It's not
often that video games are marketed towards or even designed with
couples in mind, so I thought I'd create a list of the best games for
couples to play. Most of the multiplayer video games seen these days
are usually huge open world online shooters like Fortnite or other
battle royal style games, that although loved by many, just aren't my
cup of tea. Where have the days gone where you could play games
locally (in the same room) with your friends or partner? I've noticed
a lot of 'newer' games you'd expect to have local split screen play
don't have that option anymore. Take Halo 5: Guardians and Tony
Hawk's Pro Skater 5 for example, two franchises that use to provide a
much loved split screen game mode that now with their most recent
releases don't. Obviously there are still a lot of games out there
that do offer amazing cooperative or competitive two player modes,
some of which I'll be talking about in this list.
In the
sub-headings I will be listing the name of the game, the developers
and the console that I have primarily used to play the game on. My
boyfriend and I absolutely love finding new games to play together so
if you're anything like us, I hope you'll enjoy this list and find
something new to play.
Captain
Toad: Treasure Tracker | Nintendo | Switch
Captain
Toad: Treasure Tracker was originally released for Wii U in 2014 but
has since been ported to the Switch, and very recently a new two
player mode was added to the game. I played the Wii U version with my
boyfriend a few years ago and we'd take it in turns to do the levels,
this worked pretty well for us because by this point we had played
quite a few single player games using this method. Having loved it so
much the first time around we were dying to play it together again,
this time using an actual two player mode.
The Switch
version of the game not only adds in a second player but also new
challenges to complete and levels to unlock. This game is full of
charm and has bags of personality as well as originality. It's level
designs are way too cute and the characters are way too adorable not
to fall in love with this game by the time you reach the second
level. I would highly recommend it to couples who love light-hearted
puzzle games and irresistibly cute Mario characters.
My boyfriend
and I have recently completed both the main game and the newly
released Special Episode DLC. We have done everything possible within
the game except for the time trials which we plan on re-visiting at a
later date. It took us about fifteen hours to collect all the gems,
find all of the Pixel Toads and complete all of the side objectives
within every level. I think it is an extremely underrated game that
deserves more attention and I highly recommend giving it a go as I'm
sure you'll love it just as much as I do.
Overcooked
2 | Ghost Town Games | Switch
I have
already talked about Overcooked 1 and 2 in my Games of the Year blog
post that I wrote at the end of last year, so I'll try not to waffle
on about it to much here. Overcooked 2 is available on pretty much
every console, so there's no excuse not to give this a go. It's
incredibly fun and addictive and it's one on my favourite games of
all time. I loved every single second of the gameplay available as
it's so fun and addictive to play.
If I was to
recommend a game to any couple it would be this one, in my opinion it
is hands down THE best game and possibly only game that I've come
across that is clearly targeted towards couples. It has you
comedically shouting and screaming at each other and may even cause
an argument or two as you cooperatively race to complete dishes to
achieve the best score. You'll be preparing, cooking or baking dishes
ranging from burgers to pancakes against the clock in a highly
stressful kitchen environment relying on each other every step of the
way. It's such a simple concept, done so fantastically well that I
honestly can't fault it in the slightest or recommend it enough. Take
a look at my Games of the Year list to find out more.
Keep
Taking and Nobody Explodes | Steel Crate Games | PSVR
Keep Talking
and Nobody Explodes was originally released in 2015 on PC and in 2016
became available for the PlayStation VR. This PSVR version is the one
I have played and grown to love. One person uses the VR headset and
is able to see and interact with a bomb in front of them whilst
everyone else in the room can only see a rule book full of
instructions on how to disarm the bomb depending on how the bomb
looks or what buttons, wires or pictures it has on it. It is the
person with the VR headset's job to describe what the bomb looks like
so that the other player or players can instruct them on how to
disarm it. This game can get incredibly tense as there is also a
timer ticking down to add additional pressure and there can sometimes
be a complicated series of puzzles to solve in such a short space of
time. In my opinion this game is at it's best when played with two
people as there is a clear line of communication between the players,
whereas if you play this with a larger group of people it can be very
fun but also incredibly stressful as there will be lots of voices
competing with each other to deliver the instructions to the headset
wearer. I would highly recommend this game to anyone who has a PSVR
or a Nintendo Switch which it has relatively recently been released
on.
