From cozy farms to chaotic firefights, these co‑op hits make date night fun again.
If you’re looking for games that bring you closer—whether that means laughing through kitchen chaos, puzzling out a problem together, or battling shoulder‑to‑shoulder—2025 is rich with great options. We surveyed fresh recommendations and roundups from major outlets to focus on popular, well‑reviewed picks that genuinely shine as two‑player experiences, especially recent releases (with a few all‑time standouts that remain exceptional).
10) Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (2015)
A perfect “we communicate or we explode” exercise, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes separates players into two roles: one defuses a ticking bomb on screen while the other(s) read a text manual filled with intentionally confusing instructions. It’s simple to set up on just about anything and scales beautifully for couples—one of you on the controller, the other poring over the manual, both yelling “cut the red wire—no, the other red wire!” Puzzles randomize, so there’s always a fresh module or wiring nightmare to parse, and the tension spike as the timer bleeds out reliably turns into cathartic laughter when you finally snip the right cable. VR is optional on supported platforms, but not required, and the game’s modest visuals make it easy to run on smaller or older setups. It’s brief, endlessly replayable, and a terrific communication workout you can finish between dinner and dessert.
9) Moving Out 2 (2023)
Think “relationship team‑building,” but with sofas. Moving Out 2 turns furniture hauling into a slapstick puzzle where coordination beats pure speed. The sequel’s smartest upgrades directly benefit couples: online play (alongside couch co‑op) makes long‑distance date nights possible, and new inter‑dimensional levels add variety without bloating the rules. Each stage is a miniature “efficiency puzzle”—how do you and your partner angle that fridge around corners, use a trampoline to fling boxes through windows, or divide tasks so neither of you is stuck wrangling a couch alone? Failures are funny, restarts are quick, and optional objectives encourage replaying to shave seconds off your time. As the campaign escalates, you learn to communicate with fewer words and more momentum—one of you clears a path while the other tosses, catches, and stacks. It’s a light, low‑stress choice when you want the shared focus of co‑op without combat.
8) PlateUp! (2022)
If your ideal night is “cook together, then panic together,” PlateUp! blends Overcooked‑style chaos with roguelite progression. You’ll open a tiny restaurant, choose a cuisine, and attempt a 15‑day run—streamlining your kitchen, placing appliances, unlocking upgrades, and managing an ever‑tighter service loop. For couples, it’s a brilliant rhythm: fail a run, tweak the layout, try again. The design encourages natural roles (front‑of‑house vs. back‑of‑house) but still lets you swap jobs and experiment with automation as the meta evolves. It’s also welcoming to new players—controls map to one or two buttons—yet deep enough that optimizing workflows and upgrade synergies becomes a satisfying, shared hobby. Four‑player support is there if you double‑date, but it truly sings as a two‑person operation where clear communication and a few inside jokes carry your bistro to day 15 and beyond. Console releases in 2024 made it easier to jump in on your platform of choice.
7) Stardew Valley (2016; continually updated)
Few games are better “relationship sandboxes” than Stardew Valley. You can split duties (farming vs. foraging), build a joint savings plan for house upgrades, or wander off together to fish, mine, and flirt with pixelated perfection. Crucially for couples, split‑screen is supported (player counts vary by platform), so you can share a TV and still roam independently. The big 1.6 update added new crops, events, and quality‑of‑life tweaks—making 2025 an excellent time to start a fresh farm or return to an old one. It’s as mellow or as goal‑driven as you want; settle into cozy routines or min‑max your empire until Grandpa is proud. And yes, it’s famously the work of a single developer, which gives the whole package an artisanal feel you can feel good supporting. Whether you’re ten hours in or 200, it’s an endlessly warm place to build something together.
6) Overcooked! All You Can Eat (2020)
Overcooked! All You Can Eat bundles the first two games and all DLC, remasters everything, and—most importantly for modern couples—adds full online multiplayer with cross‑platform support. That means you can play together even if you’re on different systems. The premise remains chef‑kiss simple: sprint through increasingly unhinged kitchens (on trucks, in volcanoes, across portals), shout orders, and keep the tickets flowing. As a date‑night pick, it’s fabulous because each level is bite‑sized, failures are hysterical rather than punishing, and a bronze star is still progress. AYCE’s accessibility options (including scalable UI and assist modes) make it easier to bring in less experienced partners without dampening the fun. It’s chaotic, yes, but the good kind of chaos—the kind you giggle about for days after one lost order set the kitchen on literal fire and you still somehow eked out a win.
