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Currently paying Outer Wilds in my steam deck while docked to a tv. It's been very engaging and fun for my wife and I to sit down and try and solve an interstellar mystery while winding down for the night.
Interesting game with good art style and interesting mechanics.
I keep seeing this in steam but haven’t actually checked it out yet
If you decide to go for it, don’t read too much, just go in blind.
My two cents; I'm in a very similar boat with my GF, and Outer Wilds was unfortunately a bit too slow paced and open ended for her, so I ended up completing it by myself (and absolutely loving it). Same with The Witness unfortunately. Both are very much in my personal top three though.
But to make it not all negative, some recommendations!
We enjoyed The Room series by Fireproof Games a lot. It's an escape room puzzle box type of a deal with a really cool, slightly creepy atmosphere, and there's multiple games out already. The games are quite linear and focused, so my GF didn't bounce off. We're escape room junkies and haven't found a better digital fix. Escape Room Simulator is decent, but not quite up there in production quality.
Another fun one is the games by Rusty Lake. They're mechanically similar, if a bit less flashy than The Room, but the puzzles are mostly fun and the story/atmosphere/music is really neat.
And yeah, Obra Dinn is absolutely our number one favorite game, but that one was already mentioned.
Oh, I think I have the perfect series of games to you because they also work as movies, sort of.
Check out the dark pictures anthology, until dawn and the quarry, all developed by supermassive games.
Here's a trailer: https://youtu.be/3NcF7EOnjow
If you want something that's less horror based, check out oxenfree.
Yes so much. I played these with my partner. This is exactly what OP is looking for.
Hmm definitely going to give this a shot!
Detroit: Become Human was my favorite of this sort of game. Not in the horror genera though. My wife loved watching me play it and giving suggestions.
You should really check out this YouTube channel https://youtube.com/@GirlfriendReviews
Their content schedule had slowed down a lot recently because they got married. But their whole schtick is about games that are fun for backseat gamers.
Wouldn't it be called WifeReview instead?
They're not changing the name.
My girlfriend and I really enjoyed playing Life is Strange together like this. I think we both enjoyed the setting and characters quite a bit (high school in the Pacific Northwest). We tried Life is strange 2, but never really got into it.
And episode 1 is currently free on Steam!
Also tried to like Life is Strange 2 and 3, but really couldn't. Have you tried Before The Storm? It's really great as well!
I'll have to give before the storm a try! That's disappointing to hear that the third one was also a let down.
It probably wasn't bad on its own, but it doesn't have the feel of 1 or BtS, which is what I was after.
As they have not been mentioned before: We played „The Witness” and “Return of the Obra Dinn” together and are currently solving “The Case of the Golden Idol”
My wife and I call this "Single controller co-op".
There are classic point and click adventure games that work well like the Monkey Island series, or more recently Thimbleweed park. Any game with a significant puzzle element works well too - we've really enjoyed Tunic.
Thimbleweed park took me by surprise and really loved that game,
These are all story based games where the player must make decisions, which is a great way of involving someone who is not actively playing:
Telltale games are perfect. It's usually solving a puzzle and picking dialogue. And quick time events are usually slowed down
Her Story, Telling Lies, and Immortality (all games by Sam Barlow) are uniquely meta/postmodern FMV games with no input besides consideration, selection, search, and other very democratizable actions. I bet those would go over really well!
I suggest Telltale games, like the walking dead and the wolf among us. You can make choices together to shape your own story. It's more like watching a TV show together.
I'm and avid gamer but my heart can't take survival horror games. I usually backseat help out with the puzzles while my husband plays them. He doesn't mind since I'm really good at puzzles.
Detroit: Becoming Human, you can make the endless decisions together Live is Strange, as others already said
you may try "blanc". A good coop game with simple gameplay mechanics
Maybe Her Story? Some would not even call it a game, but I enjoyed unraveling the mystery. It involves inputting text, but it's just keywords for a search so it shouldn't be too cumbersomer even with on screen keyboard.
Beat me by one minute! I recommended this and everything by Sam Barlow.
Stray seems perfect, it's mechanically easy, has puzzles, cute characters, an interesting (short) story, and a nice environment to explore.
I played this with my partner - it's perfect as one person can do as much or as little work as they want. And you can take the game at your own pace. Great co-op game.
Dicey Dungeons, Peglin, Inkulinati, Pan'orama, Slay The Spire, Tile Cities
Hmm hadn’t thought of Slay the Spire as a good option that I already own. Thanks! Wishlisting these 👍🏻
I would suggest the Zero Escape series (999, Virtue's Last Reward, Zero Escape), Danganronpa, and Escape Room Simulator.
The first two are similar to Pheonix Wright and the last one is just plain fun
Sweet, I’m wishlisting all of these! If you have a favorite you’d recommend I pick out first let me know. Thanks!
I would recommend playing the Zero Escape series in order. It's the closest thing I've found to the Professor Layton scale twists and turns.
Saving this post. Some good stuff here
Into the Breach is perfect for this. It's played on a coordinate grid, so giving suggestions on what to do per turn would be very easy without needing a bunch of description to explain exactly what is being talked about.
The Witcher 3. It's a very story heavy game with lots and lots of dialogue and long cutscenes. My wife wouldn't play it herself for exactly those reasons, but she watched most of the time while I played it.
Another recommendation would be The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The Koroks to be precise. Four eyes see more than two.
My wife and I really enjoyed Witcher 3. She could jump in, get an update on the story from me, listen to music, argue what decisions should we make and then leave if she felt so. Some quests can take days if you game like 1h daily or so, so it's definitely a position to try if you like cRPGs.
I think Girlfriend Reviews will agree with me here, but the Resident Evil series is probably the best backseat gamer experience. I'd recommend the new one, Village.
As someone who enjoys backseat driving games, I liked Bug Fables (cute Paper Mario inspired rpg) and Omori (psychological horror rpg).
On Switch, I enjoyed Paper Mario: The Origami King. There's a lot of hidden things to notice so I actually felt like I was helping, and the story was fun.
There are some battles that might take a while, and if I got bored I would check my phone. But overall I feel like I played the games without having touched the controller.
I think generally any puzzle game will work, you can try solving the puzzles together and you'll be the one moving the character.
Other than the puzzle games already mentioned, I'd recommend Hidden Folks if you enjoy the "Where's Wally" gameplay. You will need the TV though, as the Deck's screen is probably too small for two people to play comfortably.
Return of the Obra Dinn!
Control. It has god mode built in the settings. My wife liked it when the enemies can’t hurt her and auto aim makes running through enemies much faster for non experienced aimers.
puzzle games in general would be engaging. In my experience having someone backseat a puzzle game can increase the enjoyment for both people. It’s fun to have 2 peoples takes on a problem and have them eventually combine into a solution. Maybe try portal 2
I think the Divinity Original Sin series and the upcoming Baldur's Gate 3 might be good options! They're good story driven games with good dialog, turn-based so not too mechanically demanding, and often times require paying close attention to subtle story beats in order to get the best outcome.
Last of Us and Uncharted 4 could also be good options because watching someone play the game is like watching a good movie.