In the years since, the Nintendo Switch has proven itself as a fantastic console for playing with others. The ability to turn a Joy-Con on its side for quick local multiplayer lends itself perfectly to playing games with your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife. But which Nintendo Switch games are worth playing together? Here are our picks for the best couch co-op Nintendo Switch games for couples who want to work together toward the same goal.
17. Overcooked! 2
In Overcooked 2 (and the original prequel), you’re tasked with creating meals and serving them in a timely manner. Where things get interesting is the need to work together to get the ingredients prepared and assembled as quickly as possible without messing up. While the game isn’t exactly a realistic representation of cooking, it will see you calling out to each other about chopping veggies, boiling pasta, cooking meat, serving finished plates, cleaning dirty plates, and more. You’ll be grunting in frustration as you clash in the kitchen and elated with joy when you finish in victory. Actually, maybe it’s not too far from the experience of actually cooking together…!
16. Urban Flow
Urban Flow is a game about controlling traffic lights on busy city streets. Cars arrive at various intersections and your job is to manage red lights and green lights to keep traffic flowing without any accidents. This game can actually get pretty difficult, so I wouldn’t recommend it if you or your significant other gets frustrated easily. But if you both like real-time challenges and can work together well via clear communication, Urban Flow is one of the more rewarding games to beat together.
15. Snipperclips
This co-op game is all about communication, which makes it a great bonding experience for couples. Essentially, you’ll be cutting each other’s characters into a variety of shapes in order to solve puzzles. That means you’ll constantly need to work together to get through the challenges. While not the deepest game out there, there are enough levels of varying difficulty to keep you busy for a few hours. Couple that with the game being available for an affordable price? It’s worth playing!
14. Wondershot
For action game junkies, Wondershot is a fun game to play as a couple or even as a group! While the main mode pits you against each other in a deathmatch, I prefer the co-op mode that involves endless survival against wave after wave of increasingly stronger enemies. Working together, you’ll have to outmaneuver enemies to kill them before they kill you. But if you die, it isn’t the end yet—you can come back if your teammate can manage to revive you. It’s a challenge to see how many waves you can defeat before you’re overwhelmed. Tons of fun! Highly recommended.
13. Mario Tennis Aces
You don’t need to be a sports fan to appreciate the greatness of Mario Tennis Aces. The game bends the rules of tennis in some interesting ways—like adding power-ups—and it features a cast of characters straight out of every Nintendo fan’s dreams. Most importantly for couples, you can play on the same team! And if you yearn for the days of tennis on Wii Sports, you’re in luck: you can kind of replicate that feeling with Aces, which offers similar motion controls when playing with Joy-Cons. Even if your significant other doesn’t enjoy the feel of traditional video games, they can still have a good time with Mario Tennis Aces.
12. Death Squared
For couples who love puzzle games, Death Squared is one of the better options on the Nintendo Switch. In every level, each player has to reach a designated destination while avoiding all kinds of traps and hazards—and the only way to do that is to work together and make sure nobody dies. I really like this game because it has a bit of everything, from smart puzzle designs to rewarding victories, from pick-up-and-play gameplay to cute characters that everyone can love and adore.
11. Art of Balance
Art of Balance is a physics-based puzzle game where the goal is to stack given shapes in a way that won’t collapse. The cooperative “campaign” mode is great for couples who love solving puzzles, as it’s not very stressful but remains challenging and forces you to think—especially in the later levels when new types of pieces are introduced, like ones that shatter under too much weight. And if you want to go head-to-head, there’s a versus mode where you can compete to see who can balance their pieces better.
10. Aegis Defenders
Aegis Defenders is a unique adventure game that mashes several genres together, including platformer action, RPG progression, and heroic defense against wave after wave of intruders. Every level, you use your character’s unique abilities (and there are multiple characters to unlock along the way) to fight monsters and solve puzzles. At each level’s end, you defend against several waves and try to eliminate all threats before they eliminate you. It’s a great cooperative adventure, forcing you to work together to solve puzzles and fend off enemies, with a fun story and gameplay mechanics to keep you hooked from start to finish.
9. Cat Quest II
Cat Quest II is a cute action-RPG game where you play as a cat and a dog, who are working together to reunite an animal kingdom that’s been shattered by prejudice and oppression. It’s a simple game, but there’s a lot to like for action-based RPG fans, from exploring the world to leveling up your characters, from discovering new equipment to completing side quests. Not to mention all the cat- and dog-related puns! Highly recommended for any couple who wants a low-key-but-engaging cooperative adventure that’s full of cute surprises.
8. Tools Up!
Tools Up! is another cooperative game that’s almost like a hybrid between Overcooked (mentioned above) and Moving Out (mentioned later on in this article). You’re a team of contractors who are hired to renovate homes, which involves painting walls, rolling carpets, moving furniture, and cleaning up after yourselves when you’re done. Every house has its own blueprint of instructions that need to be completed within a time limit (unless you play the stress-free mode with unlimited time, which is a lot better for most couples). It feels like work but it’s surprisingly fun, and it actually cultivates cooperation rather than frustration.
