Chapter 148: I'm Playing Alone (Fourth Update, Please Subscribe for Monthly Passes)

Chapter 148: I'm Playing Alone (Fourth Update, Please Subscribe for Monthly Passes)

Zhang Yi and Wang Han sat in front of the computer, the room filled with laughter and joy.

Along the way, they did encounter a few puzzles that momentarily stumped them, but in It Takes Two, the guidance for puzzles was exceptionally well done.

Key information was highlighted in bright, noticeable colors—what game designers call an "attraction anchor."

In Zhang Yi’s previous life, the game that implemented this concept most perfectly was Breath of the Wild.

But in It Takes Two, even though there were many different scene spaces players could explore, each individual scene wasn’t very large in scope. This allowed the game to insert various attraction anchors and hints that players could immediately notice.

And even if they didn’t notice, lingering too long before a level would prompt Cody and May to deliver verbal hints.

It was safe to say that unless done intentionally, getting stuck on a level in It Takes Two simply didn’t happen.

After all, this game wasn’t a hardcore platformer like Celeste. It was a two-player co-op game designed purely to bring players joy.

"This is so cool!" Wang Han and Zhang Yi exclaimed in surprise.

Using a blowing pipe, the two performed a mid-air relay—ejected from one pipe and sucked into another.

Combined with the game’s Storyboard, it felt just like watching an exhilarating action-adventure film—thrilling beyond words.

Gradually progressing through the levels, the two soon entered their first BOSS battle.

Their opponent? The very vacuum cleaner that had earlier blasted them out.

Seeing Cody and May return to their original forms, the vacuum cleaner became furious.

But Cody and May explained that they could now fix it, since May was a skilled Engineer.

Just then, the Book of Love suddenly reappeared.

"Whoa! Are you serious?"

"Then why did you buy that expensive Turbo X2000 Vacuum Cleaner, huh!?"

After that, the Book of Love vanished without a trace.

"Man, did that thing just come out here to instigate!?"

"That’s kinda annoying!"

Clearly, as the game’s guide, the Book of Love had earned equal hatred from both Wang Han and Zhang Yi.

But soon, their attention shifted away from the instigating book.

The game officially entered its first BOSS battle.

Defeating the BOSS wasn’t difficult.

The BOSS’s attack pattern was very simple—launching incendiary cans.

All the players needed to do was dodge.

When the BOSS stopped throwing, one player climbed onto a pipe on the platform and aimed it at the BOSS, while the other used the pipe to suck up the incendiary cans the BOSS had thrown.

Although the BOSS had a so-called second phase, it was obvious that the second phase in It Takes Two couldn’t compare to those in Dark Souls (informal).

By carefully maintaining positioning and repeating previous operations, the BOSS could be defeated effortlessly.

After successfully defeating the vacuum cleaner BOSS, a cutscene played.

The two escaped and saw their daughter Rose, but she couldn’t hear them. The nearby Hammer spoke up, offering to help—but only if they rescued its friends from the Toolbox.

From this point on, Cody and May gained new items: a Hammer and a Nail. May received the Hammer, while Cody got the Nail.

With these new tools, all subsequent puzzle levels required their use.

For example, May used her Hammer to hit a switch, allowing Cody to move across a mechanical platform to the other side. Then, Cody threw his Nail into a plank, and May used her Hammer to hook onto the Nail, swinging across like a pendulum.

"You can actually play like this!?"

Watching May swing across using his Nail, Zhang Yi couldn’t help but let out a genuine exclamation of awe.

This had become the phrase he’d said the most so far.

Although they were only on the third level, the game’s experience was utterly mind-blowing—completely overturning his understanding of two-player co-op games.

As the game progressed, the purple Book of Love reappeared, but this time it brought a mini-game: "Beat Up Cody."

"This game has mini-games too!?"

"Stunned!"

Facing the Whac-A-Mole-style mini-game, Wang Han and Zhang Yi were both visibly surprised—never expecting such a challenge to be included.

