Game Review: It Takes Two ★★★★★

A couple is facing the devastating prospect of divorce. Their young daughter is understandably distraught. In her fear, she doses both parents with a powerful hallucinogenic drug in the hope that tripping through therapy will save their marriage.

Well, OK, that's not exactly what the game's about - but it might as well be!

My aim this year is to play more co-operative games with my wife. So she picked up the controller to play as the shrewish May while I steered the lug-headed Cody. Both have been shrunk to the size of toy dolls and have to navigate their house in an attempt to regain human-form and comfort their daughter. The game is a series of puzzles which can only be solved if you work together. Only by working together can you escape the quagmire you find yourself in. A sentient marriage guidance book continually reminds you that you only beat the last level because you worked together.

And then you murder a toy elephant who pleads for its life after you brutally mutilate it. That isn't an exaggeration. It is easily the most traumatic media moment I've ever experienced.

Unlike Unravel Two, the world is fully 3D and the quests are delightfully varied. Some are the usual "you jump there and I'll do the thing here" - others are more complex. There's logic, timed jumping, beat-em-ups, flight simulators, and a couple of dozen more inventive twists on familiar puzzles. Every single level seems to have a different game mechanic - and each level also has a unique æsthetic.

It is refreshing to play a game actually designed for adults. I don't mean "Rated 18 for blood and gore"; more like "grapples with the complexities of being a modern couple trying to raise a family". It's also great fun to collaborate on the puzzles, while also exploring the intricate world around you.

I don't know whether the game saved our marriage. There was certainly lots of working together to achieve a common goal.

The voice acting is excellent, the story isn't too cloying, and the animation is sumptuous.