Is It Takes Two good value? £ per hour, worked out

Nine chapters, two players, about 10 to 15 hours

GGRecon and Inverse both describe a story of around 10 to 12 hours, split into nine chapters of roughly an hour each. Director Josef Fares has been quoted saying it should last around 14 or 15 hours if you aren't rushing. We use 10 to 15 hours as the main range.

The hours are notably varied: each chapter introduces new abilities and ideas, so there is little repetition.

The story centres on a couple's troubled relationship, which gives it a different tone from most family games. Parents may want to know that before planning to play it with children.

Minigames are scattered through the chapters and let the two players compete against each other. They add replay value for pairs who enjoy a bit of rivalry alongside the co-operation.

The Friend's Pass halves the per-person cost

It Takes Two must be played by two people, either side by side or online. Steam UK lists a free Friend's Pass, and the Nintendo UK eShop lists a free Friend's Pass for the Nintendo Switch 2 version too. This lets a friend join the person who owns the game online without buying their own copy.

That changes the value picture: two people share around 10–15 hours for one £34.99 purchase, which works out at about £1.17–£1.75 per person-hour.

Check the store listing for exactly which platforms the pass covers before relying on it.

Local co-op on one screen works too, so a household with one console and two controllers needs only one copy, which makes the per-person maths just as favourable without going online.

Even if your partner buys their own copy, the per-hour figure for each person is the same as for a single-player game. The pass simply removes the need for that second purchase.

Minigames, replays and why the full range is short

Fares has been outspoken about avoiding filler collectibles, so there's no long completionist tail. The extra hours come from optional minigames scattered through the levels and from swapping characters on a second run, since the two players have different abilities.

Our full range of 14 to 18 hours reflects that. At that length one copy costs about £1.94–£2.50 per hour.

A second playthrough is more appealing than in most story games, because swapping characters means swapping abilities. Many sections play quite differently from the other side.

Prices on Steam and Switch 2

When checked on 3 November 2026, It Takes Two cost £34.99 on both Steam UK and the Nintendo UK eShop (Nintendo Switch 2 version).

• pegi.info also lists PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch versions.
• Local co-op on one screen means a household needs only one copy.
• Steam UK showed no demo when checked, but the Friend's Pass lets a friend try it with you at no cost.

If you're choosing between It Takes Two and its successor Split Fiction, It Takes Two is the cheaper of the two on Steam UK and carries a lower PEGI rating, which may matter for families.

Because the Friend's Pass removes the second purchase for online play, It Takes Two is one of the few games where a single £34.99 outlay can cover two people's full experience.

Planning sessions around two diaries

Because two people need to be free at the same time, co-op games often take longer in calendar terms. On our estimated ranges:

• 2 hours a week: the main goal takes roughly 5 to 7.5 weeks, and the fuller range 7 to 9 weeks.
• 4 hours a week: the main goal takes roughly 2.5 to 4 weeks, and the fuller range 3.5 to 4.5 weeks.

Co-op games stall when one player loses interest. On the £34.99 price:

• Stop after 3 hours and you paid about £11.66 per hour.
• Stop after 6 hours and you paid about £5.83 per hour.

With the Friend's Pass, each of those figures is effectively halved per person. The bigger risk is scheduling: co-op games that stall halfway tend to stay unfinished.

At two hours a week, which is realistic for many couples or friends, the story takes around five to eight weeks: a regular shared activity rather than a weekend binge.

Who should not buy It Takes Two

Rated PEGI 12, with violence and bad language descriptors on pegi.info, it suits older children playing with an adult as well as adult pairs.

• Solo players. There's no single-player mode.
• People without a regular co-op partner. If you can't get the same person back for each session, it may never be finished.
• Those seeking a long game. It's a focused 10–15 hours, not a 100-hour epic.

For two people who enjoy playing together, though, the shared cost makes it one of the better-value story games available.

It also isn't a game for players who want to go at their own pace. Every section needs both players, so you move forward together or not at all.