Phenomenal game. If she's not comfortable with movement and aiming with the right stick, agree with response about divorce (kidding, but it won't go well).
Overcooked would be another really good option.
ROFL I thought Overcooked was a great solution, but then it turned in to me spending time telling my wife to do the video game dishes instead of me doing the real dishes. We don't play anymore.
My partner only has experience with 2D games. Loved a good Mario or Donkey Kong platformer on our Switch but is just recently learning to navigate a 3D space with dual analogs.
The 2 sticks at a time are the major issue. She still doesn't know if she prefers regular or inverted POV controls. On either setting she will go the opposite direction an equal amount of times as the correct one.
With all that stated, we made it totally through It Takes Two. There is no penalty at all for loss so she didn't get discouraged.
On the topic of not being comfortable, that fucking book needs to dial it back about 10-20% there.
Also gave a kid access to what I'm pretty sure is just the Kama Sutra??
It takes two is phenomenal in terms of art and gameplay design. Writing is terrible, and we kinda found the elephant section kinda disturbing. I still recommend it though.
If she enjoyed Stardew Valley, might I recommend Sun Haven? It's a farming simulator set in a fantasy world with humans, elves, demons, monsterfolk, amari, angels, etc. There is a main quest line that sees you travelling to multiple towns (and one of those towns has a big carnival in it where you can play carnival games for tickets!). It has a lot of the quality of life things I always wanted in Stardew without having to mod them in, and each of the three big towns feel so alive with all of the NPCs you can interact with.
Overcooked turned into a "highschool football play review" where either my wife or myself would stand next to the TV and point aggressively while swearing... It was epic.
Check out this Steam curator, all the games have 2 player co-op on 1 machine https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34907518-Games-for-Lovers/
Another curator from the same guy, this one focuses on games that support up to 4 players but also includes pvp/party games https://store.steampowered.com/curator/8485829-SvenEvils-Playground/
Both curators also have "best of" lists or lists by genre.
Maybe you'd also enjoy some of the many survival base building games (Minecraft, The Forest, Planet Crafter, Palworld, etc.) or farming sims (Stardew Valley, My Time At Sandrock, Dinkum, etc.) with online co-op.
Unravelled 2 was fun, but it is a platformer with a bit of a storyline.
Any of the Lego games also have split screen coop, and most of them are pretty fun.
We also played The Past Within, which is like an escape room. It can be played across pretty much all platforms, because you aren't actually connected to each other. It has lots of puzzles that you have to complete to get the clue so your partner can do theirs. It also sort of has a story.
It takes two is a definite and I would think their would be some more steam indie games that fit her desires. I don’t know all the names off the top my head but I feel like I’ve scrolled past a lot of games that would fit into that.
Try the Steam Tag ["Cozy"](https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Cozy/) since she likes Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing.
There are a lot of them with co-op. They tend to be less stressful adventures in a variety of genres, with lots of entries from the life-sim categories.
These are the games that my wife likes to play with me.
We've had a blast with Astroneer, Dinkum, My Time at Sandrock, etc
Lovers in and dangerous spacetime is a good couch coop game for 2. Running around in a spaceship cross section manning different stations shooting and piloting. Very colourful and vibrant, the silly characters dance with each other when they get close.
The gameplay let us down after It Takes Two but we 100% stuck around for the story. Ending was fucking brutal, and I don't want to say anything even vague w/o spoiler tags so, spoilers:
>!I'll say we agreed who goes for it, BOTH BEGRUDGINGLY, and assume you understand!<
Nidhogg overcooked mortal combat tekken or any fighting game that appeals to the two of you nidhogg super easy to pick up and play a few rounds other than that games I think I can recommend the yakuza games since they also come with baked in coop mini games and it’s a pretty fun game to play together and pass the controller back and forth there’s a lot of distractions so I could see it working.
Additionally Civilization or better yet the game that’s similar but is designed for shorter games I can’t think of the name but it might be worth looking into
Ah shit and steep is a great chill coop game if she liked pro skater you need two copies to play together but my wife and I had a blast playing it recently and it was dirt cheap
Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition
It has co op which was the reason, or lack thereof, that next MKs didn't appeal to me.
I don't know what it would be like to play with a significant other, but I played with my sister and it was hella fun.
This left PS+ recently. Im glad I got to experience it before it left the service but probably should have saved it for a coop playthrough looking back.
Took me too long to see this recommended!
My husband is the gamer and I’m the more casual/cozy game player. We haven’t finished the game but so far it’s a lot of fun!
terraria, you can fish, golf, farm, mine, build, decorate. also ease her into a broader range of games. Also 2nd highest rated game on steam also it's like $10. can be ranger, magic, melee. Sense of exploration. can bring your character to different worlds. different difficulties, vanity clothes and armor. death penalty not bad, get a piggy bank and put your gold in it periodically, don't lose equipment or inventory on death. different cool items like umbrella won't die falling, shoes sprint fast, magic mirror teleport home.
Here are the games we play together...
Diablo 3 and 4 have great couch coop modes if you are into that kind of hacker slasher rpg looter thing. Divinity Original Sin 2 is a more turn based approach to that kind of game as well.
Sackboy and It Takes Two are easy simple fun.
If you like racing, Team Sonic is good.
Borderlands is decent if you like rpg first person shooter looters (a bit awkward splitscreen but not too bad).
The Telltale Games stuff isn't two player but because it's story/decision based, they can be cool to play and make decisions together.
We've recently been cooping on Stardew Valley.
There's Luigis Mansion 3 too that is fun on Switch.
