Kid Couch Co-Op Suggestions

Mr_Grinch

Calling on PA Mams and Dads.

My daughter (6) is enjoying playing through a few games now. She's particularly partial to VR but I'm looking for some couch co-op suggestions. Basically anything where she can contribute but where I should be able to carry her through the harder bits.

Stuff we've been playing through:

Lego Movie - she's getting there but finds some of the jumps a little fiddly. So do I to be fair!
Super Mario Maker 2 - she likes it, but most of the levels aren't too kid friendly.
Super Mario Bros U - on the back of enjoying SMM2 I dug the WiiU out and tried this. It's great BUT she only gets 5 lives per level, which she can fairly swiftly go through and then doesn't respawn. She's getting there with the platforming but much of it involves running and jumping, which at present seems a little tricky for her.

Any versus stuff is also good, she likes:

Nidhogg 2 - She's actually getting fairly good at this. Probably more because I suck at it.
Marvel vs Capcom 3 - I can change the handicap settings and the matches are genuinely competitive.
Injustice 2 - She loves Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, so points go to this one.
Smash Bros - She sucks at it, but likes it.

We really like Lego, because it has a plot we can play through so it feels like we're getting somewhere, but I'll be honest, they all feel largely the same to me so I'd like to mix it up a little.

I've got access to most major platforms (PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch) and in terms of suitable content, I'm not overly strict. She played Gorn with a maniacal grin on her face.

Suggest away Video Gaming Parents!

bsjezz

my son (5) has recently gotten stuck right into lego worlds with me. he picked up the inventory management surprisingly quickly, and has fun running around and beating up skeletons, drilling through hills, collecting chests, discovering character parts etc. it's nice because it has some creative potential and it's open ended enough that it encourages a bit of self-regulation and goal setting

if you're into tower defence, pixeljunk monsters 2 is a fun, graphically cute and strategically challenging one which allows co-op. one of the players can pretty much just 'dance' on the towers to upgrade them, so you can direct the action and plan the placements while your daughter is a good little worker bee...

urahonky

Minecraft works locally so that's a good choice. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 is good too.

Also note that NSMB:U on the Switch has a character that can't die I think.

Mr_Grinch

Thanks guys, oddly she's never taken to Minecraft (though loves lego). MUA3 is a good shout.

I've also just realised I have Yoshi on WiiU and that has a mode that stops you dying when you fall down a hole.

Lindsay Lohan

One of my son's early favorites was Castle Crashers. It can get hard but we could play the same few levels over and over until his character was strong enough to push on.

Also, consider some of the retro bundles. He loved older stuff when he was little. The Genesis bundle has Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Toejam & Earl, and Altered Beast.

Shadowfire

Mario Odyssey allows a second player to control Cappy.

Edit: I know it's not coop but I cannot stress enough how amazing Mario Kart 8 is with the steering and acceleration assistance on.

akThera

Do not forget the “maker” part of Mario Maker. Make some “no fail” levels for her!

I’ve made about 10 courses so far for my 4yo. My maker ID is 255-8P9-LGF

One I like a lot is C48-F3V-FTG

BRIAN BLESSED

The music-oriented Rayman games are an absolute joy and a bellyful of laughs to play through. They may not have the instant appeal of a modern Mario platformer but they're wonderful quirky games in their own right, their chaos in co-op is infinitely more fun than the co-op of the Mario games imo

FuriousJodo

Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime works well for young kids and is pretty fun for up to 4 people. You cooperatively control a ship and have to run around to different stations in order to fight off enemies, steer, put up shields, etc.

Ranlin

My daughter and I got a toooon of play out of Lego Marvel Heroes, way more than any of the other Lego games. Completed the story then spent a long time just goofing off in the city, often times roleplaying. We also played a bit of Castle Crashers, though that didn't stick as much.

Mario Kart, especially in some form with a wheel controller.

Since her cousins have been staying with us it's been mostly them playing Minecraft or Roblox, once they got all the Mario Karting they could stand out, so we haven't expanded to anything new in a bit.

bloodyroarxx

My kiddo is now 9 but we've been playing splitscreen Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare and he loves it some times co op sometimes online, there is a new one coming out soon so you could get in on the ground level with that, but both the first and second game still have playerbases for online.

discrider

Overcooked?

LBD_Nytetrayn

How is she with racing?

If good, then you might want to look at Team Sonic Racing. Cooperation is key, and you can either work together on the same team, or each have your own. But I've got to warn you, it is one of the tougher Sonic racing games, though I find it to be in a good way.

And not to go on with Sonic games, but Sonic 2, 3, and Mania are great there. While you play as Sonic, she can help out as Tails, who is effectively invincible/has unlimited lives. (Not sure if Encore Mode allows co-op, though.)

Toejam & Earl: Back in the Groove has co-op as well, and is a trip.

The Disney Afternoon Collection includes both Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers games.

SEGA Genesis Classics has several co-op and competitive games. It and Disney both have Rewind features as well, which should help mitigate the limited life count.

The original arcade Mario Bros. is a part of Arcade Archives on Switch.

discrider

If Sonic 3 is cooperative, then Tails clearly isn't flying Sonic into hazards whilst laughing maniacally enough


On that note, Portal 2 co-op if you're good with puzzles
https://youtu.be/AZMSAzZ76EU

Might be less solving puzzles and more dumping daddy into lasers whilst he leads me through though.

LBD_Nytetrayn

discrider wrote: »

If Sonic 3 is cooperative, then Tails clearly isn't flying Sonic into hazards whilst laughing maniacally enough

No one says they can't.

discrider

LBD_Nytetrayn wrote: »

discrider wrote: »

If Sonic 3 is cooperative, then Tails clearly isn't flying Sonic into hazards whilst laughing maniacally enough

No one says they can't.

Well yes, but it's very hard for Sonic to complete Sonic 3 without jumping.

Seg

My wife's daughter and her children live with us, and her kids tend to spend time on the Xbox one. 10, 11 and 13. Human Fall Flat and Gang Beasts are both games they will laugh over a significant amount. They also enjoy playing the older Trials games together since they can all be on the screen together. Some of the other games they like together I have seen mentioned already.