I really enjoyed Console minecraft with my sister and friends growing up. Play the Wii U version (with CEMU) and get a ROM and you’re set.

Alternatively, can’t go wrong with early Lego Games. They’re basic and simple, but some of the most basic fun you can have too with another person.

Project Zomboid is also great for Co-Op. The controller controls are a little iffy depending on who you ask, but i like them.

Look up tiny best set go on archive org. Lots of games in that one

https://www.co-optimus.com/

Castle Crashers It Takes Two Contra Gears of War Halo Untitled Goose Game

If you are going to emulate then go for the Sega Dreamcast!

Virtua Tennis Power Stone 1&2 Toy Commander Quake Gauntlet Legends San Francisco Rush 2049 ChuChu Rocket Soul Calibur

I have three recommendations.

Split Fiction is a master class in game design. The split screen is so integrated into the experience that even online multiplayer is in split screen. The screens are a part of the story.

The gameplay is constantly changing to the point that discovering new mechanics becomes the gameplay loop.

The level designs are so clever that you’ll have several moments that feel scripted but were actually just inevitable because of how we play games.

To give a snapshot of the experience: there was one scene where my character was driving a motorcycle along the sides of skyscrapers, doing the craziest stunts imaginable, and my wife’s character was sitting on the back frantically trying to solve a series of CAPTCHAs on her phone. She was so focused on keeping a steady hand that she barely noticed the death-defying stunts happening literally out of the corner of her eye.

By the end of it I was like, “Did you see that??” and it turns out she did not. It was absurd and hilarious, and it’s the kind of storytelling that only works in a video game.

My current obsession is UFO 50, which is a collection of 50 “retro” games. In real life they’re all new, but the story of the game is that they’re from a company from the 80s called UFOsoft, and then there’s a dark meta narrative hidden in the background.

Which is all just a framing device for 50 games, most of which are good, some of which are amazing, and half of which are couch co-op multiplayer. It’s like exploring the Switch’s retro NES collection for hidden gems, except there’s a lot more gems.

There are beat 'em ups, obscure sports games, some platformers, tactics games, a little bit of everything.

I’ve enlisted my wife to help me, because a lot of these games are just begging to be grinded out in co-op.

I got the game when I saw someone describe it as “a master class in game design”, and I thought, “that’s the phrase I’ve just been using to describe Split Fiction.”

And finally, I recommend Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, because that’s the multiplayer game I’ve been recommending for almost ten years.

You each play as adorable creatures in an adorable space ship that you customize as you go. The ship has several stations that need to be manned, including the captain’s seat, navigation, a directional shield, and multiple weapons.

But you each can only man one station at a time. So if you need to stay on the shield but a new enemy is approaching from the other side, then that means the captain is going to have to jump on a weapon and leave the ship adrift.

You may have arguments over which type of weapons to add to your ship or over who’s better at piloting which kind of engine. Or maybe you’ll work together in perfect harmony, relying on each other’s strengths and covering each other’s weaknesses as you adapt to every new challenge. Both ways are fun.

Also great for up to 4 players.

My wife and I beat Unravel Two.

That was a fun little game.

Couch co-op:

• Castle Crushers
• Trine games
• Lego games

Online co-op:

• Warframe
• Sniper Elite games (always a good thing to prepare yourself to kill nazis)
• Vermintide / Darktide
• Helldivers 2
• zombie bashing games (Left4dead, Killing Floor, World War Z, …)
• Strange Brigade (action and puzzles)
• Torchlight 2 has a co-op mod if you like Diablo
• a bunch of shooters with campaign co-op (Borderlands, Gears Of War, …)

Vampire Survivors couch co-op (2-4 players) is insanely fun. What’s even crazier is that they will soon come with an update for online co-op

In contrast to the party games everyone else is listing, I’m gonna say Divinity: Original Sin 1 and 2. They’re more long haul affairs, but still make for great lan gaming.

