Today it's the most common recommendation for a pair who want to play together, whether that's a couple, friends, or a parent and child, and the second player doesn't even need to own the game.