Highlights
- It Takes Two is a co-op adventure that brings a mundane couple on a whimsical journey, adding depth to both their individual characters and shared relationship.
- The game is filled with Easter eggs and references, including nods to movies like Terminator 2 and James Bond, as well as video game favorites like Mario Kart.
- There are hidden secrets and achievements throughout the game, such as breaking open a piggy bank or feeding a seal, that players may miss if they don't explore thoroughly.
It Takes Two is a brilliant co-op adventure that will take you and your teammate on the journey of a lifetime. Cody and May go from a somewhat mundane affair into a highly entertaining and whimsical adventure. The disputes this once-happily married couple have add a layer of depth to their characters, their relationship, and the journey that almost brings them over the edge.
Thankfully, with a spell put on them by their daughter, even if involuntarily, they end up rekindling their lost passion and reigniting the embers of their relationship. While this journey has its fair share of adventures, there are some surprises lost in the background that you might not be aware of. Here are some of the secrets in It Takes Two that everyone missed.
Updated on August 30, 2023 by Gabrielle Castania: It Takes Two has yet to stop receiving lauded praise for its heartfelt story carried on enjoyable gameplay. Since launch, It Takes Two has been praised to no end, and for good reason. And with so many Easter eggs in the game to find, referencing other games or callbacks to things you've done already, we've circled back to our list of It Takes Two Easter eggs to make sure we've covered them all.
15 Terminator 2 Thumbs Up
On top of amazing gaming references and inner-media winks, It Takes Two also gives us some hilarious movie moments. One of the most iconic comes near the conclusion of the Rose's Room chapter. At the end of the section where the game turns into a Diablo-esque RPG, you have to drop a killed toy into lava.
As the toy sinks into the lava, defeated, she gives you thumbs up in her last moments. This was an unexpected moment, hilariously evoking the iconic Terminator 2 scene. Those who know surely got a kick out of this one.
14 A James Bond Squirrel
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Another side-splitting part of the game is when you're introduced to the war between squirrels and wasps. The squirrels are comedically serious about the whole ordeal and enlist your help in the war. They even give you two weapons to use against their enemies.
The whole sequence is comedic, and a great reference comes in the name of the scientist squirrel. When he talks to you through comms after trusting you with his experimental weapons, his name is shown as Q. For those who are knowledgeable about James Bond this is an obvious homage, as Q is also the quartermaster who gives Bond his iconic gadgets.
13 Rainbow Road From Mario
This one is a little more obvious, but can still be missed as you're swept up by the visuals and the impending crescendo of the emotional climax. Near the end of the game, the two main characters are required to slide down a colorful road to get to their destination.
Mario Kart's Rainbow Road immediately comes to mind when any colorful road is concerned. This proves once again that the developers are gamers at heart and have a huge affinity towards the medium, which is always nice to see — especially with such a well-put-together game.
12 Two Characters, One Actor
It Takes Two tells a story about self-realization and about how following your passions and loving yourself leads to your love of others flourishing. Well, that goes double for Cody, as the couple's spiritual guide Dr. Hakim and he are the same person.
Joseph Balderrama voices both Cody and Dr. Hakim in this game, and he does a great job for both — so much so that you'd never guess without reading the credits. It is kind of funny when you realize how half of the game is about Balderrama giving himself relationship advice throughout.
11 Why Dr. Hakim Comes To Life
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Despite his outlandish vibe and how he speaks, Dr. Hakim acts as the relationship counselor and spiritual guide to Cody and May throughout the game. However, little info is given about his actual powers or backstory, but there are hints to be found. The text on his back talks about how Dr. Hakim resides wherever love, passion, and guidance are needed.
That could mean that Dr. Hakim appears before our couple because they need those things desperately. And since it's revealed that Rose brought the book home, Rose might also be in need of love and guidance, being the kid of a couple on the brink of divorce. Hakim means 'wise' in Arabic, too, so he would likely know where he's needed the most.
10 Breaking Open A Piggy Bank
Rose's Room is full of great secrets, including an innocuous-looking piggy bank with a bunch of coins around it. You can actually pick up these coins and place them in the piggy bank.