Human:
Fall Flat | No Brakes Games | PS4
Human: Fall
Flat was released on PS4, Xbox One and Switch in 2017, it's a
cooperative multiplayer physics based platformer/puzzle game where
you play as what I can only describe as a minimalistic 'floppy' human
being. The aim of the game is to reach the end of each level, but
there are many obstacles that stand in your way and you'll have to
grab objects in order to solve puzzles or you might be challenged to
climb up ledges or onto platforms using your floppy arm and legs.
Each level contains multiple variants of how to reach the end and is
extremely re-playable.
I'd highly
recommend this game if you love laughing with and at your other half.
You and your partner will be endlessly laughing as you attempt to
navigate your floppy and unstable characters through each level,
working together to overcome the obscure obstacles that stand in your
way. My boyfriend and I are actually planning to re-play this within
the next couple of months as we've recently purchased the Nintendo
Switch version, we might even stream it over on my boyfriends YouTube
channel.
Lovers in
a Dangerous Spacetime | Asteroid Base | Xbox One
Lovers in a
Dangerous Spacetime is a cooperative space shooter that can be played
with up to four players. You work as a team to steer your spaceship
through each level and the spaceship has different rooms that you'll
be constantly be switching between to take control of the ship's
guns, shield and steering. Your ship can also gain new abilities and
power ups as you progress through the game, giving you the ability to
upgrade your shield or weapons.
This game is
perfect for couples or larger groups of friends, you'll work
cooperatively to free all of the captured bunnies, ducks, foxes and
frogs. You'll need to communicate with one another and assign roles
amongst your ship so that you can successfully pilot your way through
space.
Mario Kart
8 Deluxe | Nintendo | Switch
Mario Kart 8
Deluxe is a competitive split screen and online kart racer where you
play as characters from the Mario franchise (my personal favourites
are Donkey Kong and Larry Koopa) to race against CPUs and your
friends and family. It can be incredibly fun to play this with your
other half as it creates a competitive yet fun atmosphere that will
keep you entertained for hours.
Similarly to
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Mario Kart 8 was originally released
on the Wii U and was ported to the Switch in 2017, where it was given
the title Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. I assume the 'Deluxe' was added
because it was released with additional content, revamped graphics
and was the ultimate version of the game. One of the things I love
about Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is that some of the tracks are wonderfully
designed, even the background scenery is incredibly detailed and
immersive. The track's themes are fun and creative and it's an
absolute blast to play if you're a really competitive couple. As well
as having a skilful racing technique you can also use boost pads,
shortcuts and item pick ups to better your chances of getting into
first place or alternatively cause trouble for your opponents by
using weapons to potentially send them into last place. If you have a
Nintendo Switch console this is a must have game that I highly
recommend buying if you haven't already.
As I
briefly mentioned earlier I often play single player games with my
boyfriend where we take it in turns, some great examples of games
I've played like this recently are Snake Pass and Resident Evil 2.
With Resident Evil 2 we didn't necessarily take it in turns, my
boyfriend played the first play through as Leon and then I played our
second play through as Claire and this seemed to work out really well
for us, so don't rule out playing single player games cooperatively
as they can be really fun too. One of the best examples of a single
player game that works ridiculously well as a two player game is
called Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. By both using one controller we
were able to control one character each (the buttons on the left
controlled one brother and the buttons on the right controlled the
other). The same people who made Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
actually went on to make A Way Out which is a legitimate two player
game that I am dying to play but haven't got around to yet, but I
definitely will at some point in the near future.
I hope you
enjoyed this list, I'm always looking for recommendations for what to
play next so let me know in the comments if there are any multiplayer
or cooperative games you love that I've not mentioned here. Also let
me know down below if there are any up-coming games you're excited
for, some of the multiplayer games I'm excited for this year are
Crash Team Racing and Team Sonic Racing. I am also looking forward to
playing Cuphead next month when it is released on Switch.
