Top 70 Co-op Games

The editorial team of Gamedev Skillbox Media has collected the best cooperative games in which interaction between players is skillfully integrated into the plot and gameplay. Many people find it more interesting to play them with someone, and the joint mode in these titles is written no worse than the single-player one.

Content

Valheim

Denis Knyazev

This is a game about survival in a dangerous fantasy world based on Scandinavian mythology. Extracting resources, building houses, forges and fortifications from them, hunting and cooking, exploring dungeons and fighting enemies – all this, of course, can be done alone. But the Vikings were never alone, they fought shoulder to shoulder with their brothers against all the evil of the world for the opportunity to get to Valhalla after death! So in Valheim, playing in a company is much more interesting.

Up to 10 players can connect to one server. Together they complete story quests related to receiving blessings from the Scandinavian gods, fight huge monsters, and at some point get the opportunity to build a drakkar and go explore distant lands

Deep Rock Galactic

Denis Knyazev

Deep Rock Galactic offers an unexpected experience. First, you need to gather your friends and choose one of the space gnome miners. Then, have a beer at the local hub tavern. And then go underground for minerals, encounter some bloodthirsty bugs there and try to survive, while drilling (in most cases, literally) your way to the shuttle and collecting as many valuable resources as possible.

You need to choose your team wisely. Pay special attention to the choice of the gnome class. For example, one can illuminate dark caves and act as a scout. Another can build defensive structures so that you have a better chance of surviving a fight with monsters. The third can drill even the hardest rock. And the fourth can cover everyone else and deal with monsters. If you choose classes randomly and do not think about it much, you will hardly succeed in Deep Rock Galactic.

Borderlands series

Denis Knyazev

A series of colorful looter shooters, where you and your friends will take on the roles of seekers of mysterious Vaults. Each part is a story-driven first-person action game with a lot of story and side quests and a huge number of diverse and often quite crazy weapons. How about a gun that shoots other guns? But Borderlands 3 even has that!

Loot and the hunt for it are almost the central idea of ​​the entire series. Items and weapons fall out of defeated enemies in tons, are stored in chests and are given for completing quests. In everything that concerns loot, the Borderlands series is very similar to Diablo, where the numbers indicating weapon damage and equipment protection change lightning fast as the heroes pick up new gear.

Sea of ​​Thieves

Denis Knyazev

Ever wanted to be a pirate, boarding ships filled with gold and hunting for artifacts while slogging through dangerous jungles? Sea of ​​Thieves lets you live out any of these fantasies – and more. In this open world, you can stumble upon a kraken, then suddenly find yourself in an underwater kingdom, and then set off on a journey with Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean… sorry, Captain Jack Sparrow! Or you can just lead a peaceful life – fishing and trading.

Sea of ​​Thieves combines the exciting stories that are usually found in single-player story games, co-op mode and even MMO elements. Your pirate crew can be up to four people, but other players can be on the same server with you. Whether to cooperate with them or try to fight, trying to win back their loot is a choice that you will have to make more than once or twice in this game.

Portal 2

Denis Knyazev

A first-person puzzle game where solving puzzles is tied to the clever use of portals. Portal 2’s story campaign is designed for one person, but the game has an equally well-designed cooperative mode with a unique story and tasks that can only be solved by two people.

Perhaps the main feature of the game is its truly inventive puzzles, the solution to which requires a lot of thought. And also a lot of funny jokes. The main source of the latter is the artificial intelligence GLaDOS, devoid of even a hint of humanity.

Minecraft

Artem Frolov

Who would have thought that Markus Persson’s personal project about resource mining and building with cubes would turn into one of the most popular games in history? However, the explanation for this phenomenon is simple: even now, Minecraft remains one of the best virtual platforms for self-expression.

It doesn’t matter if you’re playing with a couple of friends or joining a server for several thousand players, building freely in creative mode or slowly conquering a world of monsters in survival mode. The main thing is to have someone to show off the huge castle you’ve built, the world of The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion or a miniature copy of Earth – and you’ll find everything you need to create them in Minecraft.

Left 4 Dead 2

Denis Knyazev

A cooperative shooter about four survivors who are trying to get out of a city filled with zombies. In each of the story episodes, which form an exciting adventure when played in order, the characters must break through crowds of the living dead to some goal. So, in the Dead Center episode, the heroes need to get to an empty shopping center and, fighting off zombies, fill up the car with gas to get as far as possible. However, they are unable to get far, and already in the Dark Carnival campaign they find themselves in an amusement park, which, of course, is also full of the dead. Then the survivors have adventures in the swamps in the pouring rain and a final run along a long bridge, at the end of which an evacuation helicopter has landed.

