It Takes Two and Split Fiction are the first games to try after A Way Out. Both build the adventure around two players working together. Choose It Takes Two for a story about a couple and a playful miniature world, or Split Fiction for science-fiction and fantasy set pieces.
If the prison escape mattered more than the cinematic campaign, We Were Here makes communication the obstacle: you and your partner see different clues and have to explain them to each other. It is an online puzzle escape, so expect less action and a smaller story.
Story and changing co-op roles
Action and fantasy spectacle
Online communication puzzles
All three support two-player co-op. The setting and the way you cooperate differ.
Co-op games like A Way Out: couch or online?
| Game | Co-op on Steam | Choose it for | Main tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| It Takes Two | Shared/split screen or online | A full story campaign with changing partner roles | Whimsical platforming rather than crime drama |
| Split Fiction | Shared/split screen or online | Action, genre changes and coordinated set pieces | Fantasy and science fiction rather than a grounded escape |
| We Were Here | Online | Describing clues and solving an escape together | Separate screens; much less cinematic action |
| Portal 2 | Shared/split screen or online | A separate two-player puzzle campaign | Less of A Way Out's character drama |
| Unravel Two | Local shared screen | Tethered platforming on one screen | No native online co-op |
| Overcooked | Local shared screen, two to four players | Short kitchen challenges and changing jobs | No story campaign or native online co-op |
| Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime | Local shared screen, up to four players | Running between a spaceship's controls | Arcade coordination rather than a character story |
For online play, check the linked Steam page for each game's current account, invitation and hardware requirements before arranging the session.
Do both players need to buy a copy?
It Takes Two's Friend's Pass lets an owner invite a friend to the full game. Both need the same platform family: It Takes Two does not support cross-platform play. Split Fiction's Friend's Pass also lets an owner invite a friend and supports cross-play between its supported platforms. Each friend installs the matching pass; the pass alone is not ownership of the full campaign.
For a couch session, Unravel Two, Overcooked and Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime use shared-screen local play. Choose one of the native online options in the table when you will be on separate computers.
A Way Out's closest matches that support co-op
Match strength key:80+65+50+<5090 of the 100 closest matches to A Way Out support co-op.
It Takes TwoShares Online Co-Op · Split Screen · Local Co-Op , adds Local Multiplayer95% · 272k positive reviews59%Good match—
Stuck TogetherShares Online Co-Op · Local Co-Op · Action-Adventure , adds Difficult89% · 211 positive reviews56%Good match—
Split FictionShares Online Co-Op · Split Screen · Local Co-Op , adds Female Protagonist97% · 128k positive reviews56%Good match—
We Were Here ForeverShares Online Co-op · Action-Adventure · Co-op , adds Puzzle91% · 15k positive reviews55%Good match—
The Escape: TogetherShares Co-op · Emotional · Online Co-op , adds Exploration80% · 2k positive reviews55%Good match—
Unravel TwoShares Online Co-Op · Split Screen · Local Co-Op , adds Cute78% · 9k positive reviews55%Good match—
Backrooms: Escape TogetherShares Online Co-op · Action-Adventure · Co-op , adds Psychological Horror90% · 14k positive reviews54%Good match—
CUFFBUSTShares Online Co-op · Action-Adventure · Co-op , adds Funny53% · 557 positive reviews54%Good match—
Median match strength inside this slice is 50%, against 50% across all 100 matches. The strongest overall matches all support co-op, so the filter costs nothing here.
It Takes Two: start here for a complete co-op journey
It Takes Two
Recommendation
- Best for
- Two players who want the campaign to depend on both of them.
- Why it fits
- Partner abilities and changing environments give each player a job. The relationship story supplies a reason to keep going between the puzzles and platforming.
- Skip if
- You want realistic characters, firearms or a crime thriller.
This is the closest recommendation for A Way Out's shared campaign structure. The mood is very different, so choose it for the partnership rather than the setting. If you have already played it, the sections below cover what to reach for next.
Split Fiction: choose it for set-piece variety
Split Fiction
Recommendation
- Best for
- A pair that enjoys learning new co-op mechanics throughout a campaign.
- Why it fits
- The adventure moves between science-fiction and fantasy worlds, making the next shared challenge part of the attraction.
- Skip if
- You want grounded prison-break tension or a game you can play alone.
