I haven't done a co-op game for quite a while (other than Minecraft), but the game that my friend keeps saying we should play co-op is Don't Starve Together. I haven't, so I couldn't tell you that it's good, but it seems to be well regarded. There's also Turtles and Streets Of Rage 4. In fact, whatever genre you're both into there's probably a game in that genre that has co-op; it's quite a saleable feature.

Yeah.. the difficult part is finding a game we're both into.

She's not a gamer as a general rule, and hasn't been for many years (she used to play games on early 90s consoles but that's it).

So it's the case of finding something family friendly yet, easy to learn and yet also suitable for two people to play together (as she wants).

The good news is, we both have the same mindset of avoiding the modern world and social media mind control, we both like the band Disturbed[1] among other anti-modern society things, so that's what makes us click.

So for the most part we get along just fine.. but finding games we both like? oh boy! I suggested parkitect.. that didn't go over well.

[1] In case you don't know them: https://youtu.be/YCGIj7KmwyI

I have fond memories of playing Minecraft with my partner while our relationship was in its early stages. It works best if you have a dedicated server hosting it though (or at least, it used to?)

Other than that, Terraria and Starbound are good fun, although you might want to play on peaceful modes if she's not a gamer at heart.

A must play coop game from gameplay to story is It Takes Two.

My dughter and I had blast playing it, as well as my wife. You can play local or remote coop.

Also there are many games that do support the remote play together feature of Steam

I'm not big on co-op usually, but one that comes to mind off of the top of my head is Overcooked! 2. It has a native Linux version that works very well in my experience, and unlike its predecessor it supports online play as well as local (the first game was local-only), though I haven't tried the online myself. It's got a lot of personality and it can get pretty hectic when both players are scrambling around trying to get things done.

Quoting: PenglingI'm not big on co-op usually, but one that comes to mind off of the top of my head is Overcooked! 2. It has a native Linux version that works very well in my experience, and unlike its predecessor it supports online play as well as local (the first game was local-only), though I haven't tried the online myself. It's got a lot of personality and it can get pretty hectic when both players are scrambling around trying to get things done.

Overcooked games (one and two) are amazing underrated party/coop games! We had a blast playing it my wife, my eldest and me the other weekend. How did I forget about those?!?! I did not know the second one does support on-line multiplayer (as we played local).

Another game (which I believe has already been mentioned) that has amazingly well done multiplayer is TMNT. My wife and I played it for a bit and it brought back the Arcade days of the 90s (when there was a TMNT game she absolutely loved).

I have a looot of experience with co-op games. ;P
I am just not sure how best to narrow it down to exactly what you are looking for.

Leaving out other systems/emulation... and assuming online-ready co-op only (via any method)... and assuming specifically is good for 2-player co-op... if I stretch things a bit...

Top Picks
My top picks for 2-player co-op for a non-gamer who is still able to coordinate in a video game (can navigate 3D games, use a gamepad, etc.): the Trine series (physics-oriented fantasy platformer, slightly more fun with 3 players), Beyond: Two Souls (hard to describe without spoiling this one, but very story-oriented, with one person playing a girl and the other their “imaginary friend”), Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (action+puzzles designed around 2 players), Clandestine (1 person "hacks," the other does the sneaking), the We Were Here series (the first game is free on Steam, and requires exactly 2 people to solve), Never Alone (2D platformer), and Divinity: Original Sin (top pick for a 2-player co-op RPG).

If it could be kept up with by both people, I would also add Orcs Must Die! 2. If a touch of horror (more tense, less scary) with a bit of meaning (about passions) I would add The Cave.

Multiplayer thinking+action co-op:

• Portal 2 (physics puzzles designed around 2 people)
• A Virus Named Tom (made by a couple, but very hard during the last section)
• Orcs Must Die! 2 (gives a breather to talk and coordinate between waves of orcs)

More thinking:

• some of the Alice & Smith games
• Uru Live / Myst Online (free on donation-run servers, kind of MMORPG-ish puzzle game... but still can work 2-player co-op)
• The Secret World Legends (free-to-play, same as previous, low-population MMORPG+puzzles)
Tiny Brains (I only played the first part of it, but I like what I played)

FPS-ish:

• Heretic/Hexen series
• Serious Sam series
• System Shock 2 (horror, might want to wait on the hypothetical remake with fixed multiplayer)
• Descent series (bad for anyone prone to motion-sickness)
• Borderlands series[/il]

Fighting games:

• Street Fighter x Tekken (tag team, but it has been, hypothetically, temporarily pulled from Steam until the Windows Live issue is fixed)
• Dead or Alive 5 (mostly here because of so few options, even by fighting game standards scantily clad)

Okay, bullet formatting is taking too long. Skipping it now.

