The 17 Best Co-Operative Puzzle Games (2023)

Although it's fun gaming solo, sometimes you want to get someone else in on the action with you; whether it be a close friend, partner, or complete stranger. Luckily, cooperative games seem to be on the up, with some amazing new additions finding their way onto shelves and digital libraries in the last few years.

Many of these cooperative adventures contain puzzle-solving elements, needing you to both work together and communicate well in order to reach your end goal. So whether you're looking to escape a frightening labyrinth, work out a gravity-defying world, or even play as two geese waddling their way to village overlords - Here are some of the best cooperative puzzle-solving games out there, all fantastic for an evening on the sofa together.

Updated June 29th, 2022 by Geoffrey Martin: Puzzle games, by their very nature, can be downright challenging, often requiring you to think outside the box in order to find a solution. Fortunately, puzzle games that allow you to bring a friend or family member along for the ride buffers some of that overall challenge, in theory. There are hundreds of co-op puzzle games on the market but not all are deserving of your time, attention, and money. The games on this list are some of the best when it comes to solving puzzles and going on an adventure in co-op.

17 Very Very Valet

Very Very Valet is a wacky party puzzle game that is dripping with off-the-wall shenanigans. If you didn't already guess from the game's title, you play as a valet driver. Your chosen cartoony valet driver much work diligently to wrangle up as many cars as possible in order to park them and eventually retrieve them for your patrons.

While that setup may sound undeniably simple and even mundane, nothing could be farther from the truth, especially when playing this one in zany co-op. Adding two or more players to the mix really makes this game a blast as you work with your chosen co-op partner to drive around the vehicles which end up basically being puzzles since you have to navigate them through specific stage-based hazards and scenarios.

16 Good Job!

If you haven't played the downright hilarious puzzle adventure game Good Job! then you should be sure to remedy that right away since it's equal parts fun and hilarious, especially in co-op. In this game, you play as the heir to a successful CEO and it's now up to you to work your way to the top, literally and figuratively.

Good Job! relishes in physics-based mayhem where your goal is to move through different stages of a large office building, solving environmental puzzles, interacting with objects, and, of course, causing tons of destruction. While the game is fun solo, adding a friend to the mix turns this game from a simple puzzle experience to a bonkers one.

15 39 Days To Mars

This Kickstarter-funded project by It's Anecdotal finally came to fruition after years in limbo, flying under the radar as a particularly innovative indie puzzler. The charming co-op game forces two players to work together through a series of creative brain-busters as they embark on a short but memorable trip to Mars by airship.

These 19th-century explorers must scramble to solve problems on board so they can reach their destination in one piece. Whimsical themes and stylized, hand-drawn visuals add a sense of character to the experience, engrossing players as they tinker with clever puzzles to maintain the ship. Tasks range from churning mechanical contraptions to assembling maps—and even the simple act of making tea.

14 Snipperclips: Cut It Out Together

This delightful puzzler channels that feeling of playing around in elementary school art class. Similar to that experience—just about anything goes in Snipperclips, as two players must use intuition and improvisation on the spot to solve crafty puzzles.

The game's puzzles revolve around rotating and overlapping controllable shapes in order to snip out new ones, which are in turn used to transport or otherwise interact with other objects. Communication is key here, as both players will be working through a slew of random scenarios on the spot, with little to no guidance. This colorful co-op romp makes for a fun little diversion that's good for some laughs.

13 Death Squared

Released by SMG Studio in early 2017, this mechanical game harkens back to the old-school puzzler feel, standing out in an era when bigger and more bombastic seemingly equals better. But while this blocky title seems simple on the surface, Death Squared offers some deceptively tricky tasks that keep players coming back for more.

Two players will need to be precise and work in synchronicity to progress through the dozens of unique block mazes. This includes clearing obstacles and platforms by triggering contraptions and matching with switches of the same color.

12 Human Fall Flat

Fumbling through these courses may seem counter-productive and silly due to the clumsy ragdoll physics—but in No Brakes Games' co-op journey, this is the point. The aptly named Human Fall Flat drops loads of online players into a set of progressively tricky stages. From there, they'll hop, stumble, and crawl their way through various puzzles, while dealing with impeding obstacles; mostly themselves and each other.

One can imagine the laughs this goofy experience brings—with the blend of drunken physics, bustling crowds, and the relative precision the game demands to progress. Something as simple as dropping a plank for a bridge and scurrying across can be a tough, treacherous act.

11 A Way Out

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Those seeking a cooperative game with a slightly grittier, cinematic blend should look no further than this 2018 effort from Hazelight Studios and EA. Though more action-adventure than a straight-up puzzle game, A Way Out tasks players with coming up with solutions and working through tasks together in order to progress.

