Video games are always better together, especially when you get to play with the one you love. To celebrate that, we’ve compiled a list of the best video games to play with your girlfriend or boyfriend as a couple.
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
Is it really surprising that a game called Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime would be a good game to play with your significant other? The game puts one to four players into a spaceship that has a variety of stations inside; things like cannons, shields, engines, and more.
In order to make it through each level, players have to run through the ship, activating the proper stations for obstacles that come up or puzzles that need to be solved. Things can get hectic fast as you’re trying to keep the ship moving, but trying to get shields up to block projectiles, and then use your weapons to take down enemies at the same time.
Needless to say you’ll need a lot of coordination, and it just might be a true test of your relationship. Of course, it also helps that the game sports an incredibly cute and colorful art style.
Portal 2
Cooperation is the key to any relationship, but there’s no reason you can’t mess with each other a little bit in the process. That’s exactly what Portal 2 lets you do, with its brilliant co-op campaign.
You and your partner take control of two test robots named P-Body and Atlas, each of which are equipped with a portal gun of a different color. All of the puzzles in the co-op campaign are explicitly designed around having two players, and the only way to move forward is by helping each other.
Of course, along the way nothing is stopping you from dumping your teammate into a corner with a poorly placed Portal. No matter how you choose to play it, Portal 2 is a good time.
Overcooked
No need to decide who’s cooking dinner when you can just play Overcooked instead, but be warned, it might test the limits of your relationship as a couple. This intense co-op game tasks 2-4 players with making and serving a variety of food dishes, with each level adding in different puzzles or obstacles to overcome.
In each level, you’ll need to put ingredients together in the proper order, put them on plates, clean the plates, and cook items. All of this is while avoiding obstacles like conveyor belts, moving between trucks, or a wide array of other things.
You need plenty of coordination and communication, so if you’re confident in you and your partner jump in and cook up some grub.
Bonus points if you’re a super chill player and your partner happens to be absolutely manic about getting everyone on the same page and running the kitchen like a well-oiled machine. My own partner happens to fall into the latter category, and I won’t lie, whenever we do end up playing this together, I won’t hesitate to tell her she’s sucking the fun out of video games. Video games are supposed to be, like, fun, man.
Snipperclips
Snipperclips is an adorable little puzzle game on the Switch that has you playing as two little paper people, with the strange ability to cut and shape each other. Both players can rotate their bodies, and when the bodies overlap, the pieces that overlap can be snipped off to change a player’s shape.
It’s a fun twist on puzzle mechanics, and you’ll need to snip your bodies just right to move objects, fit them into a specific shape, and much more. Many of the puzzles are real head-scratchers, so you and your partner will need to put your heads together to solve everything.
We played this one on the plane back when it first came out, and it’s just absolutely still one of the best games you can fit into a tiny plane table and get a whole ton of value from.
Life is Strange
Any Telltale-like game is a fascinating experience to play through with a significant other, but Life is Strange is by far the most approachable of those experiences.
Life is Strange tells the story of Max Caulfield, a 12th-grade student attending the prestigious Blackwell Academy in Arcadia Bay, Oregon. One day Max discovers she has the incredible ability to rewind time, and has to grapple with how she should use it.
Every decision you make in Life is Strange can have a ripple effect, and there are some seriously hard choices to make. It’s the kind of game that’s great to play with someone close to you, pausing and talking over what decision you should make and what you should do.
Life is Strange also just has a fantastic world and incredible characters, making it a joy to explore. I like to call this one of of the big ‘test’ games for couples. The final decision in the game is one of the most polarizing moments in video game history and has sparked plenty of debate in the community. It’s the classic question: how far are you willing to go for love? And your partner’s decision can often be very telling.
Catherine
Hear me out here, Catherine is actually an incredibly interesting game to play as a couple, especially considering its story and themes is all about relationships, cheating, and commitment.
Like with Life is Strange, there are some really interesting moral choices to make, specifically when the main character Vincent goes into the nightmare world at night. You can play through the story together, take turns during puzzles, but when the confessional questions come up things get interesting.
These are questions like “Who would be responsible if you cheated,” or “Is good housekeeping important in a partner?” Some of these questions are goofy, but others can potentially start some serious discussions with you and your partner. Just be careful, because playing Catherine together might be a more harrowing experience than you expect.
It’s worth noting that Catherine: Full Body is also available now, introducing a brand new character in Rin. That said, we still recommend playing through the original release first as it provides a mode contained and straightforward version of the story, whereas Rin’s inclusion can complicate things a little and is more suited for repeated playthroughs.