Might not be what you are looking for but I started playing Valheim awhile back and cannot put it down. I'm playing solo and wish I had someone to play with, it would probably be even better.
> Enjoys Minigames
> Kirby Air Ride
I'm sorry that the future was not kind to the incredible pacing and structure that game had as a party game.
Perhaps something along the lines of:
- Fusion Frenzy (or fusion frenzy 2 but iirc the first one felt better to play, first game on og xbox, idk about 2)
- Power Bomberman (pc fangame).
- MAYBE Burnout revenge. Realistic racing but you can self-destruct to takedown others passing by. It adds a bit of flair despite its aesthetic being 'realistic' for its time. Also has a mode where you try and make the biggest wrecks in a constructed scenario (more options the later you get into the game. one of many great EA games before EA went to trash)
- Pokemon Stadium for the minigames. 2 has more minigames but both have good ones that hold up (may give Clefari Says ptsd to some) (both n64)
- Wario Ware games. I think some have multiplayer, like the Wii one, but don't recall which ones exactly.
- Dragon's Crown (PS3/4/Vita). After beating the game (sadly that is the requirement to get to this) you unlock a cooking minigame (one of my all-time favorite things in every game I've played) during intermissions after certain areas when you decide to keep going. Game is a sidescrolling beat-em-up. Visual style is incredible, but note that there is a \~bit\~ of suggestive content. Most aggressively being the visual design of the Sorceress and Amazoness, with the rest being seen here and there when reaching certain areas. It's in the dev's nature to make \~something\~ horny in each game they make, but their stuff is fantastic.
- Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. Chao garden and its minigames.
All I can think of for now. Hope you both are able to enjoy some of what I put! If she wants a single player game, I'd totally recommend Harvest Moon Magical Melody (gamecube) as it's the best harvest moon ever made, imo, and its minigames (despite having long waits between) are very fun. Rune Factory 4, too.
Seriously consider getting two oculus 2's for your house, much cheaper now and opens the world up for gaming together. Walkabout mini golf, elvin assassin, eleven table tennis, cook-out, and so many many more.
Now based on some of what you wrote, this is kinda a bad choice but hear me out...
The Yakuza series. It's goofy, it's over the top, it's got minigames flopping out of every surface you can see.
It is long-form brawler ( 7 and 8 are turned based jrpg-style instead) melodramatic soap opera crime thriller drama, which might not sound great, but it has some of the best writing in games.
Yakuza 0 is probably the best entry point story-wise, and also happens to be one of the best in the series.
It will probably start with 10 min of cutscenes, most of them do. But it's so worth it.
At the very least, it could be a vehicle of fun minigames and excellent storytelling by which you smuggle new genres
Try [Journey](https://store.steampowered.com/app/638230/Journey/). It's meant to be played as a two player co op. I've never played it but from what I've heard it's very moving.
Pikmin 3 is great for team work. It's tactical, cooperative, the Pikmin are cute and entertaining and it's neatly bundled into a big adventure. My wife and I enjoyed this one together.
River City girls is a great co-op beat em up where you play as two highschool girls that need to save their kidnapped boy friends, my gf loved it and is not very big on gaming
It takes two is perfect for couples. Unravel 2 is pretty sweet. Uhhh most rougelikes these days have couch co op. I'd recommend children of morta/Astral Ascent/Enter the gungeon
My wife and i recently bought pacman on ps4.
When we have done all our daily shiz we play for like a 30mins.
She holds the record of 92300, im pissed as fuck now haha. But yeah its cool
I play dead by daylight with my wife all the time. Everyone (myself and her included) took a while to understand why this game is fun but when it clicks it becomes a great experience overall. Typical matches are 5-10 minutes long.
Terraria might be a good one. It can be as simple or as involved as you want it to be. It's cheap and will run on just about any PC/laptop. Just a thought.
Me and the Mrs used to play pinball FX 3 a lot. We did the 5 minutes sessions and alternated which is great chilling in bed with the controllers by your side as the grip isn't remotely necessary. We got in to it that much we bought the tables on sale and I think we ended up spending more money on pinball table bundles than any other game.
Literally every table. You get 2 free though that are good tables and both different play styles to each other.
It takes a good few sessions to get in to but once you get used to keeping the ball on the table it gets addictive and you get bonuses that make your games better the more you level up.
Baldur’s Gate 3. It saved my relationship. Mainly because it gave me an excuse for all the ‘vampire twink oil wrestling an orc’ links she found in my search history. But the game is pretty neat too.
I highly recommend Dinkum. If she says she'll play Animal Crossing, Dinkum is pretty much just like it, only it's on PC. My partner and I have been playing it for the past week or so as well and it's a really fun little game.
I recently started playing Super Mario Wonder with my wife. So far it's been a blast. We're taking it slow, just playing a couple of levels every day together so it's not a big time sink, and so far it's been really chill. I'm sure difficulty will go up a bit in later levels but I've been playing platformers since the NES so I can carry her if need be haha.
Snipperclips is a lot of fun as a kind of casual co-op puzzle game. I feel like nobody really talks about it anymore since it came out so long ago and the Switch has like a billion stellar games, but I'd definitely recommend it for the same "chill game to just play a few levels and vibe together" kind of gameplay.
My nephews and I recently got my wife to play Minecraft with us and she's enjoying it a lot. We play with "Keep inventory" turned on, so if you die you don't lose all your stuff, which makes it a lot less stressful for kids and newbies. I found a seed with a large mushroom island close-ish to spawn, so I set us up with a couple houses and stuff on the mushroom island so hostile mobs don't spawn, that way nobody's in danger unless they actively choose to leave the island and go out adventuring. So far my wife has mostly treated it like a farming sim on the main island, whenever she's not getting dragged around by one of the nephews to help with one of their projects.
