Updated June 2026 · data via IGDB
A Way Out is beloved for one defining quality: it is built entirely around two players, refusing to compromise. Every scene, every mechanic—from prison-yard distractions to car chases—is designed so that both people are always doing something meaningful at the same moment. The split-screen never turns off, and the story of Leo and Vincent's reluctant, escalating partnership carries genuine emotional weight alongside the action.
When players ask for "games like A Way Out," they're really asking for one or more of three things: a true co-op campaign where both players matter equally, a cinematic action-adventure with varied mechanics and a strong duo dynamic, or a gritty crime-drama narrative with real consequences. The best picks on this list deliver at least two of those three.
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98%It Takes Two is also a mandatory two-player co-op game from the same studio (Hazelight), built around a couple working through a relationship crisis. Every chapter reinvents its mechanics—just like A Way Out rotates between stealth, driving, and combat.
80%Portal 2's co-op mode is a dedicated two-player experience where both players must communicate and coordinate to solve environmental puzzles, creating a genuine sense of shared accomplishment. The narrative is witty and cinematic throughout.
80%Brothers has two protagonists controlled simultaneously on one controller (or mapped to two players), solving environmental puzzles in a deeply emotional story—directly comparable to A Way Out's dual-protagonist co-op design.
74%Unravel Two is a mandatory two-player co-op platformer (or solo with AI) where two yarn characters must work together physically, sharing A Way Out's philosophy that co-op cooperation should be baked into every mechanic.
72%Resident Evil 5 is built entirely around two-player co-op, with both players taking different roles and covering each other through action-heavy, narrative-driven chapters. The partner dependency mirrors A Way Out's design philosophy.
72%💎 GemKane & Lynch is a third-person co-op crime game about two violent criminals forced to work together across bank heists and firefights—essentially the spiritual predecessor to A Way Out's concept in tone and structure.
68%Gears of War has a two-player co-op campaign where both players take distinct roles in cover-based combat, with a cinematic military story driving things forward. The buddy-duo dynamic feels close to Leo and Vincent's dynamic.
65%Payday 2 is a co-op heist game where a crew of criminals plans and executes elaborate jobs, blending stealth and loud gunplay—thematically the closest thing to A Way Out's criminal-protagonist angle in multiplayer.
65%The Last of Us nails the cinematic two-protagonist dynamic that A Way Out builds its story around—a reluctant partnership forged under pressure, mixing stealth, combat, and emotional narrative beats.
62%Uncharted 4 is a cinematic action-adventure with varied mechanics—climbing, shooting, driving, stealth—and a strong character-driven narrative about two brothers navigating crime and consequence, echoing A Way Out's genre mixing.
60%💎 GemThis spin-off is a top-down co-op action game where two players work through environmental puzzles and combat together, with mechanics designed specifically for two-player play—sharing A Way Out's cooperative-design-first philosophy.
58%Uncharted 2 set the template for cinematic action-adventure with train sequences, rooftop chases, stealth, and explosive gunfights stitched together by a strong buddy dynamic.
58%Heavy Rain is a cinematic narrative game where multiple characters' interlocking stories unfold simultaneously, with consequential choices and varied gameplay sequences—thematically close to A Way Out's dual-protagonist structure.
56%Uncharted 3 continues the Uncharted formula with heavy set-piece variety and a deeper focus on the Drake–Sully partnership, which carries a similar emotional weight to Leo and Vincent's reluctant bond.
52%Telltale's The Walking Dead is a choice-driven narrative game about desperate people forming reluctant bonds under pressure—the same emotional engine that powers A Way Out's story, just without the action gameplay.
48%L.A. Noire is a crime-drama set in 1940s Los Angeles where you play a detective uncovering layered criminal stories through investigation and interrogation, sharing A Way Out's cinematic crime-thriller atmosphere.
45%Mafia II is a cinematic third-person crime story about two friends rising through the mob, sharing A Way Out's 1950s–60s aesthetic, crime drama narrative, and mix of driving and gunplay.
44%Until Dawn puts multiple characters under pressure with branching choices and consequences—like A Way Out's narrative tension—though in a horror-movie context rather than a crime escape.