7. Untitled Goose Game
Don’t shy away from the unimpressive title. Untitled Goose Game is one of the best Nintendo Switch games for couples because it’s the perfect blend of relaxed, challenging, and cute. This adventure puzzle game has you play as a goose, who has a task list that’s mainly about causing chaos and disrupting the lives of the people living in this quaint little town. To accomplish these tasks, you need to be your goosey self: honk to distract, snatch things out of people’s hands, run away before they catch you, drop things off in unusual locations. It’s a creative game that wants you to figure out how to achieve every task, forcing you to familiarize yourself with the world in order to exploint the townspeople and their behaviors.
6. Pode
Pode might just be the ultimate cooperative puzzle experience for couples who want to grow closer. It’s extremely chill and stress-free, with cleverly designed puzzles that’ll really make you think. You play as two complete opposite characters—a dense block of minerals and a bright ball of energy—who have different abilities that must be used in tandem to get through each level. Together, you’ll bring beauty back to what appears to be a long-abandoned cave devoid of any life. Along the way, your bond will strengthen in ways you didn’t expect.
5. Moving Out
Moving Out is one of my favorite Nintendo Switch games to play as a couple. It’s a lot like Overcooked, but instead of making and serving food orders, you’re tasked with carrying items out of a house and loading them into a moving truck. Some items are heavy so you need to carry them together, and it’s a race against the clock to make sure you pack everything away to the satisfaction of each client. Working together isn’t always easy. You can throw items around, jump through windows, knock things over, all in pursuit of a quick job. It’s as hilarious as it sounds, and it’s super fun without being stressful at all.
4. Streets of Rogue
How to describe Streets of Rogue? Well, it’s an action game. You’re given goals to accomplish, like retrieving an item or eliminating a specific person. And you need to accomplish them before you can move on to the next level, until you reach the very last level. The best thing about Streets of Rogue is that the game doesn’t dictate how you achieve your goals. You’re free to think outside the box. Want to pick locks and climb through windows? You can. Want to flush people out of a building by contaminating the air system? You can! Want to blow up the walls and go in guns blazing? YOU CAN! With dozens of characters who each have unique mechanics that seriously change up gameplay—along with the option to create your own characters by picking and choosing whichever traits and abilities you’ve unlocked—there’s a lot of replayability. And the game is better with a partner, as you can help each other out when either of you are in trouble.
3. Fly Together!
Fly Together is the ultimate couple experience when it comes to chill, casual, challenging fun. We haven’t had this much fun in a long time. In Fly Together, you play the role of an air traffic controller. You use the Joy-Con’s pointing functionality to control an on-screen hand, and the hand draws flight paths for airplanes. The goal? Transport passengers between airports within the time limit, making sure not to crash. The challenge? Passengers need to be delivered to color-coded airports. Also, there are hazards to avoid, like cliffs and tornados and freight planes. Along the way, you’ll unlock different planes with different stats—how many passengers they can hold, how quickly they can load passengers, and how fast they can fly—that keep things interesting. The game is surprisingly chill, as it essentially lets you choose your own difficulty. Want more challenge? Try to two-star or three-star every level. Don’t care for that? One star is all you need to move on.
2. Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos
For fans of old-school Legend of Zelda gameplay, Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos is the perfect must-pick-up game. This game faithfully brings the magic of A Link to the Past to the modern age while remaining its own game. With quality-of-life improvements and all kinds of extra features, there’s a lot to love here. You’ll explore a large overworld with several dungeons to complete, plus lots and lots of secrets to uncover if you’re paying attention. Level up your skill trees, upgrade your equipment, and unlock new items that expand what you can do and where you can go. When it comes to couch co-op Zelda-like adventure games on the Nintendo Switch, it’s hard to think of a better game than this.
1. Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley is, without a doubt, my favorite couch co-op Nintendo Switch game to play as a couple—and I say that as someone who used to be a Stardew Valley hater. The game has a glowing reputation, and that reputation is well-deserved. Stardew Valley isn’t just a farming simulator or a romance simulator; there’s a lot more to it, with tons of secrets to discover. You can play however you want, which makes it perfect for split-screen co-op couples. One of you can tend to the farm while the other goes hunting in the mines, and when one of you discovers something mysterious or figures out a puzzle, the shared excitement is wonderful. Stardew Valley captures the magic of the original Harvest Moon games, but it’s so much more than a Harvest Moon clone. I personally would’ve grown bored playing solo, but with a partner, it’s easily the number one couch co-op Nintendo Switch experience I’ve had.
A Better Nintendo Switch Experience
Whether you’re playing together with your significant other or just winging it alone for the night, your Nintendo Switch gaming sessions could be much better with one or two key accessories. Check out our picks for nifty Nintendo Switch accessories that are so useful, you won’t regret getting them: Read next: Must-have Nintendo Switch accessories