The main value of Left 4 Dead 2 is not even in these campaigns or in the huge number of references to cult zombie films. It is in the unique artificial intelligence, called AI Director. This technology exists in the game specifically to track the successes and failures of players and randomly create new challenges for them at the most inopportune moment. Just fought off a wave of the living dead, lost one of your team members and spent all your ammo and first aid kits? Well, the game will give you five minutes to rest, but it will arrange the next encounter with zombies in such a way that it will be almost impossible to survive it.

No Man’s Sky

Artem Frolov

Despite the false start at release, Hello Games managed to make the game a near-perfect space sandbox. Over the years of patches and add-ons, No Man’s Sky has accumulated a variety of activities: players build ground bases, engage in archeology, explore abandoned star cruisers and buy their own, complete quests for local factions, and raise alien pets.

You don’t have to choose co-op here, but No Man’s Sky’s vast universe of 18 quintillion planets begs to be shared in its cosmic romance, from strange distant planets and battles with space pirates to mundane details like funny aliens and hydroponic farms.

Satisfactory

Denis Knyazev

The goal of players in Satisfactory is to automate as much as possible all processes related to resource extraction, their processing and construction of new factories and conveyor belts. There is no complex plot about life on a distant planet here, but it is no less interesting to play. And there is no time to think about the plot – you need to extract resources, build factories and set up the operation of mechanisms.

At the same time, Satisfactory is not a strategy game, as one might expect from the main goal. It is a first-person action game, in which you will spend most of your time searching for minerals and resources, as well as building factories and conveyors. Sometimes you will need to fight with representatives of the fauna, but this is not the main thing.

Warhammer: Vermintide Series

Natalia Miroshnichenko

Warhammer: Vermintide is a co-op video game series developed and published by Fatshark. It consists of two games: Warhammer: The End Times – Vermintide and Warhammer: Vermintide 2. In them, players will have to fight against the vicious, vicious rats known as Skaven, as well as Beastmen and members of the Rotblood tribe.

The Vermintide series of games offers unique gameplay focused on cooperative interaction. There are many classes available to characters, each with its own skills and abilities. A team of four players goes on missions where they will have to fight a bunch of opponents, as well as develop tactics for completing the location together and destroying the enemy army.

Vermintide has a stunning atmosphere, and the world is designed according to all the canons of the Warhammer universe. The game offers a variety of locations – from cities engulfed in flames to gloomy dungeons, and in each of them the hero will encounter hordes of enemies and other dangers.

The series has received positive reviews from players and critics, who noted the uniqueness of the cooperative gaming experience, the exciting gameplay, and the visual implementation.

Phasmophobia

Natalia Miroshnichenko

Phasmophobia is a survival horror game developed by Kinetic Games. Players take on the role of ghost hunters and explore rooms inhabited by ghosts to collect evidence and find out what kind of evil spirits live in this place.

Phasmophobia offers various tools for detecting and interacting with ghosts – thermometers, lamps, cameras, etc. Each ghost has unique features, and exorcism requires a special approach.

Phasmophobia can be played alone or with friends. But solving puzzles and fighting ghosts together is much more interesting than facing paranormal activity alone. It is better to communicate with comrades in cooperative mode through in-game voice chat: this adds authenticity and atmosphere to the gameplay. In addition, ghosts can be attracted by player conversations, and this enhances the feeling of realism of everything that is happening.

Phasmophobia has earned a special love among fans of horror films and others who want to try on the role of a ghost hunter in the spirit of the films “Insidious” and “Paranormal Activity”. If you and your friends are thirsty for adrenaline and vivid impressions, then this is a game that is worth getting to know.

Outriders

Denis Knyazev

A cooperative third-person story-driven shooter about humanity’s attempts to turn the distant planet Enoch into its new home. Crises and dangerous cataclysms forced people to flee there from Earth, and now only this distant outpost on an alien planet is the last hope to preserve human civilization. In their attempts to do so, the colonizers encounter mysterious anomalies that make existence on Enoch mortally dangerous.

The core of the Outriders gameplay is dynamic shootouts using cover and powerful abilities unique to each of the available classes. For example, the agility can slow down time and teleport behind enemies, the devastation causes local earthquakes, the pyrotechnician sets enemies on fire, and the technician uses guns and rocket launchers to inflict as much damage as possible on enemies. The skills of different classes need to be skillfully combined to achieve maximum effect. That’s why it’s better to play Outriders with friends, rather than with random people from the Internet.

