Sure, it has all the platforming standards like running, jumping and ground-pounding switches. But the vast majority of the game's puzzles require you and your companion to work together in harmony. Fares designed from the ground up for co-op play, and this means that almost every aspect of the game is tailor-made for two people to complete cooperatively. Dr. Hakim is one of the characters inhabiting the magical world in the form of a self-help book titled 'Book of Love'. As a 'famous expert on love', the book claims he has promised Rose to repair her parents' marriage. Gleefully masterminding challenges for Cody and May to overcome, he guides the dolls through their journey. The Self-Proclaimed Love Guru Rose Being two means that there can be friction. Friction can lead to trouble. And trouble can grow out of control in any paradise. If you’re not careful and leave it unattended, paradise can ultimately get infected. You must play It Takes Two from start to finish with a partner, no exceptions. There also isn’t any form of online matchmaking, so you must either be sitting next to a second player on the couch, or have them in your online friends list beforehand.

Dear mom and dad, I'm sorry I did this to you, I know how to make everything good again. All you have to do is stop fighting. I know I’m not a perfect daughter. I’m sorry I don’t like to brush my teeth. I’m sorry I read books after bedtime. I’m sorry I don’t put toys up where I should. I know it’s my fault you want a divorce.

Lesson number two: Passion!

Simple! I will give one of you the ability to clone yourself. The other, I will grant the power to control time. Then all you need to do is to use your powers and work together to come together! Lesson number two: Passion! It’s not the worst possible way to end things, but it still comes across as anticlimactic and wishy-washy. At the very least, I’m relieved the game sets the positive example of the “we both love you” phrase, which, although a bit cliché, is genuinely helpful to hear and something I wish I would have heard more often than the not-so-subtle jabs at the other parent I’d become more acquainted to. On the other hand, it’s not as if the concepts introduced by Dr. Hakim aren’t worthwhile. Making time for each other, rekindling attraction and encouraging passions are all healthy and important things for people in any type of relationship to maintain. It’s not unrealistic to think that a failing relationship could benefit or even recover if both people in that relationship make genuine efforts to fix whatever problems are causing it to fail. They’re pretty surface-level observations, but valid ones nonetheless.

How do you find your purpose in life? Through passion! The passion lights the path to the purpose of life. Pursuing your passion might not always pay your bills – but if you give it up, you give up on a part of yourself. You also risk losing the passion for each other along the way. Used to have a green thumb? We’ve got some serious gardening ahead of us. Or did you stop singing because you “grew up”? Let’s put on a show, baby! Lesson number three: Attraction! Dr. Hakim’s Three Lessons to Save a Broken Relationship Give each other enough time! Let passion light the path to the purpose of life! Rediscover your lost attraction!

Lesson number three: Attraction!

About Characters Nintendo Switch™ PC System Requirements Friend's Pass Media News Merch About Characters Nintendo Switch™ PC System Requirements Friend's Pass Media News Merch Puzzles will regularly ask you and your partner to work in sync, using individual abilities in tandem to advance through the various worlds you explore. Because communication is vital to your success, it's absolutely crucial it is to play It Takes Two alongside someone you know well. What else, besides love, make couples stay together? Mortgage? Kids? No, it’s the attraction of course! It pulls people together. See, attraction is like a magnet. But you need both poles for it to work. North, south. Plus, minus. You, me! of respondents are regularly or always using their smartphone when spending time with their partner/spouse May and Cody are about to divorce. But their daughter Rose is desperate to keep them together. In her efforts, Rose unknowingly turns her parents into dolls, jolting them into a magical world where they encounter the self-proclaimed love guru Dr. Hakim... May

This veers sharply into being Harsher in Hindsight when you (plus Cody and May) realize that Rose legitimately believed she was responsible, to the point of trying to run away so her parents could become friends again. That’s also what It Takes Two is all about! And to really understand the true power of love, you will have to experience the whole shabang with a friend. You know, either buy it or have your friend buy it to play for free* (yes, amigos play for FREE, what could possibly be a stronger testament of love?!)

It Takes Two is a pure dose of co-op gaming joy

I’m not expecting a game in which a bumblebee controls a giant robot wasp queen to be realistic, but I had hoped that it would have a more genuine perspective on marriage and divorce than it ultimately did. I’ve seen firsthand that there can still be affection and love in between the fighting in relationships, but if the fighting, neglect, and other issues still cause unnecessary pain for anyone in that relationship, or especially the couple’s children, biting the bullet on divorce will often cause less long-term pain than the alternative of staying in an unhealthy family environment.

Now! It Takes Two comes out March 26, so you will have to wait just a little longer. But as Valentine’s Day is already upon us, I wanted to give you a taste of my Three Lessons to Save a Broken Relationship and how they connect to It Takes Two’s gameplay. With the architecture of It Takes Two being so heavily ingrained in co-op gameplay, and the themes striking a chord so close to home for many couples, the Better Together Experience saw couples truly put their ability to listen to each other and work together to the test. As one participant stated, ‘it’s definitely been a positive experience. It’s quite rare and special to have a game where you do work together. There are lots of times when you can’t do anything unless you listen to the other person.’ In preparation for the Better Together Experience, EA commissioned an online survey to be conducted by market research company OnePoll, taking a sample of 1,850 US and 1,540 UK adults in a relationship. The survey found that: One of the reasons why the co-op works so well is due to the way the levels have been designed. In every chapter Cody and May will be granted some sort of weapon or power that are different from one another. This means that each player has to figure out how to use their special ability to get past puzzles while aiding the other to do the same. The level design has been so masterfully mapped out that each player has an equal role in solving puzzles and having tasks to perform at the same time. Having new weapons or powers in each section keeps you eager to see what’s next as well. of respondents said their partner seems distracted all or most of the time when they’re spending time together

You know, love is like a mountain and you are the river that flows through it. You are like flowers growing on a lush hillside. However! It’s not always sunshine, sweet strawberries and pretty little butterflies out there. I will let you soak up all of that eye-opening wisdom for a bit, but you can already see what I’m getting at, eh? Once you start actually playing It Takes Two (and Dr. Hakim mercifully stops talking), that’s when the game really starts to shine. Rose found Dr. Hakim's "Book of Love" in a trashcan at her school. When Rose found out that her parents were getting a divorce, she fled to the shed with two dolls she made of her parents and took out the "Book of Love". Rose would then make a wish for Dr. Hakim to help keep her parents together. Unbeknownst to her, Rose's wish was granted and Dr. Hakim promised to fix May and Cody's relationship.