The 12 best co-op video games to play with a friend

When a night in is calling, playing a video game together can be just what hits the spot. It's both cozy and challenging, and it can reveal another side of your friend or loved one that you didn't expect.

As a gamer myself, I've enjoyed playing solo for years, but playing with my husband has opened a new avenue of fun for us. On quiet weeknights or the odd weekend, we boot up the PlayStation or PC. Sometimes we have a blast and make so many inside jokes along the way. Other times, we wanna kill each other (you know, in-game) because we can't seem to get in sync. Either way, it's super entertaining to see what the gaming industry creates for us to conquer and beating levels and baddies together is such a good feeling.

Luckily, the video game industry keeps coming out with more and more cooperative games, and the list is pretty endless. Below, I've rounded up 12 of the best games to play with a friend and why I like them.

1. It Takes Two

It Takes Two by Hazelight Studios and EA Games has you play as Cody and May, who are turned into dolls by a magic spell. Trapped in a miniature world with love guru Dr. Hakim, a ridiculous, anthropomorphized book, they have to figure their shit out and save their fractured relationship. I loved this game because every level is completely different than the one before it and places you in a colorful, larger-than-life world that made me feel like a kid again. It weaves lighter moments and easier gameplay with more serious adult themes like divorce and the struggles of parenthood. It's a delightful play and it'll make you laugh and gasp with your friend or loved one. Plus, if you like this one, the game's studio produced two other worthwhile games: 2018's prison-escape gem A Way Out and 2025's enemies-to-friends game Split Fiction.

2. Unravel Two

Unravel Two by Coldwood Interactive and EA has you create a "Yarny" connected by a string to your friend's Yarny, and make your way together through a cold, imposing land. Your surroundings bloom as you chase a spark of adventure, leading you through an immersive story with puzzles, platforming and monsters. This is a gorgeous and creative game that keeps you invested all the way through its darker theming. The graphics are beautiful and it's pretty forgiving for those who aren't great at gaming.

3. The We Were Here series

There are six We Were Here games by Total Mayhem Games, but if you don't want to start at the beginning and want the bang for your buck, start with We Were Here Forever. It's a cooperative first-person adventure game with puzzles you can solve together. Each person takes on a different role and works together to get through the levels. I really like this one because it's inventive in the way you chat with your friend—via a walkie-talkie—and puts you in completely different rooms with your own mini-puzzles. The theme is fun and pretty mysterious, which made me hope nothing would jump-scare me. It's pretty light and easy to play while challenging your brain, so it's at the top of this list.

4. Portal 2

Portal 2 by Valve is one of my very favorite games. A sequel to 2007's Game of the Year, this one is a deeply funny and challenging puzzle game that forces you to use "wits over weaponry in a funhouse of diabolical science." You play together as differently shaped robots, who must work together to face off against a "lethally inventive, power-mad" A.I. named GLaDOS in Aperature Laboratories. It's seriously fun and often head-scratching with dark jokes that'll make you come back for more.

5. Minecraft

Minecraft is not just for 9-year-old boys. It's a sandbox game by Mojang Studios, where the world is your oyster. The world you create has virtually infinite terrain made up of three-dimensional blocks that you can mine, build, craft and destroy. You can explore your map from top to bottom—digging down can take you to another dimension—and discover all sorts of animals, creatures and natural resources. My husband and I play it together every couple of years when we want something on the calmer, more creative side. We've built multiple homes together with skylights, aquariums, gardens and farms and have had to fend off zombies and the unnerving Enderman at night. It's both chill and cozy with a hint of challenge.

6. Slay the Spire II

This early access roguelike deck-building game by Mega Crit is a sequel to their 2019 hit, so there's a lot of hype around this one. Each player picks a character and plays cards to defeat monsters. You move through levels of the spire and get new cards and complete new encounters as you go. During combat, you can apply any healing, defensive, buffing or debuffing effects on their allies using ability cards. If you lose your health, the combat continues with the remaining player, and after combat, that downed character will be revived with one hit point. The game ends if all cooperative players fall. It's the ultimate one-more-time game with satisfying combos and addictive gameplay.

7. Arc Raiders

Arc Raiders by Embark Studios is a multiplayer extraction adventure set in the future when Earth is ravaged by a mysterious mechanized, lethal threat known as ARC. Your characters live in Speranza, an underground human colony that constantly needs materials to thrive. Where to get those materials? Topside, where the robotic ARC are waiting to take you down. Played online, singleplayer or with one or two other players, you and your team can decide to play cooperatively with strangers or go PVP and take them down. This is my household's current obsession. We love looting, completing quests and spawning in the "Care Bear" lobbies full of kind humans who like helping each other complete their respective tasks. The best is taking down a Matriarch together and extracting with a boatload of treasures.

8. Don't Starve Together

Don't Starve Together is a survival game by Klei Entertainment that lets you fight, farm, build and explore together in a strange world full of odd creatures, hidden dangers and ancient secrets. Together, you gather resources to craft items and build structures and unravel the mysteries of "The Constant." The animation style is darkly unique and a little off-putting, but if you like weird, this is the one for you.

9. Overcooked! All You Can Eat

This cooperative cooking simulation series by Team17 and Ghost Town Games may cause you to break up with your S.O. if you don't communicate well. Containing both Overcooked and Overcooked 2, has you cooperatively prepare and cook orders in absurd restaurant settings. Players gather, chop and cook ingredients then combine them on plates that they serve and then wash. It can get chaotic and overwhelming. It's a super fun challenge, but if you don't respond well to criticism, it may not be for you. I haven't played it since the first time when it almost broke my marriage.

10. Absolum | Threads of Fate

Absolum by Guard Crush Games, Supamonks, and Dotemu is a "beat'em up" game with roguelike elements, which means you bash up the bad guys, and if you die, you've got to start over. Essentially, a magical cataclysm has shattered the land of Talamh, causing commoners to mistrust wizards. Sun King Azra enslaved the wizards and placed loyal princes to rule over the conquered realms. You must take down his guardians with a mix of rapid combo chains and spellcasting powers. You use magical counters and rare items, which require skill and timing. Together, you can beat 'em up, and synch your powers. It feels like playing inside a comic book but it's definitely challenging for someone who isn't used to retro, side-scrolling games.

11. Baldur's Gate 3

One of my absolute favorite games, Baldur's Gate 3 by Larian Studios, is a party-based role-playing game set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe. Players can explore the open world independently, participate in dialogues and combine strategies in combat against all manner of baddies. A fantastic solo game, where every decision you make matters to the plot, co-op puts some decisions in your partner's hands. Because of this, you can watch scenes you haven't seen before and find yourself on an entirely new path. Best yet, the non-player characters are all excellently acted and voiced and the story is compelling.