Dying Light Series

Natalia Miroshnichenko

The main difference between Dying Light and other games of this genre is its dynamic gameplay, filled with various survival mechanics. The character will have to overcome obstacles using parkour skills and fight both zombies and living enemies. Each game day brings new challenges and dangers, so attention to detail and the ability to make decisions on the fly are key skills for survival.

The Dying Light series is also known for its vast open world that can be explored at your own pace. During the day, players can explore locations, complete quests, craft weapons and fortifications, and improve their character’s skills. However, at night, zombies become more dangerous and aggressive, the difficulty level increases, and you have to use all means to survive until dawn.

Dying Light is not just an action game about a zombie apocalypse. It is a game that explores the theme of survival in extreme conditions and raises moral dilemmas, offering a choice between your own benefit and helping other survivors. A rich storyline, high-quality graphics and exciting battles make this series an unforgettable and exciting experience for fans of the genre.

Gears of War series

Denis Knyazev

This is one of the main series on Xbox consoles. It is dedicated to the attempts of people to recapture the planet Sera from its native inhabitants – intelligent and dangerous creatures called “locusts”. At the moment, five numbered parts are available, in which you will have to play as the main hero of the series Marcus Fenix, as well as other characters.

The gameplay is centered around intense positional shootouts using cover. You can also move around the location while shooting in Gears of War, but in most cases this will likely lead to the hero’s death, since enemies inflict very high damage and try not to leave their cover. An indispensable assistant in any battle will be a partner who can not only cover the character, but also, if necessary, revive him and return to battle.

The Forest Series

Natalia Miroshnichenko

The Forest series of games, including the first part of The Forest and Sons of the Forest, released in 2023, belongs to the horror genre with elements of survival. The gripping plot and the atmosphere of a terrifying place full of dangers and mysteries make this series worthy of the attention of connoisseurs of the genre.

Both the first and second parts are about the same thing: the hero needs to survive on an island inhabited by cannibals and mutants, who are becoming more and more unfriendly to uninvited guests every day. Players will have to build fortifications, set traps, create tools for survival, get food, purify water and explore the sinister island full of secrets. Having collected enough supplies, you can go down into the caves where plot clues lie, as well as unique materials and weapons. However, to get to these treasures, you will have to deal with mutants. It is quite difficult to do this alone, but with friends it can be fun and interesting.

In Sons of the Forest, players will have to continue surviving on the island, facing new threats. New types of mutants motivate researchers to be even more careful. Improved graphics, physics and sound, as well as new gameplay mechanics will please not only fans of the first part, but also new players who want to immerse themselves in the secrets of the dangerous island.

Fortnite: Save the World

Leon Balbury

“Save the World” is a paid PvE segment that was considered the basis of Fortnite before the “Battle Royale” mode appeared. In addition to the story campaign about survival, which takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting, players have access to seasonal events, building and defending their own bases, a variety of customization options for heroes and squads of survivors, hundreds of weapon blueprints and a huge number of tasks. The latter are short missions on procedurally generated maps. The essence of the tasks comes down to finding survivors, collecting supplies, capturing points, building fortifications and defending objects from local zombie brains.

The higher the level, the more difficult it is to complete missions, especially in the Brave Zones, where only loot acquired within this mode is taken into account. Random selection of players does not always guarantee well-coordinated teamwork, which means that the help of friends will come in handy, especially if you have to defend several points at once. And if you don’t want hardcore, you can simply complete daily missions in low-level locations or invite comrades to your base and build something beautiful together. By the way, at the moment, completing daily tasks is the most accessible way to earn in-game currency, which can be spent on purchasing cosmetic upgrades or a battle pass to enable the Battle Royale mode. But only if the PVE campaign was purchased during early access, that is, before June 30, 2020.

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2

Leon Balbury

Like the first part, most of the content of this looter shooter can be completed solo (except for raids). However, exploring the expanses of a post-apocalyptic Washington, captured by criminal groups, is much more interesting with friends. Especially if the game is built on storming objects and capturing outposts with a large number of enemies. And they have become smarter compared to the first part – they will no longer allow players to sit in the same shelter during shootouts.

