What are the best co-op games you enjoy?
Anything from the modern games, to the old games.
For me, I’m aiming for PC games, or a game that can be easily emulated like PS2 games or GameBoy Advance.
Main focus, is that you are supposed to play 2 players or more (and are actually fun to play) with little to no internet. (Trying to prepare in advance)
Split Fiction is a master class in game design. The split screen is so integrated into the experience that even online multiplayer is in split screen. The screens are a part of the story.
The gameplay is constantly changing to the point that discovering new mechanics becomes the gameplay loop.
The level designs are so clever that you’ll have several moments that feel scripted but were actually just inevitable because of how we play games.
To give a snapshot of the experience: there was one scene where my character was driving a motorcycle along the sides of skyscrapers, doing the craziest stunts imaginable, and my wife’s character was sitting on the back frantically trying to solve a series of CAPTCHAs on her phone. She was so focused on keeping a steady hand that she barely noticed the death-defying stunts happening literally out of the corner of her eye.
By the end of it I was like, “Did you see that??” and it turns out she did not. It was absurd and hilarious, and it’s the kind of storytelling that only works in a video game.
My current obsession is UFO 50, which is a collection of 50 “retro” games. In real life they’re all new, but the story of the game is that they’re from a company from the 80s called UFOsoft, and then there’s a dark meta narrative hidden in the background.
Which is all just a framing device for 50 games, most of which are good, some of which are amazing, and half of which are couch co-op multiplayer. It’s like exploring the Switch’s retro NES collection for hidden gems, except there’s a lot more gems.
There are beat 'em ups, obscure sports games, some platformers, tactics games, a little bit of everything.
I’ve enlisted my wife to help me, because a lot of these games are just begging to be grinded out in co-op.
I got the game when I saw someone describe it as “a master class in game design”, and I thought, “that’s the phrase I’ve just been using to describe Split Fiction.”
And finally, I recommend Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, because that’s the multiplayer game I’ve been recommending for almost ten years.
You each play as adorable creatures in an adorable space ship that you customize as you go. The ship has several stations that need to be manned, including the captain’s seat, navigation, a directional shield, and multiple weapons.
But you each can only man one station at a time. So if you need to stay on the shield but a new enemy is approaching from the other side, then that means the captain is going to have to jump on a weapon and leave the ship adrift.
You may have arguments over which type of weapons to add to your ship or over who’s better at piloting which kind of engine. Or maybe you’ll work together in perfect harmony, relying on each other’s strengths and covering each other’s weaknesses as you adapt to every new challenge. Both ways are fun.
Big second for Lovers In a Dangerous Spacetime. Purely co-op, very simple controls so even people who aren’t super into games can play, and a super cute aesthetic make it a great ‘We wanna play a game, but don’t want to sweat’ kinda game.
It’s insanely good. At some point I want to make a post just about UFO 50, just to spread the word, but I don’t even know where to start.
Fifty is just an insane number of games, and so many of them are so god damn good.
Even now I want to be like, Porgy would be worth the cost on its own! But then I’m like, should I say Porgy or Avianos? Or Mini and Max? Or Grimstone? No, Rail Heist! Fuck it, I’m just going to go back to playing the damn thing.
In contrast to the party games everyone else is listing, I’m gonna say Divinity: Original Sin 1 and 2. They’re more long haul affairs, but still make for great lan gaming.
Borderlands. The first one. The game is amazing by yourself and slightly better with friends. It’s not meant to be worse either way. It’s just a lot of fun.
The later BL games were made the same way, but I haven’t found any of the sequels (/“Pre-Sequel”) to be as engaging as the original. They are bigger and more ambitious, though, with BL2 being a fan favorite. I just really like the Soldier (Roland) from the first game. The other games don’t have a character I like playing as much as him, so I’d rather join the original rather than settle for a lesser character.
Actually, the best co-op game is Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. It’s played with your left hand and your right hand. I’m being a bit of a smartass, but technically it does qualify as co-op because two characters on the screen are being independently controlled and they must work together. But it is specifically designed to be played by one person. Your dominant hand should control the older brother, with the analog stick moving him and either trigger doing the action, whatever that may be (it’s basically a one-button game, plus the stick). Your other hand controls the younger brother, same thing. So naturally the older brother runs straight and does what you expect but the little brother tends to stumble and waver. All intentional. Also, don’t bother with the remake. It breaks a few things and honestly doesn’t look much better. Different art style, not better. Just play the original. You can get it on GOG on sale all the time for like $2-3. Also, it’ll take ~4 hours to complete and you’ll probably never want to play it again (but recommend it to everyone). I actually bought the remake (mistake) and had my wife play it. For the hell of it, I speed ran both of them (this was on Xbox) for the achievements. Then I did the same on the original. Interestingly, you do not have to complete the game to get all the achievements! You don’t even have to complete the final fight, or do the climactic scene before the final fight. Before you’re even aware the climactic scene is coming, you sit on a bench and blip, there’s the last achievement, if you’re doing an Achievement% run, that’s when you call time. (I’m not a competitive speed runner. I just did the runs to pop the achievements before uninstalling them.)
