Couch co-op games have been gradually making a comeback after disappearing almost entirely from console gaming. It Takes Two is one of the games headlining this shift in 2021, only offering multiplayer options and no single player mode. However, it seems that won't stop at least one person from giving it a try alone: Masahiro Sakurai.
Sakurai is, of course, the mind behind the Super Smash Bros. series, as well as Kirby. While the game designer is known best for creating one of the most popular multiplayer game series ever, it seems he's considered the possibility of playing couch co-op game It Takes Two all by himself.
The question of whether playing It Takes Two solo is possible comes from Sakurai himself, posted to his Twitter account. He brought up the topic following It Takes Two taking home the best game award at The Game Awards 2021, suggesting that it might be possible to play it as a single person after all. Included in the tweet is a pair of images of hands carefully balanced between two PlayStation 5 DualSense controllers, in two different configurations.
Of course, the average gamer probably wouldn't have the best experience playing It Takes Two this way, but that doesn't mean that it's entirely out of the realm of possibility. The post might seem silly, but it wouldn't be Sakurai's first venture into playing a game intended for more than one player all by himself. While Super Smash Bros. does allow players to play solo against CPUs or online opponents, Sakurai is known to have recorded gameplay segments from the title all on his own, with him playing both characters seen on-screen. This was typically done for the promotional materials showing off new characters in Smash, though he may have done the same during the development process.
Sakurai hasn't provided any follow-up explaining whether or not he actually attempted to play the game this way, and if so, how successful he was. Now that he's finally finished with the long lifecycle of game development for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, it seems unlikely that he wouldn't be able to find a buddy to play It Takes Two together. Nonetheless, seeing a legendary game developer muse about tackling a game that has such a heavy emphasis on co-op that it's part of the title entirely alone has amused those in the comments.
In any case, this wouldn't be the first time that a gamer has taken on an odd challenge just for the sake of being able to say that they did it. Twitch streamers and others regularly try to beat games like Dark Souls while blindfolded, or play Animal Crossing and Doom simultaneously with the same controller, so trying to play a two player game alone isn't out of the question.
It Takes Two is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.