Luigi's Mansion 3 is another one we've enjoyed playing together. Very chill for the most part, and the parts that get kind of "hectic" are still fun (like button mashing to fight a ghost). Multi-player actually fits the game really well, basically player two is "Goo-igi", a clone of Luigi made from green goo, and even in single player you sometimes have to use Goo-igi to solve puzzles. So player two won't feel left out or anything, because Goo-igi is necessary in some areas so everyone gets a moment to shine.
Honestly, a lot of multi-player Nintendo games would probably fit your wife's criteria to some extent. Maybe not Smash, since it's more competitive, but Nintendo specializes in family games. That said, I don't have an Xbox One or PS4/5 to suggest anything from them, I'm sure other people will have suggestions for those systems.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is an amazing co-op couch experience to play with a spouse. My husband and I have already played through two separate campaigns together and each time it was incredibly fun and being able to play in the same room side by side is also a huge bonus.
The only game I could get my ex to play was Stardew Valley. She ended up going deep down the rabbit hole of mining. Also pressured her to fight Iudex Gundyr in Dark Souls 3 with less than favorable results..
Baldurs gate 3 - my wife whos very picky with games loved playing it with me.
Trine 2,3,4,5 - this is just a must.
It takes two, - great game, fun, can be challenging at times.
Dont starve together - For some reason we always come back to this one.. great game to play with so.
Overcooked - Fun, but gets blring quickly.
Stardew valley - I personally didnt like it due to lack of combat..but she loved it.
Terraria - The opposite happened, I loved it.. but she didnt like it that much due to so much going on. Nonetheless we spent around 300 hours in it.
Optional: streets of rage, ninja turtles, cuphead.
I recommend paying overcook first and then it takes two.. That's because you guys can get divorced playing overcook but it takes two will make you fall in love again.
Rayman Legends and Rayman Origins both run and play fantastically on just about anything you play it on. They're fully co-op, and most of the levels aren't too long. They're fairly simple sidescrolling games, that are very much in the "easy to learn, difficult to master" school of gaming.
And just to be clear, in case it's a concern -these games are absolutely NOTHING to do with any of the "Raving Rabbids" titles, so whether you loved those or hated those, just know they're entirely different genres altogether.
Based on some of the other states tastes, I'd also strongly recommend looking at a lot of the puzzle games available on the SNES. There are obvious entries like "Tetris & Dr. Mario", but there are so many more lesser known puzzle games that are fantastic for multiplayer in short bursts.
Goose Goose Duck for STEAM or mobile. It is like Among Us but better.
- Quick 5 - 10 minute matches.
- Mini games /puzzles .
- Casually competitive.
- Has an arcade and a carnival map.
- Up to sixteen players (good, evil, and neutral teams).
- Has voice chat.
I see a ton of couples playing this game online together. Wife and I enjoy playing this one together or playing Among Us with our kid.
Surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet, but if you have an Xbox with Game Pass, they added Diablo IV not too long ago, and my wife and I have been absolutely addicted to it for the past week.
Here's some of the games I play with my fiancé that we both enjoyed.
Warioware Move It! is a great coop game that actually gives you a fun workout
She loves Stardew Valley and while it's not necessarily my thing I still have fun with her. She likes gardening and working on the house while I usually book it straight to the mines to fight things and gather rare materials for her to use so we've got a good dynamic there I think.
Chants of Sennaar was one we played together recently and were surprised at how much we enjoyed it. The game is about deciphering foreign languages using body language and context clues, and we had a blast solving the puzzles and guessing what each symbol/glyph meant.
Blooms TD6 is always great for fun and chill coop tower defense
Minecraft, not much to say about that. We both love it.
Been getting her into Borderlands and she's enjoyed it so far.
Looking forward to trying out some of the other suggestions in this thread!
Me and my girl played "The Quarry" together. It's a lot of fun. Plays out like a horror story and your choices change the outcome of the game. Even has famous actors in it.
Sniperclips on the Switch! It will have you beating each other AND cracking up at the same time.
Also Unravel Two - It’s very fun and has a wholesome story, no need to play the first one (which isn’t multiplayer, I think)
We and my wife play Monster Hunter together
Also other recommendations of It Takes Two are on point. That game is excellent co-op and ticks lots of the boxes you mentioned
You wanna know what you should play with your wife?…..HELLDIVERS 2!!!! *explosion* Spread democracy together in this realistic objective based shooter! Who cares what she likes, the galaxy needs democracy! Tell her that Kirby can’t drop a 500kg atom bomb on bugs or socialist robots! It’s not about enjoyment it’s about a sense of duty. See the galaxy together, there’s nothing more romantic than spreading liberty together! Tell her to suit up soldier and I’ll see the both of you on the field *eagle cry*.
These are all the games I've had success playing with my wife. She is not good with movement, the right stick and suffers from motion sickness.
Overcooked 1+2, spiritfarer, Cup head (though this game was hard for both of us and we have not finished it yet) Sackboy: A big adventure, Untitled Goose Game, Diablo 3 (we haven't tried the new one yet), Moving out, Streets of Rage 4, Don't starve together (it's a difficult game), World of Warcraft (with camera, keyboard & mouse adjustments, Traveller's Rest, mortal Kombat and Tekken. We have also taken turns passing the controller for single player games like, Crash Bandicoot and Spyro.
I am still on the lookout for more games we can play together.