Pick this over a conventional shooter campaign if your favorite A Way Out moments were the ones where each player had a different task.
We Were Here: choose it for the escape
We Were Here
Recommendation
- Best for
- Two online players who like describing what they see and piecing clues together.
- Why it fits
- Separating the players turns conversation into the main puzzle-solving tool. You need your partner's information to make progress.
- Skip if
- You need couch co-op, a long cinematic campaign or frequent action scenes.
It is the narrower pick: an escape through cooperation, with less of A Way Out's drama and spectacle. It belongs on this list because the other person is essential to the problem.
If you have played both of the obvious ones
It Takes Two and Split Fiction are the two everyone names, and once they are gone the question changes. It stops being "what is the next big co-op adventure" and becomes "what kind of cooperating do we actually enjoy". These five answer different versions of that.
Separated screens: We Were Here Together
We Were Here Together
Recommendation
- Best for
- Two players who like explaining clues under pressure.
- Why it fits
- You are often separated, seeing different information, and solving the same puzzle through voice. It makes communication the game instead of a side handy skill.
- Skip if
- One of you hates being stuck because the other person described a symbol badly.
The fuller campaign in the series. Start with the free We Were Here if you want to find out whether describing things to each other is fun for your pair before committing.
Clean puzzle teamwork: Portal 2
Portal 2
Recommendation
- Best for
- The cleanest co-op puzzle campaign.
- Why it fits
- Its co-op rooms are built so one player setting up the solution is not enough. Timing, positioning, and trust all matter.
- Skip if
- You want a long emotional campaign with constant genre changes.
Portal 2 has a separate co-op campaign with rooms built for two players. Choose it for puzzle teamwork rather than A Way Out's crime story.
Gentle local co-op: Unravel Two
Unravel Two
Recommendation
- Best for
- Gentle local co-op platforming.
- Why it fits
- The tethered characters keep both players physically connected, so helping, pulling, swinging, and recovering from mistakes are built into the rhythm.
- Skip if
- You want lots of dialogue, big set pieces, or complex puzzle communication.
The right answer when one of the two players is less confident with a controller. The tether does a lot of the forgiving for you.
Chaos and fast resets: Overcooked
Overcooked
Recommendation
- Best for
- Pairs who want communication pressure, role switching, mistakes, and quick restarts.
- Why it fits
- It turns cooperation into a visible workflow: chop, cook, deliver, clean up the mess, then argue about who ignored the onions.
- Skip if
- You want story, exploration, character arcs, or a calm puzzle pace.
Pick this for an evening rather than a campaign. It is the only game here you can stop after twenty minutes without losing a thread.
Couch role-juggling: Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
Recommendation
- Best for
- Chaotic couch coordination.
- Why it fits
- You share one ship and keep moving between weapons, shields, engines, and map duties. It is less story-driven, but the role juggling is excellent.
- Skip if
- You specifically want a character campaign rather than arcade pressure.
Something smaller and stranger: BOKURA
BOKURA
Recommendation
- Best for
- A smaller two-player story built on different perspectives.
- Why it fits
- Each player sees the world differently, so progress depends on comparing what each screen is telling you.
- Skip if
- You want polished blockbuster pacing more than a strange, compact co-op idea.
If short task-based co-op suits you better than a story, KeyWe does the same trick with a postal office and much less commitment.
What not to reach for
For a campaign that requires exactly two players, start with It Takes Two or Split Fiction. Overcooked and Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime also work for larger couch groups. The original Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons gets recommended constantly here and should not be: it is one player on two sticks, not co-op at all.
Why the original Brothers is not a co-op replacement
The original Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons asks one player to control both brothers. Its paired protagonists do not make that Steam release a two-player campaign. Likewise, a single-player game with a cinematic story will not fill an evening you planned for two people.
Start with It Takes Two if you want a story to finish together. Open more games similar to A Way Out when you want to explore beyond these three.
If the crime story drew you in more than the teamwork, the games like GTA guide covers crime stories and heists without the online grind.
Sources and last check
Play modes and Friend's Pass rules checked October 10, 2026 against the official Steam listings for It Takes Two, Split Fiction, We Were Here, Portal 2, Unravel Two, Overcooked, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime and Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons, plus EA's linked Friend's Pass pages. Recommendations reflect the play styles described above.
Play queue
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