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A few of these games are great for building relationships, and they make amazing long-distance date-night ideas. They’re fun, they’re exciting, and a lot of them have a great storyline to follow. Without further ado, here are the best cooperative games for two players to enjoy.
Updated on September 6, 2022, by Maya Sattar: Gaming together is one of the best ways to bond, particularly with local co-op gameplay. With the cold winter nights beginning to roll in, it is understandable that many players just want to cozy up on the couch with their partners while playing some games together. With that in mind, this list has been updated with four more of the best cooperative games for couples on various platforms. This includes the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PC, so no one misses out. None of these games are particularly taxing and can be played with one’s significant other, no matter their gaming prowess!
10 Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime
Available on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh Operating Systems, Linux, and Xbox One.
Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime is a space-based shooter game. The forces of Anti-Love are threatening the known universe! The player and up to three friends must work together to collectively navigate their psychedelic neon spaceship through the galaxy, encountering threats along the way. Each level layout is randomized, so players will explore new areas each time they play!
Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime is perfect for couples, not just because of the name. The player and their partner must communicate to navigate the shared controls of their ship. Each player must perform equally important duties like controlling the turrets or the ship’s shields or being in charge of the GPS systems. It can be easy to simply relinquish the controls to the other player, but in this game, that can get quite hectic! This game is a great way to develop those teamwork and communication skills.
9 Heave Ho
Available on Nintendo Switch, Macintosh Operating Systems, and Microsoft Windows.
Heave Ho is a platform-party game designed for up to four players. The sole aim of the game is to reach the end goal and for players to simply not fall to their deaths! If only it were that easy! Players can only control their own twos arms as they grapple across great chasms and fling themselves into the great beyond.
Playing Heave Ho with a partner can only be pure chaos. Players can grip onto each other, putting their full faith and trust in one another. Of course, this leads to complete trolling and total carnage in what can be described as the ultimate Lion King/Mufasa betrayal. If they’re feeling brave, players can attempt to coordinate their momentum to try and swing their wobbling combined rope-like limbs across the map. Luckily, the respawn time is almost instantaneous!
8 Unravel Two
Available on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, and Xbox One.
Unravel Two is a puzzle-platform game and the sequel to the 2016 game Unravel. This game tells the story of two playable Yarny characters, adorable beings made of yarn, who are permanently connected by a piece of thread. Players must work together to solve tricky puzzles and traverse spectacular environments together, ranging from urban metropolises to beautiful natural landscapes.
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To pass through the various obstacles and difficult terrain blocking their way, players can use their yarn to creatively bypass this. From building a makeshift trampoline to swinging from branches, this game never runs out of ways to make players use their brains to invent creative solutions. Suppose one player falls behind on platforming sections. In that case, the other player can pull them to their location using their interconnected thread. This heart-warming game is perfect for couples who want to relax and enjoy the peaceful scenery and story, while simultaneously having fun
7 Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes
Available on Android, Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4, Linux, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is a very unique co-op game, as half of it doesn’t take place in front of a screen (at least for those who buy or print the manual needed for the game). The rules are very simple. The two players see different screens and instructions, and they have to work together to solve the puzzles and disarm the bombs.
If the players happen to be in one room, it’s strictly prohibited to look at the other person’s sheet (or picture) of information. One person’s screen will contain the bomb, filled with either very simple shapes and colors, or highly complex tasks. The other person is handed a manual that they can use to help disarm the bomb. The manual is just as cryptic as the bomb itself, and more often than not, knowing both the information (on the screen and in the manual) will only make a clear solution together. So the most important thing is to KEEP TALKING… and nobody explodes.
6 Portal 2
Available on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, macOS, Classic Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, Linux
Portal 2’s co-op system is nothing short of perfection. The game is an emotional rollercoaster between teamwork and competition. GLaDOS, the game’s narrator tries very hard to get the players to hate each other by displaying unfair favoritism, making the game seem like a competition against your partner.
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However, by the second half of the game, more often than not, players grow to hate GLaDOS and decide to carry on with the game as a team instead of going along with the narrator’s ploys. The game pulls off the complexity of co-op gameplay that others fail to accomplish and makes for a very enjoyable and exciting experience.
5 Operation: Tango
Available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
Operation: Tango is very well-designed, very fun, and incredibly engaging. It puts a spin on co-op gameplay that is rarely seen in video games and makes a great long-distance date night theme. The game takes the two players on a spy adventure, with one goal: to defeat the evil mastermind known as Cypher.
In order to do so, one player takes on the role of Agent, and the other of Hacker, and both dive into one adventure after another. The duo must rely on each other to solve every task, much like in the previously mentioned game. Putting together the information known by both players will ultimately lead to solving the puzzles, therefore constant communication is key.
4 Moving Out
Available on PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, Macintosh operating systems, Xbox One
Moving Out is arguably one of the most fun cooperative games out there. The organized chaos held exclusively for the kitchen in Overcooked has now moved into every room in the house, as players work together to move (or throw) every piece of furniture out of the house before time runs out.
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The game is not only chaotic but super satisfying. Everyone at one point in their lives thought about what it would be like to throw themselves or pieces of furniture through a window. In Moving Out, this is a must if players want to finish in time. And there’s something about throwing an entire piano across a river that just clicks with a person. The game’s style of cooperating as a team but still running around frantically in chaos is delightful and a great way to pass the time.
3 SnipperClips
Exclusively available on Nintendo Switch.
Snipperclips is a cooperative puzzle game for up to four players. The Main World mode is primarily designed for two players, who control two characters named Snip and Clip. They possess bodies that can be rotated. When the two characters overlap, they can be snipped, creating different shapes.
Using this unique mechanic, the two players must work together to devise creative solutions to the various puzzles, each with different objectives. This ranges from safely transporting eggs to cutting a pointy end to pop balloons. If players snip too much off their partner’s body, they will combust and respawn. Clipping each other is a great way to vent frustrations, but maybe not so much for the other player!
2 Overcooked
Available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox One
The OP of chaotic games is without a doubt Overcooked. Although the game is more enjoyable - and easier - with 3-4 people (like Moving Out), it’s just as enjoyable as a couple. Just like a bickering match in the real-life kitchen, this too will bring out your competitive style, but unlike in real life, you can now throw a piece of raw meat at your partner when need be (or even cuss at them using one of the handy emotes available). And it’s very satisfying.
Jokes aside, the game is incredibly fun to play, and while it may be frustrating at times, it never seizes to put a smile on any player’s face. It’s also a game people can play for as long as they’d like, because after they play the original storyline, new objectives will be announced, and various DLCs are also available if players get bored with the original.
1 It Takes Two
Available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft Windows
It Takes Two is not only the best co-op game for couples on the market today but the best game of 2021 bar none, as proven by the 2021 Game Awards. It takes players on a journey as a couple in the middle of getting a divorce. By solving engaging, exciting, and sometimes emotional puzzles, players get to work together as a team, and as a unit (as a couple) in this unique game.
While the narrative can sometimes seem almost too childish, it still reaches peaks and valleys and turned out to be very heartwarming and thoughtful. It Takes Two never seizes to surprise players with its innovative gameplay mechanics and narrative decisions on the way. There’s truly no dull moment in this 15-hour journey.
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