At the beginning of the 2021 Game of the Year winner It Takes Two, protagonists Cody and May don't have the best relationship. In fact, the game's plot begins with the couple telling their young daughter, Rose, that they will soon be getting divorced. However, the game doesn't stay quite so heavy and Cody and May eventually sort their differences and appreciate the complexities of their family unit.
Cody, May, and Rose fit the mold of a traditional family unit, especially when the parents decided they do want to stay together. But the roles that Cody and May play in their family are a great example of a modern family that doesn't adhere to strict, traditional gender roles. Instead, the It Takes Two couple uses their strengths and learns from weaknesses to be the best parents they can be to Rose.
It Takes Two's May
In It Takes Two, May doesn't encapsulate the standard ideals of "femininity." Instead, she is a mom who works full-time, and she is the sole breadwinner for the family. She also works in a male-dominated field as an engineer, though it isn't clear what kind of engineering she does specifically. May is actually somewhat of a workaholic, which causes contention in her relationship with Cody, but her long work hours come from a place of love for her family and a desire to care for her husband and child. May also has a hobby that is more commonly "masculine."
It Takes Two's first level puts Cody and May, who become dolls in It Takes Two, in the shed behind their house. Players may expect the now-sentient tools in the shed to belong to Cody, but throughout the level, May comments on how she loves her tools and hasn't worked on a personal project in ages. The tools express that they feel abandoned by May, and this helps May realize she may be working too much and not taking enough time for her personal relationships and interests. While May doesn't have a great work-life balance with her husband in particular, she comes to learn that she can have it all if she's conscious of her own needs and her family's.
It Takes Two's Cody
Just like his wife May, Cody's jobs in the family are reversals of conventional gender roles. He's a stay-at-home-dad and spends his days with Rose and caring for the house and surrounding property while May is away at work. He clearly has a good relationship with Rose since he spends a lot of time with her, playing, helping with homework, or taking her to school. Cody's role as a homemaker is also established in the initial shed level in the boss level against the vacuum.
The vacuum, now alive and very upset, is angry that Cody replaced it with a newer, fancier model, making it clear that Cody handles the cleaning in their home. Cody also has a hobby that gets its own level: the garden. He loves to grow beautiful flowers and plants, an activity that is more often associated with women, and during the garden level, he has a similar revelation to May's. While he's been frustrated that his wife has neglected her personal life, he's done the same to a degree, leaving his garden to rot and become overgrown. In appreciating May more, the couple works better together to get back to Rose.
Cody and May are not a perfect couple at the start of It Takes Two or at the end, which is part of why It Takes Two is great for couples. They can be petty and argumentative, but their growth shows that they're good people and good parents behind their issues. These imperfections are another great testament to the way Cody, May, and Rose demonstrate a realistic modern family. They fail, they learn, and they make decisions based on what's best for them.
It Takes Two is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