However, it is worth remembering that The Division 2 is not one of those games where you can play for half an hour and leave. Step-by-step exploration of locations interspersed with assaults on the next checkpoint can drag on. Therefore, it is better to make sure that your partner is ready to spend these hours in your company. And if there is a player with a higher level in the group, the stats of the other participants will also be higher, but since their equipment will remain the same, the damage from enemies will be felt more strongly. Therefore, playing at similar levels is much more comfortable, unless, of course, we are talking about a planned “locomotive”.

Monster Hunter: World

Leon Balbury

The Monster Hunter series is all about hunting monsters in a fantasy world, and this game is no exception. We fight the local fauna, collect loot, craft equipment, and master new skills to defeat stronger and more dangerous monsters and get rare resources to improve equipment. This process can be repeated for quite a long time, as there are plenty of additions to the game.

Considering that the game was released quite a long time ago, when selecting a group, you often come across experienced players, in the game with whom a beginner may feel uncomfortable. Therefore, it is much more fun and comfortable to hunt with friends. It is even better if there is an experienced player among them who will help with tactics and the choice of perks. But it is worth keeping in mind that in a group, the boss will take much longer to kill – regardless of the number of players.

Dauntless

Leon Balbury

The gameplay of this role-playing game is in many ways similar to that of Monster Hunter: World, but unlike the latter, Dauntless supports cross-play. Therefore, nothing will interfere with joint exploration of islands and battles with huge monsters, even if partners play on different devices. Simplified farming mechanics from World of Warcraft, which boil down to collecting various ingredients for crafting, also encourage collective leisure. In addition, Dauntless is distributed on a conditionally free system, so you won’t have to persuade your friends to buy it.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Natalia Miroshnichenko

What could be better than playing Baldur’s Gate 3? Only playing Baldur’s Gate 3 with friends! In co-op mode, you can play in a company of up to four people. With friends, exploring the huge open world, completing quests and fighting in turn-based battles will be much more interesting.

Each player will be able to create a unique character with their own skills. You must admit that leading NPCs in a squad is much more tiring than discussing battle tactics with teammates and watching their decisions during the game. Baldur’s Gate 3 co-op allows the gameplay to sparkle with completely new colors, and the adventure becomes much more exciting. In both single-player and co-op mode, you will face difficult choices that affect the development of the plot and characters. So finding out what your friend said to that NPC and why it affected the overall picture of the world is a very likely scenario.

Baldur’s Gate 3 has already managed to delight fans of the series and fans of role-playing games in general thanks to its excellent graphics, gripping storyline and the opportunity to write your own heroic story in the annals of the Forgotten Realms world. So why not do it together with friends? Cooperative gameplay opens up new dimensions of variability in Baldur’s Gate 3 and makes each adventure unique.

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout

Natalia Miroshnichenko

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is a multiplayer game that you can easily play with friends. The goal of the game is as simple as possible – to complete a series of levels: overcome obstacles and reach the finish line first.

Instead of traditional combat or shooting, the gameplay focuses on jumping, pushing your opponent, and interacting with the environment. Each round, the difficulty level increases and the mode changes, forcing you to adapt to new obstacles and challenges.

Despite its competitive nature, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout forces you to work together with other players to complete a level. However, there will only be one final winner. This turns the game into a fun internal dilemma: help your friend or push him to slow him down and get to the finish line first.

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout offers a fun and funny gaming experience that focuses on the balance of cooperation and competition. The main thing is not to quarrel with your friends when one of them decides to push or stop you for fun. The game modes are varied, so you will definitely not get bored.

Destiny 2

Denis Knyazev

A first-person shooter in a large-scale and extremely rich fantasy world. It combines a large story campaign that can be completed alone or in co-op, as well as many different modes in PvE and PvP formats. Want to take part in saving humanity from all sorts of alien threats? Then the main story is for you. Do you want to get together with friends for co-op? No one will stop you! And even the classic deathmatch mode, where everyone is against everyone, also found a place here.

At the center of the local fantasy universe are the brave Guardians, the defenders of the last human city on Earth. They are endowed with special abilities, the source of which is a powerful force called Light. Thanks to their combat skills and unique abilities, the Guardians repeatedly fight off alien threats and battle the creatures of another powerful force called Darkness.

Currently, the base Destiny 2 is available as a free-to-play version. There are also several minor updates and major expansions, some of which are paid. We recommend starting with the base Destiny 2 and then moving on to expansions if the game interests you. You can also play the first part for the lore details, but all online activity is currently concentrated in the second game.