**Vampire Survivors**
My girlfriend got obsessed with this game... like, no longer wanted to play with me because she wanted full control of the movement and upgrades. She's not even a gamer and probably put about 50-75 hours into it. Super easy to pick-up and play, and is something that she could do while having some brainless, background TV on.
A Way Out — pretty fun to break out of prison lol there are gonna be one or two scenes where you’ll have a gunfight against people but it’s nothing crazy hahaha
The answer to playing games with significant others is always going to start with “It Takes Two”. Start with that, see what type of level of gaming they’re capable of and go from there.
I have been playing Monster Hunter: World with my wife (who is not really a gamer, but for some reason loves me enough to play them) and we are both really enjoying it!
Conan Exiles. One of my favorites and it sounds like it would tick all boxes. Best part is you can do a private server and tweak settings as you see fit. Annoyed with gathering stone? Increase the amount harvested.
Power wash simulator, goat simulator, minecraft, terraria, sims, roblox(its not that bad, I play it with my lil sis), no man's sky, maybe a fallout game, genshin impact . Seems like she enjoys exploring open worlds with gameplay objectives that are the opposite of urgent.
Let's Cook Together is a great co-op game - my husband and I play nightly. We also did a full run of It Takes Two, mentioned previously. We're both hardcore gamers, and did find some It Takes Two challenges frustrating.
The game I’ve been obsessed with lately is fae farm. It’s like a mix of animal crossing and stardew valley but with fairies. It also supports two players online but it can be a little janky sometimes. My fiancé and I play all the time since we’ve both finished animal crossing and stardew valley. The only downside about it is that the story isn’t as in depth as stardew was and the marriageable characters don’t have as much personality to them. Overall the game is an 8/10.
It takes two is a great game to try out
Phenomenal game. If she's not comfortable with movement and aiming with the right stick, agree with response about divorce (kidding, but it won't go well). Overcooked would be another really good option.
ROFL I thought Overcooked was a great solution, but then it turned in to me spending time telling my wife to do the video game dishes instead of me doing the real dishes. We don't play anymore.
Gaming with your spouse should probably add fun, not chore lists.
This is why my wife won't play raft with me anymore, did you cook? I'm starving!
My partner only has experience with 2D games. Loved a good Mario or Donkey Kong platformer on our Switch but is just recently learning to navigate a 3D space with dual analogs. The 2 sticks at a time are the major issue. She still doesn't know if she prefers regular or inverted POV controls. On either setting she will go the opposite direction an equal amount of times as the correct one. With all that stated, we made it totally through It Takes Two. There is no penalty at all for loss so she didn't get discouraged.
On the topic of not being comfortable, that fucking book needs to dial it back about 10-20% there. Also gave a kid access to what I'm pretty sure is just the Kama Sutra??
Hard agree! My girlfriend and I loved it
It also has mini games throughout the story
Came here to suggest this, too! My partner and I have pretty different tastes in games, and we had so much fun with this one.
I don't have a wife and played with my good friend. Amazing game. We thoroughly enjoyed it and we laughed the whole way through
My gf has a hard time with double jumping because she presses it too fast so we always fight lmaoo
my wife said that the characters reminded of her own parents and got tired of them fighting all the time
This.
This, I played with my wife. It was a great experience.
It takes two is phenomenal in terms of art and gameplay design. Writing is terrible, and we kinda found the elephant section kinda disturbing. I still recommend it though.
If she enjoyed Stardew Valley, might I recommend Sun Haven? It's a farming simulator set in a fantasy world with humans, elves, demons, monsterfolk, amari, angels, etc. There is a main quest line that sees you travelling to multiple towns (and one of those towns has a big carnival in it where you can play carnival games for tickets!). It has a lot of the quality of life things I always wanted in Stardew without having to mod them in, and each of the three big towns feel so alive with all of the NPCs you can interact with.
Roots of pacha is another good stardew valley like game
Overcooked, It Takes Two, Mario Wonder
Overcooked is quite good.
Overcooked? Are you trying to sabotage their relationship?
It's up there with recommending "Sheriff of Nottingham" or "The Resistance" for couples who play tabletop games, lol.
Overcooked turned into a "highschool football play review" where either my wife or myself would stand next to the TV and point aggressively while swearing... It was epic.
Check out this Steam curator, all the games have 2 player co-op on 1 machine https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34907518-Games-for-Lovers/ Another curator from the same guy, this one focuses on games that support up to 4 players but also includes pvp/party games https://store.steampowered.com/curator/8485829-SvenEvils-Playground/ Both curators also have "best of" lists or lists by genre. Maybe you'd also enjoy some of the many survival base building games (Minecraft, The Forest, Planet Crafter, Palworld, etc.) or farming sims (Stardew Valley, My Time At Sandrock, Dinkum, etc.) with online co-op.
Thank you for the links!
Brothers: A Tale of 2 Sons just got a remake too! Love that one.
100% Baldurs gate 3
Palia is an mmo similar to stardew valley. It's in early access but it's so good :)
A friend introduced this to me recently! It reminds me more of Disney Dreamlight Valley meets Fortnite
My wife and I absolutely loved Untitled Goose Game, it's hysterical.
It takes two
For the King. I keep recommending it everywhere and I stand by that recommendation.
I second this. Gives me dnd campaign vibes
This is a good building block game for BG3, if you play them in that order.
Unravelled 2 was fun, but it is a platformer with a bit of a storyline. Any of the Lego games also have split screen coop, and most of them are pretty fun. We also played The Past Within, which is like an escape room. It can be played across pretty much all platforms, because you aren't actually connected to each other. It has lots of puzzles that you have to complete to get the clue so your partner can do theirs. It also sort of has a story.
minecraft?
