Single Player Games Like It Takes Two: 13 Solo Steam Picks

The best single player games like It Takes Two keep what made Hazelight’s game so loved: worlds that keep changing the rules on you, a story with real heart under the jokes, and moments as silly as piloting a pair of underpants. It Takes Two can’t be played alone, so these picks carry that spirit into games you can enjoy solo on Steam. Here are all 13 at a glance, strongest fits first.

Can You Play It Takes Two Single Player?

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No. It Takes Two, from Hazelight Studios and published by Electronic Arts, is a platform adventure made purely for co-op. Steam lists it with online co-op, shared/split screen co-op and Remote Play Together (a Steam feature that streams your local game to a friend over the internet), but there is no solo mode and no AI partner to fill the second seat. The upside is the Friend’s Pass: only one of you needs to own the game, and the other joins for free.

It helps to name what makes it special before hunting for single player games like It Takes Two, because no solo game copies the whole package. You play Cody and May, a clashing couple turned into dolls by a magic spell, trying to find their way back while their relationship hangs by a thread. Three things stand out:

• Constant variety. Every level hands each player new, connected abilities, so the game never settles into one routine. One chapter you fight gangster squirrels, the next you DJ a nightclub or bobsleigh through a snow globe.
• Story woven into play. The worlds and challenges are metaphors for the couple’s problems, so the jokes and the heartfelt moments come from the same place.
• A small-scale, handmade look. You’re doll-sized in an ordinary home blown up into a fantasy world.

The picks below are grouped by which of those three they deliver best. If you do have a partner after all, our lists of co-op games like It Takes Two and the best 2-player co-op games on Steam are built for you.

Single Player Games Like It Takes Two That Keep Switching Things Up

If the thing you loved most was never knowing what the next chapter would throw at you, start here. These are the single player games like It Takes Two that change their ideas from level to level.

Psychonauts 2

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This is the closest match on the list. You play Raz, a young acrobat and psychic who has just joined the Psychonauts, a team of psychic spies with a mole somewhere in their headquarters. The big hook is that you dive into other people’s minds, and each mind becomes its own level shaped by that person’s fears, memories and emotional baggage.

That is exactly the trick It Takes Two pulls with Cody and May: the world you play through is a picture of someone’s inner life. Day to day, you’re leaping across tightropes and trapezes, fighting inner demons and mixing customizable psychic powers. The tone balances humor and intrigue from Double Fine, the studio behind it.

Who it suits: anyone who wants a long, funny, story-rich platform adventure with plenty of variety. Modes: single-player, with full controller support and subtitle options. It’s on Windows, macOS and Linux.

A Hat in Time

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A Hat in Time is a cute 3D platformer about Hat Kid, a tiny space traveler who stitches hats that grant her new powers. Her ship’s fuel, the Time Pieces, has been scattered across a planet, and you get them back across five large, freely explorable worlds.

Its link to It Takes Two is the “every mission is different” design. One moment you’re solving a murder on a train by gathering clues and questioning locals, the next you’re leading a parade or sneaking through a movie studio run by birds. The store page says it plainly: every mission is unique.

Who it suits: fans of the playful, cartoonish side of It Takes Two who like poking into every corner of a level. Modes: single-player, plus shared/split screen co-op and Remote Play Together, Steam Workshop support and a level editor.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

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Insomniac Games’ dimension-hopping adventure, brought to PC by Nixxes Software, sends Ratchet and Clank against an evil emperor from another reality. Newcomer Rivet, a Lombax resistance fighter from another dimension, joins the fight, and you jump between action-packed worlds at speed.

It fits if you loved the blockbuster set pieces in It Takes Two and its theme of a duo that is stronger together. You blast through enemies with outrageous weapons and travel between very different planets. If you own a DualSense controller, the store highlights haptic feedback and adaptive triggers.

Who it suits: players who enjoyed the shooting and action sections more than the puzzles. Modes: single-player, with full controller support and Steam Input API support.

Yooka-Laylee

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Playtonic’s open-world platformer (meaning large hub-style worlds you explore freely, rather than a straight line of levels) stars a buddy duo: Yooka, a green chameleon, and Laylee, a wisecracking bat. They’re out to stop the corporate villain Capital B from turning the world’s books into profit.

The fit is the grab bag of activities. Alongside platforming and puzzles, its worlds pack minecart challenges, arcade games, quiz shows and bosses, and you collect Pagies to open and expand new worlds. You control both heroes as one, so you get the double-act banter without needing a second player.

Who it suits: collectors and explorers who like a cheerful, old-school mascot style. Modes: single-player, plus shared/split screen co-op, shared/split screen PvP and Remote Play Together. It’s on Windows, macOS and Linux.

