Dead by Daylight, Vermintide 2, World War Z and other great projects that you can play in two, three or four
Co-op games are a great way to test friendships and see if you’re good at getting along with people. They teach to work in a team for a common goal, and not compete with each other. The opportunity to join forces is offered by works of various genres: from shooters to real-time strategies and even puzzles. In our selection – more than 40 of the most successful games with a cooperative mode.
Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls
In all these years, Diablo 3 has only had one additional downloadable class, the Necromancer.
The role-playing game Diablo 3 allows players to team up in squads of up to 4 people each. During joint sorties, the chance to get some rarities, like legendary swords, as a reward for exterminating enemies increases. In addition, each type of hero has so-called passive skills, the effect of which extends to the entire squad. In the PC version of Diablo 3, you need online to find allies, but on consoles you can arrange a joint game behind the same screen. The main thing is to stock up on several gamepads.
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection
The first Borderlands was not included in the collection, but today you can already buy it for a penny
The Borderlands series of shooters are often referred to as “First Person Diablo”. These are the perfect games for those who love to farm loot in the first place. Here you need to literally sort through several thousand barrels in search of your ideal weapon. The best way to get into Borderlands is to buy The Handsome Collection, which includes Part 2 with all DLC and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. On PC, the co-op is only available online, but on consoles, as in the case of Diablo 3, you can play in a team of up to 4 people in front of one TV.
Dark Souls
Co-op is an important reason why many fans of the series love Dark Souls more than the new Sekiro
High difficulty is the hallmark of all Dark Souls games: here you can bang your head against the wall for hours in an attempt to defeat a particularly difficult boss. But fights become easier if you call phantoms – other players – to help you. Dark Souls can be played not only in the company of strangers, but also with friends: to do this, you need to leave your sign on the ground for the call. However, keep in mind that, under certain conditions, you may encounter online players who are most interested in PvP.
Dead by Daylight
DbD has licensed killers from Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Dead by Daylight is one of the most original games in this collection. This is a cooperative horror game inspired by the serial killer movies of the 80s. Four players get the role of the so-called survivors, who are forced to escape from the fifth player – the killer. To win, the survivor team must repair the generators on the map, activate the gate and leave the level. Dead by Daylight is a game that can be incredibly tense and scary, but more often than not, extremely fun, especially when played with friends instead of random people.
Left 4 Dead 2
All missions from the first game were subsequently added to the sequel.
The first and second parts of Left 4 Dead are among the most popular co-op shooters in history. Unusually quick zombies terrorize a squad of four members who have a limited amount of ammo and first aid kits on their hands. The tension does not weaken for a second, and the coordinated actions of the team are the key to survival and successful completion of the mission. Most importantly, each repeated passage does not bother at all, because the game constantly throws up new situations for the participants.
World War Z
There is no Brad Pitt here, but there are thousands of aggressive zombies and grenade launchers scattered everywhere so as not to get bored
World War Z is a great modern alternative to Left 4 Dead. This is also a co-op shooter about the zombie apocalypse, but on a much larger scale: here players have to destroy literally thousands of infected, who attack their positions in living waves. You will not find anything like this in any other game: even the zombie hordes from Dead Rising look less impressive. In addition, World War Z pleases with memorable levels: during the cooperative campaign, players will visit New York, Jerusalem, Moscow and Tokyo.
Portal 2
In co-op, players get the role of cute robots
While Portal 2’s puzzle game is most often praised for its single-player mode, co-op is also a lot of fun and takes a lot less time to complete. In the case when you need to coordinate actions, but you don’t want to use the built-in voice chat, a number of useful tricks are provided. For example, a character can set a timer visible to an ally to make it easier to synchronize actions.
Warhammer: Vermintide 2
Major addon released for Vermintide 2 in 2021
Vermintide is the most successful clone of Left 4 Dead. The game borrows the concept of the original source and correctly fits it into the realities of the Warhammer fantasy universe. Instead of zombies, skaven ratmen, and instead of machine guns and shotguns, swords, axes, and crossbows. The second part of Vermintide, which was released in 2018, develops the ideas of the original and makes many important improvements. Many classes have appeared that differ from each other in abilities and skills, the authors have added more types of weapons, new enemies (including the notorious warriors of Chaos) and competently reworked the random loot system so that Vermintide 2 will be wanted to play for years. And most importantly – Vermintide 2 still pleases with hardcore: only well-coordinated squads, whose members coordinate all their actions, can complete missions at above-average difficulty.
