Co-op games (cooperative games with friends or co-op games) differ from single-player games in that they can be played with other players or friends (most often online or on the same screen). Any game becomes better if you can go through it with a friend. For those looking for a good game for a company, we have collected the best games with cooperative play: no MMOs; only top co-op games for two (or more players); for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch.
You can go through the best RPG of this year with friends. Moreover, it's not necessary to buy two copies — Baldur's Gate 3 has a split-screen feature that allows two people to play on the same screen. According to reviews, the co-op experience differs from the single-player one, as more unpredictable moments and unexpected situations arise.
Diablo 4 turned out to be one of the best Blizzard games in recent years. Yes, it's not perfect, but slaughtering hordes of demons is still as engaging as ever. Especially when done in the company of friends.
In addition to the standard online co-op, Diablo 4 features a split-screen mode, allowing two players to play together on the same TV screen. However, this feature is only available on consoles.
In the fifth installment of the Trine action-platformer series, you will, as before, explore large levels, solve interesting puzzles, and fight numerous monsters.
The game features colorful graphics and truly different characters with unique abilities, much like in the classic The Lost Vikings. Trine 5 supports split-screen and four-player cooperative gameplay.
An asymmetrical horror featuring maniacs and their victims in the spirit of Dead by Daylight, only with characters from the classic «The Texas Chain Saw Massacre».
The game is well-made and possesses a signature dark atmosphere. It can appeal not only to fans of the Leatherface movies but also to all lovers of multiplayer horror games.
In 2023, the legendary tactical series Jagged Alliance made its comeback. It features the selection of mercenaries and their equipment, intelligent allocation of finances, and battles against superior enemy forces.
The third installment is no worse than the first two — it continues to deliver pleasure to fans of turn-based battles. If desired, it can be played cooperatively with a friend.
The new hardcore game from Team Ninja, creators of the Nioh duology. We're presented with a classic soulslike game set in the backdrop of Ancient China.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty can be played with two friends. However, to unlock the cooperative mode, you'll have to defeat the first boss on your own.
Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise Of The Dragons — a pixelated beat 'em up that retains the mechanics of the early games in the series. It also incorporates elements of modern roguelike and features many characters with different combat systems.
The new Double Dragon is worth playing primarily for those who experienced the first parts on the NES. Others may find themselves bored after a couple of hours.
An isometric action game with hordes of monsters and aggressive bosses. To defeat them, the game offers a huge arsenal of weapons, including lasers, flamethrowers, machine guns, electric guns, and much more. You can go through the story mode with a friend, including on the same screen.
Currently, Greedland is in early access. Over time, developers will add new maps, unique enemies, and additional weapon samples.
Wild Hearts — an action game where you are to hunt giant monsters. To succeed in Wild Hearts, it's important to wisely choose your equipment and develop your own tactics for combat.
The closest analog is the Monster Hunter series. As experience shows, fighting the local giants is much more interesting with two companions than alone.
In Lego 2K Drive, you can build your car from Lego bricks, then start exploring the local open world and participate in numerous races. The game supports split-screen mode.
Wayfinder — a colorful role-playing game with dynamic battles, an open world, and numerous dungeons. In terms of gameplay, it resembles Warframe.
You can go through it alone or in the company of two people.
In this game, you'll be collecting your own team of handheld monsters and sending them into battle against enemy squads. It's somewhat reminiscent of the Pokemon series games. Cassette Beasts sets itself apart primarily with increased difficulty.
Sengoku Dynasty — a survival game set in medieval Japan where building plays an important role. Construction in the Sengoku Dynasty is lengthy and complex, as it requires consideration of numerous parameters, and there is a constant shortage of resources. Friends can help speed up this process, so the game unfolds in a new way when played cooperatively.
A major expansion for Icarus, adding six story missions, three new biomes, as well as unique weapons and monsters. Take note of the new mode that removes time constraints and allows for endless play.
Meet Your Maker — a post-apocalyptic shooter where building plays a significant role. You'll be constructing intricate mazes and attacking other players' fortifications.
To win in Meet Your Maker, it's important to be clever and make smart use of the available equipment.
In this shooter,you'll battle hordes of fantasy monsters. Perish utilizes an arsenal of firearms and melee weapons for combat. The gameplay is reminiscent of the original Painkiller.
A tactical shooter in the spirit of the early parts of the Rainbow Six series. In Operator, you are invited to participate in combat missions around the world, alone or in the company of other players.
To win, it's important not only to shoot accurately but also to use gadgets wisely, such as conducting reconnaissance of the area using a drone.
Hello Engineer: Scrap Machines Constructor — an unusual race where you will encounter complex tracks with many traps. To overcome them, you need to assemble your own car with unique properties.
