The Best Co-Op Games To Play With Your Partner This Valentine's Day

it-takes-two

Valentine’s Day is coming up, and you know what’s the best thing you can do with your partner? Why yes, play video games together! You get to laugh, cry, and get angry at each other while not having to spend a dime on an expensive dinner outside.

That’s why we’ve compiled this list of the best co-op games you can play with your partner. These games require both players to work together, so both people need to pay attention. Some of them will test the limits of your relationship, while others will act as a backdrop for you to spend a cozy night with your loved one. Whichever you choose to play, you'll both have fun and hopefully come out of it stronger together.

It Takes Two

Forget co-op, It Takes Two is one the best games of the last decade, period. As far as storytelling in a co-op game goes, It Takes Two takes the cake with a heartfelt narrative about a couple on the brink of divorce. You play as either Cody or May who, after getting trapped in the bodies of their daughter’s toys, must figure out how to work together while on a fantastical quest.

It Takes Two’s gameplay sees mechanics borrowed from various genres, with a focus on platforming and puzzle-solving. Throughout the game, you’ll also be partaking in various minigames scattered throughout its Toy Story-inspired maps. It’s the perfect game for new couples to bond together, and may even bring you closer to your partner if you’re in a rough patch.

It Takes Two is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch consoles.

Overcooked! 2

If there’s one word that describes Overcooked! 2, it’s “chaotic”. Have you ever watched an episode of The Bear? Yeah, Overcooked! 2 is a little reminiscent of that. You’ll need to prepare cuisines while trying not to mess up your partner’s cooking and pathway while having to hit strict deadlines.

It’s as much a cooking game as it is a platformer, with the game constantly changing how the kitchen looks and works to keep you on your toes. Play Overcooked! 2 as you wait for your Uber Eats.

Overcooked! 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch.

A Way Out

A Way Out paved the way for It Takes Two with its impressive presentation and seamless melding of co-op mechanics. A Way Out is a split-screen co-op game where both players take on the role of Vincent and Leo, two prisoners who plan an escape from prison.

While it takes obvious cues from the movies that inspired it, A Way Out is saved by its inventive co-op-level design. The characters aren’t the most complex, but the story has a lot of twists that will keep you and your partner guessing.

A Way Out is available on PC, PS4 and Xbox One consoles and is backwards compatible on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

We Were Here

We Were Here relies on clear communication between players to solve its puzzles. Unlike most co-op games on this list, We Were Here keeps both players separate for the majority of the playtime. One player is stuck in the library reading riddles while the other player gets to explore the castle and solve them.

Both players use their walkie-talkies to keep in contact, which adds to the old-school exploration vibe that We Were Here nails. Each game in the series explores a different location, but the first one remains iconic, and it’s free (at least on PC)!

We Were Here is available on PC, PS4 and Xbox One consoles and is backwards compatible on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Don’t Starve Together

So, you want to see how your partner behaves when you’re stranded together with minimal resources? Don’t Starve Together will test that. The multiplayer expansion to the original Don’t Starve will have you constantly looking for resources as you fight off the wild imaginations your starving character will conjure.

Don't Starve Together is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. It's also playable on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

You want to introduce your partner to the wonderful world of Star Wars, but they're not interested. Okay, boot up LEGO Star Wars and watch their minds explode as they walk around breaking every piece of every starship they can set their eyes on. The LEGO games have always relied on humor and the Star Wars compilation doesn't miss a beat in that department.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga covers the storyline of the entire Skywalker saga, with levels from all 9 films and featuring over 300 playable characters. It's a big game that goes over all the major beats from the films, with many iconic locations serving as a backdrop to all the lightsaber and blaster action. Playing LEGO Star Wars is some of the most mindless fun you'll have with your partner as you relive the magic of the movies.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder

It's the most wholesome game on this list, and are you really surprised that it's a Mario game? The Italian plumber has always delivered joy to many households with his adventures, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder delivers the same. While the levels don't fundamentally change in their design, you never know what crazy things a Wonder seed will add.

Players can choose to play as any one of 12 characters in the game, collecting power-ups, turning into Elephant versions of themselves and generally jumping on goombas. Super Mario Bros. Wonder lives up to its name in every way imaginable.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is available on the Nintendo Switch.

Cuphead

Cuphead is a tough game, so spare your partner if they fail to jump and dodge projectiles at the right moment. If you think adding a second player to Cuphead is going to make things easier, then you're in for a rude awakening. It also makes for a great prank. You boot up the game and your partner thinks it's a cute 1930s-inspired cartoon, and then the horror starts.

Cuphead is a brilliant run-and-gun shooter that tests your patience and will at every turn. Be prepared to break that controller that your partner gifted you, then apologize and take them out to dinner. And then come back to playing Cuphead as you exact your revenge on the Devil himself for ruining your date night.

Cuphead can be played on PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. It can be played on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S via backwards compatibility.