Sid Meier’s Civilization 6
For those who are nostalgic for the 90s, Civilization 6 added a “hotsit” feature to take turns playing on the same PC
As with previous games in the series, Civilization 6 features co-op. A typical online session can stretch for tens of hours, and the emotions gained in the process will easily recoup the time spent. Thanks to multiplayer, you begin to better understand how to win friends and influence people: you have to conduct diplomatic negotiations, create alliances, declare wars and conclude important economic agreements.
Destiny 2
Destiny 2 finally hits Steam and is free to play
The Destiny series is broadly reminiscent of Borderlands: it’s also a first-person shooter designed for co-op, and they also need to farm enemies for cool equipment. However, in terms of the quality of action development, few can compare with Destiny. It is not surprising, because the authors of the legendary Halo, which transformed console shooters, were responsible for the shootouts in it.
Total War: Three Kingdoms
Three Kingdoms is the best Total War if co-op is your thing
In the Three Kingdoms co-op campaign, two players choose their own factions and fight against the AI or against each other for control of Ancient China. In past games in the series, it was required at the very beginning to decide whether the players would become rivals or immediately enter into an alliance. This decision could not be changed later. But in Three Kingdoms, diplomacy between living people works more logically: the players start the campaign in neutral relations and already along the way decide whether to be at enmity or be friends, and in the second case, no one bothers to betray an ally at any time. This makes the gaming session much more unpredictable and exciting.
Don’t Starve Together
Thanks to Don’t Starve Together, you can now test your friendship in extreme conditions without leaving home
Don’t Starve is a survival simulator where you have to constantly look for food. The lack of food is most felt in multiplayer mode. To prevent team members from dying of hunger and fighting for the last tomato, you need to work together: hunt, grow food and build traps together. Only players who learn mutual aid will live a long life in the harsh world of Don’t Starve.
Overcooked 2
Gordon Ramsay’s ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ Isn’t As Stressful for a Chef as Overcooked 2’s Kitchen
Overcooked 2 is a great way to kick up the fun and frenzy when friends are visiting. Players take on the role of chefs who must prepare as many dishes as possible in a short time. To succeed, you will have to share responsibilities: someone will, for example, cook pasta, someone will wash the dishes, and someone will cut vegetables. With each level, the dishes and the conditions in which they need to be cooked become more difficult. As a result, chaos is constantly happening in Overcooked 2: chefs rush between tables, a stove is burning somewhere, boiling water is pouring out of pots, and all this happens on some kind of raft floating along the river.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Studio Larian will also add a cooperative mode to the future Baldur’s Gate 3
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a great old-school RPG with a compelling story, multiple quests, and interesting tactical combat. You can go through it not only alone, but also online with friends (up to 4 people in a party). In co-op mode, each player takes control of one or two characters. The help of partners will not be superfluous, especially during difficult battles.
Gears of War 4
Gears of War 4 co-op can be played together by owners of PC and Xbox One consoles
The Gears of War 4 storyline campaign can be played together with a friend both behind the same screen and online. The first part of the series was loved for co-op, and since then Gears of War has been trying to keep its mark. Great graphics, hurricane action and exciting cinematic scenes – the fourth part will not let you get bored for at least several evenings in a row.
Payday 2
The best way to feel like a gangster and not go to jail for it
Payday 2 is the perfect co-op game for those who want to add some extreme action to their lives. Players take on the role of criminals who rob banks, having previously discussed the course of the operation. True, in Payday 2, even the most flawless plan can fail at any moment (and most often it does), after which the team needs to get away from the police.
Cuphead
Don’t let the cartoony graphics fool you: Cuphead is a test for the bravest
Cuphead is one of the most brutal co-op platform games of our time that makes you sweat harder than Chip and Dale did to Dendy as a child. The crushing difficulty is actually one of Cuphead’s attractions (along with its unique visual style): the harder it is to win, the more proud you are when you finally succeed.
