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The Best Online Games To Play Long Distance

Does your partner play video games? Ever think of joining them?

Video games have exploded in popularity, generating almost $135 billion worldwide. That means there are thousands upon thousands of titles and genres to choose from, many of which have multiplayer support.

Do you want to spend more time with them and want to get to know their hobby? Or are you already gaming regularly with them, and want some more ideas? I’ve compiled a list of suggestions that I think are perfect for couples doing long distance.

Don’t have much gaming experience? No worries! This list has games for all skill levels—from absolute beginners, all the way through to experienced gamers looking for a new challenge with their partner.

The List

Beginner-level games

These games are suitable for those with little to no experience. You shouldn’t need any special hardware or controllers for these games.

1. Classic board games

Credit: JESHOOTS.com

Nothing beats a classic board game, and there are so many to choose from. Best of all, you can usually find free versions to play online with your partner.

These are great for a single date night, or you can make it a regular occurrence if you want to keep improving your skills!

Some ideas include:

  • Chess
  • Checkers
  • Backgammon
  • Go
  • Reversi

2. Online card games (with a standard deck)

Credit: pixabay

There are so many great two-player card games available to try. Do a search online for some web-based games and go wild. Some suggestions:

  • Rummy
  • Pinochle
  • Poker

3. Words with Friends 2

The original version of this Scrabble-like app has been around for years. Make an account, find each other, and start up a game session. You each take turns making words on the board, aiming to hit scoring spaces and using high value letters to get the most points.

4. Modern board games

Many board games have been digitized and can now be played on your PC! 

There are the typical classics out there, like Monopoly and The Game of Life, but you can also purchase digital versions of newer board games and play online. 

If you’re both looking to expand your game night, why not give these titles a try?

I’ve made a comprehensive list you can check out here.

5. Dungeons and Dragons

This one takes a bit more preparation, but if you both love storytelling and using your imagination, it can be a lot of fun!

One person acts as the dungeon master and the other is the adventurer, off on a quest orchestrated by the dungeon master.

There are no controls to master or buttons to learn—all you need is pen and paper, and a good imagination.

There are a few sites that provide a virtual tabletop to play on, such as Roll20.

Easy-level games

These games work best on a PC, and will usually require either a mouse and keyboard or a game controller.

1. Minecraft

Officially released in 2011, Minecraft has become the best selling videogame of all time.

The concept is quite simple—go out in the world, find materials, craft tools, and build! Build a house, a boat, or whatever takes your fancy.

You can choose different modes of play in this game. Creative mode allows you to focus on building things, whereas Survival mode requires you to gather resources and keep an eye on your health.

2. Terraria

This is another “sandbox” game where you take your character and go out to explore, craft items, build things, and attack monsters. It’s similar to Minecraft, but it’s a 2D game instead of 3D, which may make movement a little easier to handle.

This game offers cooperative play, so you and your partner can build and survive together.

3. Don’t Starve Together

This is a survival game that’s rated exceptionally well, with exciting gameplay and quirky visuals.

You and your partner must work together to survive in a strange land. Gather resources, build structures, and fight off strange beasts to survive. Don’t forget to eat!

4. Lego games

There are a whole bunch of playable games based on Lego that support cooperative play. The games are designed to be easy enough for kids to play, but they’re just as fun for adults too.

Many of the games are based on existing franchises or movies:

  • Batman
  • Marvel’s Avengers
  • Lord of the Rings
  • Star Wars
  • Harry Potter
  • Jurassic Park

Find one that interests you and give it a go with your partner!

5. Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley puts you in charge of a farm and has you interacting with the residents of a nearby town. This game received great reviews, and is a very relaxing experience.

There’s a cooperative mode in this game where someone owns the farm, and the other people are the “farmhands”. It can be fun to raise your own little virtual farm with your partner!

6. Journey

This game was originally a PlayStation game, but you can now play it on PC.

The only objective in this game is to fly and glide through a beautiful desert world. There are no time limits or stressors placed on you—just move through the world and explore it together.

7. Animal Crossing: New Horizons

One of 2020’s most popular games, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a “life simulation” game where you move to a deserted island. You can explore, gather and craft items, and develop the island into a community.

This game supports online cooperative game play, so you can visit each other’s islands and hang out.

