Overcooked! 2
This adorable little cooking simulator will test your friendships and maybe even strengthen your teamwork skills. You and up to three friends have been asked to stop a plague of the Unbread, glutinous zombies that are ravaging the land. You must work together to pass a wide variety of levels, cooking dishes and delivering them to the window as you battle through moving platforms, portals, and even treadmills that can carry you away. This game is absolutely adorable, but it gets incredibly difficult pretty quickly. You and your comrades must communicate and work together if you have any hope of passing the levels. The controls are pretty easy to master, and the game is great for unwinding after a long day of quarantining on the couch with your friends.
Cuphead
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC, macOS Number of Players: 2 Fans of old cartoons will love this run-and-gun sensation. The game follows two adorable protagonists, Cuphead and his brother Mugman, who must fight and kill powerful bosses in order to repay a debt to the devil himself. You and your partner must shoot and dodge your way through a wide variety of complicated levels, fighting bosses with insane boss cycles. This game was a sensation immediately when it was released in September 2017, and with good reason. The graphics and music are intensely nostalgic, bringing back memories of vintage Mickey Mouse or Looney Tunes cartoons. However, players should be warned – the game does not pull any punches and is renowned for its extreme difficulty. If you’re looking for a game to test your skills and teamwork, then Cuphead might be for you.
Death Squared
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC, macOS, iOS, Android Number of Players: 2 - 4 Yet another title to test your teamwork skills! You and your friends take control of a crew of adorable cube robots – you must guide them through trap-filled mazes towards their colour-coded goals. These puzzles are the perfect blend of simple and challenging, and they’re great for players that aren’t usually into “puzzle games.” This game is truly built for couch cooperative play – moving your little robot around the stages requires finesse and teamwork, and maybe a little arguing. There are 80 story mode levels (for up to 2 players) and 40 party mode levels (for up to 4 players). If you can’t get enough or you’re just a glutton for punishment, there are also 30 “Vault” levels – these levels vary from 2 to 4 players and were deemed too difficult to put into the main game. Think you can handle it? Then play on!
Unravel Two
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC Number of Players: 2 Fans of the adorable 2016 puzzler Unravel will be pleased to know that Coldwood Interactive has published this delightful sequel. You and a friend can take on the role of two Yarnys – little yarn dolls that find each other in a shipwreck and form a bond. They spend the rest of the game chasing the spark from this bond, getting into various antics as they go along. Anyone who played Unravel will be familiar with this game’s unique form of puzzle platforming – Yarnys have a certain amount of yarn that they can use to grab onto objects and create bridges to get over or around things. The environments are beautifully rendered, and the stories that the games tell have so much heart in them, in their own precious way.
Untitled Goose Game
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC, macOS Number of Players: 2 If you like causing a bit of harmless mischief every now and then, Untitled Goose Game is for you. The original game, released in 2019, was centered around a mischievous goose causing havoc in a peaceful small town. The new update has added double the trouble – you and a friend can now team up as a pair of troublesome waterfowl to cause even more chaos – and have even more fun. While the type of gameplay didn’t change too much in the new update, the potential for playing cooperatively with a friend adds a whole new layer to this goofy, lovable game. The puzzles that the game presents are going to be really interesting with the addition of a new goose in the mix, so even players that have completed the game might want to give it a try with a friend.
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC, OS X, Linux Number of Players: 2 - 4 Science fiction fans will really love this bright, bubbly little spacefaring sim. You and up to three of your friends take command of a spaceship that travels the galaxy with the purpose of locating and rescuing cute little forest creatures. You and your friends must manage the ship’s various stations to make sure that the ship stays flying and that you keep blasting your enemies. We love a spacefaring sim, and the charming, wholesome nature of this one makes it perfect for quarantine. The spaceship’s station mechanic allows players to play to their strengths, working together to save cute critters and upgrade the ship. The best part? You don’t just have to play this with your lover – any good friend will do.
Snipperclips: Cut It Out, Together!
Platforms: Nintendo Switch Number of Players: 2 - 4 This unique puzzler centres around players snipping each other’s characters into various shapes to solve the puzzles. World Mode supports up to two players, and there are two more multiplayer modes, Party and Blitz. Party Mode contains specialized puzzles that up to four players can work together to solve, and Blitz Mode lets up to four players play competitively at games like basketball, hockey, or fights where you snip your opponent to death. This game’s cutesy graphics and unique gameplay make it a perfect gateway puzzler – if your friends aren’t really into party games, Snipperclips is a good place to start.
Minecraft Dungeons
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One/Xbox Series X, PC Number of Players: 2 - 4 Fans of Minecraft will love this spin on their beloved title. Minecraft Dungeons is a dungeon-crawling simulator set in everyone’s favourite blocky universe. Rather than exploring an open world, mining, and building structures, players are let loose in procedurally generated dungeons filled with dangerous monsters, diabolical traps, and the best part – treasure. You aren’t limited by a class system of any kind, and you can use whatever weapons and armour your heart desires. If you’re looking for a more RPG-type of experience, then Minecraft Dungeons is for you. The familiar Minecraft mechanics mixed with the new randomly generated dungeons makes the game a whole new experience, and it’s great for Minecraft veterans and newbies alike.
