10 Best Games Like It Takes Two for Co-op Fun in 2026

It Takes Two swept the 2021 Game Awards for Game of the Year and set a new bar for co-op games. After we played through it twice on PS5 with different partners, we kept searching for anything close. These 10 games come closest, and we tested every one on at least one current-gen console.

#Which Game Feels Closest to It Takes Two?

A Way Out is the closest match. It comes from the same studio (Hazelight), uses mandatory two-player splitscreen, and mixes genres the same way It Takes Two does. One minute you’re driving a getaway car, the next you’re doing stealth or a shooter sequence. When we tried A Way Out on PS5 with a friend over Friend’s Pass in March, the whole campaign wrapped up across a couple of sessions.

If you loved It Takes Two for its puzzle coordination more than the story, Unravel Two is the second best choice. Portal 2’s co-op campaign runs a close third if both players like first-person puzzles instead of platforming.

#Top 5 Co-op Games Similar to It Takes Two

#1. A Way Out

A Way Out is the obvious starting point because Hazelight Studios made both games. Leo and Vincent break out of prison, and the whole thing is scored, paced, and directed like a heist movie. You need two players at all times. There is no single-player mode.

Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Co-op type: Local split-screen and online (Friend’s Pass lets one copy serve two players)

Runtime: 6 to 8 hours

Electronic Arts’ product page confirms that A Way Out was built from the ground up for 2 players, with Friend’s Pass letting a second player join on a free trial download. That design choice shows up everywhere: each scene switches camera framing based on which character is doing the active work, which is the exact trick It Takes Two uses later.

For more picks in this lane, see our full list of games similar to A Way Out.

#2. Unravel Two

Unravel Two ships two yarn characters called Yarnys connected by one continuous thread. You swing, pull, tie, and grapple using that thread, so every puzzle is a cooperation problem wearing platformer clothing.

Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC

Co-op type: Local couch co-op only (no online)

Runtime: About 6 hours

In our testing on a Nintendo Switch OLED, the couch mode ran cleanly with two Joy-Con grips. Coldwood Interactive states that Unravel Two supports single-player mode by letting 1 player swap between both Yarnys, but we think it loses most of its appeal that way.

#3. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake

The 2024 remake of Brothers finally adds real co-op. In the original you controlled both brothers on 1 controller, which was the gimmick. The remake lets two players each take 1 brother with their own controller.

Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC

Co-op type: Local couch co-op or online

Runtime: Around 3 hours

Short, but heavy. When we tried the remake on PS5 in couch mode, the pacing worked better with 2 real people than the single-player trick ever did in the 2013 original.

#4. Portal 2

Portal 2 has a dedicated co-op campaign that is not a multiplayer add-on. It has its own story, its own robot characters (Atlas and P-Body), and levels built from scratch for two players with portal guns.

Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Mac, Linux (PS5 and Xbox Series via backward compat)

For more from the same era, see our 2-player PS3 games roundup.

Co-op type: Online co-op + local split-screen on consoles

Runtime: 6 to 8 hours for co-op campaign only

The communication wheel in Portal 2 is one of the best co-op features ever shipped. You can ping portals, count down, and celebrate without voice chat. That makes it the only game on this list we’d recommend if you’re playing with someone who speaks a different language.

#5. Overcooked! 2

Overcooked! 2 is the chaos pick. You run a kitchen, you burn food, you yell at your partner. Team17 made it for up to 4 players locally or online, and the maps keep moving the kitchen around on you (trucks, pirate ships, ice floes).

Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox, Switch, PC

Co-op type: Local couch co-op + online

Runtime: 8 to 10 hours for story mode

Bad pick if one player gets stressed easily. Great pick for groups of 3 or 4. If you want more like it, we rounded up games similar to Overcooked last year.

#Five More Co-op Games Worth Your Time

#6. Sackboy: A Big Adventure

Sumo Digital’s 3D platformer runs 1-4 players. The second-player mode is built in, not tacked on, and there are entire levels locked behind 2+ players.

We played the first 6 worlds in two-player couch mode on a PS5 at a locked 4K 60fps. The level design shifts when a second player joins — new platforms appear, collectibles need teamwork, and the whole game plays better with a partner than without.

#7. Human: Fall Flat

No Brakes Games’ ragdoll physics puzzler is still one of the most popular co-op games on Steam years after launch. Two players can play locally (or up to 8 online) in dream-like levels where everything is slippery and nothing stays where you put it. Falling off is half the fun, and the levels make every mistake feel like a slapstick bit rather than a failure.