In some cases, you will need to reduce its size to pass through a narrow section, or conversely, install a propeller to be able to fly over an obstacle.
This game is suitable for those who have already completed Valheim and want something similar. You can look forward to building your own home, growing plants, forging metals, and battling numerous monsters.
Dawnlands is not perfect and suffers from technical issues, but it can provide a lot of enjoyment for fans of hardcore survival games.
Moving Out 2 — a fun puzzle game where you need to move items from one point to another while overcoming numerous obstacles. The game truly shines in split-screen mode, where four friends rush through levels and try to outpace each other. A great option for family fun or a noisy party.
In Wartales, the player leads a squad of mercenaries, traveling through the plague-ravaged Edoran Empire and surviving in these lands. You must prove that your squad has the right to life, constantly fighting against other mercenaries, bandits, robbers, and monsters. The player's squad are not heroes. And the goal in this game is to achieve fame and wealth, not to save the world.
Turn-based battles without the overused «chance to hit», the ability to hire new companions with unique specializations, skills, weapons, and character traits. The game also features a development system, item crafting, and various ways to upgrade your camp.
The project is largely a sandbox — we travel through an open world, earning wealth and glory, visiting the ruins of the empire and the settlements that have withstood the storm of events. Besides them, you'll need to peek into abandoned tombs and bandit camps. And taking on a contract, you might defend the innocent or hunt down the notorious villains of this world.
The cooperative mode for up to four players allows you to combine efforts and, using tactics and strategy, defeat the most challenging bosses of the mysterious world. And yes, sharing resources, loot, and money, as well as spending time together around the campfire is also possible.
Dead Island 2 is a fine example of a repetitive zombie action game built around brutality and the atmosphere of a sunny post-apocalypse. Along with two friends, players can try to escape from a zombie-virus besieged Los Angeles, completing various tasks, discovering weapon recipes, and looting the semi-destroyed districts of the city. It features quite an interesting skill progression system based on playing cards, as well as the series' signature humor.
Gameplay-wise, Dead Island 2 is a gory action game where we spend 90% of the time smashing zombie skulls, and the remaining 10% is dedicated to repairing and improving weapons, as well as searching for useful junk.
The game's locations are fairly small but rich in content, the story is more of a checkbox feature, but the weapon and character progression can be called quite diverse — combinations of these two aspects can significantly affect the gameplay.
Ravenswatch is an action-RPG with roguelike elements, at least at the moment. In the company of up to four players, we challenge the Nightmares that have filled the world of Reverie and twisted everything they could reach.
The characters in this game are the main heroes of fairy tales. For example, there's Little Red Riding Hood with an assassin class, who turns into a powerful Wolf at night. There are a total of 6 characters in the game, among which you can find Aladdin, the Pied Piper, and the Snow Queen.
The gameplay can be called classic — we travel through a map rich in landmarks, fight enemies, complete quests, and find items that strengthen the heroes. All this to eventually confront and defeat the main boss.
The heroes have five skills, with the sixth unlocking at the last level. Leveling up provides access to random modifiers, and the gear obtained affects various parameters of the heroes. The game features a day and night cycle that affects the gameplay and environment.
Smalland: Survive the Wilds is another fantasy take on a tiny world. Players must survive in a microworld, battling insects, exploring forests made of blades of grass, navigating through puddle-lakes, and climbing gigantic trees.
Unlike another project with a similar setting, Grounded, Smalland's style is more realistic in terms of graphics and magical in terms of lore. You'll encounter fairies, magical creatures, and mysterious ruins.
Apart from that, the project is a «purebred survival» game. You'll build a base, create tools, weapons, and equipment, gather various resources, and fight against insects and bosses. Notable features include the ability to tame animals, a changing seasons system, and a cooperative mode for up to 10 people. The project is in early access but has great potential.
Barotrauma is a 2D submarine simulator in the horror genre for 2 to 16 players, borrowing some mechanics from games such as Space Station 13, RimWorld, and Dwarf Fortress.
In the near future, humans have ventured to the moon of Jupiter, whose ocean teems with life. Besides the four factions with which players can either befriend or feud, this place is filled with various monsters. Gamers take on different roles, such as engineer or doctor. Each has their tasks, but the goal is the same — to survive and withstand the monsters and adversities of the ocean depths.
But that's the concept. In practice, the game often turns into chaos and a cycle of deaths. Forgot to close the hatch? Welcome, monsters. Dropped sodium in the water during repairs? Blown up the compartment. Injected neurotoxin instead of antibiotics? Well, that's…
A multitude of possibilities and well-crafted mechanics, 6 classes, various missions and maps with procedural generation, several game modes. Multiply all this by a fun group of friends, and you get an excellent project that will provide many enjoyable evenings. And when the initial excitement wears off — just add mods, and everything will take on new colors.