Trivial Pursuit Live!
Platforms: Nintendo Switch Number of Players: Up to 4 Trivia lovers, rejoice! Ubisoft has brought one of the world’s favourite board games into the digital realm, and the result is one of the best multiplayer trivia games we’ve seen in a while. Trivial Pursuit Live! gives players total control over the categories, question formats, and even how long the game is going to run for. Players who are less confident in their trivia skills don’t need to worry – the game also features adapted difficulty levels and a unique type of game round that is built for players that are behind to use for catching up. We really liked the slick user interface and bright, interesting graphics of Trivial Pursuit Live! It’s truly a game that anyone can play – get your friends, family, housemates, or even your kids in on the fun!
Gang Beasts
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC, macOS, Linux Number of Players: 2 - 4 Sometimes, you just need to beat up your housemates. There’s no better way to do this than as a goofy, boneless little fighter in Gang Beasts. The gameplay is really simple – punch, kick and drag your opponents around the stage until you can get them out of the fight permanently, usually by hurling them off the stage or into some terrible hazard. There are no words to describe how fun this game is – the combination of goofy ragdoll physics, adorable costumes, and the sheer joy of throwing your roommate to his death off the side of a blimp makes it a must-play for any household that has some animosity to work through. The controls are such that even a player with no video game literacy can mash buttons and do fairly well in the fights, making this game perfect for newbies, children, and anyone else who just wants to pick up a controller and play.
Fistifluffs
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Windows Number of Players: Up to 4 Ever wonder what it would be like if you were a pro-wrestler – who is also a cat? Look no further than Fistifluffs, the hilarious, adorable cat fighting game from Playfellow Studios. Players choose their feline fighters and enjoy physics-based mayhem in one of five game modes: Tussle, Crown Control, Destruction, Party, and Kibble Defense. In between fights, you can dress up your cats in a wide range of clothing and accessories – just in case you weren’t sold on the catfighting alone. The exact details of the game aren’t totally available yet, because it has yet to be released – the listed release date was “Early 2021”, but it has not been put up for pre-order on the Nintendo eShop quite yet. If you can’t wait, Playfellow has released a working demo for the game on Steam.
Blazing Beaks
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Windows Number of Players: Up to 4 The premise of this game is pretty simple – you’re a bird, you have a gun, and you’re looking for treasure. The problem lies within the artifacts you find – they can bring you great riches, but is their curse worth the price? Blazing Beaks is a fast-paced rogue-lite game where players can play one of 10 adorable bird characters, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. There are two ways to play this game in a multiplayer capacity - the Story mode supports up to two players who work together to get through the levels, collect artefacts, and gain loot. The Tournament mode supports up to four players - this is a competitive mode where you and your friends can enjoy shooting each other in the face, chasing down a magical skull, or hunting each other with spears. Housemates that need to take out a little bit of aggression will love this cutesy, fast-paced shooter.
Ultimate Chicken Horse
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, Windows, macOS, Linux Number of Players: Up to 4 Bored with traditional levels in co-op games? Why not make your own? That’s the whole premise of Ultimate Chicken Horse. Every round, players each get to place an object within the level. These objects can be platforms, traps, obstacles, or collectables. Then, they must try and get to the end of the course that they’ve created. The object of the game is to make a course that is easy enough for you to get through yourself, but difficult enough that none of your friends can make it. This game is absolute chaos, and it’s great for people who aren’t terribly video-game savvy. The control scheme is easy to pick up, and the levels that you create take as much luck as they do skill to pass. The graphics are simple, but endearing, and the wide range of little characters are just as fun to pick out and dress up as they are to play with.
Hyper Light Drifter
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, Windows, OS X, Linux, iOS Number of Players: 2 You are the Drifter - the last wielder of an energy sword from a civilization long forgotten to the rest of the inhabitants of this world. You must fight your way through a series of strange temples and dungeons to upgrade your weapon and purge the world of horrible monsters. This game, inspired by beloved titles like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Studio Ghibli’s Castle in the Sky and Nausicaӓ of the Valley of the Wind, has captured the hearts of many since its release in 2016. The graphics are in an endearingly pixelated style, and the mechanics are interesting and unique. In cooperative mode, Player 2 takes on the form of a companion to the Drifter with many of the same abilities. Together, players can embark on a journey through story mode together, helping each other through puzzles and battling bosses.
Worms W.M.D.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, Windows, macOS, Linux Number of Players: Up to 6 Fans of the Worms series are probably familiar with this highly popular instalment. Players control a team of fully customizable worm soldiers who are bent on waging war against one another with a whole host of weird, wonderful weapons - everything from machine guns and grenades to bananas and exploding sheep. The object? Kill all of your opponent’s worms, of course! This game is great because it can be played with a single controller or keyboard - players simply take turns attacking. You can have up to six players with teams of six worms each, so the game can be quite lengthy if you want it to be. And there you have it! 15 of the best couch co-op games available today. We hope that this helps you retain your sanity. Happy playing!
