There are few things more magical in gaming than sharing a screen, a controller, and a whole lot of chaos with someone sitting right next to you. Whether it’s your best friend, your significant other, or that one roommate who eats your snacks, couch co-op games are a recipe for laughter, teamwork... and occasional betrayal.
If you're looking for the best local co-op games on Steam that guarantee both fun and furious finger-pointing, we’ve got you covered. Here are five absolutely brilliant (and ridiculous) couch co-op games that you can grab on Steam right now.
1. Split Fiction
Genre: Puzzle Adventure | Players: 2
Warning: May cause time-related arguments.
Split Fiction is like a time-traveling escape room with a film-school obsession. You and your partner jump into stylish, cinematic puzzles where timelines split, rewind, and occasionally slap you across the face.
One minute you're solving a puzzle in the present, the next you're yelling "WAIT, THAT CHANGES THE PAST!" like a dollar-store Doctor Strange. The puzzles are clever, the coordination is key, and the arguments will be legendary. If you like yelling “Pull the lever!” 17 times before it actually happens, this one’s for you.
2. Sackboy: A Big Adventure
Genre: Platformer | Players: Up to 4
Adorable chaos in a sack-shaped package.
Sackboy brings vibrant levels, ridiculous costumes, and some of the most gleeful co-op chaos you’ll ever experience. On the surface, it’s a wholesome platformer. But dig a little deeper and you’ll find a lawless land where tossing your friend into a pit of fire is not only possible—it’s encouraged.
You’ll jump, slap, throw, and laugh your way through beautifully designed levels. Just don’t expect to stay friends if you're the kind of person who "accidentally" keeps stealing all the collectibles.
3. It Takes Two
Genre: Action Adventure / Puzzle | Players: 2
Therapy meets platforming.
This one’s not just a game—it’s a relationship simulator disguised as an epic adventure. You and your partner play a bickering couple turned into dolls, forced to work together through magical challenges while a very dramatic talking book shouts life advice at you.
Every level introduces new mechanics: one of you gets a magnet, the other gets... a different magnet. Or maybe one of you shoots nails and the other swings a hammer. Either way, success requires communication, trust, and the occasional deep breath when your partner misses the jump for the fourth time in a row.
4. A Way Out
Genre: Narrative Action | Players: 2
Team up. Break out. Probably mess it up the first time.
A Way Out is a cinematic co-op experience that puts you and a friend in the shoes of two inmates plotting their escape from prison. One of you distracts the guard, the other sneaks around with a spoon. It’s tense, it’s emotional, and yes—it’s totally possible to ruin everything with a single bad decision.
Unlike most co-op games, this one is *only* playable with two players. So choose your partner wisely. Someone who won’t, say, forget to flush the toilet during a stealth mission. You know who you are.
5. Unravel Two
Genre: Puzzle Platformer | Players: 2
Two yarn creatures. One string. Infinite opportunities to fall off a cliff.
Unravel Two is calm, peaceful, and full of heart. Until you realize your partner is dragging you off a ledge for the sixth time in a row. You play as two yarny creatures connected by a string, solving beautiful physics puzzles in a stunning world.
It's one of the more relaxing co-op games out there... until someone starts swinging too early or ties a knot in the completely wrong place. But when everything clicks, and you swing perfectly in sync? It’s magic. Yarn magic.
Whether you're looking for laughs, teamwork, or the opportunity to push your best friend into virtual lava, these couch co-op games deliver. They're fun, frantic, and full of moments you'll talk about for weeks—either fondly or while vowing revenge.
So grab a second controller, call over your favorite player two, and dive into these local co-op gems on Steam. Just remember: teamwork makes the dream work... until someone forgets the controls.
Got a favorite couch co-op game we missed? Let us know in the comments!
