c/couch-co-op-crew

I thought 'Overcooked' was just a dumb cooking game until my sister made me try it.

I figured it was for kids, but we played it last Friday and it was pure chaos trying to get three orders out on the pirate ship level. The yelling and laughing was real, and we failed three times before we got our first star. What other games start simple but turn into a total mess with four people?

My friend called couch co-op a 'dead genre' and it made me mad

He said it during our game night, right before we booted up Helldivers 2. The thing is, sharing one screen forces you to actually talk and work together in a way online play just doesn't. What's a game that proved someone wrong about local multiplayer for you?

PSA: My group played Overcooked 2 for a year before we figured out the real goal

We always just tried to get three stars on every level, fighting and yelling the whole time. Last week, my friend's little sister watched us and said, 'Why are you so mad? It's funnier when you mess up.' That made me realize we were playing to win, not to laugh together. Do you think the best co-op games are about winning or just having a good time on the couch?

My mind is blown by how many people still play this one old co-op game

I was looking at the Steam charts yesterday and saw that 'Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime' still has over a thousand people playing it right now. That's a game from 2015! It made me realize how much staying power a really good couch co-op concept has. What other older games still have an active player base for local play?

My neighbor's kid yelled 'the blue one is the traitor' through our open window

Turns out they were playing Among Us on the couch and got way too into it. It made me think about how a simple hidden role game can turn a chill night into pure, loud chaos. What's your go-to game that gets everyone yelling at the screen?

My brother's wedding party in Boise made me rethink the 'no fighting games' rule for parties

We had a Smash Bros setup and it got way too heated, but honestly the trash talk and team-ups were the most fun we'd had in months. Anyone have good co-op games that keep things friendly but still competitive?

Our game night almost ended when the Switch controller batteries died mid-boss fight

We were at my place in Austin, three of us stuck on the final boss in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and everything just cut out. We had to scramble to find a charging cable while the game sat paused, which totally killed the vibe. What's your go-to plan for avoiding a dead controller disaster?

Hot take: Everyone keeps saying Overcooked is the best couch co-op game and I think they're wrong

My friends and I tried it for game night last week and it just made us all yell at each other. It was more stressful than fun, and we quit after 30 minutes. We switched to Moving Out and had a way better time because it's more about silly teamwork. What's a good couch game that's actually relaxing to play with a group?

Found a hidden gem of a game at a yard sale near my place

I was walking around my neighborhood last Saturday and stopped at a yard sale a few blocks over. In a box of old DVDs, I spotted a copy of 'ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove' for the Switch. I remembered hearing about it years ago but never tried it. For five bucks, I figured why not. My buddy came over that night and we gave it a shot, and honestly, we were hooked for like three hours straight. It's this weird, funky game where you play as aliens trying to find ship parts, and the co-op is just pure chaos in the best way. We were laughing so hard at some of the random stuff that happens. Has anyone else picked up a couch co-op game on a total whim that turned out to be amazing?

Visited a retro game bar in Chicago and saw something that made me happy

Honestly, I was at this place called The Pixel Pour last Friday. It's a bar with a bunch of old consoles set up on big TVs. Tbh, what really caught my eye wasn't just the games, but the groups of people. I saw three different sets of friends crowded around one screen playing stuff like Mario Kart 64 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time. Ngl, it was a full house, but the loudest noise was just people laughing and yelling at each other. It felt different from everyone being on their phones or playing online. It made me think about how my own game nights have kinda faded. Has anyone else found a spot like that, or a specific old game, that just gets everyone yelling and having a good time together in the same room?

Why does nobody talk about the co-op game section at the Portland Retro Game Expo?

I went last weekend and the whole area was packed with people playing old SNES and Genesis beat 'em ups on CRTs. It made me realize modern games have totally forgotten how to make a simple, fun 4-player brawler. What's the last new couch co-op game you played that actually felt like that?

My friend's new apartment in Austin has a huge TV but zero controllers for their Switch

They spent all their money on the screen but forgot you need joy-cons for actual couch co-op. What's the dumbest setup you've seen for trying to play games together?