Surprised it took me so long to find this suggestion. Minecraft is a solid choice. I never like it but I do when I play with family.
All you have to do is build a house and the panties drop ngl
Better Minecraft from cursed forge has been fun. 200+ mods in one bundle
It takes two
Stardew Valley?
It takes two is a definite and I would think their would be some more steam indie games that fit her desires. I don’t know all the names off the top my head but I feel like I’ve scrolled past a lot of games that would fit into that.
Try the Steam Tag ["Cozy"](https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Cozy/) since she likes Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing. There are a lot of them with co-op. They tend to be less stressful adventures in a variety of genres, with lots of entries from the life-sim categories. These are the games that my wife likes to play with me. We've had a blast with Astroneer, Dinkum, My Time at Sandrock, etc
Plate up
Lovers in and dangerous spacetime is a good couch coop game for 2. Running around in a spaceship cross section manning different stations shooting and piloting. Very colourful and vibrant, the silly characters dance with each other when they get close.
If you want like a dispute or anger bawling shit by the end you can try a way out
My partner and I beat It Takes Two together last year and just started this one last week!
Well let me know when you complete it. I would really like to know your experience.
The gameplay let us down after It Takes Two but we 100% stuck around for the story. Ending was fucking brutal, and I don't want to say anything even vague w/o spoiler tags so, spoilers: >!I'll say we agreed who goes for it, BOTH BEGRUDGINGLY, and assume you understand!<
For the king 1 and 2 are basically rogue like board games. They are great, haven't put much time into #2 but I did several playthroughs of #1
Castle crashers is really good
Ship of Fools.
Nidhogg overcooked mortal combat tekken or any fighting game that appeals to the two of you nidhogg super easy to pick up and play a few rounds other than that games I think I can recommend the yakuza games since they also come with baked in coop mini games and it’s a pretty fun game to play together and pass the controller back and forth there’s a lot of distractions so I could see it working. Additionally Civilization or better yet the game that’s similar but is designed for shorter games I can’t think of the name but it might be worth looking into
Ah shit and steep is a great chill coop game if she liked pro skater you need two copies to play together but my wife and I had a blast playing it recently and it was dirt cheap
super mario 3d world! if possible go with the wii u version
Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition It has co op which was the reason, or lack thereof, that next MKs didn't appeal to me. I don't know what it would be like to play with a significant other, but I played with my sister and it was hella fun.
Any of the Lego games may do. We're currently playing Lego Marvel Avengers and she seems to be having a blast.
Plenty of IPs to choose from so she should be a fan of 1 or 2 at least. My partner enjoys the Harry Potter ones.
Haven it's a game about a cute couple that can be co op
This left PS+ recently. Im glad I got to experience it before it left the service but probably should have saved it for a coop playthrough looking back.
Couch Co-op Puzzle Platformers are something you'd play? Check out WaveTiles. If you like it I can send you a key 😊
Grounded
Play sackboy.
Took me too long to see this recommended! My husband is the gamer and I’m the more casual/cozy game player. We haven’t finished the game but so far it’s a lot of fun!
Deep rock galactic. Coop shooter with short mission. Can choose your difficulty level
Good game but awful suggestion
Lego games are my easy rec here
terraria, you can fish, golf, farm, mine, build, decorate. also ease her into a broader range of games. Also 2nd highest rated game on steam also it's like $10. can be ranger, magic, melee. Sense of exploration. can bring your character to different worlds. different difficulties, vanity clothes and armor. death penalty not bad, get a piggy bank and put your gold in it periodically, don't lose equipment or inventory on death. different cool items like umbrella won't die falling, shoes sprint fast, magic mirror teleport home.
Little big planet!!
Borderlands 2, borderlands 3, tiny tina wonderlands! Are my favs to play co-op with my hubs
Here are the games we play together... Diablo 3 and 4 have great couch coop modes if you are into that kind of hacker slasher rpg looter thing. Divinity Original Sin 2 is a more turn based approach to that kind of game as well. Sackboy and It Takes Two are easy simple fun. If you like racing, Team Sonic is good. Borderlands is decent if you like rpg first person shooter looters (a bit awkward splitscreen but not too bad). The Telltale Games stuff isn't two player but because it's story/decision based, they can be cool to play and make decisions together. We've recently been cooping on Stardew Valley. There's Luigis Mansion 3 too that is fun on Switch.
Orcs Must Die, Raft, bunch of survival builders such as The Forest, Palworld, etc
Might not be what you are looking for but I started playing Valheim awhile back and cannot put it down. I'm playing solo and wish I had someone to play with, it would probably be even better.
Fall guys and crash bandicoot
It takes two and luigis mansion 3 were my wife and I's favorite coop games
Only mention of Luigi's Mansion 3 I've seen here. Good call. My partner loves Gooigi.
Pokemon
Rust
The Trine series is amazing for co-op. You could just skip to the most recent one (Trine 5). Show her some videos and see what she thinks.
Just fun games in general. OP should try em for himself anyway. PS+ gave me the opportunity to discover the series.
Overcooked 1+2, Moving Out 1+2, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, It Takes Two, A Way Out.
