Best 2-player co-op gaming fun for mental health

Monaco. Top down heist simulator that’s very silly with amazing music.

Minecraft with buddies online is amazing.

Towerfall ascension campaign. Made by developers of Celeste (so it has A++ feeling controls). Single screen single hit kill defend against waves of enemies in several worlds. Good difficulty progression. And 4 player VS is a blast.

Not coop but vs: Duck game. Works best with 4 ppl, high skill based, super silly single screen instant hill tournament. Playing this with buddies is consistently the most fun I have had in 10 years of playing games.

Gang beasts. Very very silly, not skill based last man standing brawler on interactive maps.

Party games like jackbox can be super fun, including gartic phone, skribbl.io, cards against humanity.

For the mental-health benefits of socializing and tackling challenges together (what I’ve been doing for the last nearly-twenty years), in no particular order, and not always with What I imagine others might describe as slick graphics:

For The King: Since we like tabletop RPGs and want the ease of a videogame handling all the planning, FtK scratched the itch awhile. Might be harder as a duo instead of full trio?

Portal 2: Figuring out the puzzles together was an engaging challenge.

Overcooked 2: Played as a duo and a trio, and I loved it while one of us couldn’t wait to be done, as they found it frustrating.

Divinity: Original Sin 2: Polished RPG where players don’t have to work together.

Deep Rock Galactic: Mining missions on planetoid Hoxxes for a heartless corp, fighting off the local life and trying to catch up with the hopper-bot (that carries the minerals) before the extraction ship leaves.

Sea of Thieves: Lovely ocean and weather and sunset modeling.

Valheim: I prefer this to Sea of Thieves because we can build. Fun solo and with others.

I hope you find a good fit!

Edit:

Wolfpack: Difficult submarine sim, convincingly-modeled ocean and mechanics (I’m no mariner), feels good to finally figure it out, bots are useful since they take orders, and it didn’t feel great playing as a Nazi (even if some in the navy distanced themselves from the government, per Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich)

Hell Let Loose: Some of our best co-op experiences are as a tank crew, forced to communicate and work together for a gestalt. I’d describe HLL as slick graphics.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2: L4D2 but better (?)

Well, from my experience, it depends on what you have (hardware), but you can always play simpler games that doesn't need a big power, I like to play with my colleagues (we are all remote) CS:GO, it works almost on any modern computer, it's fun, you have to have a team of 5 and just have fun.

Other game that I played with my friends are World of Tanks and World of Warships, free to play, and if you are into military history, it could be fun.

But I would also recommend regular training for mental health. I know how it is, you are at home all the time, working remotely, and now even in winter, from my personal experience, I don't go out much, it can be like 2-3 days without me going out, but I train at home every day, 30-45 minutes. For physical and mental health.

For SNES: Goof Troop Kirby Super Star Wild Guns Turtles in Time Sunset Riders Secret of Mana

Also check out this site: https://www.co-optimus.com/

Gunfire Reborn - a little roguelike shooter, every playthrough is different because of random power-ups (scrolls) that can be traded among the party, to optimize your build as you go.

Go old-school and play some BattleToadz

It takes two is an amazing co-op game. I believe it won game of the year 2021? Also you can play with a friend even if they dont own the game from what i understand.

Depends - what platform?

If Playstation, I greatly enjoyed both A Way Out and It Takes Two (they're made by the same developer).

Very different gameplay styles, the latter being more of a platformer... but they'd get my vote for co-op games of the decade.

A Way Out might be better with a platonic friend for some people, but that's up to you regarding the story in It Takes Two.

I've always enjoyed Left 4 Dead in college, but not sure if the sequels are any good.

Stardew Valley is nice for something chill.

Jackbox is generally good as a party game.

Plenty of friends seem to enjoy evenings of PUBG with their husbands. Not sure why as I don't have anyone to play it with these days, but you can consider that.

7 days to die