As I've aged, my interest in competitive multiplayer games has waned. I find that I have no interest in fighting other players online, that I don't really care about the score I get, and that having those things present in a game tends to pair me up with players I'd rather not play with…
This site doesn’t seem to let me link to more specific filters but if you set release year to 2024 and choose a specific platform they list 214 PC titles, 128 Switch titles, 124 PS5 titles, and 97 Xbox Series titles from last year !
Edit: its a weird site, it wasn’t applying all the filters in the link it generated. So I’ve simplified the link and summarised the numbers.
Yup, we’ve played every Borderlands game, It Takes Two, Palworld, Rotwood, PlateUp, LEGO Harry Potter, Deep Rock Galactic, Outward, Stardew Valley, Cult of the Lamb, Sea of Thieves, Baldur’s Gate 3, Grounded, Don’t Starve Together… We also play other ‘competitive’ games co-op against bots, like in Beyond All Reason, Marvel Rivals, Overwatch, and Predecessor. I could go on but I could list games for a while. Definitely always looking for new ones though.
Our throats hurt from laughing when playing “Chained Together”. It’s short and cheap. We’re happy we picked easy mode for the first play through since that’s already quite challenging
Sure you can play doom 1 and 2 campaigns in co-op. No need for modding. You don’t even need a network card. Just buy a cable to connect both serial-ports on the PCs.
That was my first co-op experience and it still one of the best I’ve ever had.
Even if you have more than 3 friends, when you’re an adult and you or your friends have different schedules, may be parents, etc, it can just be a nightmare to get all 4 together at the same time.
I agree, but also not every game works with coop campaign.
A game like Metroid Prime or Hollow Knight would be fundamentally different if they had coop campaign. Meanwhile, some games like Call of Duty and other shooters, generally having more players does not detract from the game overall, and would generally make little difference other than needing encounters to be balanced for more than one player.
Basically, put it in where it belongs. Not a fan of shoving stuff in that does not fit or belong in the game.
This is near and dear to me, and I’d say it goes beyond just co-op. We used to get “the whole package” with a game. Arguably Call of Duty is one of the few still offering it. We used to have games with campaigns and multiplayer. Story mode and challenge rooms. Other modes of play sitting alongside the main event to round out the package. Now developers look at any data point to see how many people are using it, and if the number isn’t high enough, they cut it. But that’s a mistake. Most people might only dip their toes into these side features, but they can usually be implemented relatively cheaply (because of asset reuse), and they can add a ton of value even if most players don’t spend a lot of time in them. Co-op is one of those things.
The games that used to offer these co-op modes tended to stop getting attention from their publishers. Then once they’ve got a multiplayer mode, they try to make it a live service and monetize it instead of just letting it be. I was screaming at my monitor when I read that Naughty Dog open letter about canceling the Last of Us multiplayer game that said they had two choices and neither of them was making a multiplayer game that they just sold for a box price and didn’t manage as a live service; the possibility, seemingly, had never even crossed their minds. Co-op games can’t just be a campaign you play through once with a friend; they have to be PVE grinds where you play the same content over and over until the next pack of it comes out in a few weeks. The likes of a Baldur’s Gate 3 or an It Takes Two feel rare by comparison.
I’d still say the Gears franchise owns the shooter coop throne. Every game in the series supports at least 2 player, with 3 & judgement being 4 player, and 5 being 3 player. And they go out of their way to make coop different than regular campaigns too; there are several points, usually one in each level, where you have to split up
Gears 5 is still a tour de force of how to do a modern game. It’s got cosmetics, customization, an acceptable (but not great) story, decent PvP, and imo the absolute best PvE. Nothing has managed to dethrone horde in 5+ years
Wish they could fix the Halo2 co-op issues, but that’s twenty year old spaghetti code. It would be easier to just host the game on one instance, tunnel the second controller input and stream the perspective.
It makes me so mad when I see game on steam feature “online co-op” and in reality the co-op in game is “join your friend and help him sometimes as a guest” Dark Souls style. I swear me and my friend had to refund like 5 games recently just because it turned out all of them had that. Now we just play Valheim while waiting for something good to drop.
that’s kinda just how monster hunter works tho. it’s mission based. and you’re both on even footing, it’s a bit disingenuous to call that dark souls style coop
I just want more of my single player games to have optional co-op. I don’t need co-op mechanics, but if it’s an indie game based on GZDoom, it should ship with co-op. The code for that is very old.