magicka 1 and 2 has couch and/or online coop, it’s challenging, chaotic fun, with some pretty funny jokes
if you get into emulation, cooptimus hides older platforms under “classic”, but it has another dropdown to filter them more precisely

This is an older pull, but the Army of Two series was a ton of fun. Coop third person shooters with no more plot than your average action movie. It’s great, lol

Rainbow Six 1 (GOG) and 3 (Steam) are both playable via LAN and some of my favorite co-op games ever. The first game may require hacking some easy-to-read level config files to make them finishable, but 3 doesn’t have that problem. Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear isn’t available for purchase anymore. I hear SWAT 4 (GOG) is great for scratching this itch too, but I haven’t played it myself.

While not so story focused, you could also co-op Star Wars: Battlefront II; the good one, from 2005 (GOG).

Borderlands. The first one. The game is amazing by yourself and slightly better with friends. It’s not meant to be worse either way. It’s just a lot of fun.

The later BL games were made the same way, but I haven’t found any of the sequels (/“Pre-Sequel”) to be as engaging as the original. They are bigger and more ambitious, though, with BL2 being a fan favorite. I just really like the Soldier (Roland) from the first game. The other games don’t have a character I like playing as much as him, so I’d rather join the original rather than settle for a lesser character.

Actually, the best co-op game is Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. It’s played with your left hand and your right hand. I’m being a bit of a smartass, but technically it does qualify as co-op because two characters on the screen are being independently controlled and they must work together. But it is specifically designed to be played by one person. Your dominant hand should control the older brother, with the analog stick moving him and either trigger doing the action, whatever that may be (it’s basically a one-button game, plus the stick). Your other hand controls the younger brother, same thing. So naturally the older brother runs straight and does what you expect but the little brother tends to stumble and waver. All intentional. Also, don’t bother with the remake. It breaks a few things and honestly doesn’t look much better. Different art style, not better. Just play the original. You can get it on GOG on sale all the time for like $2-3. Also, it’ll take ~4 hours to complete and you’ll probably never want to play it again (but recommend it to everyone). I actually bought the remake (mistake) and had my wife play it. For the hell of it, I speed ran both of them (this was on Xbox) for the achievements. Then I did the same on the original. Interestingly, you do not have to complete the game to get all the achievements! You don’t even have to complete the final fight, or do the climactic scene before the final fight. Before you’re even aware the climactic scene is coming, you sit on a bench and blip, there’s the last achievement, if you’re doing an Achievement% run, that’s when you call time. (I’m not a competitive speed runner. I just did the runs to pop the achievements before uninstalling them.)

games with little to no internet

This is kinda vague and I dont exactly know what you mean by this. Do you mean games that you can play on a single screen? Or games with LAN or private server capability such as Minecraft?

For local co-op games:

• Gauntlet Legends & Dark Legacy
• Halo 1-Reach
• Dragon’s Crown
• Helldivers 1 (broken in RPCS3 unfortunately, but if you have a PS3 can be played offline)
• The Legend of Zelda Four Sword Adventure
• Any Call of Duty Zombies (beginning with World At War)

These are PC games (either co-op adventure or party games) than can be played locally and that I have enjoyed myself (in no particular order). Bold ones are my fav.

• A way out
• It Takes Two
• Split Fiction
• biped
• Pizza Possum
• Bokura (2 PC with 2 games are required)
• Heavenly Bodies
• KeyWe
• Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
• Moving Out
• PlateUp!
• Tools Up!
• Buissons
• Boomerang Fu
• Wee Tanks!

I posted a review here earlier this year, but A Way Out was an excellent 2-player co-op game! I really enjoyed it. Story rich puzzles with some action interspersed. And it’s split-screen even if you’re playing online, so you can see what your partner is up to and coordinate with them. The ending was heart-wrenching too! Such an emotionally impacting story. Check out my review for a spoiler-free intro to that game.