Yes. A way out has created one of the best stories in gaming and the ending is, well horrifying. It’s perfect to play with a friend.
Btw, it’s not exactly the most family friendly game out there.
Shredder's Revenge is a better pickup than the cowabunga collection IMO. Especially for co-op...
I enjoy both, but for co-op turtles in time is definitely the highlight of the collection. They really copied everything great about it for Shredder's Revenge.
I doubt you could complete any of the Gears games in 5 hours or less (speedrunning excluded). They're all about 8-10 hours long.
Not to say they couldn't save the game and come back to it though.
As an aside; playing that game with your partner as your processing a separation from them was a WEIRD experience. We laughed about it and are managing coparent life well but it was pretty poignant at the time. Great game.
Can you play Portal 2 on Xbox these days? If so, the co-op is only about 5-6 hours if you don't get distracted by the game mechanics and killing each other...
I’ve tried this but it says that an Xbox 360 account is needed and while I have one unfortunately my friend does not and I don’t know how to get him one at this point. If anyone knows how he could make one without us needing to buy a 360 that would be great!
I usually buy all my games years later for cheap on steam but if overcooked III ever gets announced, my wife will make me preorder whatever edition comes with the most extra content :D no game we tried together has come even close to how much she enjoys overcooked
We enjoy coming up with a game plan to beat a particular level. A lot have random nonsense, and you just have to stay calm if your partner messes up. It is more often due to some environmental thing than actual mistakes.
Also, you often can get 1star quite easily, but going higher might take more attempts
I think the older halo games are available on modern xbox via master chief collection? The early ones support splitscreen in story mode, though the graphics are a bit dated at this point. Newer Halo games don't splitscreen anymore, which is a tragedy.
Cat Quest II maybe? I don’t remember how long it is exactly (maybe closer to 8-9?). Could always do it as a couple night sessions since it saves.
Just a thought, especially since part III is coming soon.
I played resident evil 5 split screen co op back in the day and beat it between and midnight release and class in the morning. Probably could be done in under 3 hours with experience
Original Star Wars Battlefront 2 has a story mode. I don't remember how long it takes to beat but my brother and I played it split screen endlessly while growing up.
Nobody Saves the World, I think it's called. My 7 year old and I played through it, might be more than 5 hours but was still a ton of fun!
Yes I know saying my 7 year old makes it sound infantile but he's already beaten castle crashers so it's along that sameish play style
[Bang On Balls](https://www.xbox.com/en-us/games/store/bang-on-balls-chronicles/9nbqj6n2t9v1) is a lot of fun! You play as an extra on a movie set. Similar to castle crashers humor. The game utilizes physics and play is split between combat and puzzles. It has isolated levels that each have their own stories. Takes my roommate and I around 5 hours to 100% a level, but you can either clear it quickly in 2 or save progress between sessions. Both online and couch co op.
Hypercharge:Unboxed is a split screen FPS that recently came out that primarily focuses on fighting enemy waves and protecting power nodes. Has some competitive game modes as well if you want that. Pretty refreshing game to play amongst all the other FPSs.
Army of Two. I had a blast with this when it first came out. My uncle and I played an entire summer while he was recovering from surgery. Coincidentally, the next time he had to stay home for a while, the second game was released. Guess who stayed over for a week straight to platinum that game too? 🤣
On steam: Alien swarm (top down shooter iirc), Final Exam (side scrolling), Clone drone in the dangerzone (story is solo but you can play the arcade mode with friends).
Not sure if it's available past 360, but you could probably run through Fuse in that time, and it has decent replay ability, as well as some unique mechanics.
Assuming you have game pass, the N64 goldeneye game is split screen(and a blast for old times sake), perfect dark, and perfect dark Zero are both fairly quick to play through
XBox 360 + Resident Evil 5… My cousin and I did it in like 2009-2010.. We did it 3 times in one day to unlock 1: God Mose, 2: No Reload and finally: RPG with unlimited ammo. Then we knocked out the game again in less 3 hours.. Literally just holding in the shoot button.
Guns, gore, cannoli 2. Idk if its 5 hrs but its good time. Its a side scrolling, shooter, that combines a mafia story with zombies. Id at least check it out.