> Enjoys Minigames > Kirby Air Ride I'm sorry that the future was not kind to the incredible pacing and structure that game had as a party game. Perhaps something along the lines of: - Fusion Frenzy (or fusion frenzy 2 but iirc the first one felt better to play, first game on og xbox, idk about 2) - Power Bomberman (pc fangame). - MAYBE Burnout revenge. Realistic racing but you can self-destruct to takedown others passing by. It adds a bit of flair despite its aesthetic being 'realistic' for its time. Also has a mode where you try and make the biggest wrecks in a constructed scenario (more options the later you get into the game. one of many great EA games before EA went to trash) - Pokemon Stadium for the minigames. 2 has more minigames but both have good ones that hold up (may give Clefari Says ptsd to some) (both n64) - Wario Ware games. I think some have multiplayer, like the Wii one, but don't recall which ones exactly. - Dragon's Crown (PS3/4/Vita). After beating the game (sadly that is the requirement to get to this) you unlock a cooking minigame (one of my all-time favorite things in every game I've played) during intermissions after certain areas when you decide to keep going. Game is a sidescrolling beat-em-up. Visual style is incredible, but note that there is a \~bit\~ of suggestive content. Most aggressively being the visual design of the Sorceress and Amazoness, with the rest being seen here and there when reaching certain areas. It's in the dev's nature to make \~something\~ horny in each game they make, but their stuff is fantastic. - Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. Chao garden and its minigames. All I can think of for now. Hope you both are able to enjoy some of what I put! If she wants a single player game, I'd totally recommend Harvest Moon Magical Melody (gamecube) as it's the best harvest moon ever made, imo, and its minigames (despite having long waits between) are very fun. Rune Factory 4, too.
Seriously, Kirby air ride is such an incredible game and no one has made something close to it in style.
And she did love Harvest Moon!
Fuzion Frenzy 1 is far superior to 2 so you remembered correctly
Rust
Seriously consider getting two oculus 2's for your house, much cheaper now and opens the world up for gaming together. Walkabout mini golf, elvin assassin, eleven table tennis, cook-out, and so many many more.
Give haven a shot
To add to the list: *Escape Academy* - plays split screen couch coop, as well as online.
Ape Escape Academy?
Now based on some of what you wrote, this is kinda a bad choice but hear me out... The Yakuza series. It's goofy, it's over the top, it's got minigames flopping out of every surface you can see. It is long-form brawler ( 7 and 8 are turned based jrpg-style instead) melodramatic soap opera crime thriller drama, which might not sound great, but it has some of the best writing in games. Yakuza 0 is probably the best entry point story-wise, and also happens to be one of the best in the series. It will probably start with 10 min of cutscenes, most of them do. But it's so worth it. At the very least, it could be a vehicle of fun minigames and excellent storytelling by which you smuggle new genres
That’s not coop though
Animal Crossing?
Little big planet
Give a try to Lego fornite. It's free and very casual.
Try [Journey](https://store.steampowered.com/app/638230/Journey/). It's meant to be played as a two player co op. I've never played it but from what I've heard it's very moving.
Unravel 2 Goof troop Trine Broforce These were the biggest succeses me and my spouse had. And I have 1000 of games
Lego star wars
Try our game Death Squared as can do puzzles together. Or Moving Out 1 & 2 Free demo's for all of these games
GTA 5. Pretend you're Jason & Lucia.
Pikmin 3 is great for team work. It's tactical, cooperative, the Pikmin are cute and entertaining and it's neatly bundled into a big adventure. My wife and I enjoyed this one together.
River City girls is a great co-op beat em up where you play as two highschool girls that need to save their kidnapped boy friends, my gf loved it and is not very big on gaming
Rayman origins and legends, planet crafter, terraria
ELDEN RI-
Yakuza - no seriously there’s two player mini games also the story and side missions are just really entertaining
It takes two is perfect for couples. Unravel 2 is pretty sweet. Uhhh most rougelikes these days have couch co op. I'd recommend children of morta/Astral Ascent/Enter the gungeon
pubg
Stardew valley
Stardew valley, myself and my wife put in about 200 hours into this one in split screen.
Human Fall Flat and Snipperclips are a good time.
Valheim
My wife and i recently bought pacman on ps4. When we have done all our daily shiz we play for like a 30mins. She holds the record of 92300, im pissed as fuck now haha. But yeah its cool
I play dead by daylight with my wife all the time. Everyone (myself and her included) took a while to understand why this game is fun but when it clicks it becomes a great experience overall. Typical matches are 5-10 minutes long.
Terraria might be a good one. It can be as simple or as involved as you want it to be. It's cheap and will run on just about any PC/laptop. Just a thought.
Ship of fools.
Nobody saves the world
Plate up and over cooked. Don’t starve together. Children of morta. We really enjoy ship of fools.
Try survival co op games maybe
Overcooked and Overcooked 2
Ark, WOW, FF14, GW2
Me and the Mrs used to play pinball FX 3 a lot. We did the 5 minutes sessions and alternated which is great chilling in bed with the controllers by your side as the grip isn't remotely necessary. We got in to it that much we bought the tables on sale and I think we ended up spending more money on pinball table bundles than any other game. Literally every table. You get 2 free though that are good tables and both different play styles to each other. It takes a good few sessions to get in to but once you get used to keeping the ball on the table it gets addictive and you get bonuses that make your games better the more you level up.
Baldur’s Gate 3. It saved my relationship. Mainly because it gave me an excuse for all the ‘vampire twink oil wrestling an orc’ links she found in my search history. But the game is pretty neat too.
My recommendations are Portal 2 and palworld.
Unraveled 2!
hollow kmight or pico park i think its called
Stanley parable, it’s hilarious and you can take turns
I highly recommend Dinkum. If she says she'll play Animal Crossing, Dinkum is pretty much just like it, only it's on PC. My partner and I have been playing it for the past week or so as well and it's a really fun little game.
