Arcade-simple two-player games, old and new, for a sofa and one screen.
Games from the 1980s were built to be understood in ten seconds and finished in twenty minutes. That is still the best format for two adults with limited evening time and different levels of practice.
Below are arcade classics you can play legally today, plus modern games designed with the same short-session, one-screen philosophy.
2022 · PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch
Thirteen classic Turtles games including the four-player arcade ones, with rewind and save states. The easiest nostalgia purchase there is.
2020 · PC, PS4, Xbox, Switch
A brand-new brawler that plays like the arcade ones, with retro sprite characters unlockable for both players.
2024 · PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch
Two-player run-and-gun with modern accessibility options. Levels are short, deaths are frequent, retries are instant.
2016 · PC, PS4, Xbox, Switch
Pac-Man reimagined as a five-minute score attack with two-player co-op. Bright, fast and instantly readable.
2022 · PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch
A hundred-plus Atari games with an interactive museum around them. Many support two players and none take longer than a coffee.
2018 · PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch
Five-minute rounds, escalating chaos, and controls that take one level to learn. The best modern arcade co-op.
2015 · PC, PS4, Xbox, Switch
You share a spaceship and have to run between stations together. Cooperation is literally the control scheme.
2013 · PC, PS4, Xbox, Switch
Beautiful 2D platforming with drop-in co-op and musical levels that end each world. Forgiving for mixed skill levels.
2017 · Switch
Smart steering makes it playable by anyone in about a minute, while still rewarding drifting if one of you cares. Races take three minutes.
2014 · PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch
Everyone plays on their phone, which removes the controller barrier entirely. Ideal when friends come over.
2016 · PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch, Mobile
A shared farm with no pressure, playable in half-hour bursts for a year. Split screen on every console.
2022 · PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch
Nine films, drop-in two-player and no fail state. Comfortable television-adjacent gaming.
2023 · PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
If you both want a proper campaign, this is the one — full split-screen co-op and turn-based combat you can pause and discuss.
2021 · PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch
Twelve hours designed exclusively for two players, and only one of you needs to own it.
Streets of Rage 4, Overcooked! 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and the TMNT Cowabunga Collection all use the short-session arcade format that 80s players grew up with.
Start with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe using smart steering, or Overcooked. Both are learnable in one round and neither punishes rustiness.
Yes — Atari 50, the Cowabunga Collection, Capcom Arcade Stadium and the Namco Museum releases cover almost all of the well-known cabinets.
The Switch, because it comes with two controllers in the box and has the deepest local-multiplayer library. PS5 and Xbox Series X need a second pad.
Only if you both play fighting games regularly. For everything else on this list, a standard controller is better.