The video game industry has always been a great way for friends and family members to spend some valuable time together - even more so since the invention of online gaming, which has allowed people living apart to continue to have fun together. Thankfully, there are hundreds of amazing co-op games that people can play with their friends and partners.

7:20

Related

Best 4-Player Co-Op Games

A group of friends can find hours of fun with the following co-op games.

A few of these games are great for building relationships, and they make for 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 May 9, 2024, by Mara Cowley: Online games have become one of the most popular ways to enjoy the medium, as they can be played with friends or partners without making them leave the comfort of their own sofa or desk. Modern couples can now even make a date out of it by enjoying a two-player cooperative game, instead of meeting up to watch a movie or for dinner. This article already contained a multitude of titles across many genres, so there was something for everyone, but there are still many more titles that may be overlooked by gamer couples. As such, this article has been updated with additional video games that couples can enjoy.

27 Castle Crashers

A Fast-Paced Hack And Slash Adventure

Gamers are likely used to 2D platformers that require them to save a Princess thanks to the Mario game series, but Castle Crashers offers its own refreshing take on this tired trope. Now, players are armed with weapons to hack and slash through their enemies, and since it's too dangerous to go alone, they can even take someone with them.

The fun is only doubled with another player on the screen who is also trying to hack their way to victory through the hordes of enemies and big boss monsters, making it an ideal game for couples to enjoy together.

26 Left 4 Dead

Blast Through Hordes Of Undead While Working Together

For couples who love high-octane action and frantic gun gameplay, Left 4 Dead is the ideal game for them. They will assume the role of one of the four survivors who are attempting to escape the zombie-ridden city to safety, but there is an army's worth of undead between them and their escape route.

Related

Best Zombie Games Ever, Ranked

There is no shortage of zombie games for both console and PC — some of them amazing, and some not so much.

Large crowds of zombies and special infected make this game more fun than a standard run-of-the-mill zombie game, which is sure to make for a fun date night. What's more, there is Steam workshop support, so players can customize their game for even more unique fun.

25 Divinity: Original Sin 2

Dive Into An Original Fantasy World With A Loved One

Before Baldur's Gate 3, Larian was known for Divinity, an RPG series with a unique world bursting with interesting lore, monsters, and NPCs. Original Sin 2 is a marked improvement on the original with improved graphics and a story that is sure to suck the players in and keep them gripped right until the unpredictable finale.

Though the party will normally consist of four, there is nothing stopping a couple from taking two NPCs with them or braving the world and its dangers with just the two of them. Whatever way they choose, the couple is sure to have fun, but the twist finale may just start a lovers' spat.

24 Baldur's Gate 3

Bring Swords And Sorcery To The Date Night With This RPG Epic

Even months after its release, Baldur's Gate 3 is still a hot topic among gamers, especially following the addition of Honour Mode. It follows the story of a number of people infected by Mind Flayer tadpoles who set out on a quest to find a way to cleanse themselves of that infection.

As with past Larian Studios RPGs, players can play with up to three more players and embark on a quest of epic proportions together. It is the perfect game for fantasy-loving couples to enjoy together, and it can definitely occupy couples for much more than just one night.

23 Dead By Daylight

Work Together To Escape The Horror Trials Alive

This multiplayer horror game has withstood the test of time even as other titles in the genre crumbled, which is a testament to its devoted fanbase. Thanks to securing licenses to famous franchises such as Halloween, Scream, and Resident Evil, Dead by Daylight has garnered horror fans far and wide to come together to take the roles of either survivors or killers.

Couples could easily queue up together as survivors and enjoy the thrilling and tense gameplay of DBD as they do their best to evade pursuing killers. Team play for this game is a must, making it the perfect game to experience with someone players share a strong bond with.