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
Trust is important in any relationship, and would you trust your partner to diffuse a bomb? Well, a virtual one at least.
In Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes one player is the Defuser, looking at a bomb on their gaming device, whether that’s a Nintendo Switch or a VR headset. The other player, or players, are then the defusal Experts reading the Bomb Defusal Manual and having to relay to the Defuser how to do it.
The problem is that every time you play the bomb is randomized with a variety of puzzles or problems to solve. This means that while the timer is ticking down the Expert has to search the manual and relay that info, while the Defuser has to do it properly.
Needless to say, things can get hectic fast, devolving into a lot of screaming and panicking.
LEGO Games
LEGO games are some of the best co-op experiences out there, letting you and another player traipse around a brick-filled world at your leisure. LEGO games aren’t particularly difficult, but they’re a ton of fun to play due to having so many different characters to play as smart comedy, and simple hack-and-slash gameplay.
The good news too is that there are so many LEGO games out there, you can almost assuredly find a property that you and your partner can play as a couple.
Like Marvel? Grab LEGO Marvel Superheroes and play as Captain America, Iron Man, Dr. Strange, and more. More into fantasy? That’s fine too, since you can play LEGO Lord of the Rings. Other games include Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jurassic World, Pirates of the Caribbean, Ninjago, Harry Potter, and more.
There’s a bit of everything, and a LEGO game is great to kick back with on a weekend with your partner.
Stardew Valley
This critically acclaimed indie game has you traveling to the rural Pelican Town to take over your deceased grandfather’s farm, rebuilding it from the ruined state it’s in. Stardew Valley is an incredibly relaxing experience that lets you just kick back and explore the town, plant crops, take care of livestock, and generally just live a peaceful life.
What makes it even better is that you can experience it all with 1-3 other players with you, meaning you and your partner can build your very own dream farm together. You’ll be able to complete quests together, plan your crop for the season, and even get married.
With the recent addition of local co-op, you won’t even have to worry about getting two games either. All you have to do is choose Start Local Co-Op from the start screen and you can enjoy the experience as a couple via splitscreen.
Yoshi’s Crafted World
There are countless Nintendo platformers that are great two-player games, but Yoshi’s Crafted World is a newer release that’s simply overflowing with charm and fun. Following the trend of other recent Nintendo platformers, Yoshi’s Crafted World isn’t all that difficult, as it puts more of an emphasis on fun mechanics and inventive level design.
The entire game is made to look like an art project, slapping the world together with popsicle sticks, string, cans, and other arts and crafts. Two players can play the entire experience, with each of you choosing your favorite color of Yoshi.
Jumping and throwing eggs through colorful levels is a blast, and the best way to experience the game is with someone else.
It Takes Two
If there was ever a game that was literally made for couples to play, It is Hazelight Studios It Takes Two. The game follows the relationship of Cody and May, a couple on the outs that must work together in order to get back to their real bodies.
As a mandatory co-op, you and your partner will work together to progress throughout the seven levels that make up the game, platforming, puzzling, and combating together all the while. You’ll use each character’s level-unique abilities to help your partner progress, ranging from everything to Nail Guns and Hammers to Opposite Attracted magnets.
Along the way, you’ll experience a story about a couple rediscovering why they fell in love with each other in the first place, all through the lens of a creative, symbolic dreamscape world. If that wasn’t couply enough for you, there are also a slew of minigames that you and your partner can compete for bragging rights in.
Haven
On the surface, Haven might not necessarily look like the ideal game you’d want to play with your significant other, especially since it is a single-player game. It doesn’t take too long into the game to realize that this coming of age story between two blossoming and naive teens is a beautiful one.
In this romantic space adventure, two lovers, Yu and Kay give up everything and escape to a lost planet together. While on the run from the ones who’d try and keep them apart, the couple glide throughout a mysterious landscape, attempting to heal fragmented worlds while also learning about love, rebellion, and freedom.
If nothing else, couples will appreciate the adorable growth between Yu and Kay throughout the game, taking place across multiple conversations and situations that give a proper insight into both their relationship and each individual’s personality and story.
Escape Simulator
If you want a real team-building exercise, consider picking up Escape Simulator. It’s a perfect fit for anyone who loves puzzles and escape rooms, and you’ll have to work closely with your partner to figure out the game’s various intricacies and seek a way out. This is a relatively drama-free game if you want to avoid conflict as much as possible, making it a great game to check out on chill date nights.
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