Monster Hunter: World
A lot of high-quality and at the same time free DLC came out for the game
The Monster Hunter series has always been popular in Asia. In the West, only fans remembered her for a long time, until Monster Hunter: World came out. As with previous Monster Hunters, the whole point of the game is to hunt together for outlandish huge monsters, but compared to previous parts, World is much more friendly to beginners. The victory here depends on many factors: on the build of the character, the perseverance of the players themselves, their reaction speed and ability to coordinate actions. It’s not the best game if you’re looking to chill out, but for those up for some hardcore adventure, Monster Hunter: World is a great choice.
Killing Floor 2
If you need to turn off your brain and relax, you should install Killing Floor 2
Another game that can’t be called boring is Killing Floor 2. It’s a fast-paced FPS in which hard rock participants slash monsters with swords and shoot them with huge cannons. At higher difficulty levels, Killing Floor 2 turns into a severe test: in order to survive, you need to know the tactics of combat with each monster.
A Way Out
The commercial success of the game suggests that we will see more such projects in the coming years.
A Way Out is a cinematic story-driven action game for two people. Players take on the role of prisoners who are forced to first cooperate with each other in order to escape from prison, and then in order not to get back behind bars. Many scenes are entirely built on the interaction between the characters. For example, in one of the episodes they are sailing in a boat on a raging river: in order not to crash on the rapids, the players need to work simultaneously and together with oars. If you’re looking for a whole new experience in co-op games, check out Way Out.
Wolfenstein: Youngblood
Feminism, Nazism, and the Alternative 1980s
Youngblood is the first co-op game in the series. According to the plot, 20 years have passed since the end of the events of The New Colossus. America was freed from the Nazis, but Europe is still occupied by enemies. The famous hero William Blaskowitz is missing, and his daughters are sent to Paris to find their father and help the French rebels drive off the invaders. Youngblood is good entertainment for two: bright shootouts and a unique setting – you definitely won’t be bored here. If you are interested, do not forget to arm yourself with our guide before starting the walkthrough.
Rayman Legends
Rayman Legends owners got all levels from Rayman Origins for free
Rayman Legends is a platform game from the creator of the original Rayman games and Beyond Good & Evil, Michel Ancel. Ubisoft has come up with one of the most successful representatives of the genre, which will be appreciated by both hardcore gamers and young children. A family of 4 can sit in front of one TV and have fun: what are the musical levels alone, where players are offered to move to the music, jumping and hitting the rhythm.
Among Us
The well-known Mafia rules are diluted with small mini-games here.
The sudden hit of 2020 and a kind of rethinking of the social game “Mafia”. Players are divided into two teams, one of which is trying to sabotage a space flight, and the second is to figure out the traitors who are trying to destroy the shuttle. By constantly creating situations where, for example, one of the players jumps out of the ventilation shaft onto another in order to quietly eliminate the poor fellow, cut the wiring and pretend to be an innocent sheep, Among Us will test even the strongest friendship for strength.
It Takes Two
A new project of the main, at the moment, developer of cooperative games
The latest game of Hazelight and game designer Jozef Fares, who is known for the game A Way Out and for bold statements about the gaming industry and his own creativity. Even before the release of the co-op platformer, Fares had stated that he would pay $1,000 to anyone who got bored with his new game, because it was simply impossible. And he didn’t lie: Hazelight turned out to be one of the best cooperative games for two, in which new mechanics appear, probably, every half an hour. Many of them are needed literally for one scene, and then they are no longer remembered, but it is precisely because of this that the platformer is really hard to call boring. In addition, the plot tells a very kind story in the spirit of Pixar cartoons, leaving pleasant memories.
Beyond: Two Souls
Action movie starring Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe
Many fans of David Cage’s work (Heavy Rain, Fahrenheit) consider Beyond Two Souls far from the strongest of his games. It is often criticized for its frankly weak plot. However, cooperative play can make the game much more fun. The second player is invited to connect to the game using the phone to take on the role of the spirit of Aiden, who accompanies the main character Jodie. At the same time, he can try not only to save the girl in a critical situation, but also spoil her life by sabotaging, for example, a date with her lover or starting a fire in the house.
