Games Like It Takes Two and Split Fiction: 7 Co-op Picks

Checked: November 8, 2026. Prices and review figures are from each game's Steam store page that day (US dollars, no discounts running on any of the seven); rules and features from the Steam and publisher pages linked in the text. Player quotes were opened on their own Steam review pages. We read these pages and did not replay the games for this piece.

What you are actually trying to match

Hazelight Studios made A Way Out, It Takes Two and Split Fiction, and our read of the appeal is simple: it is a game that cannot be played alone, where each person holds a different half of the puzzle. Split Fiction puts you in the shoes of two writers, one sci-fi and one fantasy, trapped inside their own stories. On November 7, OzKatieC wrote "A lot of fun with beautiful graphics, brilliant storyline and puzzle solving. Great game to be playing with your partner!" (16.9 hours played at review), and EmeraldPheonix, who marked the copy as received for free, wrote "a really fun 2-player game" the same day.

Screenshot: Split Fiction, Steam store page (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)

The part no other studio copied is the Friend's Pass. Anyone who owns Split Fiction can invite a friend to play online for free, and EA's own announcement says it brings crossplay "for the very first time in a Hazelight game". It Takes Two's Steam page makes the same offer, and EA's It Takes Two page lists it as the way to play online. Hazelight's October 15, 2026 Steam post "Hazelight Collection Out Now" says the pass covers A Way Out too: "As long as one of you owns the game, both of you can play together!" The other six Steam pages below do not mention a Friend's Pass, so assume both of you need a copy of those, which is why the prices matter. Our best co-op games roundup covers games for bigger groups.

All seven side by side

For scale, Split Fiction is $49.99 on Steam and It Takes Two is $39.99. "Online on Steam" is the category Steam prints on each store page; a game without the Online Co-op tag can still be played online through Steam's Remote Play Together, where "one player owns and runs the game" and the others join over the internet. The two Eneba search links lead to EA app keys, not Steam keys: when we checked, the search listed products such as origin-a-way-out-origin-key-global and origin-unravel-two-origin-key-global, so check the platform before you buy.

1. Portal 2: the best co-op puzzler, for ten dollars

Valve's sequel has by far the biggest review pile on this list. Steam shows 98% positive from 174,896 English reviews and a Metacritic score of 95, and Valve's official Portal 2 page describes "an expansive story that spans a single player and co-operative game mode". The co-op half is not a bolt-on: the Steam description says it has "its own entirely separate campaign with a unique story, test chambers, and two new player characters", and the Wikipedia entry names them as the robots Atlas and P-Body, each with an independent portal gun. Steam lists both Online Co-op and Shared/Split Screen Co-op.

Our take: if your partner liked the puzzle-and-banter rhythm of It Takes Two, this is the nearest thing at a price that fits an impulse purchase. It is also the oldest game here, released April 18, 2011. Eneba's Portal 2 listing read 114.73 USD when we looked, more than eleven times Steam's $9.99, so there is no Eneba button for this one: buy it on Steam.

GODEEPER: For two players who want a free try-out before paying anything, the browser games to play with friends list gives player caps for nine games that run in a browser.

2. A Way Out: more Hazelight, with caveats

A Way Out is the earlier Hazelight game, released March 22, 2018 (June 18, 2020 on Steam): two prisoners, Leo and Vincent, plan a breakout together. Steam says it "must be played with two players" and lists Online Co-op, Shared/Split Screen Co-op and Remote Play Together. Hazelight's October 15 Steam post says the Friend's Pass covers A Way Out: "As long as one of you owns the game, both of you can play together!" EA's own page agrees in older wording, saying online co-op needs "one online friend with: A Way Out on same platform, or Friends Pass free trial installed". The post adds that the pass is subject to change, and we have not tried it on a Steam copy.

Players like it more than the review percentage suggests. On November 7, Art538 wrote that they and their older sister spent 7 hours in it and went through "every emotion imaginable" from "laughing our heads off to total rage", and spoilrtv called it "one of the best co op game out there" after 8.1 hours. Steam lists it at 88% positive and Metacritic 78, below Split Fiction's 96%. Our comparison: at $29.99 it is the second-priciest pick here, but if the Friend's Pass works as Hazelight describes, only one of you pays, which keeps it second; the lower score is why it is not first.

Screenshot: A Way Out, Steam store page (Hazelight Studios / Electronic Arts)

3. Escape Academy: puzzles instead of platforming

Escape Academy trades the platforming for escape rooms. Steam says the rooms are "designed by experienced experts in the field of REAL LIFE escape rooms", and publisher iam8bit's page confirms the pitch: play "alone in single player OR through two player co-operative play", with local or online splitscreen. It launched July 13, 2022 at $19.99 and sits at 86% positive from 1,155 English reviews. Eneba carries a Global Steam key.

The sequel, Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School, came out on Steam on November 5, 2026 at a regular price of $19.99, with a 15% introductory offer of $16.99 until November 19, plus online and splitscreen co-op and an optional No-Timer Mode, per iam8bit and the Steam page. Eneba has no listing for it, so we link none. Our call: start with the original, which has 1,155 reviews behind it and an Eneba key, and move to the sequel after, since it launched only three days before we checked. More co-op games that were in Steam Next Fest are in our October co-op demos piece.

