It Takes Two (2021) / YMMV

Angst? What Angst?: After Cody and May kill Cutie and get Rose to cry, the two kinda fail to show an appropriate reaction. They just killed a living being, made their daughter cry, and realized that they did both of those for nothing since Rose's tears don't actually return their human forms. Cody doesn't show any angst over it whatsoever, and May's angst is only about the fact that she's not returned to normal yet, which gets almost immediately dispelled when Cody sees Rose's letter.
Awesome Moments: The final battle of the Tree chapter has an excellent use of Gameplay and Story Integration where, while May fights the boss atop a plane's wings, Cody takes control of and pilots the arena all the while, making sure it doesn't crash during the battle.
Best Level Ever: The snowglobe level brings a lot to the table. It has a fun magnet mechanic, a beautiful winter resort to explore and play mini-games in, and exciting ice-skating tracks to speed through in style. The story also takes a turn for the heartwarming, with May and Cody finally bonding and reminiscing over a happier time in their relationship.
Ensemble Dark Horse: Queen Cutie the Loving Elephant is such a sweetheart that most fans loved her... and it makes her death by May and Cody all the more heartbreaking.
Genius Bonus:
- When May and Cody first meet the Hammer, he says that dying of rust is "like burning alive... slowly". The thing is, rust and burning are essentially the same chemical reaction (oxidation), just taking place over different timescales, so Hammer's comparison isn't a vivid metaphor- it's basically what's actually happening.
- The belt that gives Cody Sizeshifter powers in the space section is called the Cosmic Inflation Belt. Cosmic inflation is an actual astronomical concept.
Jerkass Woobie: Moon Baboon has a lot of rage for a toy, but it's hard to see him in the wrong for wanting to protect Rose from her own parents when they plan to make her cry. What pushes him into woobie territory is that he hasn't been played with for years, and yet he remains unflinchingly loyal to her, arguably moreso than her own parents. Then he's booted out of his own ship, chased around by said parents, and they lie to his face and leave him behind.
Memetic Mutation:
- "We're gonna kill Janet?!"^Explanation
- "I'm going to need therapy after this."^Explanation
Narm Charm: Adam Millard analyzes the game's story as "rubbish" and "cringeworthy", but states that it is part of the appeal: because the game is co-op only, having a friend present with whom you can mercilessly mock the game adds a level of engagement that can be surprisingly enjoyable.
Nausea Fuel: The kaleidoscope level's spinning and shifting colors can get incredibly nauseating. Cody even throws up, somehow.
Nightmare Fuel: The death of Cutie the Elephant is not only heartrending, but considered by many players to be one of the most legitimately disturbing sequences they've played in a video game. First, the fact Cutie must be killed to progress despite her being such a kind, innocent, and child-like character who was not antagonistic at all and genuinely wanted to befriend Cody and May. She frantically tries to escape with the two pursuing her all the while and actively stopping her each time. Then in the process of being forcibly dragged to her death, she ends up having a leg and an ear slowly torn off, during which she loudly trumpets in agony in between her panicked crying and begging; all the while legitimately unable to understand why Cody and May want to go to such lengths to hurt her. And to top it off, Cody and May's reaction to having done the deed is to celebrate having made their daughter cry. In fact, the scene where you have to literally Kill the Cutie has been considered to be the darkest thing players have ever had to do. It just goes to show that you don't need gore (Cutie's cotton notwithstanding) for a death scene to be absolutely harrowing.
Player Punch: May and Cody killing Cutie, not helped by the sight of Cutie futilely doing all she can to escape, losing an ear and a leg in the process, and then seeing May and Cody celebrating their daughter's tears when they think it'll return them to normal. It doesn't.
Play the Game, Skip the Story: The gameplay is generally considered to be an incredibly fun and inventive co-op experience, but the story revolves around two estranged parents who are supposed to be seen as selfish and flawed parents to Rose, yet capable of getting better, only they instead come off as Unintentionally Unsympathetic and flat-out awful parents who Rose would be better off without, which makes it hard to get invested in their journey.
The Scrappy: People seen online who play this game generally have a dislike for Dr. Hakim (the book) due to him being incredibly obnoxious at times, and he's also seen as a failure of a mentor for Cody and May.
Signature Scene: For all the wrong reasons, the two main characters murdering Cutie the Elephant, made all the more worse because not only do May and Cody believe this is the right thing to do and are shown celebrating their daughter's tears like it's holy rain, but the only thing it accomplishes is making their situation even worse.
Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Both Cody and May can come off as generally unlikeable, especially Cody's constant whininess and May's obsessive need to belittle him at every opportunity. To say nothing about them being such neglectful parents that Rose doesn't see anything amiss when they both fall into comas. In particular, the scene where they murder Cutie the Elephant to make their daughter cry, thinking her tears would restore their human bodies, was supposed to merely make Cody and May seem like selfish assholes and be mitigated by them viewing it as a regrettable necessity, Black Comedy, and Cutie being repaired in the ending. But given that Cutie is clearly an intelligent being who feels pain and was nothing but kind to them and their lack of angst over it afterward and other negative traits, the end result is that Cody and May come off less as merely self-centered jerks and more as sociopaths. This ended up with many players feeling like Cody and May are so unfit as parents that Rose needs to be taken away from them for her own good.
- In the (second) Neebs Gaming playthrough, they absolutely loathed the parents (especially Cody) and were genuinely baffled that the game acts as though the two staying together could be at all a positive thing when they clearly aren't a functioning couple and bring out the worst in each other.
  Simon: [laughing] Nothing will make this work. I don't care if at the end of the day they're like 'Hey, I think I love you.' It's a mistake.
  Dora: [Divorce would] be better for the daughter. These two are horrible.
  Simon: I can't believe that everyone said how wonderful the game is - and it is, it's a beautiful game - but how would anyone else not be saying how horrible they are together, and how they should be divorced?
Unintentional Uncanny Valley: Dr. Hakim has elicited this reaction from many players, for being an unsettlingly human face on the front of a book.
What Do You Mean, It's Not for Kids?: The story takes place in what looks like a colorful Pixar-style world and the game won Best Family Game at the Game Awards 2021, but there's also cursing and the infamous scene of the parents murdering an adorable toy elephant while she sobs and begs for her life.
The Woobie:
- Cutie, to an absolutely heart-breaking degree. Adorable, friendly, endearing, huggable, and shows nothing but kindness to Cody and May. Unfortunately, not only do the duo slowly and painfully kill her anyway despite her having done nothing wrong, but the game forces players to do so.
- Rose. Her parents are about to get a divorce and she blames herself for it, she's left alone all day, her favorite toy is destroyed by her own parents because they're trying to make her cry, and she tries to run away from home just to get her parents to stop fighting. The poor girl needs all the hugs.

YMMV / It Takes Two (2021)

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