I’m sorry but if I’ve already paid $60 for a video game, I shouldn’t also be required to make a friend just to be able to experience the entirety of the content this game offers, in the manner it was originally intended to be experienced.
Given the “people online, especially gamers, are antisocial losers with no friends!” stereotype, the very real issue of how difficult it is for adults to make new friends in some parts of the world, and that online there is no tone of voice or body language, I can definitely see how it is being read as a genuine complaint. Plus you can always find people with wildly differing perspectives online, which tends to completely deaden the “nobody would ever believe/say this, definitely a joke” reaction.
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There a more games released now than ever, there are also more coop campaigns than ever.
https://www.co-optimus.com/games.php?campaign=true&playerCount=2
This site doesn’t seem to let me link to more specific filters but if you set release year to 2024 and choose a specific platform they list 214 PC titles, 128 Switch titles, 124 PS5 titles, and 97 Xbox Series titles from last year !
Edit: its a weird site, it wasn’t applying all the filters in the link it generated. So I’ve simplified the link and summarised the numbers.
That list counts very generously, even with those filters applied.
Bring back Army of Two lol
Yup, we’ve played every Borderlands game, It Takes Two, Palworld, Rotwood, PlateUp, LEGO Harry Potter, Deep Rock Galactic, Outward, Stardew Valley, Cult of the Lamb, Sea of Thieves, Baldur’s Gate 3, Grounded, Don’t Starve Together… We also play other ‘competitive’ games co-op against bots, like in Beyond All Reason, Marvel Rivals, Overwatch, and Predecessor. I could go on but I could list games for a while. Definitely always looking for new ones though.
Portal 2 co-op is dope.
One of my favorites. The ability to be a dick to your friend and vice versa adds more replayability then you’d expect
Rayman Legends is an amazing couch co-op game if you like platformers. I still think about the musical levels from time to time.
Should really check that one out, I’ve always heard good things
If you likes it takes two, in march the same studio should release “split fiction”.
Other titles that come to mind: cuphead, untitled goose game, overcooked (!), valheim.
Split fiction looks super cool!
Arma 3 offers a unique coop experience due to Arma’s nature. Worth a try if you have a group of friends to play with.
Railbound is a fun one
Ghost Recon. Outriders. There are more. And old games are still fun. (But yes, more would be better)
Our throats hurt from laughing when playing “Chained Together”. It’s short and cheap. We’re happy we picked easy mode for the first play through since that’s already quite challenging
There’s heaps of mods for classic games to turn them into co-op, including Doom (3), half life, quake, aliens vs predator, etc.
Sure you can play doom 1 and 2 campaigns in co-op. No need for modding. You don’t even need a network card. Just buy a cable to connect both serial-ports on the PCs.
That was my first co-op experience and it still one of the best I’ve ever had.
And from memory, the number of enemies scales with the number of players. It’s gets pretty hectic pretty fast.
Sea of Stars added co-op for up to 3 players in a recent update.
Also, Broforce is 1-4 players
ooo, i was wondering when that Sea of Stars update was coming out, thanks. time to buy it
Please devs, stop assuming I have 3 other friends.
Even if you have more than 3 friends, when you’re an adult and you or your friends have different schedules, may be parents, etc, it can just be a nightmare to get all 4 together at the same time.
Thanks for reminding me about the DnD schedule. Been on a cliff hanger for 3 weeks since one guy got busy at work…
I still need to resume running a campaign on hold from pre-COVID… But two of the players had a baby. So that’s probably not happening.
At least most aren’t like FROM software requiring you have two friends.
I agree, but also not every game works with coop campaign.
A game like Metroid Prime or Hollow Knight would be fundamentally different if they had coop campaign. Meanwhile, some games like Call of Duty and other shooters, generally having more players does not detract from the game overall, and would generally make little difference other than needing encounters to be balanced for more than one player.
Basically, put it in where it belongs. Not a fan of shoving stuff in that does not fit or belong in the game.