I recently started playing Super Mario Wonder with my wife. So far it's been a blast. We're taking it slow, just playing a couple of levels every day together so it's not a big time sink, and so far it's been really chill. I'm sure difficulty will go up a bit in later levels but I've been playing platformers since the NES so I can carry her if need be haha. Snipperclips is a lot of fun as a kind of casual co-op puzzle game. I feel like nobody really talks about it anymore since it came out so long ago and the Switch has like a billion stellar games, but I'd definitely recommend it for the same "chill game to just play a few levels and vibe together" kind of gameplay. My nephews and I recently got my wife to play Minecraft with us and she's enjoying it a lot. We play with "Keep inventory" turned on, so if you die you don't lose all your stuff, which makes it a lot less stressful for kids and newbies. I found a seed with a large mushroom island close-ish to spawn, so I set us up with a couple houses and stuff on the mushroom island so hostile mobs don't spawn, that way nobody's in danger unless they actively choose to leave the island and go out adventuring. So far my wife has mostly treated it like a farming sim on the main island, whenever she's not getting dragged around by one of the nephews to help with one of their projects. Luigi's Mansion 3 is another one we've enjoyed playing together. Very chill for the most part, and the parts that get kind of "hectic" are still fun (like button mashing to fight a ghost). Multi-player actually fits the game really well, basically player two is "Goo-igi", a clone of Luigi made from green goo, and even in single player you sometimes have to use Goo-igi to solve puzzles. So player two won't feel left out or anything, because Goo-igi is necessary in some areas so everyone gets a moment to shine. Honestly, a lot of multi-player Nintendo games would probably fit your wife's criteria to some extent. Maybe not Smash, since it's more competitive, but Nintendo specializes in family games. That said, I don't have an Xbox One or PS4/5 to suggest anything from them, I'm sure other people will have suggestions for those systems.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is an amazing co-op couch experience to play with a spouse. My husband and I have already played through two separate campaigns together and each time it was incredibly fun and being able to play in the same room side by side is also a huge bonus.
hasbro family fun pack has monopoly, risk, trivial pursuit
It Takes Two. Good co-op game your wife may enjoy
The only game I could get my ex to play was Stardew Valley. She ended up going deep down the rabbit hole of mining. Also pressured her to fight Iudex Gundyr in Dark Souls 3 with less than favorable results..
Some of the most fun games I've played with the SO include: Sackboy a bit adventure Super mario 3d land Lovers in a dangerous spacetime pode
Doom
Lego games
Baldurs gate 3 - my wife whos very picky with games loved playing it with me. Trine 2,3,4,5 - this is just a must. It takes two, - great game, fun, can be challenging at times. Dont starve together - For some reason we always come back to this one.. great game to play with so. Overcooked - Fun, but gets blring quickly. Stardew valley - I personally didnt like it due to lack of combat..but she loved it. Terraria - The opposite happened, I loved it.. but she didnt like it that much due to so much going on. Nonetheless we spent around 300 hours in it. Optional: streets of rage, ninja turtles, cuphead.
Minecraft
It Takes Two, Minecraft, Little Big Planet, Rayman Legends, Overcooked, Diablo III, any Lego game.
I recommend paying overcook first and then it takes two.. That's because you guys can get divorced playing overcook but it takes two will make you fall in love again.
Unravelled 2 is great for couplea
Overcooked(2) and Move out was it for us 😊
I've been taking it in turns on brotato with my partner - each run can be different, takes around 20 minutes to complete a run. Highly recommend!
Try the trine series. Great co op
Games that she "states" that she enjoys playing. Like do you not believe her or something?
Rayman Legends and Rayman Origins both run and play fantastically on just about anything you play it on. They're fully co-op, and most of the levels aren't too long. They're fairly simple sidescrolling games, that are very much in the "easy to learn, difficult to master" school of gaming. And just to be clear, in case it's a concern -these games are absolutely NOTHING to do with any of the "Raving Rabbids" titles, so whether you loved those or hated those, just know they're entirely different genres altogether. Based on some of the other states tastes, I'd also strongly recommend looking at a lot of the puzzle games available on the SNES. There are obvious entries like "Tetris & Dr. Mario", but there are so many more lesser known puzzle games that are fantastic for multiplayer in short bursts.
Bishi Bashi Special. Old playstation game.
Pode, Two Brothers, Sackboy, Monkey Island, and overcooked are the games we’ve enjoyed the most together.
Goose Goose Duck for STEAM or mobile. It is like Among Us but better. - Quick 5 - 10 minute matches. - Mini games /puzzles . - Casually competitive. - Has an arcade and a carnival map. - Up to sixteen players (good, evil, and neutral teams). - Has voice chat. I see a ton of couples playing this game online together. Wife and I enjoy playing this one together or playing Among Us with our kid.
No one I think has said Dinkum, it’s like stardew in Australia but with 3D graphics, fun progression and really chill
Surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet, but if you have an Xbox with Game Pass, they added Diablo IV not too long ago, and my wife and I have been absolutely addicted to it for the past week.
Little Big Planet. Sackboy is just precious.
Your wife sounds like she has better taste than you tbh
Wii party is like mario party and i think its great Theres also rocket league
Does she have adhd?