Diablo Series

Denis Knyazev

A popular series of fantasy action games from Blizzard, dedicated to the eternal struggle between light and darkness. People, albeit endowed with unique abilities, occasionally find themselves in the center of the confrontation between powerful angels and cruel demons. They use them to resist armies of devils, terrible monsters and ancient gods. Barbarians, wizards, necromancers, druids and others – the Diablo series has always been famous for the variety of images that the player can try on to go on adventures in the gloomy Sanctuary.

The ability to fight monsters with friends is an integral part of each game in the series. Whether it’s a local split-screen co-op or a full-fledged online game, in any of the variations, destroying monsters with friends is extremely exciting. The core of the gameplay doesn’t change or get worse: in co-op, any of the Diablo games is still the same addictive, dynamic action RPG with a huge amount of varied loot.

Magicka

Denis Knyazev

A fantasy adventure in a fairy-tale world threatened by an evil sorcerer. Who can defeat him and the army of monsters he summoned? Of course, a group of battle mages who can combine various spells, sowing destruction and death around them for all enemies… However, not only for them – for the mages themselves, the use of magic is also extremely dangerous.

The main feature of Magicka is the ability to accidentally hit yourself or your comrade with a carelessly launched spell. Since the magic in this game – fire, ice, air, etc. – is extremely destructive, in most cases, shooting at your own here leads to the immediate death of the main character or an allied character. But that’s what makes it fun!

In 2015, Magicka 2 was released on PC and PS4, which, however, did not bring almost anything new to the familiar gameplay. But it remained as fun as the first part.

Unravel Two

Denis Knyazev

A cute fairy tale about the adventures of two little people woven from yarn. They remain connected by a single thread throughout the game — and the gameplay of Unravel Two is based on this feature. This is a cooperative platformer with puzzles that two players must solve together. The main characters can cling to surfaces using yarn, hold each other up, and use the threads as a rope. You will also have to jump on platforms, but Unravel Two does not require players to have much experience in the genre — everyone can handle the gameplay.

The first part of Unravel was released in 2016, but it does not have a co-op mode – only a single-player mode. The second part, however, can also be played alone, but there is a risk of losing a large share of the pleasure. After all, initially all gameplay situations were created specifically for co-op.

Minecraft Dungeons

Denis Knyazev

An isometric action game in the spirit of Diablo, but in the universe of the popular game Minecraft. The plot is simple to the extreme: a villain, who was once kicked out of all villages, got angry at the whole world and decided to destroy it. Brave heroes – square and angular, like in the original game – will have to prevent this.

There is also a huge amount of loot, falling from monsters and stored in chests at locations, crowds of opponents and a cooperative mode that supports two to four people. You can play with friends both on one screen and online.

Overcooked! Series

Denis Knyazev

Have you ever tried cooking with someone else in a very small kitchen? Or three? Or four? Or against the clock?

Both parts of Overcooked! will help you imagine what a chaotic hell with loud screams from all sides can turn into an innocent attempt to fry a burger patty or cook mushroom soup. These games are ideal for a group of friends who decided to have fun. However, there is a danger: you can quarrel if someone stands in the passage to the stove, because of which the meat in the pan catches fire, a fire starts in the kitchen and there will be no talk of any cooking.

Overcooked! also has a plot about saving the world from an insatiable monster, but you forget about it as soon as the characters, riding from one kitchen to another on a large game map, find themselves in real space… and then on a pirate ship… and then in a hot air balloon! In general, everything here is created exclusively for a fun time with friends.

Cuphead

Daria Loginova

The main lesson of the game: don’t make deals with the devil or you’ll spend a lifetime beating up bosses to pay off your debt.

Cuphead often appears among the names of complex platformers, and deservedly so — the fast pace gives the right to only a couple of mistakes, and sometimes there is a real bullet-hell on the screen. Boss fights on a static screen are replaced by side-scrollers in which you fly on a small corncob, and as a breakdown — run-and-gun levels where you need to collect coins. And in the DLC Cuphead & The Delicious Last Course there is more platforming. And all this madness is in the memorable style of Disney cartoons.

At the same time, the game has different skills and types of weapons, which allows you to customize your character for each boss separately. Of course, this is not a miracle cure for difficult levels, but you should not neglect experimenting with available means – a risky gun with high damage and minimal distance allows you to quickly finish the most painful phase of the battle, and weak homing bullets, although they will slow you down, will allow you to focus on dodging.

Although Cuphead is primarily a single-player game, it can be played with two players – albeit only locally. Subjectively speaking, this both adds to and reduces the difficulty: on the one hand, two characters on the screen means even more confusion, on the other – you can resurrect each other right during battles if you react quickly.

