Hazelight Studios’ asymmetric co-op darling It Takes Two may have launched back in early 2021, but even in 2026 it remains a masterclass in sneaky storytelling. Most players remember the obvious genre homages—the Diablo-style dungeon crawl, the Mortal Kombat fight—but the game is absolutely littered with quiet easter eggs, weird secrets, and strange lore questions that a player can stroll straight past without ever noticing. Considering the entire game is about a couple learning not to ignore each other, that feels either deeply poetic or deeply ironic.
Spoiler warning: if you haven't finished It Takes Two, maybe go do that first.
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Competitive Bonding for a Problematic Couple
Anyone who played Hazelight's previous co-op escape, A Way Out, will remember Frank and Leo pausing their prison break for the truly important things: basketball, arm wrestling, maybe a little competitive darts. A healthy rivalry never hurt anyone, right? Well, It Takes Two gives Cody and May the same option, but it lands differently when the two characters can barely stand to be in the same room.
The game hides twenty-five optional minigames across its levels. Cody and May can ignore every single one and still finish their magical marital misery tour. But should they step away from the main story for a round of shuffleboard, the interaction reveals something unexpectedly sweet. They bicker, they laugh, they absolutely refuse to lose—and for a few minutes, they feel like a real couple again.
It's not exactly healthy bonding when one of them keeps getting flattened, sure. But in the context of It Takes Two, it's positively adorable. Why would anyone skip these?
Breaking Stuff Is Totally Therapy. Right?
Possibly the most gloriously obscure easter egg in the entire game is a near one-to-one recreation of the Hylian guardhouse from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Hidden inside the Cuckoo Clock level near the Gates of Time—yes, the wordplay is intentional—this secret room is easy to miss. Finding it unlocks the equally obtuse achievement "Force Triangulated".
On the surface, it's a playful joke. Link famously has a breaking-and-entering habit with a heavy emphasis on the breaking part, and Cody and May gleefully smash every pot in sight. But then they start talking about how good it feels to break things. In a game about two people barely holding their marriage together, that verbal confession becomes a little sinister. If this is how they process their emotional issues, maybe therapy isn't the only thing they need—maybe a home renovation budget.
Everyone Loves A Way Out
Hazelight didn't exactly keep this one secret, but it's still a joy to find. Hidden deep inside the Pillow Fort level is a set of action figures that are none other than Frank and Leo, the playable characters from A Way Out. Press the buttons at their feet and the plastic duo delivers some comedic banter.
Here's where it gets delightfully weird. When Cody spots them, he exclaims that they're from one of his favorite video games. So does that mean Hazelight Studios exists inside the fictional world they created? Or does A Way Out have a fictional creator inside It Takes Two? And if Cody's preferences are influencing the magical world he and May are trapped in, how much of their suffering is just ironically self-inflicted?
The easy answer is to blame the awful love guru book, Dr. Hakim. The more fun answer is to accept that Cody has excellent taste in co-op games.
Taking a Spa Day Is Always Worth It
It's rare for a video game to include a moment that has no functional value—no new ability, no story beat, no achievement—and still make it worthwhile. But the optional Greenhouse Spa in the garden level is exactly that.
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Once Cody and May step inside, a swarm of tiny bugs tends to their every need. There's a bug-sized shower built from a garden hose nozzle, a massage table that's basically a flat rock, and a meditation room that is literally a candle holder. A centipede transforms into a massage chair. It's absurd, peaceful, and exactly the kind of quiet moment these two deeply hurting people need.
Could players feel guilty about enjoying this spa day while Cody and May's daughter is going through it at home? Absolutely. But everyone deserves a little rest, even two people who turned parenting into a co-op boss fight.
At the End of It All Is... What, Exactly?
It Takes Two forces Cody and May to cooperate, communicate, and reflect on their best and worst memories together. The levels are built around forced teamwork, but the central question remains: will this rocky couple actually get divorced?
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The answer is... maybe? The game ends long before that question is definitively answered. Cody and May vent, they communicate, they finally talk openly for what might be the first time in years—but it never comes to a definitive head. Players who dig through every hidden room and easter egg can find evidence to support either outcome. Maybe that's not the most satisfying ending, but it's a very It Takes Two way to close things: the answer is up to you, and you'd better make the best of what you've got.
So yes, It Takes Two is more than just a couple's therapy session disguised as a platformer. It's a hidden-object game for people who enjoy smashing pots, weird lore implications, and bug-run massage parlors. And honestly? That's exactly why it still deserves a replay in 2026.