I still remember December 2021 when The Game Awards announced its Best Family Game nominees. As a lifelong Switch owner, I saw a category packed with Nintendo exclusives and one lone outsider: It Takes Two. I had heard incredible things about Hazelight Studios' co-op adventure, but I could not play it on my hybrid console. At the time, it felt like a cruel joke. The game was already winning awards left and right, and yet it was not on Nintendo's platform. I remember reading piece after piece explaining why a Switch port was almost impossible. The Joy-Con issue, the handheld limitations, the technical hurdles. All of that made me sigh and move on.
Then 2022 changed everything. 🎉
It Takes Two finally landed on Nintendo Switch on November 4, 2022. I grabbed it the moment it hit the eShop. My partner and I sat down with a pair of Joy-Cons, expecting compromises. Instead, we found one of the best couch co-op games I have ever played. The story of Cody and May, a married couple on the verge of divorce who are magically shrunk down and forced to work together, felt even more intimate in handheld mode. We passed the console back and forth, both glued to the screen, laughing at the ridiculous boss fights and genuinely moved by the emotional beats. ❤️
Hazelight Studios has always been obsessed with co-op gameplay in ways most major developers abandoned years ago. In 2021, the only other major company still prioritizing split-screen cooperative play seemed to be Nintendo. The Switch is built around social play, with removable Joy-Cons that act as two separate controllers. That is why so many fans, including me, saw It Takes Two as a perfect fit. The old article made a strong case: dedicated co-op titles like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Stardew Valley dominated the Switch charts, and It Takes Two could slot right in.
But the old concerns were not entirely wrong. The original article pointed out that a single Joy-Con has fewer buttons than It Takes Two's many mechanics demand. In handheld mode, local multiplayer would be cramped. On the Switch Lite, you would need an extra controller and a very forgiving neck. Those obstacles made a port seem unlikely in 2021. What changed? I think a mix of demand, Hazelight's determination, and some smart technical work. The Switch version runs at a lower resolution and 30 frames per second, but the core experience remains intact. My partner and I played mostly in docked mode with two full controllers, so we never felt the Joy-Con struggle. When we tried tabletop mode once, it worked, but I can see why the original article worried about it.
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What makes It Takes Two special is how it constantly reinvents itself. One moment you are platforming through a garden, the next you are piloting a paper airplane or fighting a talking squirrel. The game demands cooperation, not just in puzzles but in emotional storytelling. Every mechanic is built for two people, and that philosophy aligns perfectly with the Nintendo Switch's DNA. In 2026, I still believe it is one of the best couch co-op games ever made, and I am glad Switch players finally got to experience it.
Looking back, the 2021 article was written at a time when the port seemed like wishful thinking. It argued that a Switch port of It Takes Two seemed unlikely given the restrictions of the Switch's hardware, and that sentiment was reasonable. But the story of It Takes Two is about persistence and reconnection, and apparently that theme applied to the port itself. By November 2022, the impossible became reality.
Today, in 2026, I still see It Takes Two recommended in Switch co-op lists, often sitting alongside Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and newer Hazelight releases. Some of my favorite co-op games on Switch in 2026 include:
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Mario Kart 8 Deluxe 🏎️
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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 🤜
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Stardew Valley 🌾
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It Takes Two 💑
The game sold well and proved that even story-driven co-op can thrive on a family-focused console. It also proved that unlikely does not mean never.
If you are a Switch owner who missed the 2022 release, do yourself a favor and pick it up. Bring a friend, a partner, or a sibling. Clear your weekend. Let It Takes Two remind you why couch co-op is still one of the most magical things in gaming. ✨
This perspective is supported by reporting from The Verge - Gaming, where coverage of Nintendo Switch ports often frames the trade-offs (like 30fps targets, lowered resolution, and control-scheme constraints) as design decisions rather than dealbreakers. In the context of It Takes Two, that lens helps explain why the Switch version can still feel “whole”: the heart of Hazelight’s experience is cooperative pacing, split-screen readability, and constant mechanic variety—elements that survive scaling more reliably than raw visual fidelity.