However, this game is exclusive to the Nintendo Switch, so if you both don’t have one, you’ll each need to get one to enjoy this title.

Intermediate-level games

These games are great fun to play, but do require a little bit of dexterity and familiarity with a controller. If you really want to get into video games, these are a great next step. These games will require timing, coordination, and reflexes.

1. Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime

This is a fun little game with a cute name. You and your partner are aliens co-piloting a spaceship through various levels. You’ll need to share duties on the ship, whether it’s piloting the ship, powering the shields, or manning the ship’s guns.

The bright neon art style and lighthearted tone makes it a fun experience overall…although it can get a little stressful!

2. Overcooked & Overcooked 2

The Overcooked games are cooperative games that require you and your partner to work together as chefs. Gather the ingredients, prep and cook them correctly, and move them to the hot plate for service. You’ll also need to collect dirty dishes and wash them too.

For an added challenge, you’ll also be cooking in various locations, such as a busy intersection, or on a ship on the high seas. If you ever needed a good test of your communication skills, this is the one to try!

3. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

You thought Overcooked was stressful? How does bomb diffusion sound?

It sounds scary, but it’s actually a very fun game to play. One person acts as the bomb diffuser, and the other person is the expert, with access to all the correct procedures.

The catch: neither person is allowed to see what the other person is doing! Work together and communicate clearly to diffuse the bomb before the timer runs out and the bomb goes off.

4. Castle Crashers

Okay, now for something a little lighter—Castle Crashers has been around for a while, but it’s still a great beat ‘em up. Play as one of four knights and beat up bandits and other ne’er do wells. Simple controls make this an easy pick up and play game.

5. Rayman Legends

A critically acclaimed platforming game based on the series of the same name. You and your partner can play cooperatively through over a hundred levels across multiple worlds.

6. Battleblock Theatre

You and your partner are shipwrecked on a mysterious island! Jump, solve, and battle your way through several levels inhabited by…high tech felines? 

A quick tip: I see this one go on sale often for deep discounts, so keep an eye out for a reduced price. 

7. Little Big Planet 3

This one is exclusive to PlayStation, so you’ll both need to have this game console to play.

Take Sackboy and his plushie friends through a charming “handcrafted” world. This platforming game has plenty of character and imagination, and is lots of fun to play together.

8. Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine

This is a cooperative heist game! It’s been described as “one of the best co-op games of all time”.

You and your partner each pick a thief with a unique ability, and sneak into a building to get the goods. I’ve personally played this with friends and had a blast every time.

9. Trine series

There are four games in this series, and all of them feature online cooperative play. Take control of one of three characters—a knight, a thief, or a wizard—and travel through richly detailed worlds. Use your special abilities to defeat enemies and solve puzzles to progress and win! 

I love the dreamy, fantasy vibe that these games give off. Trine 1 and Trine 2 are especially well reviewed. 

10. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light

No doubt you’ve heard of the tomb raider Lara Croft—she’s had a few movies made about her! In this game, she teams up with Totec, a Mayan tribesman, to uncover an ancient artifact in this adventure game.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light features puzzles, combat, exploration, and great graphics. You and your partner each take control of a character and solve puzzles, avoid traps, and defeat enemies as a team.

11. Guacamelee

Guacamelee is a platformer and beat ’em up game with a brilliant art style and oozing with charm.

Travel through a mystical world as a pair of luchadors, unlocking special abilities, and opening new areas and secret passages as you explore.

Experienced-level games

These games are for those who have developed a taste for video games, and are looking for some new ideas to explore with their partner.

1. Portal 2

If you haven’t already played Portal 2, it’s a mind-bending blast to play. Take control of a portal gun and use it to escape traps, navigate mazes, and escape from the insane AI GLaDOS.

Portal 2‘s cooperative mode has you and your partner solving levels that are specifically built for two players.

2. Cuphead

This game is fiendishly difficult, but incredibly satisfying when beaten.

Cuphead has a fantastic 1930s art style and fun, challenging gameplay as well. Play as Cuphead and Mugman as they attempt to defeat bosses and repay their debt to the devil.

Note that this game doesn’t support native online co-op play, so you’ll need to use something like Steam Remote Play Together.

3. Broforce

Hypermasculine and completely over the top, Broforce has you and your partner assume the role of pretty much every male action star in Hollywood. Use your overpowered weapons to destroy each level and its enemies in a hail of bullets and explosions.