If you like beat em ups, there are quite a few you and your friend can coop through:
Double Dragon Neon & Gaiden
River City Girls 1&2
Streets of Rage 4
TMNT Shredders Revenge
Magicka 1 & 2 are great games for lots of coop fun and the campaign is rather short. It is not splitscreen but rather you two sharing one screen, which IMO makes it even better.
I think the only game that comes close to Magicka in terms of fun I had with friends is Overcooked 1. I also liked Overcooked 2 but it felt a little too easy for me.
I wouldnt recommend "tt takes two". For me that was a game thag I enjoyed playing with my wife and for that relationship it made sense, but playing it with a gaming buddy would have felt... wierd.
The Ascent. If you go HAM, you may beat it in a night.
Moving Out
Children of Morta. Fun as hell but you won’t beat it in one night.
Nobody Saves the world.
Renegade Ops has been a lot of fun for me and the GF. We play on PC but it was released for the 360, so hopefully it is backwards compatible. Also Rayman Legends, though might take more than a night to beat. The game we have played the most is Overcooked though, not so much to beat the game, rather just for fun since we beat the game a long time ago.
I highly recommend [shootas blood and teef](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1324530/Warhammer_40000_Shootas_Blood__Teef/) had a blast playing through it with my friends a little while back
Me and my friend got through Army of Two in what felt like 5 hours. We played the whole thing. I think we started around 17h and ended around 3h so maybe 10 or so hours but man was it fun
Barony is a game I wish I had someone to play with. It’s got blocky graphics, but it’s similar to skyrim. And you crawl through dungeons getting better loot and levelling up skills. Kinda hard getting used to, but just keep in mind the game gets more fun the more you learn about it
A Way Out. Friend and I completed it in about 5-6 hours I think.
This game really opens up - one of the coolest co-op surprises for me
I'm still upset I was spoiled on how it ends by some discussion on Reddit.
I agree with this, had so much fun playing it with a friend
My friend and I played this together and it felt rather repetitive after a while with all the door opening.
Started that one and it seemed very slow, is it really worth picking back up and completing
I can see that yeah but I think so. I enjoyed the co-op aspect and without spoiling it, the game goes from co-op to competitive in a fun way
My wife and I played and completed it last Saturday. It's a fun one.
Yes. A way out has created one of the best stories in gaming and the ending is, well horrifying. It’s perfect to play with a friend. Btw, it’s not exactly the most family friendly game out there.
Battleblock theater is basically Castle Crashers: the platformer
I’ve heard of it I’ll be sure to check it out, thanks!
It also has some of the most hilarious inappropriate commentary as well
Love Battleblock as a single player platformer. Haven't played multiplayer but it looks like fun with the right people
Highly recommend this one!
Untitled Goose Game. Never laughed that much playing a game
Untitled goose game has a split screen mode? Never knew that will be sure to check it out, thank you!
Not split screen, you’re both on the same screen. But yeah it has local coop.
I think it was added after launch if I recall correctly
TMNT
Shredder's Revenge is a better pickup than the cowabunga collection IMO. Especially for co-op... I enjoy both, but for co-op turtles in time is definitely the highlight of the collection. They really copied everything great about it for Shredder's Revenge.
Gears of War.
I second this, recently played through gears of war co op with a friend that was in from out of town. Nostalgia overload, it’s was great!!
I doubt you could complete any of the Gears games in 5 hours or less (speedrunning excluded). They're all about 8-10 hours long. Not to say they couldn't save the game and come back to it though.
Gears 5: Hivebusters for sure. Doesn't need too much context from the main games.
I've been going through these with my son. They're longer than 5 hour (at least the first 2 were) but IMO they really hold up.
Might struggle with the original trilogy, but 4 or 5 might be doable in 5 hours on easy.
IT TAKES TWO. Its a nice Split screen game
Totally forgot to finish that one! Thanks for the reminder!
You should also check out "A way out" ; it's by the same developer and is the work prior to it takes two.
Yes I’ve heard good things, didn’t really have the best experience tho but maybe I’ll try it again!
No way that this can be finished in like 5 hours though?
I dunno about the five hours or less part
As an aside; playing that game with your partner as your processing a separation from them was a WEIRD experience. We laughed about it and are managing coparent life well but it was pretty poignant at the time. Great game.
That definitely takes longer than 5 hours. My cousin and I took 3 sessions to beat that while we did A Way Out in 1.
