Many players believe Electronic Arts one of the main “corporations of evil” on planet Earth. In recent years, the publishing house has been trying to improve its image through new initiatives. Separately, it is worth highlighting the program to support independent studios EA Originals, mascotted by an eccentric filmmaker and creative director Hazelight Studios Yusef Fares…
His 2017 game A way out could not be called a masterpiece. However, the positive reaction from critics and gamers, backed by good sales, convinced EA of the right initiative, and Hazelight Studios found financial stability.
Youssef Fares’ new creation, It Takes Two, continues to build on the ideas behind A Way Out and their debut game. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons… We are talking about a cooperative adventure in which two players constantly have to interact with each other in an environment where gameplay mechanics are constantly changing.
The central theme of It Takes Two was the crisis in family relationships. Spouses Cody and May Goodwin are preparing for a divorce, which is hard for their daughter Rose, who blames herself for what is happening. A desperate girl asks Dr. Khazim’s “Book of Love” found in the trash to help save her parents’ marriage.
The child’s wish comes true: the consciousness of Cody and Mei is transferred to the dolls, and the revived book decides to organize family therapy for them.
Over the course of seven chapters, the main characters will have to go through an adventure, the scenery in which will be the house and its surroundings, which have undergone a magical transformation. The developers have literally blown their heads off, so players will be forced to take part in the war between guerrilla squirrels and wasps, fly a hang glider out of Cody’s family cowards, ride spiders, turn into potatoes, fight a crazy vacuum cleaner, survive a cuckoo attack from a clock, survive in a room with toys, explore the insides of the snow globe and much, much more.
It Takes Two takes about 15 hours to complete, so Hazelight was tasked with making sure players didn’t get bored. The developers are constantly juggling mechanics, trying to surprise.
It is based on a platformer combined with puzzles, for the solution of which the players need to constantly help each other. For example, Cody presses the lever, and Mei must have time to run into the opened passage.
Mission conditions are constantly changing, and the main characters are constantly receiving new gadgets or abilities that encourage cooperation. Say, at the very beginning, Cody throws nails, which Mei can catch with a hammer. Then the husband will be given a machine gun that fires explosive honey, which his wife can set on fire. And the rules change throughout the adventure.
