Recent studies suggest that video gaming is actually good for you, no matter what your age is. They increase grey matter and connectivity in the brain. Plus, playing games with your kids strengthens family bonds and relieves mental anxiety, so you have the perfect excuse to indulge in a couch game together. Here we’re talking about our favourite couch co-op games for families. Read on and put these 5 best video games on your list!
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What is a cooperative multiplayer game? What do I need to be able to play it?
A bit of background first if you’re wondering what I am talking about! A couch or co-op game is a video game where two or more people can play together and at the same time. There are many games that you can play with friends using online technology, but a couch co-op game means you do not need an online connection, just game controllers for every player. And obviously, you need all of the players to be in the same room!
In some 4-player games, you can take turns with two controllers and play as opposing teams. While in other games, you will want to purchase one controller for each family member, depending on your game system requirements.
For example, on the Nintendo Switch, we un-clip the two controllers for a 2-player game, and we have an extra pair for playing with up to 4 people.
With the Xbox, we have two controllers and can take turns playing on some games. We also have an additional two controllers for the 4-player games we play simultaneously.
Our favourite family couch co-op games that make us LOL
So now you know how the controllers work, we can talk about our favourite couch co-op games. Our most-played co-op games operate in different ways. Here you will see how they are different, and you can find the perfect couch game for your family.
1. Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
My youngest son is 10-years-old, and this is the perfect game when he wants some downtime with me. We hop on my bed with a mountain of our softest pillows and grab our Switch to play Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime. We both are bonkers for kawaii and cute animals, and this game is as cute and kitsch as it comes.
Now before you think Lovers is a bit fluffy, you should know what the game’s creator, Matt Hamill, said about his idea for the game:
‘Like the scene in Star Wars where Han Solo and Luke Skywalker are shooting the Tie Fighters and shouting back and forth to each other.’
It has that feel of a shoot-em-up space game, but the twist is in the animation – it’s all neon, hearts, cute characters and electronic music.
We love couch co-op mode for Lovers! The pure intensity of the aliens attacking our ship juxtaposes our comical efforts at saving space bunnies. Using our crystal hearts in interesting ways makes it a puzzle to work out what we need to do together. Even repeating a level, things are in different places, and you can add bonus crystals to power up for varying effects in each round. My son loves that the game changes every time we play it.
As a parent, I love that the levels are relatively short. We can hop on and satisfyingly complete a level or two with plenty of time for a bath before bed!
And if you have another pair of remotes, this game can be played with 4-players, too.
2. Overcooked 2
Ludicrously located kitchen equipment, ingredients with specific preparation requirements, and a quick-fire timer make this chaotic cooking game a blast to play as a couch co-op game.
In Overcooked 2, your family can choose to play against each other or as one team. This is great if you have players with mixed gaming abilities. You will need to each have your own remote for this one, but it’s such a great game it is worth the investment.
Overcooked 2 is more polished than Overcooked 1 (and we much prefer it). So I’d recommend starting with Overcooked 2 before playing its predecessor.
Your family will play as chefs in a kitchen unlike any you have used before! It frequently catches on fire, has magic doors, operates in outer space, is placed across a parade route, or perhaps is even flying in hot air balloons! The challenges run around the same goal of completing food orders in a given amount of time to save the world for the Onion King. This a cooking game that even grandma can join in!
Overcooked 2 is brilliant at family team-building, sharpening memory skills, perfecting planning and practising negotiation. We like to play it together to liven up a midweek evening when we’d otherwise just be watching TV. It gets us pumped up, and even when we fail, we fail spectacularly and end up shouting and laughing in equal measure!
3. Moving Out
Live out your rockstar fantasy and throw a TV out the window in this madcap moving simulator game. In Moving Out, your family will play together as trainees in a moving company that cares less about breakages and more about just getting everything into the van as fast as possible!
To succeed, you’ll need to work out the right angle to swing things like the refrigerator out of the window and on to the moving van. And how to do some Tetris style stacking in a moving van with very little space!
This game really gets us laughing, with all of its jokes. It’s manic, silly and challenging, but you won’t need any gaming experience to get going. Moving Out is perfect for a Friday night with giant bowls of popcorn, and we love it for some lively challenges. But, like Overcooked 2, you’ll be surprised at how much your family subtly sharpens their teamwork skills to keep a piano from falling into the pool.
4. Escapists 2
Put on your orange jumpsuit and work out where to smuggle a bar of soap because Escapists 2 will have your family trying to orchestrate a jailbreak!
In Escapists 2, you can play either versus each other or as one team, but you’ll need a controller for everyone.
We prefer the team version over the ‘versus’ one because my younger son will get upset if he feels he’s being bullied by his brother (even if it is the aim of the game!).
When you play the 4-player version, you’ll need to work out how to escape and make sure that everyone can make it out of the prison walls before the guards and dogs catch you.
This is a great game for a longer gaming session. Virtual days pass in the game where everyone has to show up at various times for meals, showers and roll call, so you must all scurry around to collect items before lights out.
You’ll need to work out how to craft items and work together to put your plan into place. Someone may need to distract the guards while someone else uses a file to cut the fence, so it’s a game that sparks great family conversations on strategy.
Escapists 2 is great if you like puzzles, you are good at finding things, and you don’t mind getting rough with a couple of guards!
5. Tsum Tsum Festival
Our last game has flown under the radar a little bit. Disney’s Tsum Tsum Festival is based on the little toys from the Japanese craze, Tsum Tsums.
But you don’t need to know a single thing about Disney (or Tsum Tsums) to fully enjoy this game! Like the Mario Party franchise, this couch co-op game has a collection of fairground style mini-games where you rack up points, earn coins and collect Tsum Tsum characters.
You could write this off as a younger kids game (and it’s perfect for that), but I include it on our list because we heartily enjoy it! Maybe it’s the Disney nostalgia (how often do you see Donald Duck anymore?), or maybe it is the bouncy music and popping colours that we love.
Or maybe, in a world that feels so heavy right now, it’s just the perky light entertainment we’re craving. It’s challenging enough even for our gaming mad boys. AND easy enough for me to beat them once in a while! What more can you ask for in your family couch co-op games?
And that’s our roundup of 5 best family couch co-op games. Which one is your favourite? Comment below and let us know.
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