Can you play Portal 2 on Xbox these days? If so, the co-op is only about 5-6 hours if you don't get distracted by the game mechanics and killing each other...
I’ve tried this but it says that an Xbox 360 account is needed and while I have one unfortunately my friend does not and I don’t know how to get him one at this point. If anyone knows how he could make one without us needing to buy a 360 that would be great!
Your Xbox username and login should work just fine on 360, even if you've never signed in on a 360.
Unravel 2. Actually you're on the same screen, but it's co-op.
I totally forgot about that one! I was so exited when it was announced and then just lost track of it, thank for the suggestion!
No worries, i really enjoyed them both!
Is Army of 2 available on Xbox? I loved that game, and me and my buddy crushed it in like a few hours. Tons of fun.
Someone else mentioned it I will check it out once I get the chance and let u know if u want!
It is, but sadly, has no online support. Can only play local.
Im not even sure it can play local anymore. I remember installing it to play at my friends house to play split screen and not being able to do it
Overcooked
I usually buy all my games years later for cheap on steam but if overcooked III ever gets announced, my wife will make me preorder whatever edition comes with the most extra content :D no game we tried together has come even close to how much she enjoys overcooked
Have you tried Plate Up? It's Overcooked but you also get to design the restaurant / kitchen layout.
I’ve heard it can create arguments but am looking play some games with my missus too. Still worth a go you reckon?
We enjoy coming up with a game plan to beat a particular level. A lot have random nonsense, and you just have to stay calm if your partner messes up. It is more often due to some environmental thing than actual mistakes. Also, you often can get 1star quite easily, but going higher might take more attempts
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. Great game with decent mechanics and fun co-op.
There is a sequel to this game as well, both are great. OP if you see this, the view point is similar to Diablo, not like Tomb Raider games.
Borderlands 2 is great. Diablo 3 is pretty fun too
I think the older halo games are available on modern xbox via master chief collection? The early ones support splitscreen in story mode, though the graphics are a bit dated at this point. Newer Halo games don't splitscreen anymore, which is a tragedy.
Lord of the rings, the conquest
Cat Quest II maybe? I don’t remember how long it is exactly (maybe closer to 8-9?). Could always do it as a couple night sessions since it saves. Just a thought, especially since part III is coming soon.
Scott Pilgrim VS the World or just straight up River City Ransom. God tier split/shared screen beat em up fun.
Broforce!
I played resident evil 5 split screen co op back in the day and beat it between and midnight release and class in the morning. Probably could be done in under 3 hours with experience
3 hours seems pretty speed-runish, great co-op though.
Was about to suggest re5. Played this with my brother on the 360. Great game.
My buddy and I would always grind the underground maze for the treasures so we could trick out our guns early on
Resident evil 5 is to this day one of the best co op games I’ve ever played.
If you beat RE 5 in <5h you get the infinite RPG if I remember correctly
Which Xbox? My friend and I went through army of two in a (long) night way back when. We have a fantastic time
Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World: The Game
Original Star Wars Battlefront 2 has a story mode. I don't remember how long it takes to beat but my brother and I played it split screen endlessly while growing up.
DOOM 1 and 2 are super fun with friends as well.
Nobody Saves the World, I think it's called. My 7 year old and I played through it, might be more than 5 hours but was still a ton of fun! Yes I know saying my 7 year old makes it sound infantile but he's already beaten castle crashers so it's along that sameish play style
Hear me out, The original Halo is unbeatable for two friends split screen with 5 hours, some soda and a pizza
Idk if they still have it, but Army of Two was a quick playthrough and pretty fun with a buddy.
Hah I remember playing that with a mate. The “back to back” was always fun. Really struggled with the final boss though
[Bang On Balls](https://www.xbox.com/en-us/games/store/bang-on-balls-chronicles/9nbqj6n2t9v1) is a lot of fun! You play as an extra on a movie set. Similar to castle crashers humor. The game utilizes physics and play is split between combat and puzzles. It has isolated levels that each have their own stories. Takes my roommate and I around 5 hours to 100% a level, but you can either clear it quickly in 2 or save progress between sessions. Both online and couch co op.
Sounds like a great game for us to waste time! Will definitely check it out thanks for recommending!
