What are the best games like It Takes Two? So you’ve saved your relationship, repaired your broken home and platformed your way to a happy ending in It Takes Two, the hit co-op only title that scooped up several GOTY awards for 2021. Your next challenge is finding something else to play, and It Takes Two is a hard act to follow: there aren’t many that seamlessly blend together narrative and gameplay on a multiplayer scale.

We’ve picked our essential co-op games like It Takes Two for you and a second player, from the unbeatable classic platforming of Portal 2 to developer Hazelight Studios’ other co-op only title No Way Out. Give these a try while you wait for the highly anticipated TV adaptation!

Essential Co-Op Games Like It Takes Two

A Way Out – games like it takes two

Starting with an obvious pick, A Way Out is the other co-op only game released by Hazelight Studios, and like its successor this is a title designed with simultaneous play at the core. An addictive prison break story with a gritty, criminal backdrop, A Way Out is a tonally different game than It Takes Two, but fans of its emotional adventure will love how each character comes to rely on the other throughout the events of the game. Worth multiple playthroughs, especially to see the different endings.

Guacamelee! 2 – games like it takes two

Brawl beautifully together in Guacamelee! 2, an indie Metroidvania with a distinct take on Mexican culture and folklore (chickens included). Luchador Juan Aguacate comes out of retirement for this colourful sequel, complete with the hijinks, boss battles and crunchy platforming action that made the first game great. You’ll need to play the first 15-20 minutes in single player mode, but once you unlock the co-op option, you can both bring order to the Mexiverse with smooth moves and sick chickens. The drop-in / drop-out feature is great for casual gaming sessions.

Haven – games like it takes two

Love the exploration of relationships in It Takes You? Try Haven, a rich RPG adventure about love, rebellion and survival on a forgotten planet. Play co-op as Yu and Kay, two lovers escaping from a society that forces arranged marriage, as they land on a derelict world and begin a new and uncertain life together. Combat and harsh survival is paired with moments of everyday life, blending the narrative aspect of the story with some truly thrilling anti-gravity gameplay. An update to the game added same sex couples, representing a broader look at relationship experiences.

Stardew Valley

Create a bountiful farm in Stardew Valley, the popular farm / life sim with a robust co-op mode. Players can share a farm on one save, playing together as farmer and farm hands while enriching the lives of Pelican Town’s residents, restoring the Community Centre – because you’d never pick Joja – and completing the Museum collection together. Farm hands get their own cabin to decorate, and can marry either an NPC or other player character. Decisions are made collaboratively, except for when your player two spends all your gold on crab pots (true story).

Moving Out

Manhandle couches and manoeuvre around walls in Moving Out, the moving simulation game that turns everyone’s least favourite weekend activity into a hilarious co-op experience. Similar to the Overcooked series, Moving Out sees up to four players frantically take on the challenge of emptying an often kooky house of its furniture, with exaggerated physics and a host of obstacles conspiring to make the move go about as poorly as they do in real life. Bonus points for the challenges that make you break all the windows.

Read on for more essential co-op games like It Takes Two!