It’s February which means Valentines Day is soon approaching. If you’re like me and have absolutely nowhere to go, then you’re going to need some video games to play with your sweetheart. If you have a Nintendo Switch or are buying something for your love interest, you’re in luck.
I will be focusing on good games with local co-op rather than competitive play although I will mention a couple. There are also a plethora of various indie games with co-op modes that I don’t have so be sure to check the e-shop listings if nothing here appeals to you.
Virtual Holidays, Pokemon and Platforming
Can’t afford to go on a trip together? Well, there’s Go Vacation. You can go on a relaxing Beach, City, Mountain or Snow resort trip. With a variety of activities such as scuba diving, volleyball, snowball fights and kayak races. You can also create a replica of your dog with you. You can find my review of the game here.
Pokemon Let’s Go is a remake of the GameBoy Pokemon Yellow, the third version of the original monster catching RPG. I think Pikachu is the better choice but if you’re buying it as a gift than it’s important to determine what they like. One of the added features to this game is the drop in and drop out co-op. So you can have someone tag along with you to cheese an already easy game. The additional player will allow for you to have two Pokemon out at a time against most opponents.
I grew up on 3D Mario before the New Super Mario Bros series started so 2D Mario has never really appealed to me. If that’s not the case for you then New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe has recently come out on the Nintendo Switch. It has two new characters, one of which has a special transformation that allows her to float, and Nabbit who can’t take damage. Making it especially good for people less familiar with these kinds of games. You can read Jonah’s post about it here.
Kirby, Too Hot For the Kitchen, and for the Health Conscious
Kirby Star Allies is an adorable game and one that you could beat in a long Valentines Day session. It’s also quite easy and requires co-operation to complete small puzzles. The characters can also share food to heal each other via a kiss so I hope they aren’t the jealous type. I have a written review available here.
Overcooked and Overcooked 2 are also on the Switch. I recommend 2 as if you buy the DLC characters you can be a platypus. Also because in the sequel playing with two players is the ideal way to go about it (not counting the DLC levels). As I’ve mentioned in my review which you can find on this site here, three players leaves one person on an uneven side and four makes the star requirements much higher and overall more hectic.
Perhaps one of you is a little more health conscious than to be spending a whole day on chocolate and treats. Fitness Boxing, released just this year has two player modes where you can play free training in various ways. You can compete your scores, do a combo chain with each other or “fight” by completing punches and dodges correctly.
Warriors, Puzzles and Drumming
The Warriors series have always been games I’d play with another person. Mostly because it makes map management much easier. The Switch has a variety of options such as Hyrule Warriors, Fire Emblem Warriors, Warriors Orochi 4, Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme Legends and One Piece Pirate Warriors 3. Of the two I’ve played I would suggest Hyrule Warriors over Fire Emblem due to the characters actually having a varied moveset and a slightly better framerate. Of course if they want some of their favourite Fire Emblem characters, play that. Same goes for the other games: if they’re into the Warriors games in general, Lui Bui or One Piece then go for that respective game.
Snipperclips was originally a launch title for the Nintendo Switch but now has a physical edition that came with the arrival of some DLC. It is a co-operative puzzle game where you snip each other into shapes to solve puzzles such as getting a ball over a ledge or filling in a shape. Sometimes it’s possible to get past a level with a non standard solution which is nice. With the DLC there is also a couple of competitive modes.
Taiko no Tatsujin Drum n Fun will depend on each other’s music tastes so make sure to check the track listing. It’s a rhythm game with options for button, motion or expensive peripheral controls. You can compete against your scores or combine your scores. There are also a few different mini-games. My impressions of the game are here.
Retro Games and Indies
If one or both of you remember when retro games were new than perhaps the SNK Collection might be for you. It features a variety of games most of which have co-op play. You can find my written review on here. There are also many other “old” games available on the e-shop by Hamster or other publishers.
A couple of indie games I will mention are Runbow and Tied Together. Runbow’s adventure mode and the Bowhemoth can be played in co-op although it will occasionally be a detriment. Tied Together requires an additional player and is a bit of nice fun. I’ve reviewed both of these games on this site.
Competitive Play and Multi-System Gaming
Lastly there are many games with local co-op that are competitive, but since it’s Valentine’s Day we won’t focus on too much of those. The best ones of these would be Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Smash Brothers Ultimate. In Smash Brothers you can play doubles together. You could use someone’s help to beat the Grand Prixs in Mario Kart, not that you can trust them when they say they won’t cross the line. There’s also a bunch of fighting games, Mario Tennis, Mario Party, Monopoly, Just Dance and so on.
Other games require two Switches to play local-co op such as Splatoon 2, Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate and Bayonetta 2.
Finally
If you’re single you can always pick up a dating sim off the eShop. Third wheelers can bring in Rocket League as the standard game format is three versus three.
What games do you enjoy playing with your special someone?
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