There is a world of reasons why a couple decides to split up. To this day, I’ve never heard anyone say they’ve broken up with their significant other over a Nintendo Switch game. Let’s flip the script with this list.
If you and your player two are looking for the perfect game to spice up your date nights or unlock yet another topic to fight over, look no further. I’ve scoured the vast Switch library and navigated a minefield of potential breakup games to bring you the 17 best co-op games for couples in 2023. Get ready to level up your relationship with these picks of co-op fun.
17 . Stardew Valley
Farming sims are just what couples need at the end of the long working day. Taking care of the crops, protecting each other against monsters in caves, and fishing! For the more chill couples who love organizing and getting lost together in the mundane activities of the life in the countryside, this is the perfect fit.
16. Biped
Biped is one of the best Nintendo Switch games for couples, and I don’t think it gets enough recognition. It features two adorable robots with clumsy legs whom you’ll control as they slide, leg-split, and spin to solve puzzles to provide some nice co-op fun.
15. Luigi’s Mansion 3
Luigi’s Mansion 3 invites you to embark on a ghostly adventure. You’ll be controlling Luigi and his clone as they rescue his missing friends from mischievous ghosts in a haunted mansion. It’s a fun game that will keep you hooked, especially if you’ve played previous titles.
14. Snipperclips
Snipperclips is an adorable puzzle-based game that requires you both to do the brainwork to get through each page. You and your partner are 2 pieces of paper who need to change each other’s shapes to carry, items, traverse the level, and solve very engaging puzzles. It’s a relatively old game, however the art directions is one of the cutest I’ve seen. An incredible way to introduce your partner to puzzle games, and gaming in general.
13. Human: Fall Flat
Human: Fall Flat is ridiculous and silly enough to make you laugh uncontrollably for hours on end.
Related: 14 Best Silly Multiplayer Games To Bring To Parties
It’s a lighthearted and humorous exploration game that challenges you to use your knowledge of physics to solve puzzles and escape absurd dreamscapes. The bodies are wobbly, and their movements are floppy, to which I attribute at least half of the reason this is one of the best games to play as couples on the Nintendo Switch.
12. Don’t Starve Together
Don’t Starve is a classic survival game released back in 2013, which received a multiplayer spin in 2016 with Don’t Starve Together. It’s a super fun game, but it’ll demand too much of you if you’re looking for quick burst sessions with your partner. If you’re in it for the long run, however, you’ll uncover a whimsical cast of characters who all work differently, especially when played together.
11. Trine 5
Trine 5 is one of the best co-op games on the Switch, even for couples, but it’s not for everyone. Frozenbyte’s latest entry shines like a polished gem in co-op mode, perfect for die-hard players in it for the long haul. It’s got fun controls, flawless physics, and top-notch brain-bending puzzles. However, it’s not your quick fix for gaming cravings. If you’re planning on a five-minute session, think again.
10. Unravel 2
Unravel Two is a captivating platform adventure game where you control two adorable yarn characters. The gameplay is all about solving puzzles, which fits couples who like Escape Rooms like a glove. You’ll also be uncovering a heartwarming storyline and traversing beautiful visuals together.
9. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
In my house, this is known as the “Keep Yelling Incoherent Words Until Somebody Explodes,” especially if I’m giving instructions. The premise is simple: partner A must disarm bombs, but partner B has the instructions to disarm them. It’s a communication exercise that you might fail once or twice. Okay, maybe around five times. But once you get the hang of it, you’ll feel like you’ve unlocked a new achievement as a couple.
8. Untitled Goose Game
If one of you isn’t quest-oriented while the other likes to explore every nook and cranny of the area, are you even a couple? Untitled Goose Game can be experienced in co-op, and it’s chaotic fun when you play it with your partner. In this game, you control two mischievous geese and create chaos in an unsuspecting village. It’s an easy-to-pick-up-and-play game with a short playtime, perfect for a quick burst of laughter.
7. Monster Prom XXL
Did you ever wonder how your partner would flirt with other people? No? Well after you stop lying to yourself, we have the perfect game. Monster Prom XXL is a visual novel co-op dating sim, where you and your partner try and date a creature of the night. There are choices aplenty from vampires and werewolves to robots and half demon princes with daddy issues!
Help your partner’s chances with a monster by spreading gossip and sharing gifts, or be the jealous type and completely shatter any hope they had in dating a monster that isn’t you.
6. Mario Party Superstars
Mario Party Superstars is for poly couples, or maybe if you’re having people over. Sure, you can play it with just two people, but it’s not as fun. Mario Party Superstars is a classic party game that offers loads of fun-filled mini-games and friendly competition, like Pie Hard, in which you win by face-pieing your partner to death, or Net Worth, a game in which you fish with your partner with a net. It’s the most fast paced and chaotic Mario Party game to date.
5. Moving Out 1 and 2
Moving is usually a two-person job unless you’ve hired a company or invited all your friends to make the process faster. Spoilers: it never does. Moving Out 2 is one of the best couple games on the Nintendo Switch because it takes teamwork to a whole new level. You’ll be required to transport objects in unique scenarios, like candy houses and apartments taken right out of Meet the Robinsons. There’s a slap feature, too, letting you vent that frustration that often comes from moving.
4. Super Mario Bros. Wonder
In our review of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, we crowned it the best 2D platformer from Nintendo. And when it comes to playing co-op, it pretty much holds up that badge. Super Mario Bros. Wonder hits a high note with its return of local multiplayer with an explosion of joy and, inevitably, chaos.
I’ve just one issue with it: Bid adieu to those thrilling collisions seen in past Mario titles. Now, players pass right through each other, erasing the delightfully competitive touch that made levels both exhilarating and maddening. It does keep the chaos in check, but what’s the fun in that?
3. Overcooked 1 and 2
Overcooked, regardless of whether it’s the first or second entry, invites you to embark on a culinary adventure. You’ll be working against the clock to prepare mouth-watering dishes in various scenarios.
That’s how Ghost Town Games pitched the games. But in reality, you’ll just yell for your partner to throw the garlic over the counter at the top of your lungs while you obsessively clean dishes. Or at least, that’s how it’ll be for the first hour. I’ve found that Overcooked transitions from chaotic to strategic the more you play, which helps you bond with your partner and grow as a team.
2. Nintendo Switch Sports
For couples who enjoy friendly competition, Nintendo Switch Sports offers a variety of sports, including badminton, tennis, bowling, and more. Grab your Joy-Cons and challenge each other to a match.
I live for efficiency. Exercising while bonding with your partner and gaming on my top console? Score: three birds, one stone. Also, these sports games completely eradicate the emotional chaos from the equation, so you won’t likely find yourself arguing with your partner over Nintendo Switch Sports. Unless you accidentally break a vase or, worse, the TV.
1. It Takes Two
Join a married couple trapped in two dolls as they work together to overcome obstacles and rediscover their connection.
Hazelight Studios blew the competition away when they dropped It Takes Two back in 2021. It’s one of the few co-op games that strikes the perfect balance between weaving a powerful narrative and introducing fun, varying co-op mechanics. One minute, you’re banging a hammer against your partner’s head or stabbing them to death with nails, and the next, you’re getting an ugly lump in your throat from this game’s profound story.
It Takes Two is an immersive experience that will have you and your partner navigating through well-designed levels and engaging in thrilling challenges.