Story-Driven Adventures With the Same Big Heart

Some players finish It Takes Two remembering the story more than any single mechanic. These four are the story games like It Takes Two that put feeling first.

Unravel

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Unravel comes from Coldwood Interactive and is published by Electronic Arts, the same publisher as It Takes Two. You play Yarny, a small character made from a single thread of yarn that slowly unravels as you move. Using that thread, you swing between tree branches, hitch rides on kites and solve physics-based puzzles in landscapes inspired by Northern Scandinavia.

Its story is told without words and is about the ties that bind loved ones, as Yarny reconnects the lost memories of a family. If the relationship story in It Takes Two got to you, this has a similar ache. It also shares the feeling of being tiny in a big, ordinary world.

Who it suits: anyone who wants a calm, emotional puzzle platformer. Modes: single-player, with full controller support.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits

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Ember Lab’s story-driven action adventure follows Kena, a young Spirit Guide searching for a sacred mountain shrine. With the help of the Rot, tiny spirit companions you find hidden around a forgotten village, she frees spirits trapped by a strange curse.

You explore, collect more Rot to earn new abilities, clear corruption from the village and fight fast-paced battles against corrupted spirits. It suits It Takes Two fans who loved the warm, almost animated-film look. The Rot even have collectible hats.

Who it suits: players who want a beautiful, emotional adventure with more combat than most picks here. Modes: single-player, with full controller support.

Lost in Random

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Lost in Random, from Zoink and Thunderful and published by Electronic Arts, is a gothic fairy tale set in a kingdom where a wicked Queen’s cursed dice decides everyone’s fate. You play Even, a penniless girl searching for her sister, joined by Dicey, a small living die.

It fits for two reasons: the storybook mood and the inventive mechanics. Battles blend tactical combat, card collection and dice throws inside giant board game arenas that change with each roll. Between fights you wander six shadowy realms and meet their odd residents.

Who it suits: players who like a darker, quirkier tone and combat that asks you to think. Modes: single-player, with full controller support.

Tchia

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Tchia is the newest release on this list. Awaceb’s tropical open-world adventure, published by Kepler Interactive, follows Tchia as she sets out to rescue her father from the tyrant ruling an archipelago inspired by New Caledonia. It’s framed as a coming-of-age story.

Its signature ability, soul jumping, lets you take control of over 30 animals and hundreds of objects: fly as a bird, swim as a fish, dig for treasure as a dog. That try-anything playfulness echoes the gleeful chaos of It Takes Two. You also climb freely, glide, sail your boat and play a fully playable ukulele.

Who it suits: anyone who wants freedom and wonder over tight challenge. Modes: single-player, with full controller support.

Colorful Platformers You Can Play Solo or With a Partner

If you sometimes play alone and sometimes with the person you played It Takes Two with, these two cover both nights.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure

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Sumo Digital’s 3D platformer sends knitted hero Sackboy through Craftworld to stop the villain Vex and his Topsy Turver device. The handmade, crafty look is the most obvious link to It Takes Two’s doll-sized adventure.

The store invites you to go solo in a race against time, or form teams of two to four for party play. You get a long run of platforming challenges with a bright, joyful feel.

Who it suits: players who want a cozy, family-friendly platformer that works well alone and better together. Modes: single-player, online co-op and shared/split screen co-op, with full controller support and subtitle options.

Rayman Legends

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Ubisoft Montpellier’s 2D platformer sends Rayman, Globox and the Teensies through five vibrant worlds hidden in mysterious paintings. You run, jump and slap your way through levels, rescue Teensies and face giant bosses.

The standout is the musical levels, where you jump and punch in time to rock anthems and salsa rhythms. Those rhythm stages have the same “wait, the game is doing what now?” surprise that It Takes Two specializes in. There’s also a side soccer mode called Kung Foot.

Who it suits: players who want quick, polished levels in short sessions. Modes: single-player, shared/split screen co-op for up to four local players, and Remote Play Together.

Darker Turns and Classic Platforming

These last three round out the list of single player games like It Takes Two with something a little different: a spooky tiny-hero adventure, a sweeping emotional platformer and a classic remaster.

Little Nightmares

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Tarsier Studios’ adventure, published by Bandai Namco, puts you in the shoes of Six, a lone child lost in the Maw, a massive metal vessel full of distorted adults. You climb drawers and shelves, find child-sized passages and hide from the residents to escape.

The connection is the scale. Like Cody and May as dolls, you’re tiny in a world built for giants, and you use that size to get through. Fair warning: this is a horror game, and the mood is much darker than It Takes Two.

