For anyone that enjoys a good co-op puzzle with a friend or loved one, these are some of our favorite titles to keep you intrigued for hours.

An in-depth idea expanding on the original Portal’s simple yet creative use of platforming allows two players to work together phasing through walls to reach their objectives. Portal 2 is a hilarious, brain-twisting puzzle game where you and your player two take on the roles of two adorable robot test subjects trapped in a maze of wild physics experiments. Using nothing but your trusty portal guns, you’ll have to think creatively, communicate constantly, and probably yell until the timings are just right (all in good fun, of course).

Portal 2 did something pretty fantastic, centering the game’s progression on the portal phasing mechanic and pairing it with the player’s creativity allows the game to almost ensure each run can be its own unique experience. 

Something fun we found while streaming our playthrough, was that for several different levels we had friends tell us they had solved them in completely different ways, though the start and endpoints may be the same, my favorite part was the different ways my partner and I came up with to tackle each challenge.

While Portal 2 is a bit on the older side of co-op classics, it’s very much worth playing for co-op gamers, but expect to scratch your head a couple of times and be stuck on the same puzzle for 10 minutes before finally getting that “AHA” moment. We had a few “help us, chat” moments… as much as we’d hate to admit it.

This game is available on PC/Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox and older gen Playstation

A hidden gem we found on the xbox game pass a year or so ago, became something we fell in love with for hours upon hours. With three DLCs already out, Escape Academy took the first person “escape room” formula and grew our love for the genre (and we’ve been looking for more like it ever since!).

You play as two students who have recently joined the academy, and you’ll become acquainted with teachers and fellow students as you progress through the story (with your fair share of escape rooms to tackle at every turn).

The escape rooms will definitely surprise you at times; one of our favorites in the base game was a gauntlet of puzzles while being surrounded by rising water as we had to fight our way to the top and avoid drowning. It caused a tension that was far more daunting than a timer counting down (and this escape room game is FULL of these). Each area offers new dynamics and increasingly fun puzzles, so you’ll never get bored or feel like any room is the same. If you and your co-op partner are looking for a cartoony and exciting take on escape rooms with a fun cast of characters, and an interesting story as a bonus, this is a great game for you and your player two!

This game is available on PC/Steam, Xbox, Playstation and Nintendo Switch

This game is a great mystery you can uncover with someone else, its point and click aesthetic is a bit charming and allows for easy functionality across different systems, i.e. ios, android, and the Switch.

You and your partner are dropped into a strange, time-bending world where every riddle requires teamwork and communication to solve. Together, you both must uncover the story of an impeccable clockmaker Amalie Raven and find a way out of the creepy dimension you’re trapped in.

There is also no local couch co-op here as each of you sees different clues on your screen, so you’ll need to actually talk through the puzzles together. It’s short, sweet, and beautifully designed so if you love mystery and clever cooperation, this little indie gem is perfect for an evening game session.

This game is cross-platform and available on PC/Steam, Nintendo Switch and iOS and Android 

If you like word games and cute animals, this is a great game to grab a friend and jump into! We recently got this on a steam sale and were so surprised at how fun the word games were. 

You both play as two Kiwis who recently got jobs at a mailroom. Their job is nothing short of getting all the mail delivered around the fictional Australian outback as the mailroom missions get increasingly more hectic and hazardous. It’s a cute, cartoony-like game that is perfect for a bit of chaos without the raging (if you lose, you’ll likely laugh about it together before hitting retry).

It’s a great twist on something like Moving out or Overcooked where you can retry each level to get the best times and really push the limits of your shorthand with your partner. And this game is by the same devs of Escape Academy, so you know you’ll love this game if you’ve tried and enjoyed EA!

This game is available on PC/Steam, Xbox, Playstation and Nintendo Switch

We can’t finish a post about puzzle games without at least showing off a budget-friendly way to make hundreds of different jigsaw puzzles in a nice cozy first person environment. This free-to-play game is as simple as it sounds and it’s a perfect game for a TRULY chill and cozy co-op session with a couple of friends with maybe some music or a podcast on in the background.

You literally are in a studio-like living space with a big table in the middle (and yes, you can customize parts of it, not too extensively though) and a puzzle of your choice on top. With the ability to have your own photo or choose from the base game packs, you can do as many puzzles as you’d like. 

And if you and your player two (three, four, etc haha) are puzzle fiends, then there are quite a few DLCs that you can buy which offer more puzzles to do to your co-op hearts content!

This game is available on PC/Steam (yeah… one platform.. But FREE TO PLAY!)

Not all puzzle games are chill, but most are. So if you’re interested in something a bit more of a vibe… (like you could play these games with lofi in the background), then check out this post about just that. Happy gaming!