22 The Dark Pictures Anthology

An Interactive Horror Movie Experience That Couples Can Influence

The Dark Pictures Anthology is a collection of horror games made by Supermassive Games that follow the same format as their flagship game Until Dawn. The entire first season of The Dark Pictures is now released, so couples can experience all four games without waiting for the next to arrive.

Cooperatively, players will control different characters through each scene, and each can make choices to influence the direction of the game, allowing couples to craft the story as both of them wish. If couples should ever meet up in real life, they can enjoy Movie Night mode, in which two players share one controller and take turns playing the game.

21 BattleBlock Theater

A Fun And Action-Packed Platformer

• Platforms: Xbox 360, PC
• Release Date: April 3rd, 2013
• Developers: The Behemoth, Big Timber Studio
• Genre: Platform

All the world's a stage, and this is no more true than with the exhilarating platformer BattleBlock Theater. In this game, players must team up together and take on the mischievous technical felines in order to rescue Hatty Hattington.

The full story mode allows two players to work together on their rescue mission, making it the perfect drop in and out game for couples to enjoy. This game is bound to make couples laugh together and create some memories that won't soon be forgotten.

20 Escape Simulator

Challenging And Fun Puzzles To Solve Together

Everybody knows escape rooms, those fun-day activities where family or friends put their heads together and try to solve a series of puzzles in order to escape from a room that follows themes such as Ancient Egypt, murder mystery, sci-fi, and many more. For people who don't live in the same city, they can still experience this thrill with Escape Simulator.

Players craft an avatar with a limited but fun selection of character customization options and then load into the themed rooms in which they must discover clues, solve puzzles, and escape. The puzzles are challenging enough that players won't breeze through but not too difficult that it would lead to a quarrel.

19 Borderlands 2

A Fun And Fast Paced Shooter Game

Often hailed as the best entry in the Borderlands series, Borderlands 2 is a fun run-and-gun shooter that sees players take control of one of four Vault Hunters, those who scour the fictional world of Pandora in search of Vaults that are rumored to hold great treasures.

4:20

Related

Every Borderlands Game, Ranked

The Borderlands franchise has tons of incredible games for players to explore, but some entries are more entertaining than others.

For gaming couples who want to experience a cooperative game with more substance, Borderlands 2 is the perfect game for them. It has a good story, fleshed-out characters, a main plot, and side quests for them to dive into and enjoy.

18 Phasmophobia

A Terrifying Ghost Hunting Game Perfect For Horror Fans

Horror fans haven't been forgotten about, and there are many cooperative games that will scare the holy living heck out of them. Phasmophobia is one such game, which revolves around a cast of blank characters who work as ghost hunters. They must infiltrate a chosen map, house, farmhouse, school, prison, and others with their ghost-hunting equipment to determine what sort of entity haunts the premise, but they should take care not to become its next victim.

This game is easy to drop in and drop out of for one or a few rounds, with no complex story or character arcs to follow, making it perfect for a casual gaming date night. And night certainly is the best time to play this terrifying cooperative game.

17 Don't Starve Together

Players Must Work Together To Survive The Hunger Pangs

Most players are probably familiar with Don't Starve, a survival game with a unique Tim Burton-esque art style that sees gamers struggling to survive out in the wilderness. They must craft, farm, and fight in order to stay alive for one more day.

Don't Starve Together is much the same, only with the addition of cooperative play. Players can team up with their loved ones to pull them into this strange and cruel world, and both of them must work together so they don't starve. It sounds simple enough, but this game will definitely provide a challenge.

16 Cuphead

For Couples Seeking An Aesthetically Pleasing Challenge

For couples who are looking for a game that packs more of a wallop, they should look no further than Cuphead. This tough run-and-gun platformer is done in the style of vintage cartoons with a charming, toon-like soundtrack to accompany it. The infamous difficulty of this game simmers beneath the innocent surface, ensnaring players into repeating tough bosses time and time again.

With a co-op mode, players can share their misery with their loved ones and experience the punishing gameplay together. But nothing is sweeter than the victory that comes from overcoming one of the game's many challenges.

