Best Co-op Games 2026: Sten's Couch Co-op Ranking (Console & PC)
We play a lot of games together at THREEPOINTZERO — and the ones we keep coming back to are the ones where you sit next to each other with a controller each. Here are the best co-op games we've played on console and PC that are worth your time in 2026. Cuphead sits at #1 for us; the rest of the order is how we'd rank them after countless couch sessions of our own.
The ranking
- Cuphead
- It Takes Two
- Split Fiction
- A Way Out
- Portal 2 (co-op campaign)
- Overcooked! 2
- Call of Duty: Black Ops — Zombies
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III — Zombies + co-op campaign
- Unravel Two
- Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
- Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (Remake)
- Guns, Gore & Cannoli 1 & 2
- Luigi's Mansion 2 HD (and 3 for the couch)
- Cat Quest
1. Cuphead
This is the one. We've played Cuphead through more than six times as a crew and it still hasn't gotten old. It's brutally hard in the best way: every boss is a hand-drawn 1930s cartoon that wants you dead, and the only way through is learning the patterns together, reviving each other with a parry and screaming when someone dies two seconds before the knockout.
Grab two controllers, sit on the same couch and give it an evening. If you've already finished it, The Delicious Last Course DLC adds a new island and Ms. Chalice. It's an all-time favourite for us too (96% positive on Steam backs that up), but #1 here is purely our take: nothing else made us want to start over this many times.
2. It Takes Two
Game of the Year 2021 and still the first game I'd hand someone who asks for the best couch co-op. You play a couple on the edge of divorce who get shrunk into dolls, and every level hands you a new mechanic built for two — one of you gets the nails, the other the hammer.
It's co-op only, so there's no 'carry the other person' — both of you have to pull your weight. The mini-games scattered around the levels are where our sessions turned competitive.
3. Split Fiction
Hazelight's follow-up to It Takes Two, and for us it's actually the better game. Two writers get trapped inside their own stories — one sci-fi, one fantasy — so you jump from cyber-ninja chases to dragon riding every half hour.
It plays like a two-player raid. The split-screen itself becomes a mechanic at times, which is a big part of why it's so fun on one TV. If you only have room for one brand-new co-op game this year, this is it.
4. A Way Out
The game that started Hazelight's co-op streak. Two prisoners, Leo and Vincent, break out and go on the run. It's more of a movie than the later games — shorter, more cinematic, and built around split-screen even when you play online.
I'd call the story one of the best in co-op, full stop: play it in one or two sittings and don't spoil the ending for each other.
5. Portal 2 (co-op campaign)Couch classic
We almost skipped this one the first time we made the list — then we fired up the co-op campaign again and it earned its spot. Completely separate from the solo story: two robots, four portals, a lot of 'wait, you go first'.
It's still one of the smartest puzzle co-op games ever made, and it's dirt cheap on sale.
6. Overcooked! 2Couch classic
This is the best four-player chaos game for one TV, full stop. You run a kitchen that keeps moving, splitting, catching fire, and someone has to chop, someone has to wash plates, and everyone has to yell.
Fair warning from us: it will test your relationships. That's the whole point.
7. Call of Duty: Black Ops — Zombies
Kino der Toten, Five, Ascension, Call of the Dead — this is where Zombies became a thing for a whole generation. It isn't a co-op story mode, but sitting next to each other on split-screen, holding a hallway and arguing about who gets the Pack-a-Punch is about as couch co-op as it gets.
Old-school, but the round-based loop still holds up. Play it on an Xbox for the easiest backward-compatible setup.
8. Call of Duty: Black Ops III — Zombies + co-op campaign
The Zombies maps here are the deepest in the series, and the easter eggs are the reason we keep coming back. Der Eisendrache, Revelations, Zetsubou — pulling off a full main quest together is a proper team achievement.
Bonus most people forget: Black Ops III also lets you play the whole story campaign in co-op, two players split-screen on console. It's honestly pretty fun as a duo.
9. Unravel Two
Two little yarn creatures tied together by one thread. It's calm, beautiful and a great pick when not everyone on the couch is a hardcore gamer — one player can even carry the other through the tricky parts.
The first Unravel is single-player; Two is the one you want for co-op.
10. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
Not a PC exclusive — it's on PlayStation, Xbox and Switch too. One person sees the bomb, everyone else has the manual (free online) and can't see the screen. You have to talk your way through it.
Perfect party game, and probably the most 'actual teamwork' game on this list. Expect shouting.
11. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (Remake)
A short, emotional fairy tale about two brothers looking for a cure for their father. The original was famous for being single-player where you control both brothers with one stick each — the 2024 remake added real couch co-op, so one of you plays each brother.
Three to four hours, one evening. One of our favourites after It Takes Two and A Way Out, and an interesting one: playing it together actually changes how the ending hits.
12. Guns, Gore & Cannoli 1 & 2
Prohibition-era mobsters versus zombies, in a hand-drawn side-scrolling shooter. Both games are short, loud and stupid in the best way — four players on one screen blasting through tommy-gun set pieces.
We played both back to back. Start with the first for the story, then jump into 2 for the bigger levels and more weapons.
13. Luigi's Mansion 2 HD (and 3 for the couch)
Luigi's Mansion 2 HD is a fun ghost-hunting adventure, and the ScareScraper co-op mode is great — but heads up: it needs one Switch and one copy per player, so it's not a one-screen couch game.
If you want the 'two controllers, one TV' version, go for Luigi's Mansion 3: player two takes control of Gooigi through the whole story on the same screen, and ScreamPark is a solid party mode.
14. Cat QuestPass the controller
Being honest here: the first Cat Quest is single-player. We still played it together on the couch, passing the controller between dungeons, and it's one of the cosiest action RPGs around — cat puns everywhere, short quests, easy to pick up.
If you want real two-player co-op, Cat Quest II and III add couch co-op on the same screen. We've only played the first, so that's the one we can vouch for.
How we ranked it
Cuphead at #1 is our own call — nothing else has made us restart this many times. The rest of the order is how Sten would rank them after playing through them on the couch, with Steam review scores as a light tiebreaker when two games were too close to call. Portal 2 and Overcooked! 2 earned their spots the same way: we went back, played them, and they stuck.
Quick picks
- Couples / two players, story: It Takes Two, Split Fiction, A Way Out, Brothers.
- Hard and rewarding: Cuphead.
- Party with 3–4 people on one TV: Overcooked! 2, Guns, Gore & Cannoli, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes.
- Shooter nights: Black Ops Zombies and Black Ops III (campaign + Zombies).
- Chill and cosy: Unravel Two, Cat Quest (pass the controller).
Looking ahead
Want to know what's coming? We put together the split-screen co-op games we're looking forward to in 2027.
About THREEPOINTZERO
We're a small gaming brand that loves couch co-op as much as competitive play. When the controllers go down and the mouse comes out, we make the gear we want to use ourselves: skates, grips and mousepads. No hard sell — but if your setup needs a refresh, that's where we live.
