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pathief @lemmy.world

Looking for a local co-op game to play with my SO (Steam Deck)

My SO and I have been having a lot of fun playing co-op games on the Steam Deck connected to the TV. We recently finished Split Fiction and I'm looking for the next cool experience to try out. We enjoy casual co-op games, nothing too hard or violent. EDIT: pixel art is apparently a big turnoff for her so that's out as well.

Games We Enjoyed:

  • Split Fiction
  • It takes two
  • Untitled Goose Game

Games that flopped:

  • Stardew Valley - She is open to "farming" games but doesn't enjoy the energy management aspect of the game. It also gave her motion sickness, somehow
  • Overcooked / Moving out - We enjoy these games but as they start to get more chaotic and hard, the enjoyment goes way down
  • Ibb & Obb - A bit dull and samey
  • Portal - Gives me serious motion sickness, completely unplayable
  • Lego Lord of the Rings - I'm a lord of the rings fan but I hated the gameplay for this game, I found it to be so boring. We quit after an hour or so.
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    • A Hat in Time
    • Trine
    • Spiritfarer
    • The lego games
    • Knights and bikes
    • Human fall flat
    • Cassette beasts
    • Chariot
    • Octodad
    • Monaco

    I don't remember these being particularly violent but maybe are worth a look:

    • Pit people
    • BattleBlock Theater

    I also liked Moon Hunters and Children of Morta but those are harder.

    Divinity Original Sin 1 is also good but definitely falls into the violent category. Its kind of goofy too so it could be worth considering. The second game + BG3 are significantly more violent and serious so are harder to recommend with that criteria.

    Edit: hmm it seems the formatting is funky in Voyager, should be fixed now

    • +1 for the LEGO games. Sort of my go to sleeper pick for surprisingly good games. The humor is good, gameplay is decent though I have to go on big breaks between playing through one because gameplay game to game can be a bit samey.

    • Dude, Octodad in the random arm-leg mode is so fucking funny. My wife and I had so much fun with that game. Too bad the game is so short!

    • Trine

      I do own the first 2, I totally forget about this game. Definitely gonna give it a try.

      Spiritfarer

      I already played and loved SpiritFarer, it was an amazing journey. I don’t want to say too much but I just can’t repeat it any time soon.

      The lego games

      I forgot to mention in the original post that we did play the lord of the rings lego game and I really hated it. I found the gameplay so boring...

      Knights And Bikes

      This one looks intriguing, I'll check it out!

      Monaco

      I do own Monaco, maybe i'll give it a try!

      Thanks!

    • I'll add a +1 to Battleblock Theater! Such a well done game that can be true co-op or "co-op with shenanigans" if that's more your vibe. The story is entertaining and lighthearted and the levels introduce new mechanics throughout.

  • Me and the wife played a few coop games.

    • DERU - The Art of Cooperation is a pretty puzzle game that is satisfying, not too difficult nor does it overstay its welcome.
    • We also enjoyed the snake-esque puzzler OmoTomO. Only on itch, not Steam, so you have to install it via the desktop mode. When you're willing to dig a bit itch grants you some shiny gold nuggets for cheap.
    • In Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime you have to run around a spaceship to operate the different parts (engine, guns, shield). More straightforward than it sounds, and the pacing is such that you're not rushed but do get some tense moments.
    • Almost forgot Pode which is a very cute 3rd person puzzle adventure game.

    Some games recommended by other people in the thread that we can corroborate

    • Trine series is good platforming fun with pretty graphics and dialog that is a little on the nose sometimes.
    • Kingdom: Two Crowns is good for a few hours at least, can't say I cared about beating it because the levels just keep coming with only minor variations. Definitely a unique blend of tower defense and base building.

    Personally I agree on Overcooked, once the novelty wears off it gets a bit frustrating because of the difficulty. Its still fun in groups though.

  • If you don't want something too serious, you can try

    1. Fling to the Finish
    2. Keywe.

    Both are cute and kind of funny, doesn't get too difficult as long as you don't chase highscores.

    Unrailed is less chaotic than overcooked, but can still get a little stressful as tasks pile up.

  • A bunch of retro games have good couch co-op support & the steam deck can emulate pretty much all of them

    Zombies ate my neighbors, smash TV, 2-d brawlers like TMNT turtles in time, double dragon, and streets of rage, Goldeneye, toejam and Earl, bubble bobble

  • Death Squared. Puzzle solving, each player controls two blocks on the map used to solve the puzzle.

  • My partner and I make a point to occasionally play through a couch co-op game as well. Here are some of the things we enjoyed.

    Phogs - Currently playing this. It's a cute, dog-themed puzzle game thing, where you play as two heads of a single long dog-thing. We're enjoying it, but we're not particularly deep in, and I do wonder if it'll get Ibb and Obb samey, but it's worth checking out imo.

    Cassette Beasts - Couch co-op, Pokemon inspired, adventure RPG with great storytelling, fantastic music and a retro aesthetic. The world is very Zelda-like in exploration and puzzle solving, while combat is Pokemon double battles. Highly recommended, just be aware that one player gets to be the player-made protagonist, while the other is one of an interchangeable series of partner characters.

    Sea of Stars - The co-op update did a lot of good for this game. A Chrono Trigger inspired, faux-SNES era, indie RPG. There's a lot of unvoiced dialogue, which I could see as being a barrier to enjoyment as a multiplayer game, but the game is paced quite well, so I don't think it's a huge problem. Also, players do take turns inputting commands, but everyone is responsible for the timed hits/blocks, and you each control a character of equal agency in the overworld, so it avoids the largest co-op turn based RPG folly of having one player and one half-watching "follower." There are a ton of accessibility options/features (difficulty is VERY malleable), and as an added bonus, there's a free story DLC coming on the 20th.

    Children of Morta - This is perhaps the most "hardcore" of my list, but the girlfriend, despite explicitly not enjoying "hard" games, really really enjoyed this one. An action-RPG with some very light roguelike elements, Children of Morta has you play as a family of hunter-gatherer-warrior types in a fantasy world, working together to stop a malevolent power from corrupting the physical world. Each family member has a different playstyle, their own skill tree, and a lot of personality. The game is very story driven, with a few moments being taken between each run for the fantastic narration to drip feed the narrative, slowly teaching you more about the world, the characters, and their family dynamic.

    These are the ones that came to the top of my mind, either because they were particularly good or, in the case of Phogs, is ongoing. If I see anything else worth mentioning when I look at my Steam list next, I'll add.

  • Would be great if you updated this post with new games you enjoyed 😊

  • Degrees of Seperation - 2D puzzler with wonderful scenes and visuals

    Heavenly Bodies - 2D puzzler about astronauts and 0 gravity environments

    Unrailed - isometric 3D. A train starts driving and you need to gather resources and build tracks etc.

    Wobbly Life - 3D fun game, no real objective, just many quests and activities throughout the world

98 comments