Child of Light
The amazing soundtrack for the game was written by the French composer Cœur de pirate
Ubisoft occasionally green-lights experimental projects, and Child of Light, a platformer with RPG elements and turn-based combat, is one of them. The main character is Princess Aurora from Austria at the end of the 19th century. One day, she falls into a dream (to others, however, everything looks like she died) and wakes up in the magical kingdom of Lemuria. To return home, she needs to restore peace and order in Lemuria.
Aurora is accompanied by a firefly, which will go to the second player. In battles, he will be able to heal the heroine, as well as slow down the enemies so that their turn comes later. Not the most extensive list of features, but if used wisely, the player in charge of the Aurora will gain a tactical advantage over rivals. Due to its simplicity (not to be confused with casualness), Child of Light is a great way to introduce your loved ones to games.
Sea of Thieves
Personal “Treasure Island” for you and your friends
A pirate action game in which a team of several players can go on a treasure hunt, board an alien ship, or just drink rum on the shore with the whole company and not sail anywhere. Most importantly, do not forget to learn before the voyage how the phrase “Let me go, please” sounds in all the main languages of the world. It will come in handy if you get captured by other players.
Due to Microsoft exclusivity, the game is only available on PC and Xbox.
Unravel Two
Video games have “bound” us…
The sequel to the game about the knitted man Yarni seems to have been originally created with an emphasis on co-op. Yes, the platformer can be completed alone, but then the player will have to control both characters in turn where necessary to complete the puzzles. Playing together is much more convenient and, importantly, more fun. The game is especially well revealed in time trials, where two friends must completely trust each other and hope that each of them remembers what needs to be done.
Sackboy: A Big Adventure
One of the few reasons to buy a second DualSense
Little Big Planet spinoff and great family platformer. Although the game is available on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, it is in the next-gen version that it is fully revealed. Thanks to the new functions of the DualSense controller, here you can literally feel at your fingertips what kind of surface the character is moving on or how, for example, the wire is desperately resisting attempts to pull it out of the ground. A must buy for all PlayStation 5 owners.
Super Mario 3D World Bowser’s Fury
Confronting Bowser, Mario will be dressed as a giant cat
Few titles in the Super Mario series are without co-op. So Bowser’s Fury also added it. It’s a platform game that comes bundled with the Super Mario 3D World remaster. Mario has to fight Bowser, who has grown to gigantic proportions. The second player gets the role of Bowser Jr., who asks the Italian plumber to stop his father. He can point Mario to hidden secrets, as well as fight enemies. The game is available exclusively for Nintendo Switch.
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
In Crash Team Racing, you can play, perhaps, for all the characters in the franchise universe
A remaster of a racing game set in the Crash Bandicoot universe that was as much of a hit on the first PlayStation as the main trilogy. A great alternative for those who don’t have a Nintendo Switch to compete in Mario Kart. Up to four players can play on the same TV thanks to the split-screen mode, so Crash Team Racing can be the star of any house party.
Remnant: From the Ashes
The game is completed in approximately 50 hours
Remnant: From The Ashes is another game that has been haunted by the success of Dark Souls. Before us is souls-like, in which the emphasis is not on swords and axes, but on firearms. The main reason to devote time to the game is a co-op for three participants, which will allow a group of friends to have fun for a couple of evenings. A variety of locations do not indulge players with great attention to detail, but they change quickly enough without having time to get bored. And some interesting bosses are a guarantee that no one in the squad will get bored. From March to April 2021, the game was even given away for free with a PlayStation Plus subscription on PS4 and PS5.
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game
Scott Pilgrim is back
Beat’em up based on the Scott Pilgrim comic book, dedicated to the film adaptation by Edgar Wright, was out of stock for a long time. Due to rights issues, it was removed from digital stores in 2014. However, in January, Ubisoft re-released the game, releasing it on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. Now the 4-man team can once again take on the roles of Scott Pilgrim, Ramona Flowers, Kim Pine and Stephen Stills to take on Ramona’s exes. A must-read for all fans of classic representatives of the genre like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the Sega Mega Drive.
Ghost of Tsushima: Legends
Omae Wa Mou Shindeiru! (“You’re already dead!”)