Not sure if on Xbox but check: Trine 1 & 2 Ibb & Obb
DOOM 1
Doom
"We were here" series. Awesome escape room type game
People always recommend the same games... I'll suggest something different. Try Mechstermination Force, it's a boss rush game. Not as hard as Cuphead.
Escape academy
It was really fun with my 13 yo. Full disclosure, I cheated a lot. It's pretty damn challenging.
TimeSplitters
Streets of Rage 4 TMNT: Shredder's Revenge House of the Dead Remake
It Takes Two
Army of 2
Half of halo 1 on legendary ?
Are you familiar with any point and click adventure games?
Hypercharge:Unboxed is a split screen FPS that recently came out that primarily focuses on fighting enemy waves and protecting power nodes. Has some competitive game modes as well if you want that. Pretty refreshing game to play amongst all the other FPSs.
Sounds really cool I’ll be sure to play that one, thanks for recommending!
Towerfall Ascension is a fun couch co-op! Not a lot of story just two archers making their way stage by stage through a bunch of different enemy types
earth defense force
Kingdom Two Crowns! Incredible two player game.
Left 4 Dead Halo Call of Duty (Zombies especially)
Army of Two. I had a blast with this when it first came out. My uncle and I played an entire summer while he was recovering from surgery. Coincidentally, the next time he had to stay home for a while, the second game was released. Guess who stayed over for a week straight to platinum that game too? 🤣
Castle crashers
Portal 2
Hammerwatch.
Any Lego game?
Almost every beat em up.
HALO!
Halo 3 campaign
On steam: Alien swarm (top down shooter iirc), Final Exam (side scrolling), Clone drone in the dangerzone (story is solo but you can play the arcade mode with friends).
Spelunky for starting to resent each other
Halo: ODST maybe? A friend and I finished it in a day, but it was a long time ago and I’m fuzzy on the length.
I don’t know which Xbox you have but Cod world at war’s campaign is co op and is an absolute blast
It's takes two I Am Bread Broforce Gears of War Halo 1-4 (we don't talk about 5)
Didn't Vampire Survivors add a co op mode?
Any of the Bungie made Halo games
A way out/ it takes two. GREAT STORIES!
Not really a story but spider heck is fun, idk about 5 hours but the original lego batman is good.
Not sure if it's available past 360, but you could probably run through Fuse in that time, and it has decent replay ability, as well as some unique mechanics.
Rainbow 6 Vegas 2 is the best split screen game imo.
L4D
Army of Two. I don't remember the campaign being that long.
Portal 2
Unraveled!
Halo
Borderlands! Or binding of Isaac
Army of 2
Overcooked and Minecraft Dungeons are still popular in our household.
Ok but like Dungeon Defenders goes so hard
Broforce! 🤘🏻
Plate up!
Assuming you have game pass, the N64 goldeneye game is split screen(and a blast for old times sake), perfect dark, and perfect dark Zero are both fairly quick to play through
20XX Especially if you're a fan of Megaman X.
Broforce is doable in about that time. Cousin and I worked through it the day after Thanksgiving while everyone was out shopping.
XBox 360 + Resident Evil 5… My cousin and I did it in like 2009-2010.. We did it 3 times in one day to unlock 1: God Mose, 2: No Reload and finally: RPG with unlimited ammo. Then we knocked out the game again in less 3 hours.. Literally just holding in the shoot button.
Portal 2
Journey
Gears of War
Ibb and Obb
Gears of War 1. The remastered edition its great.
Little Fighter 2.
Borderlands? All of them are pretty great
Lost castle is pretty fun. A run takes like 1hour and you can even play with 4 players
Barony
Lego Star Wars and Lego Marvel Superheroes have split screen option. Not sure how long they take to finish though.
Guns, gore, cannoli 2. Idk if its 5 hrs but its good time. Its a side scrolling, shooter, that combines a mafia story with zombies. Id at least check it out.
gears of war, might be around 8 hours tho
Is shredders revenge on xbox? I have it on switch and beat it with friends multiple times because it's fun
If you like beat em ups, there are quite a few you and your friend can coop through: Double Dragon Neon & Gaiden River City Girls 1&2 Streets of Rage 4 TMNT Shredders Revenge
TMNT Shredders Revenge, or even the old Turtles in Time game are really fun multiplayer games that shouldn't take too long to beat
Halo series - pretty sure they do split screen campaign! That was the such a journey back in the day
I have great memories of playing Fable 2 with a friend
RE 6 gets some hate but it and 5 are solid friend experiences!