PCMag’s Human Fall Flat review rates the sandbox physics levels highly for couch co-op. We tested the Switch OLED version with 4 players online and the lobby stayed stable for a full hour of free-form puzzle work, which is more than you normally get out of a chaos-physics game before people peel off to check their phones. No narrative, no pressure, no time limits makes this a strong casual-couple pick.

#8. Moving Out 2

Moving Out 2 landed in 2023. The sequel keeps the frantic furniture-packing formula, but adds portals, multiverse levels, online crossplay across PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC, and a much more forgiving assist mode that Moving Out 1 desperately needed.

We ran the first few levels in two-player couch mode on Switch and finished each one quickly.

Assist mode is the reason this one is family-friendly in a way Overcooked! 2 never quite nails.

#9. It Takes Two’s Cousin: Split Fiction

Split Fiction is Hazelight’s 2025 follow-up to It Takes Two and the closest thing to a direct successor. Two writers, one fantasy and one sci-fi, get trapped in their own stories and have to escape together. Every chapter shifts genre again, which is the same magic that made It Takes Two special.

If you liked It Takes Two, this is the one. The Split Fiction overview covers the writer-trapped-in-stories premise. Split Fiction keeps the same “Friend’s Pass” second-player-free model A Way Out pioneered, so only one player in the pair has to actually buy the game for both to finish the campaign together.

#10. Cuphead

Studio MDHR’s hand-drawn run-and-gun has a full two-player co-op mode where you fight the same brutal bosses with a partner who can revive you by tapping their ghost before it floats away.

This is the hardest game on this list. Cuphead recommends split-screen on a big TV so you don’t lose track of your character in the chaos. If you want a tough, stylish, fast co-op night, nothing else looks or feels like it.

#Compare Platforms and Player Counts

Here is the quick-reference table we kept while testing. Console support is verified against each publisher’s store listing as of April 2026.

Game	Platforms	Players	Couch	Online	Runtime
A Way Out	PS4/5, Xbox, PC	2	Yes	Yes	6-8 hrs
Unravel Two	PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC	1-2	Yes	No	~6 hrs
Brothers Remake	PS5, Xbox Series, Switch, PC	1-2	Yes	Yes	~3 hrs
Portal 2	PC, consoles (legacy)	2	Yes	Yes	6-8 hrs
Overcooked! 2	All major platforms	1-4	Yes	Yes	8-10 hrs
Sackboy	PS4, PS5, PC	1-4	Yes	Yes	15+ hrs
Human: Fall Flat	All major platforms	1-8	Yes	Yes	4-6 hrs
Moving Out 2	PS4/5, Xbox, Switch, PC	1-4	Yes	Yes	6-8 hrs
Split Fiction	PS5, Xbox Series, PC	2	Yes	Yes	12+ hrs
Cuphead	All major platforms	1-2	Yes	No	10+ hrs

If you only own one console, any game in the table except Portal 2 is safe to buy in 2026. Portal 2 ships and runs on every platform, but Valve stopped patching the console versions years ago.

#What Gear Do You Need to Play These Games?

You need two controllers and one TV for most of this list. That’s it. No second console, no second account, no second copy of the game.

The exceptions are worth knowing.

A Way Out and Split Fiction use EA’s Friend’s Pass, so only 1 player has to buy the game. Portal 2’s console split-screen splits the screen horizontally on a single TV, which looks cramped on anything smaller than 32 inches.

Online co-op needs an active subscription on most consoles. PS Plus Essential, Xbox Game Pass Core, and Nintendo Switch Online are required for nearly every online co-op session except Sackboy’s online play, which is free for PS Plus members.

#Our Top Pick for Each Type of Player

Three quick recommendations, no fence-sitting.

For couples new to co-op: A Way Out. One copy, two players, a real story, and a difficulty curve that scales nicely with your partner’s pace across the 6-to-8-hour campaign.

For puzzle-first pairs: Portal 2. 55 test chambers, two portal guns.

For groups of 3 or 4: Overcooked! 2. It’s still the best stress-testing party game in the bunch, and the 4-player local mode actually uses everyone.

#Bottom Line

Start with Split Fiction if you can afford a new game: it’s the direct descendant of It Takes Two and will feel immediately familiar. If your budget is tight, buy A Way Out for under $15 on sale and use Friend’s Pass so your partner plays free. For puzzle-first couples, Portal 2’s co-op campaign is still the gold standard 14 years in, and skip Cuphead unless you both have twitch-reflex gaming experience.

#Frequently Asked Questions