4. Unravel Two: the gentle one

Coldwood's Unravel Two is a platformer about two Yarnys. Steam sells it as local co-op "or as a single player", where one person creates two Yarnys and unlocks "special abilities along your adventure". It is $19.99, 74% positive from 2,896 English reviews, and Metacritic lists 76. That 74% is the second-lowest of the seven. On November 7, Altryne wrote "Too short but really fun co-op game to play with your other!" (5.1 hours at review). On November 5, UWAVH wrote that "some of the chapters and challenges were real hairpullers" but that over Remote Play Together "there were no connection-related issues or noticeable input delay", and said the pair counted 176 respawns in the later stages of the game.

Screenshot: Unravel Two, Steam store page (Coldwood Interactive / Electronic Arts)

Who it suits: pairs who like platforming with a gentle story, and who can laugh off 176 respawns. Our order puts it fourth because the reviews and the price both say "good, not essential". Online play on Steam is through Remote Play Together, so one of you runs the game. For a couch-or-online option from a different genre, the Minecraft Dungeons 2 co-op guide covers couch, online and crossplay in one page.

5. Biped: two robots, two sticks each

Biped is one of the two $14.99 picks here, with 89% positive from 1,777 English reviews. Steam describes it as a game where "you control the robot's two legs using two sticks or left and right mouse buttons", with two bipedal robots, Aku and Sila, walking side by side. The Steam screenshot below shows a tutorial bubble reading "Walk on platforms that match your own color", the same colored-platform idea gcharles praises further down.

Screenshot: Biped, Steam store page (NEXT Studios / META Publishing)

Players are split on the controls. On November 7, gcharles (9.5 hours at review) wrote that the walking mechanic "is very unique and takes a bit of getting used to", that the flip-flopping colorized platforms in Sunset Ridge's Pro A and B levels "were extremely fun and intuitive", and "I absolutely DESPISE the boating mechanics". On November 3, JCubed was kinder: "Short but sweet", after 2.5 hours. We would buy it on sale or on Eneba rather than pay full price for a game one of its reviewers calls short. If cheap and messy is the goal, PEAK or R.E.P.O. compares two cheaper picks.

6. Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime: one ship, up to four players

Asteroid Base's Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is the odd one out. The developer's site calls it a "1- to 4-player couch co-op adventure" in which players "man the different battle stations, dashing back and forth between weapons, shields and engines", with "Randomized level layouts". It came out September 9, 2015, is $14.99 and has 93% positive from 1,880 English reviews, the second-best score on this list after Portal 2. Eneba's Global key read 22.07 USD when we looked, more than Steam's $14.99, so there is no Eneba button here either: buy it on Steam.

The catch is online. Steam shows Shared/Split Screen Co-op and Remote Play Together but no Online Co-op tag, so this is a couch game first. If your partner is on the same sofa, that is the point; if they live in another city, pick Biped or Escape Academy, which carry the Online Co-op tag. For a bigger group on one couch, Jackbox Party Pack 12 lists the player counts for each of its games.

7. Overcooked! All You Can Eat: great chaos, weakest value

Overcooked! All You Can Eat bundles the first two games remastered, with "200+ levels and 80+ chefs" according to Team17. Online multiplayer, crossplay and voice chat are listed, and the new assist mode offers slower recipe timeouts, longer round timers and level skipping. Steam shows Online Co-op and shared-screen co-op.

It is our last pick on numbers alone. At $39.99 it is the priciest game in the table, and 70% of 1,701 English reviews are positive, the lowest of the seven; Steam's last 30 days show 66% of 109. Team17 sells it as "Co-Op Online Party", and if loud chaos is what you want it is still that game. For two people who want a story, spend the money on Portal 2 and A Way Out instead.

Our order

1. Portal 2: best value, strongest reviews, a real co-op campaign.
2. A Way Out: the closest to Hazelight, and by Hazelight's own post one owner's copy is enough for two (we have not tried it).
3. Escape Academy: best if your partner prefers puzzles to platforming.
4. Unravel Two: soft and short.
5. Biped: fun, with divisive controls.
6. Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime: best for the same sofa.
7. Overcooked! All You Can Eat: best for groups, worst price for pairs.

Once you want more than two players, Risk of Rain 2's multiplayer guide, Over the Hill's four-player guide, Sunderfolk and Romestead are where to look next, and Far Far West, Outbound, Farever and 33 Immortals cover four more co-op builds. Gamble With Your Friends has its own co-op roles guide.

GODEEPER: For a cheaper indie shortlist, the best indie co-op games from the Steam Summer Sale list picks six.

References

• Steam store pages: Split Fiction, It Takes Two, A Way Out, Unravel Two, Biped, Portal 2, Overcooked! All You Can Eat, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, Escape Academy
• EA: Split Fiction, "What is the Friend's Pass?" (February 20, 2025), It Takes Two, A Way Out
• Developers and publishers: Hazelight Studios, Valve, Portal 2, Team17, Overcooked! All You Can Eat, Asteroid Base, iam8bit, Escape Academy and Escape Academy 2
• Player reviews: OzKatieC, EmeraldPheonix, Art538, spoilrtv, UWAVH, Altryne, gcharles, JCubed
• Portal 2 on Wikipedia