Remnant Series

A fantasy game, the events of which take place on Earth, which has survived the attack of an army of terrible monsters. The main character, one of the few survivors, has to go on a dangerous journey to unravel the secrets of the disaster and find out that, in addition to Earth, there are many other worlds that are also suffering from the invasion of various monsters. In each of these worlds, the hero has to destroy many enemies and fight extremely powerful bosses.

However, it is not necessary to do this alone. Both parts of Remnant have the option of co-op play for a company of three friends. At the same time, the overall difficulty of the game, the number of monsters and the conditions in which you have to fight them change automatically depending on how many people are in the main character’s squad.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood

A spin-off of the Wolfenstein series, dedicated to the adventures of BJ Blazkowicz’s daughters in Paris. In Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, the game’s protagonist and permanent member of the resistance, Blazkowicz, finally managed to free America, Asia, and Africa from Nazi oppression – but the countries of Europe remain under enemy control. However, there is no one left to free them: in 1980, BJ suddenly disappears, and his daughters Jess and Sophie set off to find their father, which leads them to occupied Paris. There, they almost immediately contact members of the local resistance and begin a systematic fight against the Nazis.

If you decide to play the game alone, one of the daughters will be controlled by AI – quite decent, it must be admitted. However, the main fun appears in co-op, when two players coordinate their actions to defeat ordinary enemies and bosses. And it is much more interesting to explore locations together. By the way, there is something to explore: the level design in this shooter was worked on by Arkane studio, known for the Dishonored series and the adventure Prey, where the ingenuity of the level design was one of the main advantages.

Back 4 Blood

A zombie shooter from the developers of Left 4 Dead. The main idea is the same as in the studio’s previous game: the world is inhabited by terrible creatures, and four survivors fight them with all available means. In Back 4 Blood, as in Left 4 Dead, in addition to ordinary zombies, there are also especially dangerous monsters that unexpectedly appear in the location and create serious problems for players. Shelters where you can catch your breath and replenish resources, a huge number of weapons and several different campaign locations – all this is also in place. And even an analogue of the artificial intelligence The Director from Left 4 Dead, which monitors the progress of players and changes the game conditions in accordance with it, is also present.

A completely new element, however, also found its place. Back 4 Blood added a system of cards that change various elements of the game – the health of characters, the damage they inflict, and stamina. You can choose cards before the start of each level. Artificial intelligence can also use these cards, but directs them against players.

Moving Out Series

Denis Knyazev

Both parts of Moving Out are a great option for a group of friends who want to have a fun evening. These games are dedicated to one of the most terrible things in the life of any person – moving. On each of the available maps, representing houses of varying levels of intricacy and complexity, it is necessary to take out as many things as possible and load them into a truck in the allotted time.

The task, which may seem quite simple at first, is complicated by the unpredictable physics of the behavior of all objects in the game, because of which a journey with a TV through another room can easily turn into chaos and lead to broken windows, destroyed walls and wild screams of friends sitting next to each other on the couch. Besides, a more faithful embodiment of the fable about the swan, the crayfish and the pike has not yet been invented, Moving Out is the best possible, and you understand this every time you and your friend try to drag a heavy sofa in different directions.

We Were Here Series

Daria Loginova

The five-part We Were Here series is a must-have for anyone who loves co-op puzzles for two. The main characters are research partners who, during expeditions to the North, constantly end up in strange castles and dungeons, where they are locked in by unknown forces.

All five parts start the same way: the characters are thrown into different parts of the locations, so they are forced to walk separately, meeting only occasionally. The entire gameplay is built on this: both paths are filled with interconnected puzzles that are impossible to solve alone. At the same time, the game does not have the option to “see from the partner’s point of view”, as, for example, in Portal 2, so players have to rely only on their ability to describe and explain in words. And this is not always easy, because the puzzles in We Were Here are multi-stage and often take the form of complex mechanisms.

For a more atmospheric passage in the game, you can use walkie-talkies – however, if you call on Discord, this will not spoil the impression much (and sometimes it will improve, because walkie-talkies sometimes work very quietly).

Important: although the first part of We Were Here has saves, you can only complete it in one sitting (2-3 hours). There is a riddle in the game, the solution to which at the end allows the heroes to escape. Unfortunately, when saving and restarting, the progress on it is lost. But there is good news – the game is free!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

A pixel beat ’em up about ninja turtles — in the spirit of games that came out on 8-bit consoles and which many probably played with friends while sitting in front of TV screens. The plot centers on another confrontation between the turtles and their eternal enemy Shredder, who is backed by an army of robots and mutants. The main characters will have to visit all the key levels familiar from the classic animated series from the 1990s and fight there with crowds of enemies and bosses.