Just hit 500 hours in our shared Stardew Valley farm file

My partner and I started this save about two years ago, just playing a couple nights a week. We checked the in-game clock last night and it said 500 hours exactly. That's more time than I've spent on any single-player game by a huge amount. It really hit me how much of that time was just us hanging out and talking while we watered crops or went mining. What's the most hours you've all put into a single couch co-op game?

I thought 'It Takes Two' was just another kid's game, but my friend forced me to try it.

We played for about three hours straight and I was completely wrong. The level design in the garden shed, where you have to use a nail gun and a hammer together, is some of the best co-op puzzle solving I've ever seen. What other story-heavy couch games actually live up to the hype like this?

Rant: My whole group was playing 'Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime' wrong for a year because of me.

We'd always play with four people, and I'd always grab the pilot seat first (I mean, who doesn't want to fly, right?). I'd just park our ship in one spot and spin it around to shoot, treating it like a turret. Last weekend, my friend's little sister, who's like 10, was watching us play. She just goes, 'Why is your ship so slow? You're supposed to use the thrusters to move and the pilot gun at the same time.' We all just froze. I'd been ignoring the thrust engine upgrade the entire time because I thought moving was a waste of a button press. We tried it her way, and suddenly we were zipping around the map, actually dodging stuff instead of just tanking hits. It completely changed the game from a slog to a blast. Has anyone else had a kid completely school them on a game you thought you knew?

My wife pointed out we'd been playing Overcooked 2 wrong for months by just yelling at each other instead of calling out ingredients.

We finally beat the last level in the main campaign after we started actually saying 'onion' or 'lettuce' instead of 'that green thing' during the chaos.

Appreciation post: My niece and I finally beat Cuphead after three months of trying

We must have died a hundred times on that final boss, but the high five we shared on my couch in Portland was worth every second. What's a game that gave you a real sense of shared victory?

We got stuck on a puzzle in Overcooked for 45 minutes because my friend kept putting the wrong ingredient on the plate.

It was a simple salad order, but he kept adding tomatoes when it clearly needed lettuce. We finally got three stars after I grabbed the controller from him. What's the dumbest thing you've seen a friend do in a couch co-op game?

My neighbor's kid said something that made me look at my game collection differently

He came over to play and asked why all my co-op games were about fighting or sports. He said, 'My sister and I just want to build a farm together.' It made me realize I've been ignoring a whole side of couch co-op. What are some good chill building or farming games for two players on a couch?

Spent over an hour trying to get the old Nintendo 64 to work on my new TV for a game night.

My group just hit 500 hours in Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime

That's a crazy number for a game about flying a neon spaceship. It matters because we're debating if it's the ultimate couch co-op for teamwork, or if the repetition finally gets old. What's your highest hour count with friends on one couch?

We were stuck on the final boss of 'It Takes Two' for a whole weekend. My kid figured out we could switch controllers.

Just realized I wasted $60 on a couch co-op game that's actually single player

I bought 'Solo Quest' last week thinking it was a shared screen adventure for me and my partner. Turns out the 'co-op' is just taking turns with the controller, which is not what we wanted at all. Has anyone else been tricked by a game's description like that?

Shoutout to my buddy Jake for saving game night with a weird old game

Honestly, we were at my place last Friday and our usual Overcooked 2 session just wasn't clicking. Jake dug through my old Xbox 360 games and pulled out 'Fuzion Frenzy', which I hadn't touched since like 2010. Ngl, we spent the next three hours just playing that dumb mini-game where you're sumo wrestlers on a tiny platform. Has anyone else found a forgotten gem that brought a co-op night back to life?

We finally beat the final boss in Overcooked 2 after 47 tries

My partner and I have been trying to get three stars on that last level for weeks. We kept messing up the timing on the sushi orders and burning the rice. Last night, we finally got the coordination right and hit the score with just two seconds left. Has anyone else had a level that took forever to finally crack?