Best Co-op Games Like A Way Out to Play Now (2026)

If you’ve finished A Way Out and want another game built from the ground up for two players, the 10 titles below are the closest matches we’ve played. Each one needs a partner on the couch or online, and each one rewards real coordination rather than a second controller along for the ride.

We tested every game on this list on PC plus at least one console, tracking how the story holds up when both players are talking, how often the mechanics force you to split up, and whether pacing stays even through the endgame.

#What Makes a Game Feel Like A Way Out?

A Way Out stands out because it’s built only for two players. There’s no single-player mode, no AI partner, and no drop-in drop-out system. That restriction is the whole point: every prison yard fight, quiet cell conversation, and escape set piece has to work for two people at once.

When we tried to shortlist alternatives, we only kept games that hit three marks. The first is mandatory cooperation. The second is a story worth following past the first hour. The third is asymmetry, where your screen and your partner’s screen show different things often enough that you actually have to talk.

According to the A Way Out entry on Wikipedia, director Josef Fares designed the game for a strictly two-player format, with split-screen required even when playing online. That’s the template every pick below has to clear.

#Story-Driven Co-op Games to Try First

#It Takes Two

Hazelight Studios followed A Way Out with It Takes Two, and it’s the clearest step forward. In our testing we spent roughly 14 hours on the main story, and the game never reused a mechanic between chapters. One level turns you into magnets on a toolbox, the next drops you inside a snow globe, and a third gives one player a honey cannon while the other lights matches.

According to The Verge’s coverage of The Game Awards 2021, It Takes Two was named Game of the Year, beating Metroid Dread and Resident Evil Village.

The official It Takes Two page on Steam states that the game supports split-screen on one PC, online play through the free Friend’s Pass, and full controller support. This is the most direct upgrade from A Way Out. For more titles in the same mold, see our full list of games like It Takes Two.

#Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Josef Fares directed Brothers before founding Hazelight, so its DNA runs straight into A Way Out. The original release gave one player both brothers, each tied to a thumbstick on a single controller.

After testing the remake’s couch co-op mode on PC, we found the shared-controller version actually felt more emotionally connected than playing on separate gamepads, because the moments that force the brothers apart land harder when you physically move one hand away from the other. The game runs about three hours and tells its story through a fictional language and body animation, so nobody has to read subtitles to follow along.

The Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake page on Steam confirms local co-op and full controller support on modern PC builds.

#Uncharted 4 Survival Co-op

Uncharted 4 adds a wave-based Survival mode for up to three players. The PlayStation Store page for Uncharted 4 confirms co-op missions across multiplayer maps, which is a softer sell than the mainline campaign but still a solid couch option if you already own the game. For more treasure-hunter energy, see our games like Uncharted roundup.

#Puzzle Co-op Games That Stay Tight

#Portal 2

Valve’s co-op campaign in Portal 2 is a separate story from the single-player game. The Portal 2 page on Steam confirms a dedicated co-op mode with its own test chambers starring Atlas and P-body.

When we tried it, most chambers took us between 5 and 15 minutes each. The difficulty curve feels deliberately gentler than the solo campaign so both players can learn the portal-thinking vocabulary together. GLaDOS’s commentary on your cooperative failures never gets old. This is the game we hand to friends who have never played a puzzler.

#Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

This one’s unlike anything else on the list. One player sees a bomb on their screen, and the other holds a printed or digital manual with defusal instructions. Neither player can see what the other sees.

Rounds last two to five minutes in my experience, and the bomb gets harder every time someone survives. The Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes Steam page lists VR support, standard PC play, and rounds where the manual reader uses a phone or tablet. That’s why it’s become a staple at game nights: the person reading the manual doesn’t even need the game installed on their device.

#Action Co-op Games With the Same Thrill

#Overcooked! 2

Ghost Town Games’ cooking simulator demands constant verbal communication. You’ll shout “chop the lettuce” and “plate it, plate it, plate it” while your kitchen literally splits in half or slides across rafts.

In our testing, the kitchens ranged from sushi bars on floating logs to hot-air balloon bakeries and haunted castles. Online co-op was added after launch and works well, but couch play’s still the best way to experience the controlled panic. If you enjoy this one, our list of cooking games on Switch has more cooperative kitchen options for Nintendo hardware.

#Cuphead

Studio MDHR’s run-and-gun platformer supports local co-op where player two controls Mugman. The 1930s rubber-hose cartoon style is hand-drawn frame by frame.

The Cuphead page on Steam confirms that local two-player support runs throughout the base game and the Delicious Last Course DLC. During testing on Regular difficulty, we tracked our boss-fight attempts for the first four levels, and most bosses took us between 10 and 20 tries each before a clean run. Fans of intense co-op combat should also check out games like Halo and games like Borderlands.

#Communication-Based Co-op Picks

#We Were Here Series

The We Were Here trilogy drops two players into separate environments and gives them only walkie-talkies. Each player sees different clues, and you have to describe what you see to solve puzzles.

We tested the first entry, and the puzzles took us about two hours to finish. The We Were Here page on Steam confirms the base game is free and designed as online-only co-op. The whole point is that each player sits in a different room of the same castle, so couch co-op wouldn’t work even if the game allowed it.

#Which Survival and Horde Co-op Games Are Worth the Time?

#Don’t Starve Together

Klei Entertainment’s survival sandbox drops two to six players into a procedurally generated wilderness with a Tim Burton-inspired art style. You’ll gather resources, build camps, and fight seasonal bosses while watching your hunger, health, and sanity meters drain at different speeds.

Each playable character has a distinct ability. Wilson grows a beard for winter insulation, Willow starts with a lighter, and Wolfgang hits harder when well-fed. The Don’t Starve Together Steam page confirms server hosting for up to six players and cross-platform multiplayer. A single run can last dozens of real hours before someone freezes or gets eaten by a hound pack during a full moon.

#Left 4 Dead 2

Valve’s four-player zombie shooter still reads as one of the tightest co-op experiences around. The AI Director adjusts enemy spawns, item placements, and even weather based on how well your team performs, so no two runs of the same campaign feel identical.

The Left 4 Dead 2 page on Steam confirms campaign co-op for up to four players online, plus Versus and Scavenge modes. Our roundup of games like Left 4 Dead covers more horde-survival options if you burn through the Valve campaigns.

#Bottom Line

Buy It Takes Two first. It’s the clearest heir to A Way Out, and the free Friend’s Pass means one copy covers a couch couple for the full 14-hour run.

For asymmetric puzzling, Portal 2 suits players who enjoy thinking in space, while Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes fits a group where one person would rather read a manual than hold a controller. For messy, end-of-the-week co-op with a crowded living room, Overcooked! 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 are the two we keep reinstalling every time a friend visits.

#Frequently Asked Questions