Playing video games is a great way to bond with your guy, whether just one of you is a regular gamer and you’re just making an effort to show an interest in each other’s hobbies, or you both love to game. A lot of the most popular games are single-player, though, and while it can be fun to just watch each other play or play separately on your own computers, it’s always fun to find good multiplayer games that you can play together!
There are plenty of awesome games out there that you can play co-op on date night so you can team up to take down bad guys or, if you prefer, competitive games where your goal is to take out your boyfriend or husband! As a gamer myself, I can attest to how much home-bound fun video games can offer. Below, I’ve listed a few awesome multiplayer video games you and your sweetheart will have a blast playing together on date night!
1. Titan Quest
This action-based role-playing game is perfect for anyone who is a fan of Greek mythology. Equally fun in multiplayer as it is in single player mode, you can team up with your date as you fulfill quests that take you all over ancient Greece. Along the way, you will meet all kinds of mythical monsters, including satyrs, centaurs, gorgons and more! You can choose from a variety of weapons from spears and axes to a bow and arrow as you help out history’s famous Spartans and other characters that will be familiar. The best part about this game is that the loot on your screen is only visible to you, so you don’t have to worry about sharing the goods! Buy it here.
2. LittleBigPlanet 2
LittleBigPlanet 2 is an awesome game for those who like to get their creativity flowing. It’s a sandbox game, which means the players have the ability to alter the world in which they are playing. Mainly a puzzle-based game, you can create your own levels and play levels that have been created by players all across the world. The freedom of this game is limitless, even down to the customization of your “Sackboy” character. By interacting with objects in the levels and moving things around, you will complete puzzles and collect all kinds of silly stickers and costumes that you can apply to your character, the background and items in the level. It’s a super fun game for anyone to enjoy! Purchase it here.
3. Crash Team Racing
It may be a bit old school, but Crash Team Racing is a classic, and I’ve never heard anyone say they didn’t have fun playing it. If you’d rather play against your sweetie than on the same team, here’s one for you. Any true 90s kid is familiar with the Crash Bandicoot franchise, and this is just one of many their beloved games. More than just a basic racing game, Crash Team Racing is so much fun because of all the weapons and power-ups that you can pick up on the track. In addition to the racing aspect of the game, there’s also a battle mode in which you still operate a kart, but instead of trying to race each other, it’s a last-man-standing battle to the death! Get it here!
4. Orcs Must Die! 2
The name of this game is pretty much a giveaway as to what your goal is: defeat the orcs! In co-op mode, one of you will play the War Mage and the other will play the Sorceress. Working together, you will use traps, spells, and other equipment to defeat the various types of orcs that are coming through rifts. There’s also “Endless Mode,” where you and your partner will have to work together to defeat wave after wave after wave of orcs coming at you! It’s not truly endless; there are 40 waves of orcs in this mode, but it can sure feel like there’s no end in sight! Get the game here!
5. Lego Marvel Super Heroes
If you’re a fan of either the Lego or Marvel franchises, you will have a blast with this game. With around 150 characters from the Marvel universe to unlock and play, you will enjoy seeing all your favorite Marvel superheroes (or villians!) and controlling them along with their unique abilities. From Pepper Potts to Captain America to Wolverine, you will have to complete all the levels just to see how many possible characters that the both of you can play together! The game starts with Galactus, Eater of Planets, coming for Earth and Doctor Doom building the Doom Ray of Doom, which he intends to use to stop Galactus—and then take over the world! Help the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to stop the bad guys and save our beloved planet! Get it now!
6. Torchlight 2
Another favorite of mine and my husband’s to play together, Torchlight 2 is a super fun action role playing game that is perfect for multiplayers. There are four different classes that you can choose for your character—engineer, embermage, outlander, or berserker. Each class comes with its own type of weapons and tons of abilities. As you level up by defeating monsters and completing quests, you will gain points to either level up existing abilities or purchase new ones with. Another aspect of this game that we love is the customization—you can upgrade your weapons and armor by using embers to give it special defensive or offensive capabilities, making everything you create unique. Download the demo or buy the game now!
7. Super Mario Bros. Wii
Everyone loves the Mario brothers. Although I’m not a fan of the Wii console in general, this game was one of the few exceptions for me. Playable with up to four characters (can you say double gamer date?), it follows the classic Mario platformer game style. You know the drill—defeat Bowser’s many henchmen as you go off to save the ever-elusive Princess Peach. One of my favorite things about this game is that while it’s technically supposed to be co-op, it’s oh so easy to work against your team as well. For example, you can actually pick up your teammates—and drop them over a cliff, if you should decide to do so! Your boyfriend will hate you for it, but that’s half the fun of playing video games, isn’t it? Get it here!
8. Divinity: Original Sin
In this interactive turn-based RPG, you and your date will each control a Source Hunter whose cooperative goals are to destroy “The Source,” an evil magic that plagues your world and all practitioners of this magic, known as Sourcerers. The game starts with the investigation of a murder that appears to have been carried out by a sourcerer, and as you journey onward to discover the truth about the murder you will encounter many enemies, including orcs, undead beings, cult members, witches and even dragons—and you will also discover the truth about The Source. Perfect for couples that love fantasy role playing games, this one promises hours and hours of fun! Purchase the game here.
9. Portal 2
A unique puzzle/maze game, Portal 2 was and still is a very highly rated game, both for single player or multiplayer. In co-op mode, both players control a robot and must make their way through the complicated maze that is the Aperture Science Laboratory, with the aid of unique portal guns. These guns do not fire bullets—instead, they open up portals that the players must use to move themselves or objects from one place to another in order to make their way through the laboratory. This game will definitely stretch your brains out, so be prepared to put your heads together as you work your way through the game. Get it here!
10. Counter-Strike: Source
Of course, on a list like this, at least one first-person shooter just has to be included! Counter-Strike: Source has a pretty basic concept: terrorists versus counter-terrorists. Each map offers a fairly short stage in which the counter-terrorists’ goal is either to defuse a bomb or rescue hostages. The goal of the terrorists, of course, is to not let them do it. You can either play on the same team as your sweetie or go against him, using mainly guns as weapons to take down your enemies and accomplish the goal of the stage. Get it now!
11. Rock Band
The reason I love this ever-popular game so much is because I have absolutely no musical talent in real life. None. I can’t sing or play an instrument, and I’m pretty hopeless when I try. But in Rock Band, I, well, rock! Fun for both the musically inclined as well as those who couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket (like myself), Rock Band is always a party fave, and it’s especially fun to rock out with your lover. Create a band together, name it, and go on a world tour. You can choose from four instruments: guitar, bass, drums or vocals. With songs from every genre, from classic oldies to modern hits, the Rock Band playlist promises something to tickle everyone’s fancy, and I guarantee you’ll have a blast belting out your favorite tunes in the privacy of your living room. Purchase it here!
12. Fusion Frenzy
Fusion Frenzy was a favorite of mine when I was a kid, and it still is today! There are 45 different mini-games, so there’s absolutely something for everyone here. This one is another game for those couples who prefer competing against each other. While some of the mini-games will be team games, your teams will be chosen randomly (CPU players will fill in if fewer than four players are playing) and there will still be only one winner at the end of the set. There is a huge variety of mini-games to choose from; my favorites are Tail Blazer, which is sort of a competitive version of the classic game Snake, and Falling Star, where you are literally collecting falling stars in order to fuel rockets. Get it here!
So what are you waiting for? Dust off your console or hook up your LAN cable and start playing! It’s a perfect way to spend date night at home—just you, the guy you love, and some awesome video games! Embrace your inner gamer and show your boyfriend that he can be beat by a girl!