Game Awards 2021: It Takes Two wins game of the year

The co-operative action adventure game It Takes Two took the big prize at Thursday's Game Awards, the industry's annual end-of-year celebration.

As well as winning game of the year, It Takes Two was also honoured as 2021's best multiplayer and best family game.

The game, designed by Josef Fares, requires two players to steer a divorcing couple who have been shrunk.

Stars including Keanu Reeves, Jim Carrey and Ming-Na Wen attended the ceremony at LA's Microsoft Theater.

It Takes Two has charmed audiences with its unique take on co-operative gameplay. In an era where big online multiplayer experiences get all the attention, this title's old-school approach clearly struck a chord with judges.

In the game, you fight to save the marriage of Cody and May through solving a series of ingenious two-player puzzles. The screen is split in two and not only do you have to play with another person, you have to work together to complete the experience.

It's the first time a game like this has won game of the year and its success will no doubt encourage more studios to consider making more couch co-operative games - a style of gaming that was very popular back in the 1990s.

The development team behind Deathloop may be a touch disappointed as they were the bookies' favourites to win the night's big award. However, a trophy for best game direction is a pretty decent consolation prize.

Not only were the achievements of games makers recognised, but companies also use The Game Awards as a place to get people excited about what's to come, with announcements and teaser trailers.

The unexpected brief glimpse at a Wonder Woman game was the biggest surprise this year. It'll be the first time she's fronted a major release on her own. We don't know much about the title yet other than it's being made by development studio Monolith, who are renowned for their video game adaptations of Lord of the Rings.

Other revelations at the event included trailers for the forthcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 2 film and the Halo TV series.

There was also a scene from The Matrix Resurrections and a trailer for The Matrix Awakens: An Unreal Engine 5 Experience - introduced by Reeves and co-star Carrie-Anne Moss.

Asked if he thought a computer game could ever look as real as being in The Matrix, Reeves said: "Absolutely. I mean, we are reaching the point at which the lines of the virtual and physical worlds are blurring."

The cast of the Sonic sequel includes Ben Schwartz reprising his titular role, Carrey as Dr Ivan "Eggman" Robotnik and Idris Elba as the lead character's friend Knuckles. The movie introduces his yellow, two-tailed, flying sidekick Miles "Tails" Prower - portrayed by voice actor Colleen O'Shaughnessey.

The Game Awards show included live performances by Imagine Dragons and Sting, with the latter performing a song from the soundtrack of the League of Legends-based Netflix animated series Arcane.