This is near and dear to me, and I’d say it goes beyond just co-op. We used to get “the whole package” with a game. Arguably Call of Duty is one of the few still offering it. We used to have games with campaigns and multiplayer. Story mode and challenge rooms. Other modes of play sitting alongside the main event to round out the package. Now developers look at any data point to see how many people are using it, and if the number isn’t high enough, they cut it. But that’s a mistake. Most people might only dip their toes into these side features, but they can usually be implemented relatively cheaply (because of asset reuse), and they can add a ton of value even if most players don’t spend a lot of time in them. Co-op is one of those things.
The games that used to offer these co-op modes tended to stop getting attention from their publishers. Then once they’ve got a multiplayer mode, they try to make it a live service and monetize it instead of just letting it be. I was screaming at my monitor when I read that Naughty Dog open letter about canceling the Last of Us multiplayer game that said they had two choices and neither of them was making a multiplayer game that they just sold for a box price and didn’t manage as a live service; the possibility, seemingly, had never even crossed their minds. Co-op games can’t just be a campaign you play through once with a friend; they have to be PVE grinds where you play the same content over and over until the next pack of it comes out in a few weeks. The likes of a Baldur’s Gate 3 or an It Takes Two feel rare by comparison.
Valhiem and Grounded fun co-op. Halo MCC iis still the king of co-op for fps, imo.
I don’t play new games so idk what’s come out recently.
I’d still say the Gears franchise owns the shooter coop throne. Every game in the series supports at least 2 player, with 3 & judgement being 4 player, and 5 being 3 player. And they go out of their way to make coop different than regular campaigns too; there are several points, usually one in each level, where you have to split up
Forgot about Gears. Yeah, those were awesome to co-op
Gears 5 is still a tour de force of how to do a modern game. It’s got cosmetics, customization, an acceptable (but not great) story, decent PvP, and imo the absolute best PvE. Nothing has managed to dethrone horde in 5+ years
Wish they could fix the Halo2 co-op issues, but that’s twenty year old spaghetti code. It would be easier to just host the game on one instance, tunnel the second controller input and stream the perspective.
It makes me so mad when I see game on steam feature “online co-op” and in reality the co-op in game is “join your friend and help him sometimes as a guest” Dark Souls style. I swear me and my friend had to refund like 5 games recently just because it turned out all of them had that. Now we just play Valheim while waiting for something good to drop.
Which games were those? I like that form of co-op as well, but I’d like to see a few tweaks compared to how From does it.
Monster Hunter Rise, Code Vein, State of Decay 2, there were some others but that’s all I can remember right now.
that’s kinda just how monster hunter works tho. it’s mission based. and you’re both on even footing, it’s a bit disingenuous to call that dark souls style coop
Wait, you can totally do co-op in Monster Hunter Rise, just not the village quests. Most the real story happens in the Hub quest lines anyway.
I just want more of my single player games to have optional co-op. I don’t need co-op mechanics, but if it’s an indie game based on GZDoom, it should ship with co-op. The code for that is very old.
I don’t mean to advertise but I do watch this channel for inspiration gaming sessions with friends: https://youtu.be/ViCP7O9q-Vk ( co-op bros)
Subnautica 2 will be optional co-op.
I’m sorry but if I’ve already paid $60 for a video game, I shouldn’t also be required to make a friend just to be able to experience the entirety of the content this game offers, in the manner it was originally intended to be experienced.
I have played It Takes two.It did not require my friend to buy the game when we wanted to play together.Further, the game was like 5$Edit: I missed the joke.
They are just joking about not having friends but the “in the manner it was originally intended” is particularly relevant for dedicated co-op titles.
Oh dayum. Totally went over my head. Haha. Poor guy is getting down voted for no reason. 🥲
Given the “people online, especially gamers, are antisocial losers with no friends!” stereotype, the very real issue of how difficult it is for adults to make new friends in some parts of the world, and that online there is no tone of voice or body language, I can definitely see how it is being read as a genuine complaint. Plus you can always find people with wildly differing perspectives online, which tends to completely deaden the “nobody would ever believe/say this, definitely a joke” reaction.
I want less games built around co-op. I don’t have friends to play with.
No, but let’s make it optional