15 Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime

Requires Precise Team Work, Making It Perfect For Couples

Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime is a space-based shooter game. The forces of Anti-Love are threatening the known universe. To combat this, 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 offers players a great way to develop teamwork and communication skills.

14 Heave Ho

Chaotic And Fun Co-Op Gameplay

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. Players can only control their own two arms as they grapple across great chasms and fling themselves into the great beyond.

Playing Heave Ho with a partner can be pure chaos. Players can grip onto each other, putting their full faith and trust in one another. Of course, this can lead 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.

13 Push Me Pull You

Guarantees A Night Of Hilarity

• Platforms: PS4, PC
• Release Date: May 3rd, 2016
• Developers: House House
• Genre: Action

There are sometimes couples who are joined at the hip. This game takes that expression seriously, bringing it to life in a fun indie arcade-style game all about the deep connections people share and wresting. The players control one single body that has two heads attached at the waist, making them look like a somewhat disturbing two-headed human worm, yet the game still manages to be charming and adorable.

It's a relatively low-maintenance game that requires just one system to play, and players can even share a controller, which can add another hilarious layer of difficulty to the game. The two players will wrestle for control of the ball, an objective that sounds easy in practice but is much tougher in theory and is bound to bring a night full of laughs and hilarity unless one player is a deeply competitive person. Then, it might result in some long-held grudges. It's certainly one of the more original video games for couples.

12 Unravel Two

Perfect For Couples To Unwind Together

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, ranging from urban metropolises to beautiful natural landscapes.

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 reach 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.

11 Cat Quest 2

A Surprisingly In-Depth Co-Operative RPG

The sequel to the equally adorable and charming Cat Quest 1, Cat Quest 2 takes everything that was great about the original and expands on it, including the multiplayer feature that allows a second player to jump in and join in on the adventure. As expected from the title, the game takes place in a land of adorable, anthropomorphic cats and dogs, and the player takes control of each on the journey across Felingard.

The game plays like a fantasy RPG with all the bells and whistles that come with it, including world lore, a whimsical, beautiful setting, dungeon-diving, and plenty of monsters for the players to slay on their quest to take back their thrones. Players can choose their preferred way to take down their foes, wielding magic or weapons and upgrading as they progress through the game and encounter more difficult enemies.

10 Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes

A High Octane Game Where Clear Communication Is A Must

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is a 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 it). The rules are very simple. The two players see different screens and instructions, and they must work together to solve the puzzles and disarm the bombs.

6:27

Related

Split-Screen Games You Can Play On The Xbox Series X

The days of split-screen multiplayer aren't over! These are the best split-screen games you can play on the new Xbox Series X.

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. So, the most important thing is to keep talking.

9 Resident Evil 5

A Fun Yet Frightening Multiplayer Experience

While Capcom's foray into more action-heavy titles was met with disdain by many long-time fans, Resident Evil 5 and the following sixth installment still provide some fun to be had thanks to the cooperative element. Players can hand a controller to a friend or loved one and have them control Sheva as they fight through the uroboros-infected people in Africa, where Albert Wesker has begun his plans for "complete global saturation."

Related

Resident Evil: Most Iconic Lines From The Franchise

Resident Evil features some of the greatest lines from video games. These examples are the most iconic.

Resident Evil 5 makes the most of co-op play by having Chris and Sheva work together to overcome obstacles other than the hostile infected, such as Chris boosting Sheva to otherwise inaccessible locations or lowering a drawbridge. While Resident Evil 5 doesn't have any head-scratching puzzles, the fun action-oriented combat, gruesome monster design, and the over-the-top villainous antics of Wesker are more than enough to satisfy.

8 Portal 2

A Perfect Co-Op System For Couples To Enjoy

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 more like a competition.

However, by the second half of the game, more often than not, players grow to hate GLaDOS and decide to carry on with the story 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.