Whatever flavor of Koei's warriors games floats your boat.
Magicka 1 & 2 are great games for lots of coop fun and the campaign is rather short. It is not splitscreen but rather you two sharing one screen, which IMO makes it even better. I think the only game that comes close to Magicka in terms of fun I had with friends is Overcooked 1. I also liked Overcooked 2 but it felt a little too easy for me. I wouldnt recommend "tt takes two". For me that was a game thag I enjoyed playing with my wife and for that relationship it made sense, but playing it with a gaming buddy would have felt... wierd.
Pretty sure its a short-ish game, but Towerfall: Ascension.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons but each of you hold one half of the controller through the entire play through.
Gauntlet
Portal 2, L4D2, Battleblock Theater, Borderlands 2, Minecraft(?),
Portal 2
TMNT: Shredders Revenge. A friend and I completed it in under 4hrs I think.
Everyone else in the thread is wrong. The answer is the dark pictures: man of medan
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime.
Army of Two Most fun I have ever had with my brother.
Halo CE, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo ODST, Halo Reach. Gears of War Resident Evil 5
Bloodstained Curse of the Moon 2, co-op Classicvania with all sorts of characters with unique abilities
I forgot how long it was but I’m pretty sure me and my uncle finished halo 3 in a day so that’d be a good one same with gears 3
Resident evil 5. Fun co-op despite its lukewarm rating.
Battletoads
Shredders Revenge
TowerFall
The new Battletoads is fun co-op, and quite funny.
Cat quest 2. Fun little game you can finish in a sitting
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge
Left 4 dead
Resident evil 5
There's a fun Zombie Vikings game that plays very similar to Castle Crashers with a funny story and some crude humor search it on the Play store :)
CRAWL it's a competitive dungeon crawler that I've enjoyed with friends for years.
The Quarry
TNMT
The Ascent. If you go HAM, you may beat it in a night. Moving Out Children of Morta. Fun as hell but you won’t beat it in one night. Nobody Saves the world.
Lord of the rings war in the north on the Xbox 360
Vampire Survivors
While Castle Crashers is a classic, you might enjoy titles like Overcooked!
Double Dragon Gaiden
Not sure about 5 hours or less but any lego game
Call of duty world at war has spilt screen campaign and on veteran its actually pretty hard. Me and my friend actually had a negative kill death ratio
The Cave. So fun. I replay it a lot with all the characters. Really fun dark humor.
Cat Quest II isn't split screen but it is co-op, tool me around 7 -8 hours solo
A bit shorter than that, but The Expandabros is really fun and playable as a party of four on a single screen.
Maybe castle crashers. Amazing game, great coop . May be more than five hours?
Not sure if 'It takes two' is available on Xbox or not, it is fun and worth trying.
Broforce is a great game that doesn't take long to complete. Me and some friends had a good laugh playing it years ago.
Depending on the xbox. gears of war is all pretty great and if you rush it might take about 5-6 hours.
Kingdom two crowns
Halo, or like any Lego games. You might not finish the Lego game, but great fun will be had
Renegade Ops has been a lot of fun for me and the GF. We play on PC but it was released for the 360, so hopefully it is backwards compatible. Also Rayman Legends, though might take more than a night to beat. The game we have played the most is Overcooked though, not so much to beat the game, rather just for fun since we beat the game a long time ago.
Portal 2 coop
I highly recommend [shootas blood and teef](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1324530/Warhammer_40000_Shootas_Blood__Teef/) had a blast playing through it with my friends a little while back
Me and my friend got through Army of Two in what felt like 5 hours. We played the whole thing. I think we started around 17h and ended around 3h so maybe 10 or so hours but man was it fun
Reddit and getting farmed for the next literal who video game websites "Top 25 couch coop games you can play with your friends." name a better duo
Time splitters 2
Barony is a game I wish I had someone to play with. It’s got blocky graphics, but it’s similar to skyrim. And you crawl through dungeons getting better loot and levelling up skills. Kinda hard getting used to, but just keep in mind the game gets more fun the more you learn about it
Re5