5) HELLDIVERS 2 (2024)
For couples who bond over clutch revives and shared triumphs, Helldivers 2 is date‑night adrenaline. It’s a four‑player co‑op shooter, but two‑person squads work wonderfully: friendly fire is always on, missions are objective‑driven, and success depends on clear comms as much as aim. Cross‑play between platforms keeps pairing easy, and constant live‑service updates mean you’ll always have another planet to liberate. Popularity is no accident—by May 2024 it became PlayStation’s fastest‑selling game ever, later surpassing 15 million sold, and its community‑driven “galactic war” kept players logging in week after week. Treat it as a co‑op campaign: pick objectives you both enjoy, escalate difficulty at your pace, and celebrate every exfil as a mini‑date victory. Just, y’know, watch those airstrikes. (Yes, that means you.)
4) Diablo IV (2023)
If you want a low‑friction “we can jump in for 45 minutes” action RPG, Diablo IV is excellent for couples—especially on console, where two‑player couch co‑op is officially supported. You can build complementary classes (say, a crowd‑controlling Sorcerer and a tanky Barbarian), sweep through dungeons, and enjoy a steady drip of loot and seasonal objectives. Couch co‑op requires each player to sign into their own account, but progression sticks and the shared‑screen setup keeps you close without wrestling with lobbies. If you’re long‑distance, online play is smooth and cross‑play/cross‑progression with friends lists makes it easy to team up later. The result is a dependable, combat‑centric loop with just enough story to frame your nightly hunts and a steady cadence of updates to keep things fresh. It’s not as puzzle‑y as others here, but as an easy‑to‑resume duo grind, it’s hard to beat.
3) It Takes Two (2021)
A modern classic tailor‑made for two, It Takes Two earned a Game of the Year sweep for a reason: every level invents new mechanics that demand cooperation, from asymmetric gadgets to clever co‑op platforming, all in service of a heartfelt story about a couple working through a rough patch. As a date‑night pick, it’s gold—playful, surprising, and never repetitive. Hazelight’s Friend’s Pass lets one owner invite the other to play the full game for free, so there’s virtually no barrier to trying it. It’s also one of the best “gateway” games if your partner is newer to controllers; the design constantly nudges you to talk, time jumps together, and laugh when you inevitably miss a swing. Even in 2025, it remains a benchmark for what co‑op storytelling can be—and a perfect warm‑up before you tackle Hazelight’s newer co‑op epic at #1 on this list.
2) Baldur’s Gate 3 (2023)
Romance, drama, tactics—Baldur’s Gate 3 lets couples craft a shared story that can last for months. Local split‑screen and online co‑op support make it flexible to play together on the couch or apart, and the turn‑based combat gives you time to strategize: coordinate spell combos, flank for advantage, or simply decide who’s doing the talking in a tense persuasion check that affects the entire quest line. BG3 dominated awards season—Game of the Year at The Game Awards—and continued to expand in 2024–2025 with major patches, cross‑play, and split‑screen support on more consoles. It’s a spectacular pick if you both want big, shared decisions, genuine character arcs, and the co‑planning that comes from a deep CRPG. Schedule longer sessions for this one; you’ll want time to wander, explore, and debate whether to forgive that morally flexible companion (again).
1) Split Fiction (2025)
Hazelight’s 2025 showstopper, Split Fiction, is the definitive couples game right now: a two‑player‑only co‑op adventure that hurls you across wildly different genres and mechanics while telling a propulsive, heartfelt story about two authors trapped inside their own imagination. Like It Takes Two, it constantly remixes play—one moment you’re wrangling dragons, the next you’re dodging hover‑cars from a malfunctioning robo‑valet—and every set piece hinges on collaboration. Friend’s Pass returns (one copy invites a partner), cross‑play keeps pairing easy, and performance on all major platforms is strong. Beyond the spectacle, it’s the trust‑building that lingers: sequences that give each partner distinct, equally vital responsibilities are engineered to make you talk, time, and solve together. Critical reception and sales reflect the enthusiasm, and it’s easy to see why—this is the rare campaign that makes you feel like a true duo from its tutorial to its credits. If date‑night gaming had a crown, Split Fiction just claimed it.
Honorable mentions (if you want more)
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (2022) — TT Games for laid‑back couch co‑op in a familiar galaxy.
- We Were Here Forever (2022) — Total Mayhem Games for pure two‑player puzzle communication.
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023) — Nintendo EPD for breezy, colorful platforming together.
(These didn’t crack the top 10 only because the list above already covered similar vibes with slightly stronger co‑op hooks this year.)