In addition to Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge features their teacher Splinter, journalist April O’Neil and avenger Casey Jones. All the usual retro beat-em-up elements are in place: we move from left to right, fight villains, perform combos and fight the boss at the end of the level.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands

Members of the special squad “Ghost” arrive in Bolivia to act against the cartels and bandits who have seized power in the region. The game takes place in a large open world consisting of many different regions – from dense forests and swamps to mountain ranges and plains.

There are enemy outposts scattered around the world, which can be approached from any side using any available equipment. Players will have to clear out these bases as they progress, occasionally being distracted by completing story missions that move the central story forward.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure

Denis Knyazev

A 3D platformer set in a fairy-tale world inhabited by ragdolls. Several of them must embark on a dangerous adventure to save the world after a ragdoll villain intends to build the Chaosinator, a machine designed to wreak havoc and destruction. You can jump on platforms, solve puzzles, and search for numerous secrets scattered in hidden corners of the levels with friends.

Trine Series

Natalia Miroshnichenko

The Trine series of games is a set of fantasy platform puzzles. In each part, players can choose one of the heroes – a wizard, a knight or a thief. Each of them has unique abilities and skills.

The ability to play co-op with friends is perhaps the most important aspect of Trine’s gameplay, which is present in all five games in the series. Players must combine their characters’ abilities and work together to overcome obstacles and solve puzzles. For example, a wizard can create platforms to move around, a knight can protect the party from enemies, and a thief can sneak into secret passages and create ropes using her bow.

The exciting co-op experience is complemented by a fantasy setting and fairy-tale plot, leaving a pleasant aftertaste after completing each game in the series.

Divinity Series: Original Sin

Artem Frolov

Today, Larian Studios is known to everyone thanks to Baldur’s Gate 3 – but their first real breakthrough was the Divinity: Original Sin duology. It was here that the studio first demonstrated the main features of its signature style: a branching narrative with gray morality, turn-based combat with physics straight from immersive sims and, of course, a well-thought-out co-op mode.

When the developers added co-op play in the first Original Sin, many people wondered how it would fit in with the freedom of role-playing. As it turns out, it did just fine — Larian’s designers used co-op to recreate the feeling of playing a tabletop role-playing game with a good group of friends and a competent dungeon master.

Their ideas work, among other things, because they anticipated conflicts between players – and came up with separate mechanics for them: the game “rock-paper-scissors” designed to resolve disputes in the first Original Sin, and the opportunity to fight for the right to become the chosen one with your party comrades in the second part. For fans of such duels, Original Sin 2 even has a separate mode: in it, players are divided into two teams and fight each other in special arenas – so there will be something to do here even after completing the story campaign.

Don’t Stare Together

Natalia Miroshnichenko

In Don’t Starve Together, you and your friends will have to survive in a procedurally generated world, reminiscent of Tim Burton’s works in style. If the game seems easy on the first few days of play, just wait – on the fifth day you will begin to feel the full charm of a survival game.

The game begins with the character finding himself at the very beginning of the world, where he needs to find food, build shelters and collect resources to craft the necessary items. The world of Don’t Starve Together is extremely hostile to players, it is full of dangerous creatures and natural phenomena. In addition, you will have to regularly fight hunger, cold, thirst and many deadly threats.

The key feature is the cooperative mode. Surviving in the dark world of the game is much easier and more interesting with friends: you can distribute tasks among yourselves, help each other and develop a joint survival strategy. Each player can choose one character with unique abilities, which allows team members to complement each other and work together to achieve a common goal – to survive and explore this entire dark world.

Broforce

Leon Balbury

Who is best at saving the world, punishing terrorists, and bringing back freedom by destroying everything around them? Of course, the paramilitary organization of Bro mercenaries, parodying the action heroes of the nineties. And while wiping out crowds of enemies alone is quite typical for the characters of that era, in Broforce it is much more fun to do it in co-op with friends.

Moreover, joint passage is not limited to the story campaign. Together with partners, you can check out user maps or run through your own. And for the coolest Bros, who do not turn around at explosions, there is a separate extreme mode – “Explosive Run” for speed. Hurricane action, the atmosphere of American retro action films, brutal characters and a sea of ​​​​fun will definitely brighten up your joint leisure time.

