A couch, a blanket, and a cooperative game to play.
Valentine’s Day is a yearly reminder that we should cherish our loved ones and never take them for granted. And what better way to celebrate love than sharing a passion with your companion? So, to give lovers all around the world an excuse to bond with gaming, we are putting together a list of the best cooperative games two people can play this Valentine’s Day.
From casual experience to narrative-driven games, this list has something for everybody. However, the most important is that all the games on this list can be played in a single system. That means you’ll be able to sit on the couch and share a moment side by side, with a box of chocolates and a cozy blanket. Love is in the air, controllers are in hand – it’s time to check the best cooperative games to play with your loved one.
Available on: PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5
While Haven has a sci-fi setting with alien planets, a dystopian authoritarian government, and anti-gravity boots, the game is, at its core, a love story. In Haven, players control Yu and Kay, two young people in love who decide to escape their home planet, where every marriage is arranged. Instead of accepting their fate and being entangled with a stranger for the rest of their lives, Yu and Kay move to a mysterious planet where they must gather resources and fight off threatening creatures.
While it’s possible to play Haven alone, the game shines with its couch co-op, where each player takes control of one of the lovebirds. Since Yu and Kay have different abilities, players need to communicate in real life to coordinate attacks against enemies and explore the desert planet. For its setting and core gameplay, Haven is a perfect game to play with your loved one on Valentine’s Day.
Available on: Nintendo Switch
The third title of the Luigi’s Mansion franchise added the possibility for two players to hunt ghosts side by side. That’s because Luigi’s Mansion 3 introduces a brand-new character, Gooigi, a slimy green copy of the franchise’s protagonist that comes with his own set of unique skills. While controlling both Luigi and Gooigi with single-player is possible, Luigi’s Mansion 3 offers a fantastic cooperative experience where two players can coordinate their actions to defeat the supernatural menaces scattered around the game’s haunted hotel.
The only downside of Luigi's Mansion 3 is that Gooigi only becomes available after one hour or so of gameplay, when Luigi reaches a point in the story where he gets his sticky clone. If players are willing to take turns playing until Gooigi is unlocked, they’ll have access to one of the best cooperative experiences on the Nintendo Switch. Luigi’s Mansion 3 creative level design keeps the experience fresh from start to end, and there are enough collectibles spread around the hotel’s floors for players to extend their gameplay.
Available on: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Nintendo Switch
While sharing a journey is a great way to reinforce our bonds with our loved ones, sometimes we are just looking for a casual experience that’s easy to pick. That’s where Heave Ho comes in handy. In Heave Ho, each player controls a strange character that’s pretty much a ball with two long arms. Players can move their arms in any direction and grab on any piece of the level with one or both of their hands. With a simple control scheme, players must cross levels and reach goals, while also collecting coins in their way. There’s just one catch: the distance between objects is too great for one player to cross the level alone, so all players must hang to each other and swing through the obstacles on their way to victory.
Heave Ho’s simple premise hides a chaotic and fun experience when it comes to co-op. The game art style and music keep the mood light and the stakes low, which helps to make Heave Ho into the best casual and fun experience to share with your loved one on Valentine’s Day. Also, if you're celebrating the special day with more than one person, Heave Ho also allows three and four players to work together in this cooperative mayhem.
Available on: Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Mac OS, Linux, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch
Sometimes we are looking for something fun and exciting. Other times, we just want to sit back, relax, and plant some carrots. Stardew Valley is not only one of the best farming simulators in the market, but it’s also one that you can play as a local cooperative. Two people can use a split-screen mode to play Stardew Valley on the same system, sharing the joys of taking care of a virtual farm and watching as life grows under your care.
As a farm simulator, Stardew Valley offers the expected mechanics of planting, harvesting, and brewing animals. However, the indie gem gameplay is complex enough to consider the weather and the stations to give players more things to manage while building the perfect farm. Since the game is also focused on sandbox gameplay, two people can play Stardew Valley together virtually forever; there’s no definitive end to the game, and players can keep tending to their farm for however long they’d like to. So, lovebirds looking for a long-term commitment with a relaxing game shouldn’t look any further than Stardew Valley.
Available on: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Microsoft Windows
There’s a reason It Takes Two won The Game Awards for Best Game. It might be the best cooperative experience ever created! While other cooperative games usually offer a one-player mode and need to create challenges with a single-player experience in mind, It Takes Two only works when two players are plugged simultaneously. That means every aspect of It Takes Two was tailored for two people playing at the same time, which leads to some of the most inventive and diversified mechanics in the industry.
At each new level, It Takes Two offers new tools for the players to experiment with, and each player will always have a unique instrument to use. That means the only way to beat It Takes Two is to work together and communicate in real life, figuring out how each player can interact with one another to explore vast levels, fight fierce bosses, and play multiple minigames. The story of It Takes Two, about a couple going through a divorce rediscovering the love they had for one another, can take some strange and unexpected turns and dialogue is not always compelling. Even so, the core gameplay of It Takes Two makes it the perfect co-op experience, and every couple would be well served by giving it a chance this Valentine’s Day.
One for each of the Nine Realms.
Marco Vito Oddo is a writer, journalist, and game designer. Passionate by superhero comic books, horror films, and indie games, he writes for Collider and develops games for Mother’s Touch Games.