42%💎 GemSleeping Dogs blends cinematic crime storytelling with hand-to-hand combat, driving, and stealth in a third-person open world—sharing A Way Out's genre-mixing crime-protagonist feel in a solo package.
| Game | Match | Shared DNA | Biggest difference | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| It Takes Two | 98% | Adventure, Action | No crime or prison; tone is fantastical and emotionally domestic. | Xbox, PlayStation, PC, Nintendo |
| Portal 2 | 80% | Adventure, Action | Pure puzzle-platformer; no combat, stealth, or driving. | PlayStation, PC, Xbox, Nintendo |
| Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons | 80% | Adventure, Action | Fantasy fairy-tale world; puzzle-platformer rather than action-adventure. | PlayStation, PC, Mobile, Xbox, Nintendo |
| Unravel Two | 74% | Adventure, Action | Gentle puzzle-platformer; no combat or narrative drama. | PlayStation, PC, Xbox, Nintendo |
| Resident Evil 5 | 72% | Adventure, Action | Horror-survival tone; tighter, more combat-focused campaign. | PlayStation, PC, Xbox |
| Kane & Lynch: Dead Men | 72% | Action | Rougher production; less polished and more brutal in tone. | PlayStation, PC, Xbox |
| Gears of War | 68% | Action | Military sci-fi setting; much heavier emphasis on cover shooting. | Xbox |
| Payday 2 | 65% | Action | No narrative campaign; pure repeatable heist missions. | PlayStation, PC, Xbox, Nintendo |
| The Last of Us | 65% | Adventure, Action | Single-player only; no co-op mode in the main campaign. | PlayStation |
| Uncharted 4: A Thief's End | 62% | Adventure, Action | Single-player; no split-screen co-op outside of a separate multiplayer mode. | PlayStation |
| Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light | 60% | Adventure, Action | Isometric perspective; shorter and more arcade-style. | PlayStation, Mobile, PC, Xbox, Nintendo |
| Uncharted 2: Among Thieves | 58% | Adventure, Action | Solo campaign; lighter tone with Indiana Jones-style adventure. | PlayStation |
| Heavy Rain | 58% | Adventure, Action | Minimal action; almost entirely dialogue, QTEs, and investigation. | PlayStation, PC |
| Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception | 56% | Adventure, Action | Solo campaign; treasure-hunting adventure rather than crime escape. | PlayStation |
| The Walking Dead | 52% | Adventure, Action | Point-and-click adventure; almost no action mechanics. | PlayStation, PC, Mobile, Xbox, Nintendo |
The key ingredient isn't just co-op—it's purposeful co-op, where both players are given asymmetric roles in every situation rather than simply mirroring each other. It Takes Two nails this completely, with mechanics that physically require both players to act differently. Portal 2's co-op mode comes closest in puzzle form, with communication-dependent challenges that neither player can solve alone. Resident Evil 5 and the Gears of War series take the action-campaign route, designing entire encounters around two-player cover and support.
Beyond co-op, A Way Out's second pillar is mechanical variety—no two sections feel the same. For solo players chasing that same feeling of genre-blending set-pieces, Uncharted 4 and Uncharted 2 remain the gold standard, rotating between climbing, stealth, driving, and gunplay within a single cinematic story.
If the prison-break and criminal-fugitive story is what hooked you, Payday 2 delivers the closest co-op crime fantasy—planning and executing jobs with a partner, toggling between stealth and loud chaos. The underrated Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (not in the main candidate pool) is the most tonally similar game ever made: two violent criminals forced into a partnership, with a co-op campaign that plays out like a crime movie.
Mafia II captures the same mid-century crime aesthetic and cinematic storytelling as A Way Out's later acts, though it's a solo experience. For crime drama with investigation rather than action, L.A. Noire offers the most mature crime-narrative atmosphere in the pool.
The Last of Us is the strongest solo substitute: its entire story is built around a reluctant partnership between two very different people who gradually come to trust each other under extreme pressure—exactly the emotional arc of Leo and Vincent. Heavy Rain offers a similarly cinematic multi-character narrative with branching consequences if you want less action and more story.
For emotional storytelling through cooperative character design, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (an "additional" pick not in the main pool) is a hidden gem that tells its entire story through the physical relationship between two brothers, and can even be played solo on one controller as a unique dual-protagonist experience.
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