Forget the bucket of rose petals, the dozen randomly scented bath bombs (who wants to smell like a s’more?), and frankly hazardous number of lit candles — everyone knows the perfect way to set a romantic atmosphere is with video games. Although the digital pastime thrives on single-player content, there are plenty of stellar titles that involve you and a partner snuggling under a blanket and playing together.
Nothing quite gets passion soaring like competition and cooperation. These co-op games run the gamut — from running a farm in rural serenity and solving marital problems, to breaking out of jail and beating up baddies with retro turtle power — but all of them will make this Valentine’s Day an unforgettable one.
Stardew Valley (PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox Game Pass)
Nothing is more romantic than a trip to the country side, and that includes digital ones! Welcome to Stardew Valley: a rustic village populated by quirky and friendly townsfolk that’s perfect for taking a step back from the woes of technology and capitalism. You and up to three partners can cultivate the land and raise animals, slowly building your farming empire from nothing into the talk of the valley. Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to pour yourselves two glasses of Salmonberry wine and fall into the calming day-to-day of farming with your partner. It can’t be beat.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Nintendo Switch)
Nintendo’s pink puffball always brings the adorable charm, and Kirby’s first foray into 3D with The Forgotten Land is no slouch in that regard. Kirby, and a second player controlling the equally cute Bandana Waddle Dee, might be exploring a realistic post-apocalyptic wasteland. But, Kirby can also inhale vending machines, cars, stairs, and lightbulbs — have you ever seen so much stretch before? The game’s simplicity and intuitive controls are perfect for beginners to get sucked into (get it?) a wonderful adventure.
Overcooked! All You Can Eat (PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox)
The kitchen is a high-stakes room full of knives and fire and boiling water, so it’s a good thing the dangers are virtual. Too many chefs make this arcade-like kitchen simulator a blast to play. You and your partner must work together to chop vegetables, cook meat, wash dishes, and put out fires (literal and figurative) to get as many dishes out within the time limit. The hectic nature makes this a perfect opportunity for couples to test their communication skills, but you may not like the results. Overcooked! All You Can Eat is a remastered collection of both Overcooked! and Overcooked! 2 (which itself is available on Xbox Game Pass).
It Takes Two (PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox Game Pass)
An imaginative and darkly humorous take on divorce, It Takes Two shrinks down bickering parents Cody and May into dolls and forces them to solve their problems through a wide array of platforming challenges and puzzles if they want to return to their bodies. Every level is chock-full of new ideas and mechanics, making the entire adventure a constantly engaging experience. Sure, it might not be good form to play a game about divorce on the day all about love, but this one is special enough to warrant an exception.
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime (PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox)
Space — the infinite unknown — is a lot more colorful than you’d think in this vibrantly neon arcade action shooter. It’s also a LOT more dangerous. Both players must work together to navigate through space and blast away various threats that want to ruin your simple good vibes of peace and harmony. Sure the game is frantic and difficult, but you won’t be facing it alone. Love can (possibly) conquer all, even aliens.
Don’t Starve Together (PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox)
Don’t be scared away by Don’t Starve Together‘s macabre pencil art-style and dark atmosphere — love can certainly burgeon in the wilderness. In fact, it might even be stronger for it. A stand-alone expansion of the acclaimed survival game, you and your partner must work together to survive against a terribly cruel and unfairly difficult world. As you slowly gather more resources and learn how to bend the environment to your will, the fear dwindles and it can become a truly relaxing experience. Just be careful at night.
Untitled Goose Game (PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox)
HONK!! It’s easy to forget that the BAFTA-winning game of orchestrated aviary chaos can be played by more than one player, but the developers at House House really are devils. Two geese can now terrorize the idyllic town, stealing items from unaware townsfolk or causing other general mayhem. There are technically puzzles to solve and objectives to aim for, but wandering around town and honking at everything and everyone is an absolutely valid experience.
Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PC, Playstation)
It’s been a minute since Sony had a first-party family platformer, but they returned with style galore with Sackboy. Taking the former Little Big Planet star on an adventure across multiple adorably-crafted worlds full of intricate puzzles and fun platforming, the game is a wonderful excuse to sit down with your loved one and smile for hours on end.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox Game Pass)
Strap into the Party Wagon (yes, that is the actual name) for a good ol’ fashioned radical 2D brawler. Players can control any of the four Turtles along with long-time friend and reporter April O’Neil, hockey fanatic Casey Jones, and Master Splinter himself to foil Shredder’s newest diabolical scheme. A call back to the Turtles games from arcade-era, Shredder’s Revenge is a blast from the past in the best ways possible and a totally tubular way to spend the evening.
The Quarry (PC, PlayStation, Xbox)
What’s more romantic than a horror movie? Easy: an interactive horror movie. From the developers of Until Dawn comes The Quarry, where your choices determine the fate of several summer camp counselors who are realizing that their last night at camp might be their last night ever. The game is a B-movie through and through, and familiar faces like Brenda Song, Justice Smith, and Ted Raimi relish the opportunity to be as campy as humanly possible. Can you survive the night?
A Way Out (PC, PlayStation, Xbox Game Pass)
Hazelight Studios’ A Way Out is unlike any other game available: you must play this game with someone else. Players control a set of brothers as they plan a way to break out of jail and get back to their families. The entire game is run in split screen, and many situations force the players to be in completely different areas, each player doing their part to progress the plan. It’s a perfectly tense and cinematic experience that truly can only be told through the medium of video games.
Escape Academy (PC, PlayStation, Xbox Game Pass)
Do you like escape rooms — those intricately designed confined spaces that turn life into one big puzzle leading to a victorious escape? Then you have to play Escape Academy, which brings the admittedly gamey concept of escape rooms into the video game medium with style. You and your partner are on track to become the next big escapologists, but first you must get your degree from the Escape Academy. Oh, and stop a criminal conspiracy. Already chock-full of almost a dozen satisfying puzzle rooms, there’s DLC on the way to add more to the experience for those itching to escape from the comfort of their couch.
Super Mario 3D World (Switch)
It’s difficult to surpass the charm and quality of Nintendo’s best, and this is absolutely one of their best. A port from the Wii U, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury allows four players to control Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Peach as they galavant across the Sprixie Kingdom to stop Bowser’s evil plan to uh… grow big and cat-like? Bursting at the seams with ideas and power-ups — including the purr-fectly adorable Cat Suit — you’re bound to be bopping out to the big band score as the hours fly by.
Moving Out (PC, PlayStation Plus Extra, Switch, Xbox)
It’s time to move out! Not literally, of course. You and a partner own a moving company in this wacky physics-based puzzler, so you must figure out how to fit everyone’s life into the confines of your van. Easier said than done. Playing games together, screaming expletives in frustration, and shouting with joy over a hard-fought victory are among the things that make love worth it. The clumsy hijinks and sheer brute force required to achieve the highest rank will have you busting a gut, or at least breaking a couch.
