Stay-home dates have been increasingly popular, not just in a bid to stay safe but also to work around the frequently changing regulations. While we’ve successfully made it through the period of no dining in, these online co-op games will come in handy for your next stay-home hangout session with bae.
They’re great to hone you and your partner’s communication and collaboration skills, but beware that some tricky in-game situations may lead to rising tensions. Whatever you do, just don’t rage-quit, and keep in mind that it’s all fun and games.
High-five each other when you successfully conquer a level, and give each other a motivating hug when you lose. After all, isn’t that the beauty of gaming with a loved one?
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Image credit: Steam
Think of Stardew Valley as a PC version of Harvest Moon, complete with charming 16-bit graphics. Get away from the stress of real-life by running a farm and doing calming chores each day, all with your partner by your side as Player 2.
On the farm that you co-own, there aren’t really any do-or-die missions but rather simple tasks you can accomplish at your own pace, like gardening, fishing at the beach, mining for precious minerals, and foraging public spaces for things you can sell.
Image credit: Win.gg
You can interact with the townspeople, getting to know their personalities and increasing your friendship metres with each character through gifts and conversations. Eventually, you can even marry either your co-player, or one of the non-player characters (NPCs) – if your partner isn’t the jealous type.
Price: $15
Get Stardew Valley on Steam.
Image adapted from: EA Games
The launch of this purely co-op action adventure game has caught on to extreme success, and it’s likely due to the rich and immersive storytelling element. In It Takes Two, you and your partner will play as the doll versions of two parents on the brink of divorce, created by their heartbroken daughter and possessed by the actual couple.
Image adapted from: EA Games
With each player controlling half of the split-screen, journey through different themed worlds on an overall quest for the estranged lovers to rekindle their romance.
Each of the scenes are wildly different, and the storyline is intertwined with gameplay. For instance, there’s a stage about revisiting the characters’ bygone attraction to each other, where they have to navigate perilous obstacles with the help of magnets.
Price: $54.90
Get It Takes Two on Steam.
Image credit: Steam
Unlike most games which feature a highly fantastical world, Operation: Tango has a more realistic, human-populated metropolitan setting. What may not be as relatable though, is that the game’s premise is to hack and sneak your way into a successful corporate takedown.
In this co-op exclusive adventure, one player will be an Agent and the other, a Hacker. You and your partner in crime will be working together to perform tasks like hacking into the company’s security system, committing identity theft to gain an employee’s work pass, and maneuvering through the CCTV’s laser beams.
Image credit: Steam
Like other mission-based co-op games, the players will take turns where one will rely on the other’s instructions and guidance, while the other will possess all the power and knowledge, but have no ability to implement the actions directly.
Price: $20
Get Operation: Tango on Steam.
Image credit: Enchambered
For hardcore enthusiasts who have checked off all the escape rooms in Singapore, here’s an online version which requires two players to work together to crack the case. Enchambered: Alone Together can even be done remotely, as long as you and your partner are able to communicate via phone call or video chat.
Expect meticulously thought out puzzles that may have you scratching your head while collecting the next clue to your freedom. The need for co-operation will be at an all-time high because you and your partner will be seeing an entirely different screen each, and progress through the “room” will be dependent on each other’s discoveries.
Image credit: Enchambered
This online game is courtesy of Enchambered, an escape room establishment from the United States. Besides Alone Together which is free to play, they also have two pay-as-you-wish online escape rooms: Together Apart (from USD$5) and Together At Heart (from USD$10).
Price: Free
Get Enchambered: Alone Together on Enchambered.
Image adapted from: Official Fireboy & Watergirl Wiki
The simple graphics of Fireboy & Watergirl: Elements give us a major throwback to the old-school computer games that 90s kids would be familiar with. The series is completely free to play, and kept fresh and exciting with seven different “element” chapters to conquer. These include designs and themed obstacles like forest, wind, water, crystal, fire and so on.
Free to play, and has seven different “element” chapters such as forest, wind, water, crystal, fire and so on. Each chapter has eight to 10 levels each, so you’re guaranteed to burn a few solid afternoons just trying to complete all the stages.