I’ve played this cooperatively and it’s a pretty fun experience, although there are some sections that feel like a bit of a slog to get through. Apart from that, the over-the-top feel of the game is second to none.

4. Divinity: Original Sin 2

This role-playing game has been cited as one of the best role-playing games of all time.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 supports cooperative play, so if you and your partner are looking for a complex, deep game to learn and immerse yourselves in for a while, this might be just the thing you’re looking for.

5. A Way Out

An exclusively cooperative game, A Way Out has you and your partner take on the roles of incarcerated prisoners, brought together by chance and agreeing to work together to escape. The story, while not terribly complex, is entertaining, and I enjoyed my time with it.

Keep in mind it isn’t very long, and the replay value is pretty low.

6. Monster Hunter: World

This is an installment in the renowned Monster Hunter series, originating from Japan. Set out into the wild unknown with your partner to track down dinosaur-like beasts, slay them, harvest their parts, and use them to craft better weapons and sturdier armor. Then, head out again and hunt even bigger beasts! 

It’s great fun coordinating with your partner figuring out how to take down a particular beast, and working together to wear it down and eventually get the kill.

7. Destiny 2

A first-person, futuristic shooter game that takes place across several worlds. You play the role of a Guardian, a protector of Earth’s last city, standing guard against numerous alien races. Use powerful abilities and wield destructive weapons to defeat those that would threaten your planet.

This game is now free-to-play, so it shouldn’t cost you and your partner anything to try the story mode and the first few add-ons. If you want to progress further into the game, you’ll need to pay for those expansions separately.

8. The Division 2

This is a third-person shooter game set in Washington in the not-too-distant future. A virus has devastated the nation, and sleeper agents have been activated throughout the country to help contain the unrest in every city. You and your partner, as Division agents, will explore the city to take out rioters and bandits. Use Division technology to outsmart your enemies, and modify weapons to take on the hardiest bosses.

9. Magicka

This game is a little dated, but it is still a blast to play. Each of you play as wizards, and explore the world casting spells using a combination of elements. Part of the fun is experimenting with different combinations, and seeing the (often disastrous) results.

10. Rocket League

For those of you who feel a little more competitive, Rocket League is soccer…but played with cars.

There’s an active community and a very high skill ceiling, so you and your partner will be spending plenty of time getting good at the game.

11. Earth Defense Force 5

If you’re looking for something completely over the top, Earth Defense Force 5 will fit the bill nicely. Each of you play as a soldier in the Earth Defense Force (EDF), and the two of you will team up to battle unknown life forms, massive enemies, and giant bugs.

12. “Battle Royale” games

(There are several games that fall under this category.)

Team up with your partner to drop into a battle zone, rush to find weapons and supplies, and take out everyone else to be the last one standing.

I’m personally not a big fan of these types of games, but for some there can be a big adrenaline rush in making it all the way to the end for the win.

  • Fortnite
  • Apex Legends
  • Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds
  • Call of Duty: Warzone

13. MOBAs (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena)

(There are several games that fall under this category.)

If you prefer controlling a character from above and using their powers to overcome your enemies, MOBAs may be what you’re looking for.

There are plenty of well-established MOBAs out there, and many of them are free-to-play. It can be a good project for you and your partner to tackle together and help improve your teamwork skills.

  • League of Legends
  • DOTA 2
  • Smite

14. Team first-person shooters

(There are several games that fall under this category.)

Work with players on your team to defeat the other team through tactics, positioning, and skill.

Team-based shooters have been around for years, and there are always new ones coming out with their own twist on the formula. If you and your partner are into first-person shooters, you’re spoiled for choice.

  • Counter Strike
  • Rainbow 6: Siege
  • Valorant
  • Overwatch
  • Call of Duty multiplayer
  • Battlefield series
  • Team Fortress 2
  • Titanfall 2

15. Co-operative first-person shooters

(There are several games that fall under this category.)

If you’d prefer to move away from the competitive side of shooters, there are plenty of co-operative shooters available too.

You and your partner will be working together to fend off waves of enemies, navigate levels, and make it through to the other side alive.

  • Left 4 Dead series
  • Borderlands series
  • Killing Floor series
  • Payday 2
  • Deep Rock Galactic
  • GTFO
  • Call of Duty: Zombies