"But why am I the one getting beaten!?" Zhang Yi, playing the mole standing on a box while Wang Han swung her hammer repeatedly at him, felt increasingly Frustrated.

Since Cody, as the mole, had to pop out and stay exposed for a moment to earn points, he was constantly getting whacked, stars dancing before his eyes.

"No way around it—game rules. You can’t do anything to me now!" Wang Han chuckled, easily winning the Whac-A-Mole match.

"Not necessarily!" Zhang Yi smirked, looking at his Nail. He quietly created distance, aimed, and fired!

With a "bang," May was pinned to the plank by an iron nail.

"Don’t run! If you’ve got the guts to nail me, you’ve got the guts to stand and fight!" After breaking free several times, Wang Han grabbed her Hammer and chased after Zhang Yi.

The Hammer could also harm each other, but the problem was—it was a Hammer.

Once Zhang Yi created distance, she couldn’t catch up.

Just as she nearly caught him—"bang!"—another Nail pinned her in place.

"Heh, I’m the Archer. Ever seen an Archer fighting a warrior hand-to-hand?" Zhang Yi grinned, finally getting his revenge outside the mini-game.

"Alright, alright, stop being childish. Let’s move on and progress the story!" After being nailed to the ground again and realizing she couldn’t win head-on, Wang Han coughed lightly and changed the subject.

Hearing this, Zhang Yi chuckled, recalled the Nail, and continued advancing the game’s story.

With the Hammer and Nail in hand, the puzzles became more complex, demanding greater tacit understanding between the two players.

For instance, when Cody obtained three Nails, a platforming level appeared where platforms only formed when Nails were embedded into the wall.

In this level, May had to repeatedly climb up. At one wall jump point, without perfect coordination, they’d still get stuck for a while.

Although this level seemed to require flawless execution, it was actually quite manageable if done step by step in order.

After all, during a wall jump, the character clung to the wall with a brief grace period. As long as they didn’t panic and prematurely pull out the Nail anchoring them to the wall, it was easy to pass.

Eventually, Cody and May cleared a series of levels and reached the Toolbox BOSS.

As tense music played and the Toolbox roared, it was clear another BOSS battle was beginning.

But unlike the vacuum cleaner BOSS, this fight with the Toolbox was a bit harder.

First, numerous iron nails rained down from the sky. Getting hit twice meant instant death.

The first phase was manageable—just dodge the Toolbox’s sweeping shovel and the falling nails.

But the second phase was different. Blade Fans and chainsaws began slicing away the wooden platforms, leaving very little room to maneuver when the Toolbox’s shovel came crashing down.

Here, Wang Han and Zhang Yi died several times.

"Thank goodness for infinite respawns, and the progress doesn’t reset. Otherwise, this would’ve been really tough!"

"Yeah!"

They both sighed with emotion.

The difficulty of It Takes Two had already been significantly lowered by Chen Xu compared to its original version in Zhang Yi’s previous life.

Add to that the infinite respawn mechanic as long as one player survived, and even if both died, the progress wouldn’t fully reset.

Moreover, if players truly couldn’t beat a level, the game featured a dynamic difficulty setting.

Under normal conditions, getting hit by two nails in a row meant death. One hit from the giant shovel and you were gone.

But if players got stuck, they could activate this difficulty mode. Once enabled, the BOSS’s attack power would decrease, giving players more grace period.

After all, not every player was a Gaming Master. Many thought certain actions were "easy enough for anyone with hands," but even when players tried their hardest, they still couldn’t pull off the required operations.

It Takes Two wasn’t meant to be a hardcore game, so Chen Xu had added these features to help players who kept getting stuck progress more easily.

Of course, this also gave players a choice. If they wanted a challenge, they could leave it off. If they wanted to advance the story quickly, they could turn it on.

………………

Throughout the game’s progression, the phrase Wang Han and Zhang Yi said most often together was: "Wait, you can do that!?"

Because as the game unfolded, they realized just how rich the content was!

Beyond the main quest’s puzzle-solving and level-clearing, the game included numerous fun mini-games.