Party co-op: Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (good at testing communication between people, this one), Just Dance (via Now/browser or Stadia; have to stream this one), Overcooked series, Puyo Puyo Tetris series, Magicka series (pure magical chaos), and maybe some Jackbox games (I forget, they made too many of them) :P

Beat-em-ups: Guacamelee! series, Metal Slug series, Curses 'N Chaos (the pain), Sega Genesis collection on Steam has several

Stealth: Styx (sneak-em-up), Monaco (fun and, to me, hilarious)

Turn-based Strategy: Heroes of Might & Magic series (my experience is people who do not like TBS games often like HoMM, especially II, although IV would be my pick due to more advanced interactions between players)

Play-by-email: Age of Wonders III (also fun when not by e-mail, but turns will get long toward the end)

2D Platformers: Jazz Jackrabbit 2, Rayman series (Legends/Origins), Cloudberry Kingdom (if you like pain), many games from Antstream

Survival co-op Rise of the Tomb Raider (or whichever the 2nd one in the reboot trilogy is)

Pure chill: The Endless Forest (kind of an MMORPG, with no text or voice chat, that is hard to describe... but can work as 2-player co-op in spite of that)

If it is your type of humor: Saints Row series (2 is closer to Grand-Theft-Auto designed for 2 players, 3 goes weird, and 4/Gat are insane).

RPGs: Baulders Gate and related, Neverwinter Nights and related

Real-Time Strategy: Rise of Nations (it allows for either two players playing separate players, or multiple users playing as one player, great for one person handling the battle front and the other handling the city-building/resource-gathering aspect)

On-rails shooter: House of the Dead series (Overkill is not family friendly... the rest are zombie movie levels of family friendly, I think)

Flatpaks: Sonic Robo Blast 2, The Battle for Wesnoth

Non-Steam: X-Men Legends series (2 is easier), Nox (Diablo but lighter), Warlords IV (the only TBS game I know of with a co-op campaign), Amulets & Armor (first-person RPG, freeware), sarien.net (public, web-browser-based, but can work as 2-player co-op… for weirdos who want to play old pixelated Adventure games multiplayer with eachother)

Future games: Bloodstained? (they are adding multiplayer this year, but details are scarce)

Also, just about any Adventure game effectively works like a co-op game, if puzzles+story are a person's thing. If a guy-gal duo (switching between sections) is preferred, then the Broken Sword series is good.

I am certain some of the above is inaccurate, but I attempted to be broad (and select among the better ones in-category) so that at least one of them fits what you are looking for.

P.S.
In the past, I made use of this website for questions related to co-op games: https://www.co-optimus.com/

Edit: Scratched out the not-family-friendly games.

Last edited by NoiramSang on 1 September 2022 at 11:52 pm UTC

Wow! Thank you to everyone who suggested games here!

NoiramSang, that's a lot of games! Thank you so much for taking the time to list them like that! Oddly enough quite a few of those games are already in my steam library (honestly, I have so many games in my library that I've never even launched before).

I did not know "play-by-email" was a thing though! That sounds like a very long way to play a game

Honestly, I had no idea Portal 2 had a co-op mode, I've only ever played that in single player.

No need to scratch out Saints Row, that series is one of my favourites (all the SR games are in my library) sadly my favourite one, Saints Row 2 had the online stop working a few years ago due to it using GameSpy, which sadly is gone. That was one I was going to suggest also.. though I think that was a me-preference thing.

Though, I do agree it's probably not family friendly

I'll take these games and show them to her and see what she likes also.

Thanks again everyone!

I am just going to add, that if you two played Portal 2 co-op, I recommend this fan-mad level... and not just because of the theme. It is one of the two best fan-made levels I played for Portal 2. :P

Valentines co-op

and trust me, sometimes play-by-email is the fast way to play a turn-based strategy game, if in late-game (where turns get long) you have to wait for ~4 or so people to play their turn before you can play yours.

I hope you two have fun. o/

Stardew Valley is easy to set up for co op I think, and it’s kinda old school

Also Tricky Towers, which my wife loves playing with me.

You also could try SkyForce and SkyForce Reloaded, if you like 2d scrollers / shooters along the lines of 1942.

Horizon Chase Turbo is a great retro racer with split screen

And PacMan 256, is an oldie, but a good multiplayer.

Brothers, A Tale of two sons, is a Co Op by the same guys who did It Takes Two, but is more retro then their newer game.

Not sure if Brothers is Steam Deck compatible, but am sure I played it on Linux before, so.. ?

Scratch Brothers, A Tale of two sons.

My Steam Library says it is not supported.

Last edited by Craggles086 on 6 September 2022 at 10:59 am UTC