After the piggy bank is full, you can mercilessly ground stomp it to break it open, unlocking an achievement. It's a simple yet great secret that a lot of you who are blasting through the game will miss out on.
9 Feeding A Seal
There's a pretty cool ice-skating minigame that you can unlock in the open icy area. It's a great minigame, but there's a secret near it that many people have missed out on.
There's a harpoon gun near the starting line, and you can initially use this weapon to grab one of the swordfish jumping out of the water. After this, you need to shoot said fish into the mouth of a seal that is directly in the harpoon gun's line of sight to feed the animal and unlock an achievement too!
8 Finding A Pirate's Treasure
In this icy area, those of you who explore around will find a stranded ship. If you're feeling brave, you can board this ship and find a pretty great secret that is easy to miss.
There's a chest on the ship that you can open to find a bunch of coins and a pirate's hat. Doing this unlocks a neat achievement that most fans will be happy to unlock, and the coins nevwer hurt to have, either.
7 The Bug Spa
There's a Burrower boss fight that you need to get through at the garden level, and completing it unlocks an area with an arch and signpost for a spa right in front of it.
Simply follow the signpost to find a secret bug spa area, complete with a bunch of interactable moments. Initiating one for a short while will unlock an easy achievement! While this might make your skin crawl, it is ultimately a cute and unexpected moment.
6 Meditate In Peace
Yet another serene moment comes while exploring the attic. You'll reach an area where you'll get the opportunity to fly, so roam around this open area to find one spot holding a cool secret.
You can enter a tent with a spot in the middle for Cody and May to meditate. It's a neat secret, especially since it nets you an achievement too! Few games give you a moment to reflect these days, and this is one of the best examples of such a moment.
5 Figurines Depicting The Characters From A Way Out
It Takes Two is made by Hazelight Studios, the developers behind another popular co-op action-adventure, A Way Out. Unlike the relatively light-hearted tone of It Takes Two, A Way Out is a gritty prison break adventure with a mature story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The two protagonists, Vincent Moretti and Leo Caruso, are at the heart of this game.
It's only natural that Hazelight would want to reference this game. This came in the form of the two plastic figurines that are present in a hidden section of the pillow fort level. If you wish, you can time your stomps with your partner on the buttons in front of these figurines to unlock a cool achievement.
4 The Rupees From The Legend Of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda is one of the most popular and influential franchises in gaming history. Every title in this historic series has been legendary in some way or other, with Nintendo showing why they're held in such high esteem in the gaming community.
In It Takes Two, you unlock a paddleboat on the level with the cuckoo clock. While there's an obvious route you can follow to progress the game, you can also access a secret area using this boat that features a room full of breakable pots and rupees.
3 A Radio Transmission Of Josef Fares' Famous Speech
Josef Fares is known for being an outspoken personality in video gaming. His passion for the industry is clear in the way he speaks, and nothing personifies this more than the iconic speech he gave at The Game Awards about how gaming is the most immersive art form. During this impassioned rant, he even went so far as to deride the Oscars with an iconic F-bomb as well.
It was clear that the developers at Hazelight Studious absolutely loved the speech, since you can find a snippet of it in the game itself. There's a moment where you need to align a satellite to receive a particular signal, and if you rotate the receiver completely behind you and point at a certain spot in the sky, you'll be able to tune into a frequency that is playing this speech.
2 The Fireworks Show After Climbing The Helltower
The Helltower is one of the hardest platforming obstacles you can engage with in It Takes Two. Most of you will breathe a sigh of relief after finding out that this tower is completely optional and can be completed by just one person.
As a result, most people end up ignoring the tower. However, if you go the extra mile and make your way to the top, then you'll be rewarded with a machine that lets you enjoy a personal fireworks display of your own. It might be a minor reward, but this moment will definitely be more special if you've conquered the imposing Helltower.
1 A Turtle Who Lost Her Children
In the Snow Globe level where a frozen lake is present in the middle, you can head all the way to the back of this lake to find a mother turtle with four empty nests in front of her. It's clear that she's lost her children, and it's up to you to bring them back.
First, you'll need to activate the four towers before these children spawn. After that, go back to the frozen lake, and you'll find the little turtles present on the frozen lake itself without a care. Bring these turtles back to their nests so that the mother can rest easy and you can return to the main objective.