Start by counting controllers, not games
This is the unglamorous part and it is the reason a lot of co-op presents never get played. Two people on one console need two controllers, and most consoles ship with one. A Nintendo Switch is the exception — its two halves separate into a controller each — but they are small, and a long evening in two half-pads is nobody’s idea of romance.
If there is any doubt, buy the game and a pad. Our controller-counting guide lists what each Switch model actually comes with, and the Pro Controller comparison explains when the full-size pad is worth it.
Which kind of couple are you?
The pair who like a project. Stardew Valley. You share a farm, you divide the chores, and it goes on for months. It is the only pick here that is still being played next anniversary.
The pair who like shouting. Overcooked. Two people trying to run a kitchen that is on fire, sometimes literally. Brilliant and briefly ruinous; the couples who love it love it enormously.
The pair where one of you does not really play. Unravel Two. It is gentle, it is beautiful, and the second player cannot lose it for you — which is exactly what a non-gamer partner needs from their first co-op game.
The pair who want the event. It Takes Two. A full-length adventure that literally cannot be played solo, which is the closest thing in games to a present addressed to both of you.
On buying a console as an anniversary present
It is a lovely idea and it is also the most expensive way to get this wrong, because a console is a commitment to a shelf, a subscription and a stack of games. If you are set on hardware, read which console to buy as a gift first — it covers what each machine actually costs once games are included. Otherwise the honest advice is that a $40 game you both play beats a $500 machine one of you uses.
Making it feel like an anniversary present
A game is a small box, and small boxes can feel thin on a date that matters. Two easy fixes, neither of which costs much.
Buy the physical copy where one exists. A digital code is a better purchase and a worse present; there is nothing to hand over. Our physical versus digital comparison weighs the two properly.
Pair it with the evening, not another object. The game plus whatever the two of you eat when you cannot be bothered to cook is a better anniversary than the game plus a second thing to unwrap. The present here is the night, and the box is just how you announce it.
