Here are my top 5 2 player specific games:

1. Radlands. Mean as nails card based lane-battler with amazing components and art, easy rules, and tons of cool abilities on each card.
2. Beer and Bread: easy to learn resource management and hand-passing to bake and brew even amounts of bread and beer. Simple components and tons of fun!
3. 7 Wonders: Duel. Perhaps the best 7 wonders iteration ever
4. Boop: simple rules but very thinky game with cute components, cats pushing each other off a bed. Much deeper than you’d think!
5. Patchwork. It’s basically a meme to recommend this one but it’s a fantastic polyomino game that’s tougher than it looks.