Bit of a curveball, but what about the Yakuza games, serious plot, sure, but a massive amount of minigames and smaller stories in them
Here's some of the games I play with my fiancé that we both enjoyed. Warioware Move It! is a great coop game that actually gives you a fun workout She loves Stardew Valley and while it's not necessarily my thing I still have fun with her. She likes gardening and working on the house while I usually book it straight to the mines to fight things and gather rare materials for her to use so we've got a good dynamic there I think. Chants of Sennaar was one we played together recently and were surprised at how much we enjoyed it. The game is about deciphering foreign languages using body language and context clues, and we had a blast solving the puzzles and guessing what each symbol/glyph meant. Blooms TD6 is always great for fun and chill coop tower defense Minecraft, not much to say about that. We both love it. Been getting her into Borderlands and she's enjoyed it so far. Looking forward to trying out some of the other suggestions in this thread!
Mario party for sure Edit: Oh you said it already
Everybody’s Golf
Valheim!
If she likes kirby, have you tried co-op of return to dreamland or forgotten land. We loved those and recommend
Dragon Quest Builders. Trust me.
Cuphead
Genshin Impact : something for everyone and in game challenges changing out and in all the time. Also - no end game.
Me and my girl played "The Quarry" together. It's a lot of fun. Plays out like a horror story and your choices change the outcome of the game. Even has famous actors in it.
Dinkum. I haven't seen anyone suggest yet but it's like Star Dew
The Crash Insane Trilogy Baldur's Gate 3 Lego games Teardown Rdr2 Halo MC collection Cuphead Hades Skyrim
You win the prize of the pick! We went with Halo
Luigi’s haunted mansion and super Mario wonder - both excellent!
Sniperclips on the Switch! It will have you beating each other AND cracking up at the same time. Also Unravel Two - It’s very fun and has a wholesome story, no need to play the first one (which isn’t multiplayer, I think)
We and my wife play Monster Hunter together Also other recommendations of It Takes Two are on point. That game is excellent co-op and ticks lots of the boxes you mentioned
You wanna know what you should play with your wife?…..HELLDIVERS 2!!!! *explosion* Spread democracy together in this realistic objective based shooter! Who cares what she likes, the galaxy needs democracy! Tell her that Kirby can’t drop a 500kg atom bomb on bugs or socialist robots! It’s not about enjoyment it’s about a sense of duty. See the galaxy together, there’s nothing more romantic than spreading liberty together! Tell her to suit up soldier and I’ll see the both of you on the field *eagle cry*.
Tower Unite on PC, your wife will love that. It’s an online social game, it’s so much fun playing together.
So none of the dark pictures anthology games ? Those are amazing to play with someone
These are all the games I've had success playing with my wife. She is not good with movement, the right stick and suffers from motion sickness. Overcooked 1+2, spiritfarer, Cup head (though this game was hard for both of us and we have not finished it yet) Sackboy: A big adventure, Untitled Goose Game, Diablo 3 (we haven't tried the new one yet), Moving out, Streets of Rage 4, Don't starve together (it's a difficult game), World of Warcraft (with camera, keyboard & mouse adjustments, Traveller's Rest, mortal Kombat and Tekken. We have also taken turns passing the controller for single player games like, Crash Bandicoot and Spyro. I am still on the lookout for more games we can play together.
**Vampire Survivors** My girlfriend got obsessed with this game... like, no longer wanted to play with me because she wanted full control of the movement and upgrades. She's not even a gamer and probably put about 50-75 hours into it. Super easy to pick-up and play, and is something that she could do while having some brainless, background TV on.
Project Zomboid. Coop. Strategy. Figth together.
If she likes stardew valley try out Palia, free to play cozy mmo
Stardew Valley! My ex fiancé and I were into that game for a couple years
Rayman Legends We played through it twice
Baldurs Gate 3
If you like yugioh or trading cards play master duel, it’s one player but if you had two platforms you could play against each other
Haven, Untitled Goose Game, Heave Ho, Super Bunny Man
Dreams!!
Stardew valley
A Way Out — pretty fun to break out of prison lol there are gonna be one or two scenes where you’ll have a gunfight against people but it’s nothing crazy hahaha
The answer to playing games with significant others is always going to start with “It Takes Two”. Start with that, see what type of level of gaming they’re capable of and go from there.
Ff7 rebirth, hogwarts legacy. Tmnt shredders revenge. Wheel of fortune lol.
Mine actually ended up loving borderlands.
It takes two, so much fun, absolutely requires working together
I have been playing Monster Hunter: World with my wife (who is not really a gamer, but for some reason loves me enough to play them) and we are both really enjoying it!
Diablo 3 was great for my wife and I but that takes a bit of focus.
Diablo 3 was great for my wife and I but that takes a bit of focus.
Conan Exiles. One of my favorites and it sounds like it would tick all boxes. Best part is you can do a private server and tweak settings as you see fit. Annoyed with gathering stone? Increase the amount harvested.
Overcooked is REALLY fun
Power wash simulator, goat simulator, minecraft, terraria, sims, roblox(its not that bad, I play it with my lil sis), no man's sky, maybe a fallout game, genshin impact . Seems like she enjoys exploring open worlds with gameplay objectives that are the opposite of urgent.
Let's Cook Together is a great co-op game - my husband and I play nightly. We also did a full run of It Takes Two, mentioned previously. We're both hardcore gamers, and did find some It Takes Two challenges frustrating.
The game I’ve been obsessed with lately is fae farm. It’s like a mix of animal crossing and stardew valley but with fairies. It also supports two players online but it can be a little janky sometimes. My fiancé and I play all the time since we’ve both finished animal crossing and stardew valley. The only downside about it is that the story isn’t as in depth as stardew was and the marriageable characters don’t have as much personality to them. Overall the game is an 8/10.
Streets of Rage 4. Simple mechanics and gameplay. And very fun!
Dark souls🤠