Lethal Company

Artem Frolov

Playing a good horror game alone is a claustrophobic, terrifying experience. Playing a good horror game with friends is a claustrophobic, terrifying experience that produces endless jokes and comical situations. Developer Zeekers, who created Lethal Company, clearly understands this better than anyone, and his game turns the contradiction to its advantage.

On the one hand, it can be truly unsettling: the local moons and their depths are home to many creepy monsters, and the Phasmophobia-style voice chat only works at limited distances. On the other hand, the entire plot of the game is a satire on an evil corporation that does not value your life at all, and the boss who accepts the loot is a parody of Cthulhu.

Thanks to this, it is hard not to notice the irony in the moments when something bites off your friend’s head in a dark corridor, and you go to his corpse in the hope of taking loot. After all, becoming a snack for an unknown monster is scary, but familiar, but not fulfilling the company quota is a horror that Lovecraft himself would not dare to describe.

It Takes Two

Natalia Miroshnichenko

It Takes Two is a game that is primarily aimed at family play due to its plot. But it is also suitable for having fun with friends.

You play as a married couple. May and Cody are on the verge of divorce. They magically turn into dolls. To return to normal life, they will have to unite and go through a series of adventures filled with puzzles.

The key feature is that each character has a unique ability that is necessary to advance the story. Players must work together, combining these abilities. The game can only be completed by joint efforts, there is no other way.

It Takes Two offers an exciting plot, colorful levels, and varied gameplay that mixes elements of platformers, puzzles, arcades, and fighting games. This is complemented by a kind and in its own way cute story about the revival of feelings of two adults.

Rayman Legends

Denis Knyazev

The fairytale world in which Rayman and his friends live is once again threatened by a dark wizard and his army of nightmares. Moreover, the villain kidnaps the princesses of this world. The main character and his comrades will have to go on an adventure to eventually fight the dark wizard. The gameplay is centered around jumping on platforms, completing exciting mini-games and searching for various secrets. And of course, you can do all this together with friends, playing in co-op.

The Dark Pictures Anthology Series

Denis Knyazev

The Dark Pictures Anthology is an anthology of creepy interactive horror games that are great for playing with friends. The first season of the anthology is now available, featuring four episodic games — standalone stories with complete plots.

Thus, Man of Medan tells the story of a group of friends who, together with bandits, ended up on board a ghost ship that disappeared during World War II. In Little Hope, the story centers on students and a teacher: after a car accident, they all end up in the American town of Little Hope, where witches were executed long ago, and now strange and creepy things are happening. House of Ashes is a dark story about a detachment of American soldiers who accidentally find an ancient Sumerian temple in the underground caves of modern Iran. And finally, The Devil in Me is dedicated to journalists who decided to shoot a story about the legacy of the first serial killer in US history.

All these games can be played alone, making important plot decisions and testing your skills during gameplay episodes in QTE. For cooperative play, there are two suitable modes. The first is with online multiplayer. In it, two players are offered to choose characters and play in parallel with each other. The second is with local co-op for a company of five friends sitting in front of one screen.

Dead by Daylight

Denis Knyazev

Surely, when watching horror movies, you have often thought that you would definitely be able to escape from the maniac, and these movie characters are all so stupid! Well, Dead by Daylight is a great way to check how true this theory is. A group of four people finds themselves in a location where a killer is wandering, controlled by another player. The survivors need to escape from the level by activating seven generators, and the killer is tasked with preventing this – and putting all the fugitives on a hook.

One of the main features of Dead by Daylight is periodic collaborations with different games, films and personalities. Thus, among the unknown survivors, over time, there appeared writer Alan Wake from Alan Wake, heroes of the Resident Evil series, Ellen Ripley from Alien and… unexpectedly, Nicolas Cage. Moreover, the latter plays himself, and not some character from his movie. Among the killers, there are also familiar images: Nemesis from the same Resident Evil, the maniac from Scream, Pinhead from Hellraiser and others.

Meet Your Maker

Denis Knyazev

Meet Your Maker is a game about a dark post-apocalyptic future, where the most valuable resource is some genetic material stored in protected outposts. In one mode, players, alone or with friends, try to get inside such fortresses. In another, they build outposts, which other players will then storm.

Outposts are extremely dangerous places. They can be equipped with many traps and very dangerous opponents, which will make the path to the valuable resource incredibly difficult. However, the game will not allow you to do without possible paths to matter: each fortress you create undergoes a test before it becomes available to other players.