A separate cooperative mode for the samurai action turned out to be so extensive that it was released only a few months after the release of the story campaign. A team of two players has access to a number of special story missions, before passing which you need to choose one of four possible classes for your hero – samurai, hunter, ronin or assassin. And for a team of four players, they prepared the “Survival” mode, where the participants will have to fight off waves of enemies. The main task is to protect key objects from the Mongols. The update is available for free to all owners of Ghost of Tsushima.
Haven
Lack of dashing action may disappoint Furi fans
Haven is a game from the creators of the hardcore Furi, in which the authors decided to experiment in a different genre. Before us is an RPG that tells the story of two lovers – the girl Yu and the guy Kei. As in the case of Unravel Two, the player can control both characters independently, however, the game has a co-op, which becomes much more interesting to play. Players can combine abilities in battles (fighting, by the way, is somewhat easier here than in Furi), make joint decisions in dialogues, and also enjoy the visual style and musical accompaniment.
Never Alone
The debut (and only) project of the Upper One Games studio
A platformer about the girl Nunu, who is accompanied by a snow-white fox (it is he who will get the second player as a game character). Each level here has a unique mechanic and a task that players need to complete together. Never Alone is based on the culture of the Inupiat people of the Far North living in Alaska, and the story is reminiscent of legends from local folklore. All dialogues presented in the game are voiced in Iñupiat, and additional materials will allow you to learn more about the culture of this Eskimo people.
We Were Here
The series has already read three games, with a fourth in development.
A puzzle game from Total Myhem Games that challenges two players to escape from a mysterious temple. Only by joining forces, they will be able to solve the mysteries that await them on the path to freedom. The problem is that the players are in different places and do not see each other, and the only way to contact an ally is to communicate with him on the radio.
We Were Here is only the first part of the game series and is also available for free on Steam as a prologue to the franchise.
Biped
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In Biped, you control two robots, Aku and Sayla, who help each other complete a mission on planet Earth. The gameplay is somewhat similar to Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, where each stick is assigned to a separate character, and the mechanics are based on physics and interaction. Of course, you can command the heroes alone, but it’s better to call a friend to be in charge of the second robot. The main thing is that Biped will not require much time from you. It can be completed in just one evening, because the duration of the story campaign is 2.5 hours.
Division 2
The sequel moved from New York to Washington
A third-person shooter in which a team of up to four people sets off to explore a devastated Washington after the outbreak of a deadly epidemic. Division 2 is a service game in the most literal sense of the word. Ubisoft still continues to develop it, releasing new updates so that even after completing the story campaign, users remain in the game. As soon as the plot is completed, the whole team can go to the “dark zone”, where you need to find valuable loot and evacuate. But at any moment you can be attacked by another team that does not want to look for anything, but prefers to take prey from the weak.
Chip’n’Dale
The 8-bit version of “Chip and Dale” sounds great here.
Disney Afternoon Collection is a collection of games based on hit Disney cartoons that were released on the NES console, better known in Russia as Dendi. It was Dendi that could boast of a large number of cooperative games, one of which was the Chip and Dale platformer, well known to almost all owners of the console. Taking on the roles of two chipmunks, players will have to go through eight different levels, find the missing kitten and stop the cat Fat Cat. Well, the main trump card of the game – here you can throw boxes not only at enemies, but also at each other. Isn’t this the perfect game for two people?
Call of Duty Black Ops 3
The train went “BOOM” at once with four players on board
The co-op mode in Call of Duty Black Ops 3 is perhaps the only thing that sets the game apart from the rest of the series. Now the main story campaign, stuffed with expensive staged shots and not very smart enemies, can be played with three friends. And for those for whom one passage is not enough, a “nightmare” version of the story missions opens at the end – in it, the cutscenes and the story are slightly reworked, and some enemies are replaced with zombies.
Raft
A survival sandbox where players find themselves on a small raft. First of all, you will have to take care of fresh water and food. Then you can develop your raft into a huge floating fortress and go to explore the outlying islands. But be careful, the most valuable resources can be guarded by dangerous predators.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is a great choice for fans of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoons from the 90s and classic arcade games. The game is completed in a few hours, but this is enough to immerse yourself in childhood. You can play in a team of 4 people.
Co-op games have always been very popular, and there is no reason to fear that the situation will change for the worse in the foreseeable future. With the advent of the new generation, we are definitely waiting for hundreds of new exciting adventures that can be shared with friends.