Best Games to Play With Your Partner: The Complete Couples Gaming Guide

Gaming Together: Better Than Netflix

Gaming with your partner is one of the most rewarding ways to spend time together. It's collaborative, it's fun, it creates shared memories, and — unlike watching TV — it requires you to actually communicate and work as a team. Whether you're a veteran couple of gamers or one of you is completely new to gaming, there's a perfect game out there for you.

Best Couples Game Overall: It Takes Two

Hazelight Studios' masterpiece was designed from the ground up to be played by exactly two people. It Takes Two follows a couple on the brink of divorce, magically transformed into dolls, who must work together to save their relationship. Every chapter introduces entirely new mechanics — from shooting to platforming to puzzle-solving — ensuring the experience never gets stale. It won Game of the Year 2021 and remains the gold standard for co-op gaming. One copy is all you need thanks to Friend's Pass.

Best for the Non-Gamer Partner: Stardew Valley

If your partner isn't a gamer, Stardew Valley's relaxed, low-pressure multiplayer is the perfect entry point. Farm together, go fishing, explore mines, and build your dream homestead. There's no way to fail, no timers creating panic, and the visuals are charming and non-threatening. It runs on everything — PC, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and even mobile.

Best Competitive Option: Rocket League

Want to compete against each other? Rocket League's car-soccer formula is instantly understandable but takes years to master. Playing 1v1 against a partner is endlessly entertaining, and once you've both got the hang of it, teaming up in 2v2 against other couples is deeply satisfying. It's completely free on all platforms.

Best Story Game to Share: A Way Out

Another Hazelight gem, A Way Out is a cinematic co-op action game about two convicts who break out of prison. It's played in split-screen and follows a gripping narrative that genuinely surprises you. Like It Takes Two, one purchase covers both players via Friend's Pass. At around six hours, it's perfect for a weekend binge.

Best Puzzle Game: Portal 2

Valve's co-op mode in Portal 2 is some of the best puzzle game design ever made. You and your partner each control a portal gun and must navigate increasingly complex test chambers together. Communication is essential — and the satisfaction of cracking a difficult puzzle as a team is unbeatable. The writing is hilarious and the co-op campaign adds meaningful hours beyond the already-excellent single-player.

More Great Picks for Couples

• Overcooked 2 — Chaotic kitchen co-op that will test your communication
• Minecraft — Build a world together at your own pace
• Unravel Two — Beautiful platformer where you're literally connected by yarn
• Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime — Colorful co-op space adventure
• Cuphead — For couples who want a serious challenge together
• Moving Out — Hilarious furniture-moving physics madness
• Trine series — Gorgeous fairy-tale puzzle platformers

Tips for Gaming as a Couple

Always let the less experienced player set the difficulty. Agree to pause and explain things rather than taking over the controller. Celebrate small victories together. Choose games where both players feel equally important — the best co-op games give each person meaningful things to do rather than one person carrying the other. And if a game is causing frustration, switch to something else — gaming is supposed to be fun, not a source of arguments.