A Deep Dive into Hazelight Studios: The Creators of Captivating Co-Op Adventures

A Deep Dive into Hazelight Studios: The Creators of Captivating Co-Op Adventures

What’s better than playing a captivating game in the comfort of your own home? Playing that game with someone else. Cooperative(Co-Op) games are the perfect way to spend time in person or online. 

When I think of Co-Op games one developer comes to mind: Hazelight Studios. They are the developers of two now classic adventures with a third set to be released this month. Their first game is A Way Out and their second is It Takes Two. Both their games are a wonderful mix of adventure, discovering truths, and puzzles. 

All of Hazelight Studios games can be found on Xbox, PlayStation, and Windows. Their games are multiplayer online and local- there is no single player option. The best part of their multiplayer aspect is that only one person needs to buy the game and the other person can play through the ‘friend pass’ version of the game for free.

Hazelight Studios has created phenomenal games, but what makes them so perfect? 

Let’s piece together this puzzle!

A Way Out

Released March 23, 2018, A Way Out is now celebrating its seven year anniversary. This was Hazelight Studios first ever game and it was a smash hit. A Way Out leans more towards action over puzzles, but still requires plenty of working together to solve things. 

A Way Out is a story that is shared between two characters- Vincent and Leo. Both form a brotherly love for each other after meeting in prison. They also have connections that they don't even know about until later in the game. These connections make their brotherly bond a whole lot stronger. The ending of the game comes out of nowhere, but it makes total sense for both characters and looking back upon the game you can see where the twist is from and where it makes sense. However, this game is not for the faint of heart. It’s a very realistic nitty gritty game and the opening setting in a prison really sets up this theme. 

This game also challenges friendships. Teamwork is required and without it the game would be horrendous. You need a second player and you need to work together. There are moments where you both can work alone, without the other player, and those moments are just as fun as working together. 

The controls and layout are incredibly simple and easy to understand. It's a very uncomplicated game to learn how to play. My only gripe with the controls is there are sequences where you have to drive a truck or motorbike, and the controls are weird to get used to which makes driving difficult. 

Both characters are extremely different from each other. Vincent is a very calm character, almost like a dad figure. He is older than Leo and became a father with his wife. Meanwhile, Leo is a hot-headed younger character. Leo also has a son and wife. He is a lot more violent than Vincent. Leo tends to act first and ask questions later. 

These differences between the two characters cause moments the players have to make decisions together. This can change the gameplay by different choices. Certain choices can take you more reserved routes and other choices can take you more violent routes. Vincent's choices tend to be more reserved and thought out while Leo's choices are a lot more violent and less thought through. When I played with a friend, we tended to flip between the two sides of choices, which created a type of balance throughout the game. 

Due to the age of A Way Out, there are some moments where the controls don't work properly and there are glitches. Yet, this doesn't happen that often and I hardly remember when it did. I think it may have happened once or twice when I played. 

The split screen element in A Way Out is played with a lot. Instead of splitting the screen in half and keeping those screens the same size the entire game, A Way Out plays with the sizes of the two screen sides. Sometimes the two screens combine together and both characters are in view. Other times, the sizes of the two sides are messed with. Specifically, if a screen is collecting more information to go with the story, it increases size while the other player can continue to play and do what they're doing on the smaller screen. Both screens are always visible to both players. 

I found the pacing to be perfect and I barely got bored since both characters tend to always be involved in what’s going on. Even in relaxed moments there was enough the game had to offer to keep it interesting. There were no moments that dragged and no cutscenes that felt overdone. Everything seemed to have a purpose while playing.

The only thing about the gameplay that I did not enjoy was how heavy it relied on quick-time events. The beginning is the best example of this. Right off the bat the first big fight in the game is all quick-time events. This criticism is purely because I don't like quick-time events and they tend to throw me off when playing.

In general, A Way Out is a flawless debut game from Hazelight Studios. Even now seven years later, it holds up and I find myself going back to it to replay. 

It Takes Two

The next game made by Hazelight Studios was released on March 25, 2021. It Takes Two would be incredibly different then A Way Out. While A Way Out is more realistic and rough around the edges, It Takes Two is cartoonish and fantastical. It Takes Two has more puzzles than its predecessor and that works to its benefit.

It Takes Two is the story of a husband and wife (Cody and May) on the brink of divorce. The entire game is about learning to work together and accept how people differ. In my play through, my friend and I heavily relied on communication. Throughout this game, teamwork is key and so is talking things through instead of just rushing forward because both players need to be on the same page at all times.

It Takes Two never gets boring because every level changes the gameplay and how each player's character works. It blends a whole bunch of styles of video games together. There's parkour, puzzles, fighting, the limitations are endless. 

There's also very clear inspiration taken from other games. For example, there is a part where the two main characters, Cody and May, are moving down a pathway that is reminiscent of Rainbow Road in Mario Kart. Another example takes clear inspiration from a street fighter type fight between May and an enemy.

The controls are just as simple to learn as A Way Out. There is also the fun aspect that each character has its own special ability. This special ability does not remain the same throughout the game. Between every level, the characters gain new abilities. In the first level, Cody has a ranged ability where he can throw nails like spears and recall them. While May has an up close and personal ability where she can use a hammer head to break things and swing off of Cody’s nails. This makes both abilities heavily reliant on the other while also standing strong alone. These abilities all contribute to not only fighting but also for parkour and getting through puzzles. 

My only complaint with It Takes Two isn’t truly a complaint- it’s something I can’t write this review without mentioning- and that’s the character Dr. Hakeem. I find this character to be extremely annoying and every time he showed up my friend and I would audibly groan. He is an insufferable character. This is done purposefully by the developers, because, in the end, Cody and May's hatred for the character brings them together just like it brought my friend and I together. 

Throughout the game, it is very obvious that Cody and May are learning to love each other again and get over the rough patch in their relationship. There are moments where you don't think the characters will be able to reconcile with one another. The final outcome is very understandable and fits well into the way that the story progresses. I’ll let you play the game to find out the end result for yourself.

Both It Takes Two and A Way Out are the perfect game to play with someone else, but they aren’t the only games Hazelight Studios has to offer. There’s one more that was released this month.

Split Fiction

Due to the recent release I have yet to play Split Fiction. I don’t know much about Split Fiction, since I like going into games blind and don’t want to accidentally spoil the game for myself. Split Fiction functions just like the other two games and has the same Co-Op features and is offered on the same platforms. Split Fiction follows two writers, one a science fiction author (Mio) and the other a fantasy author (Zoe). Both characters get trapped in a simulation where they have to survive multiple realities, including dystopian worlds, science fiction worlds, and fantasy worlds.

———

Hazelight Studios has definitely made an impact on the gaming world and have defined a new version of Co-Op games. Their two games so far have been a joy to play and I couldn’t choose a favorite between the two because of how much they have to offer. I am looking forward to the release of Split Fiction and can’t wait to play. 

Whether you have a taste for a cartoon adventure or a harsh realistic prison escape, Hazelight Studios has something for you.