Playing a solo game with a controller, taking turn and discussing what to do is actually really enjoyable too. You then have a lot more options. I would recommend subnautica or outer wilds
if they're your jam at all this is really fun with souls games/elden ring. you can swap off every death or boss kill.
Off the top fave co-ops:
- Overcooked
- Divinity original sin series. BG3 also
- Cult of The Lamb
- KeyWe
There's probably more but that's what I got immediately
Been playing through cotl with my partner the last week or two
D:OS has hours and hours of gameplay with potential for hilarious co-op
Oh ya. D:OS 1 and 2 are great. We've played both of them multiple times
In addition to Overcooked, take a look at Plate Up. One may resonate with you better. I prefer Plate Up, seems like it has fewer relationship-testing moments and a better overall gameplay loop. Of course YMMV
BG3, obviously.
It Takes Two is a lot of fun, and all the games from that same dev. I think they did A Way Out and a few more.
Until Dawn, all the "Dark Pictures Anthology" games, and The Quarry, if they like spooky stuff
Get you an emulator and play Seiken Densetsu 3 on SNES, also Secret of Mana, Goof Troop (I'm serious), play some classic Dynasty Warriors, really most Musou games fit your bill, Samurai Warriors, Warriors Orochi, Capcom's Sengoku Basara, Zelda Hyrule Warriors 1 + 2. Which reminds me, get you Dolphin emulator and play you some good Gauntlet Legends Dark Legacy on Gamecube. There are whole slews of this stuff in old libraries that I can't think of at this immediate moment.
Heavenly Bodies. You play astronauts on a space station doing menial tasks, but the difficulty is that you have to control all your limbs properly to move around in zero-g. It's tricky (has easier modes tho) but is really satisfying when you learn how to work together to fling screwdrivers around.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/330020/Children_of_Morta/ has local coop and is pretty easy to pick up, it's reminiscent of Gauntlet.
And like Soros mentioned if you don't mind playing old games it's super easy to fire up an emulator, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Pocky and Rocky and Secret of Mana all have coop off the top of my head.
I'll second Morta, even singleplayer. Multiplayer is even better because each player can be a different class.
I should really go back and finish it, I think I was on the last or second to last area when I got distracted.
Core keeper was just released Yesterday. It's really fun and it really shines when playing with more people.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1621690/Core_Keeper/
If you want to go the emulation route, most arcade games play very well with a controller. Get yourself a frontend for MAME and make your life easier.
Bread and fred to truly test the relationship.
Rainworld has local coop although i think its locked behind the downpour dlc. Then you can be slug cats
House of ashes and the quarry are good fun. The ending sequence in house of ashes sits quite highly in my list of brilliant game moments.
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Operation : Tango is a really good coop game and little known game. Besides, the asymetric nature of it means it has replay value.
It takes two is great as well.
Guild Wars 2. You need an addin for controller, but it's great for couples
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is a cute game about piloting a spaceship together. The catch is that there are more than two stations that need to be operated so you have to coordinate running around the ship, jumping from station to station. It's a lot less stressful than Overcooked