It's a fun and intense experience with much on the line—as players must work together to sneak, fight, and maneuver their way out of prison, while steering clear of the authorities. Uniquely, this memorable game stresses local split-screen play, as many of these actions require discussion and knowledge about what your fellow prisoner is currently up to.

10 Labyrinthine

One for horror fans, Labyrinthe is unique, combining fan-favorite survival horror with some classic puzzle-solving as you seek to escape a creepy children's hedge-maze together and hopefully survive the bloodcurdling horrors calling it home.

Labyrinthine was built for cooperative play between four players, and plays like a classic puzzle-solver - everyone must know what they're doing and work together in order to uncover the dark secrets lurking around every corner and all escape the maze in one piece.

9 DYO

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A journey for two players, Dyo has you assume the role of two Minotaurs both trapped on either side of a split-screen who must work together to escape the cursed labyrinth they've been trapped within.

You each need to control your Minotaur and use your ability to hop over the split-screen to mix up and manipulate levels, working together to solve platforming puzzles and carve out a path to your freedom. There are no enemies and no time limits, so sit back, get puzzling and try not to yell at each other as you both attempt to solve this maze's tricks and traps together.

8 Tick Tock: A Tale For Two

Tick Tock: A Tale For Two is a game where playing solo is not an option, as you'll need both of you working in unison to escape this escape room-style game together.

The story is based on Scandinavian folklore, creating a beautiful if not slightly eerier setting. The key to freedom is in cooperation, with you both needing to share information in order to get the full picture of what's going on and solve the story's mysteries in tandem.

7 We Were Here Trilogy

We Were Here is unique, having you and your partner separated and needing to work on puzzles both independently and together through your communicative walkie-talkies in order to work out your locations and (hopefully) escape.

We Were Here plays as an immersive first-person cooperative adventure, with both of you needing to discover useful items and communicate well in order to solve each other's puzzles and reach the end. It's great for those looking for a short escape room style of adventure game, and with a trilogy and fourth game due to be released, there's no time like the present to be picking this title up.

6 Portal 2

An older entry in the cooperative puzzle genre, but one still going strong as a two-player co-op adventure for you and a friend to spend hours upon hours puzzling over.

Portal 2's co-operative mode offers an entirely separate campaign mode; with a unique story, portal mechanics, and two new characters to play as. The trick to success is teamwork, as in working together you'll discover new ways to use portals, and hopefully create a means of escape from the test chambers before Glados turns you against one another.

5 Ibb and Obb

Ibb and Obb is the delightfully cute and creative cooperative puzzle game using gravity-changing mechanics to have you working together to move past obstacles and have some innovative level-solving fun.

With stylish art and sound, it's great for an easy game to play together on the couch, and will keep you coming back again and again with some tough and challenging puzzles - but nothing your teamwork can't solve.

4 Unravel 2

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Unravel 2 is arguably perfection in couch co-op, needing you and another player to solve platforming puzzles in order to progress through the stages and save two children running away from unreliable adults looking to hurt them.

The game is beautiful, with breathtaking scenery and gameplay surrounding a sad but enlightening tale. The puzzles featured in the game vary from needing to escape a crazed pheasant, using objects to get to hard-to-reach places, and most of all, making sure to never leave one another behind.

3 Untitled Goose Game

The world's (least) favorite goose is back, and this time he's got company. The incredible open-world cooperative game for two players, Untitled Goose Game co-op allows for two geese to travel through the village's story together; solving problems, chasing villagers and of course, endlessly honking.

This is a great relaxing game for two, with you able to work together to solve your list of errands without a time limit. So whether it be chasing a boy into a phone box, wearing a fancy bow, or stealing an old man's slipper - why not do it together? Just don't forget to HONK.

2 Luigi's Mansion 3

Luigi's Mansion 3 is one of the best multiplayer games to have hit the Switch, combining classic Mario platforming with some fantastic puzzle-solving elements.

Although the game starts in single-player, unlocking Luigi's new friend and constant companion Gooigi allows another player to pick up the switch controller and join you, turning this into a completely cooperative adventure. Luigi's Mansion 3 will have you both working together to reach places and areas Luigi would struggle to alone whilst clearing obstacles and thwarting bosses and is a great choice for those not looking to get too scared by gaming ghosts and ghouls.

1 It Takes Two

The platforming, puzzle-solving two-player masterpiece. It Takes Two is the critically acclaimed title that deals with the struggling relationship of husband Cody and wife May who have been turned into dolls by their unwitting young daughter.

It Takes Two needs you to master your character's unique abilities and, most importantly, work together in order to solve puzzles and navigate obstacles. So grab your friend and get ready to bobsleigh through a snowglobe, fight gangster squirrels, and pilot a pair of pants in this award-winning title taking the cooperative genre by storm.

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