What Super Markup Man is
Super Markup Man is a 2D puzzle platformer built around real web code. Instead of typing into an editor, you carry physical blocks shaped like HTML and CSS tags and place them where they belong, so the level itself becomes the page you are building. The 100 handcrafted levels walk you through the basics of HTML tags such as headings, paragraphs and links, then move into CSS, where you style elements with selectors, colors and layouts. There is no coding knowledge required to start — the platforming and the placement of tags do the teaching as you go.
Playing it with friends
The game has a local co-op mode, but it is limited: only Free Play and CSS Mode support playing with a second person. Player 2 needs to use a gamepad, with an Xbox gamepad recommended. Split screen and Remote Play Together are listed as supported ways to share a session, so you can sit on the same couch or hand a level over to someone playing remotely. Learning side by side works well here, since the CSS Mode levels are the ones where you can actually team up.
Modes worth knowing about
Alongside the main levels there is a Bug mode that injects random errors into your work, and you have to track them down and squash them — a good way to practice reading code that is already broken rather than writing it from scratch. Free Play Mode lets you build your own levels and export them as real HTML files, which is the closest thing to taking the game's lessons into an actual web page. Free Play also supports local co-op, so building templates together is an option.
Before you start
The game is pitched as family-friendly and beginner-friendly, and it is described as suitable for classrooms as well as home play, so you do not need any prior web development background. Keep the co-op restriction in mind if your group was hoping to run the whole campaign together — the story levels are single player, and only Free Play and CSS Mode open up a second seat with a gamepad.