It was like getting a free mini-game collection!

Each chapter’s levels had a unique theme.

For example, the vacuum cleaner and Toolbox were part of one major level, with the Shed as the overarching theme. All scenes revolved around the shed, and the tools the players acquired were the Hammer and Nail.

After defeating the Toolbox, the grateful tools delivered Cody and May to their daughter.

But their daughter didn’t notice them. At that moment, Dr. Hakim appeared, telling them they needed to reach the upper window to see her.

In the outdoor level, the two slid along a wire, dodging surging electricity, creating a sensation of time travel.

After finishing the shed section, they entered a new themed environment, gaining tools related to the new theme.

Now, Wang Han and Zhang Yi had arrived at a Greatwood tree in the garden and entered the Heart of the Tree.

But they were captured by squirrels, who mistook them for enemies sent by the bees. After negotiations, the squirrels agreed to release them if they helped eliminate the bees.

From the squirrels, they received new items: a special tool that could spray tree sap and attach it to wooden materials, and a weapon that could ignite the sap with flames.

Suddenly, the game’s art style transformed into a Shooting Game.

One player sprayed, the other ignited—working together to overcome obstacles.

Moving from the shed into the outside world felt like opening a new door, and entering the Heart of the Tree launched them into another strange adventure.

With their new 'firearms,' the game’s puzzles became more complex, requiring players to use their wits, and the pace grew more intense.

A game with such a cartoonish art style竟然 featured many grand scenes.

Cody and May clung to a barrel lid, drifting through rapids in a thrilling white water rafting sequence.

Deep within the Heart of the Tree, dreamlike scenes captivated them.

They could even ride a beetle they’d defeated—now turned ally—as it charged wildly through the area.

After defeating the 'Queen Bee,' Cody and May discovered it was actually a robot, and the so-called queen inside was just a fat little drone.

Soon, Cody, May, and the fat drone were hunted down by a swarm of bees, barely escaping by detonating a honey barrel.

The scene resembled a sci-fi blockbuster where the protagonist destroys an alien hive—truly spectacular.

And this was only the beginning.

As Cody and May comforted the bees, a squirrel squad attacked, opening fire.

The rescued fat drone immediately chose to flee.

Thus, the battlefield shifted from ground to sky.

Cody and May boarded the 'Underpants' Gyrocopter, engaging in an Ace Combat-style aerial battle.

While flying through a deep tunnel, the Squirrel Boss climbed onto the plane’s roof.

Suddenly, the puzzle game transformed into a 2D side-scrolling fighting game.

………………

The entire day, Zhang Yi and Wang Han immersed themselves in It Takes Two, until their stomachs growled loudly in the evening.

Only then did they put down their controllers.

"This game is so much fun!" Wang Han said, reluctant to stop.

"Yeah, and it’s especially joyful. The later levels seem to have even more scenes—there’s so much we haven’t even experienced yet, judging from the promotional trailer!" Zhang Yi said, beaming with excitement.

Unlike Overcooked, where arguments often arose mid-game, It Takes Two had plenty of moments where they tricked each other, but they were always laughing.

More importantly, the game’s content was simply massive.

They’d played all afternoon and still felt like there was a long way to go.

"I’ll go change clothes. Let’s go out for hotpot tonight, then come back and keep playing," Wang Han said, checking the time.

"No problem," Zhang Yi smiled in agreement.

As Wang Han went to change, Zhang Yi leaned back in his chair, opened his phone, and posted to WeChat Moments.

Then he opened his friend list, found Song Ren’s profile, and sent a message: "Old Song, played It Takes Two yet? This game is seriously amazing. Never thought a two-player co-op game could be this good! And this time, Chen Xu isn’t lying—the game is genuinely heartwarming and full of love!"

Clearly, Zhang Yi was still沉浸在 the experience of It Takes Two, unable to fully return to reality.

About ten seconds later, Song Ren replied with a message and a meme.

The content was simple, but in that brief message, Zhang Yi sensed a deep bitterness:

"I'm playing alone? (smile.jpg)"<>