Players can only go through the main storyline of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War solo, but two additional modes are available for a group of friends — «Secret Operations» and «Zombies».
During secret operations, players will be thrown into various locations — from the icy waters of the North Atlantic to the deserts of Angola. You'll even get to visit Moscow in the eighties. Tasks include stealing the prototype of a new tank, intercepting a convoy of intercontinental ballistic missiles, and obtaining top-secret intelligence data.
The «Zombies» mode has grown to incredible proportions. There are several modes, storylines, various types of undead, weapons, a plethora of easter eggs, modifications, and perks. In essence, the zombie mode in the project has long been considered a separate game, on par with Warzone. And in both, you are set to play in a company of up to four players.
Sons of the Forest builds upon the ideas of the first part and improves familiar mechanics. The cooperative and crafting systems have been reworked, the open world has significantly expanded, and the enemies have become more diverse. But overall, it's still The Forest, only with returning bugs — after all, the «early access» status does oblige.
The main character sets out to search for a missing billionaire, but, as the genre laws dictate, everything goes awry, and we are forced to survive on an island, coexisting with cannibalistic natives. Therefore, there will be a lot of crafting, fighting for one's life, and unraveling the island's mysteries. This can be done in the company of up to 8 players.
The game can already be fully completed, with several endings available. The developers decided to first create the «skeleton» of the project and are now expanding the gameplay, fixing bugs, refining already interesting mechanics, and adding new content.
No One Survived is a wild mix of Valheim, Conan Exiles, DayZ, and 7 Days to Die set in a zombie apocalypse. You won't find anything new here, but the project tries to combine the positive traits of most games in the genre. You need to loot the map, build a shelter, upgrade your technology tree, create various workbenches, and then craft weapons and equipment on them.
To do this, you'll need to fight a lot, solve puzzles, and explore a world filled with music. The heroes and their foes communicate exclusively through melodies.
This is a charming and engaging game with a simple yet interesting plot, an intriguing concept, and quality execution. So if you want to embark on a fairy tale adventure, this is just what you need. In local co-op, the second player will control Piper, the main character's bird companion.
Demonologist is akin to the viral hit Phasmophobia. The player, along with three companions, ventures into some cursed place, tries to identify the type of evil spirit, and expel it using equipment and clues found.
Replayability is ensured by a system of random events and ghosts, while progress between runs is provided by a customization system for your sanctuary, which players can upgrade, furnish to taste, and show off achievements. You can even get a pet!
Diverse maps, non-obvious mechanics, timed events, and daily tasks add to the interest. The main thing is to endure the low difficulty level, where the ghost does not bother players for a long time. Believe me, even on a medium level, it can quite capably take out half the team by mid-game.
Roots of Pacha could be described as the «primitive» version of Stardew Valley. As a member of an ancient tribe, we are tasked with leading our people to prosperity: protecting them from potential threats, gaining the blessing of Mother Nature Pacha, building up the settlement, and discovering new technologies.
Explore and cultivate plants, venture into the world, fish, mine rare materials in caves, and tame animals — there's plenty to do. As the game progresses, by helping fellow tribesmen invent new technologies, the player gains access to cooking, metalworking, pottery, new buildings, and structures.
Every day, it's necessary to earn Gifts — the local currency — by contributing various items to the communal «pot». The strength of the tribe and the player's possibilities depend on the number of Gifts. Of course, there's also a friendship system — you'll need to befriend all your tribespeople, and with some, you can even form relationships. All this is spiced up with cooperative gameplay that allows sharing talents and resources, joint events, and multiplayer cutscenes.
If you missed the atmosphere of Stardew Valley, Roots of Pacha will help you dive back into the farming-explorative life.
Minecraft Legends offers a fresh perspective on the universe. Instead of digging in mines, we are to lead an entire army to protect the cubic world from the malevolent Piglins. It's about building relationships with various peoples, opposing three Piglin factions, constructing bases, and breaking through enemy defenses.
Resource gathering is still essential, but now done through your minions, by marking deposits and giving orders. The same goes for battles — it's more advantageous to build siege weapons, hire more allies with the resources you've gathered, and join friends to storm enemy fortresses. You can try to do it alone, of course, but a player cannot damage enemy structures by themselves.
The project cannot be called particularly deep. It has lost the main «features» of Minecraft and at the same time has not become sophisticated enough to be called a strategy game. However, it remains an entertaining «evening» game, especially when played with a younger sibling or just any Minecraft fan.