Who it suits: players who loved the stranger, creepier moments in It Takes Two and want more of that edge. Modes: single-player, with full controller support.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

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Moon Studios’ sequel, published by Xbox Game Studios, sends the small guardian spirit Ori into a vast world of towering enemies and tricky puzzles. It’s a metroidvania: a 2D game where you explore one large, connected map and gain abilities that open paths you couldn’t reach before.

It fits if the visuals and emotional story of It Takes Two hit you hardest. Expect fluid platforming and a heartfelt tale, though it asks more of your reflexes than most games here. For more in this style, see our best metroidvania games of all time or platformer games like Celeste.

Who it suits: players ready for a challenge in return for a moving story. Modes: single-player, with full controller support.

Spyro Reignited Trilogy

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Toys for Bob and Iron Galaxy Studios remastered the first three Spyro games: Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage! and Spyro: Year of the Dragon. You explore expansive realms as the purple dragon, meeting a cast of fiery personalities.

It’s the gentlest pick here and works as a palate cleanser after the big swings of It Takes Two. You get three full adventures of colorful worlds and cheerful exploration in one package.

Who it suits: anyone who wants relaxed, nostalgic fun. Modes: single-player, with full controller support.

How to Choose Your Next Solo Game (and Mistakes to Avoid)

The quickest way to pick from these single player games like It Takes Two is to name the one chapter you remember best, then match it:

1. You loved the constant surprises: Psychonauts 2 first, then A Hat in Time.
2. You loved the action and boss fights: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart or Rayman Legends.
3. You loved the story and cried a little: Unravel, Kena: Bridge of Spirits or Ori and the Will of the Wisps.
4. You loved the silly freedom: Tchia or Yooka-Laylee.
5. You still want to play with your partner sometimes: Sackboy: A Big Adventure, Rayman Legends, A Hat in Time or Yooka-Laylee.

A worked example

Say you finished It Takes Two with your partner, loved the snow globe and nightclub chapters, and now want something for evenings alone. The common thread there is a playful world that keeps reinventing itself, so Psychonauts 2 is the natural first pick. If you want to share the couch again on weekends, add Sackboy: A Big Adventure, which handles both solo runs and co-op.

Common mistakes

• Buying a co-op-only game for solo play. Some famous duo games, It Takes Two included, simply can’t be played alone. Check the Steam features list for “Single-player” before buying anything new.
• Expecting one game to do everything. It Takes Two mixes so many genres that no single game copies it. Pick the part you loved most.
• Missing the tone shift. Little Nightmares is horror, and Lost in Random is darker than its art suggests. Both are great fits for some players and a shock for others.
• Ignoring difficulty. Ori and the Will of the Wisps asks for sharper reflexes than anything else here, so start with Spyro or Sackboy if you’re newer to platformers.

For more ideas, our main list of games like It Takes Two covers the co-op side, and games like Split Fiction and It Takes Two covers duo adventures. You’ll find every list in this style on our games like the ones you love page.

Questions and answers

Can you play It Takes Two single player?

No. It Takes Two is built only for two players, either online or in shared/split screen on one PC, and it has no solo mode or AI partner. Only one copy is needed, though: the Friend's Pass lets a second player join for free. If you want to play alone, pick a solo game with a similar spirit, such as Psychonauts 2 or A Hat in Time.

What is the closest single-player game to It Takes Two?

Psychonauts 2 is the closest match. Its levels are the minds of other characters, so each one has its own look, rules and emotional story, much like It Takes Two turns Cody and May's relationship into its worlds. It is a single-player platform adventure with humor, customizable psychic powers and a cinematic story, and it runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.

What is a new game similar to It Takes Two that you can play alone?

Tchia is the most recent game on this list, released on Steam on March 21, 2024. It is a single-player open-world adventure across a tropical archipelago where you can take control of animals and objects, which gives it the same playful, try-anything energy as It Takes Two. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, released on Steam in July 2023, is another newer pick.

Which of these games can I also play with a partner?

Four picks support both. Sackboy: A Big Adventure has solo play plus online and shared/split screen co-op for teams of two to four. Rayman Legends offers 4-player local co-op and Remote Play Together. A Hat in Time and Yooka-Laylee both list shared/split screen co-op and Remote Play Together alongside their single-player campaigns.

Are there story games like It Takes Two for one player?

Yes. Unravel tells a wordless story about family and the ties between loved ones through a little yarn character. Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a story-driven adventure about freeing trapped spirits. Lost in Random follows a girl searching for her sister in a dark fairy-tale kingdom. All three are single-player and lean on emotion as much as gameplay.