Valentine’s Day game lists that recommend experiences mostly for couples to bond or chill over are overrated. They’re full of games for you and your partner to get along, find common ground, and play through relaxing or heartwarming moments together on Valentine’s Day and beyond. We’re changing things up. Instead of playing games that help you both wind down, pick co-op games that will really test your relationship.
For example, these five games might be the “IKEA furniture building” of gaming together. Only play these if you think your relationship can make it through to the end without one of you raging, coming out on the other end as a stronger couple while also learning more about yourself and your partner!
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Check out some Co-op Games That are GREAT for Your Relationship here.
We Were Here Together
Developer: Total Mayhem Games
Publisher: Total Mayhem Games
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC
We Were Here Together is a fairly robust series about working with a partner to make it through different puzzling experiences. What this one tests is your communication skills. Are you both good communicators with each other? Can you handle being separated while taking on tasks that rely on the other to succeed? On top of all that, it requires quick and precise communication to ensure the other avoids obstacles they may be unable to see. We Were Here Together is a great tool to help improve communication, especially for those couples that love to do escape rooms together.
Escape Academy or Escape Simulator
Developer: Pine Studios
Publisher: Pine Studios
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC
Speaking of escape rooms, play an escape room game: Escape Simulator. It brings the escape room experience to your home in fantastic ways. It’s co-op compatible and provides dozens of rooms for you both to complete. This is great for those who may want to improve working together. Both players tackle different tasks, and each works towards a common goal. Both players work to share information to help the other progress forward. And always be open to helping others when they cannot figure something out. Escape rooms are a great team bonding experience and remain true in video game form.
Overcooked! 1 & 2
Developer: Ghost Town Games
Publisher: Team17
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC
On the opposite end of escape rooms is Overcooked! This series is chaotic in the best and worst ways. You both manage a kitchen, cooking recipes as the landscapes change. The kitchens are close quarters, with ingredients spread everywhere, and recipes require lots of different focused tasks to complete to stay on top of the orders. To top it all if, every order is timed.
This hellish concoction creates a major test for communication and working together as efficiently as possible. What makes Overcooked! extra challenging is how you may be focused on one task and end up getting in the way or ruining something your partner is working on. On a scale of one to five on test difficulty, this one is a four.
Until Dawn
Developer: Supermassive Games
Publisher: Sony
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC
Now, what if you want to test each partner’s independence? A great way to do that is to play any Supermassive game, like Until Dawn, as co-op, even if they don’t have a co-op feature. These choose-your-own-adventure narrative horror experiences have a large cast of characters whose fates rest in the choices you make. Each of you picks specific characters to control when they are the focus of a chapter, and that person is the sole person to play that chapter.
The other person has to watch it all play out. This includes completing pressure-sensitive choices, quick time events, and exploring areas where story-changing clues may be found. If you or your partner have issues stepping in when the other hasn’t asked, Supermassive games may be a great way to help work on this part of your character flaw.
Portal 2
Developer: Valve
Publisher: Valve
Platform: Xbox Series S|X, Nintendo Switch, and PC
Portal 2 is not for every couple. The co-op mode of this classic game is a renowned friendship/relationship destroyer for two key reasons. It takes everything that the past mentioned games or series have worked on and cranked it to eleven. All with first-person shooter controls. You and your partner play as two robots, Atlus and Peabody, going through Aperture co-op test chambers. Precise portal placement, switching environments, hazards, and quick communication are essential for making it through all levels.
If either of you are not good at first-person shooters, that might add an extra layer of difficulty because you need to learn quickly to aim well and fast to get through some of the rooms. Only play this one if you really want to test the limits of your relationship once and for all. If you can make it through together, you two can conquer anything.
What games do you think of as a good “relationship test”? Let us know! And however you’re spending Valentine’s Day, we here at But Why Tho? hope it’s full of love and kindness.