Image adapted from: Official Fireboy & Watergirl Wiki
The layout of each level is kept pretty small, where everything is contained within one square on your screen. You and your partner have to work together to get from the starting point to the checkpoint, and the obstacles can get rather tricky.
It’s not just a matter of jumping and ducking here, as you’ll need to tap into some degree of brain power and cooperation. There are different levers, switches and even mirror reflections that can only be “unlocked” with your partner’s help.
Price: Free
Get Fireboy & Watergirl: Elements on Microsoft.
Mac users can play the game online on hosting websites like Game Forge, but beware of ads.
Image credit: Steam
Don’t Starve Together is the multiplayer expansion to the original and highly successful Don’t Starve game. It’s set in an elaborate fantasy world with a unique and captivating 2D Tim Burton-esque art style that you don’t see much in games these days. The aim is to farm, build and fight enemies to ensure you and your partner’s survival.
Image credit: Steam
Think of it as Stardew Valley but with graphics that are way more grim, and with a monster fighting component thrown in the mix to keep you on the edge of your seat. The balanced mix of calm farming duties and action-packed battle sequences will also ensure that there’s enough to keep both the dude and the dudette in the relationship entertained and engaged.
Price: $14.50
Get Don’t Starve Together on Steam.
Image adapted from: Steam
Something that’s sure to help you and your SO let loose is PHOGS!, a game that combines cute and colourful graphics, silly mindless puzzles and hilariously infuriating movement controls. You and your partner will each control one end of a sausage dog – talk about being joined at the hip!
Image adapted from: Steam
You will then navigate each level to accomplish random tasks like slicing boulders into half using your noodly canine body, playing the keys of a giant piano, or spreading tomato sauce on a pizza base to make sure the entire surface area is covered.
For couples where one player is always better at games than the other, and has the tendency to leave their Player 2 behind, this will ensure that it’s all for one, one for all.
Price: $22
Get PHOGS! on Steam.
Image credit: Keep Talking Game
Yearning for a dose of thrill and adrenaline without the real-life high stakes? True to its name, Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes requires you to communicate with your partner and feed them instructions on how to defuse a virtual bomb. Only one player needs to own the purchased game, and you can even play remotely, as long as you are able to communicate verbally.
One player is handed a manual but has no control over the bomb controls whatsoever, while the other is free to manipulate the switches, but is reliant on the information being fed to him or her.
The puzzles provided are different with each new game you start
Image credit: Keep Talking Game
The game sounds so simple that you might expect it to get boring after a few rounds, but each level features a whole new set of puzzles which get more complicated when combined. You’ll either find the game exhilarating or anxiety-inducing, depending on how you take stressful situations.
Price: $15
Get Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes on Steam.
Image credit: Steam
Described by the gamemakers as encompassing “weapons, shields, engines, and love”, Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime is a couch co-op that is simple in premise but able to deliver hours of fun.
It’s essentially a shoot ‘em up space adventure but unlike classics like Space Invaders where the player(s) shoot the enemy in a singular direction, you and your teammates will operate a battleship that goes up and down, round and round.
Image credit: Steam
Each player will also man different battle stations and switch between various engines, weapons and shields, so every role has something different to look forward to. With each new level, there are interesting and challenging enemies, cute pixel player avatars and psychedelic neon graphics to keep you hooked.
Price: $15
Get Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime on Steam.
If the two-pax restrictions we’ve recently been put through have taught us anything, it’s that the companionship of one person can make all the difference. Remember how agonising the period of separation felt for couples separated by Circuit Breaker back in 2020?
Singaporeans are facing a series of ever-changing restrictions throughout this pandemic, from not being able to dine in at cafes and restaurants to missing the annual couple’s trips overseas. That said, you can still find ways to make precious memories with your loved one while staying safe.
These online co-op games will spell hours of fun for you and your boo, whether you’re playing side by side or remotely while being connected through a call or screen-share. You can also take your pick from varying genres, difficulty levels and price points for all budgets – including ones that are totally free to play.
Check out more ideas of things to do at home with your partner:
Cover image credit (L-R): Operation: Tango on Steam, Stardew Valley on Steam, Enchambered
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