My wife, two friends, and I all played Diablo IV online together. We beat the main campaign together and had a lot of fun with it. We’re trying to beat the expansion campaign too, but my wife and one friend dropped out, so it’s just been me and a buddy powering through it.
That’s a game where you can just have fun dicking around in the world, even if there isn’t an objective. And it has plenty of endgame content to keep you entertained after you beat the campaign.
do we include arcade games? because the xmen and golden axe2 were big ones to play with a friend using only one quarter. The old baldurs gate for consoles from the aughts was a great two player co-op.
I second Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 1 and 2, and would also like to mention Champions of Norrath and Champions: Return to Arms for really similar PS2 games.
Rainbow Six 1 (GOG) and 3 (Steam) are both playable via LAN and some of my favorite co-op games ever. The first game may require hacking some easy-to-read level config files to make them finishable, but 3 doesn’t have that problem. Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear isn’t available for purchase anymore. I hear SWAT 4 (GOG) is great for scratching this itch too, but I haven’t played it myself.
While not so story focused, you could also co-op Star Wars: Battlefront II; the good one, from 2005 (GOG).
magicka 1 and 2 has couch and/or online coop, it’s challenging, chaotic fun, with some pretty funny jokes
if you get into emulation, cooptimus hides older platforms under “classic”, but it has another dropdown to filter them more precisely
Quake and Quake 2 have a bunch of co-op modes and they have been updated for crossplay on modern systems. I was just running some of the newer map packs with my buddies last night. Quake is $4 on Humble right now.
New classic Doom versions have very good split screen options
This is an older pull, but the Army of Two series was a ton of fun. Coop third person shooters with no more plot than your average action movie. It’s great, lol
rabbits party of legends (only good the first time, so make it count!)
mario kart double dash
bud Spencer & Terrence hill slaps and beans
a Pokémon nutzlocke soullock challange
playing any game where one has the right and the other one the left joy con (fun if 5 people and 2 are gaming pros and they are forced to share one controller)
Anyway, here’s a second for Soullock challenge. Can be very hilarious.
Have to add Lego Star Wars: Skywalker Saga and Lego Harry Potter, awesome couch co-op.
You are not logged in. However you can subscribe from another Fediverse account, for example Lemmy or Mastodon. To do this, paste the following into the search field of your instance: [email protected]
Welcome to the largest gaming community on Lemmy! Discussion for all kinds of games. Video games, tabletop games, card games etc.
Rules
1. Submissions have to be related to games
Video games, tabletop, or otherwise. Posts not related to games will be deleted.
This community is focused on games, of all kinds. Any news item or discussion should be related to gaming in some way.
2. No bigotry or harassment, be civil
No bigotry, hardline stance. Try not to get too heated when entering into a discussion or debate.
We are here to talk and discuss about one of our passions, not fight or be exposed to hate. Posts or responses that are hateful will be deleted to keep the atmosphere good. If repeatedly violated, not only will the comment be deleted but a ban will be handed out as well. We judge each case individually.
3. No excessive self-promotion
Try to keep it to 10% self-promotion / 90% other stuff in your post history.
This is to prevent people from posting for the sole purpose of promoting their own website or social media account.
4. Stay on-topic; no memes, funny videos, giveaways, reposts, or low-effort posts
This community is mostly for discussion and news. Remember to search for the thing you’re submitting before posting to see if it’s already been posted.
We want to keep the quality of posts high. Therefore, memes, funny videos, low-effort posts and reposts are not allowed. We prohibit giveaways because we cannot be sure that the person holding the giveaway will actually do what they promise.
5. Mark Spoilers and NSFW
Make sure to mark your stuff or it may be removed.
No one wants to be spoiled. Therefore, always mark spoilers. Similarly mark NSFW, in case anyone is browsing in a public space or at work.
6. No linking to piracy
Don’t share it here, there are other places to find it. Discussion of piracy is fine.
We don’t want us moderators or the admins of lemmy.world to get in trouble for linking to piracy. Therefore, any link to piracy will be removed. Discussion of it is of course allowed.
https://www.co-optimus.com/
Castle Crashers It Takes Two Contra Gears of War Halo Untitled Goose Game
If you are going to emulate then go for the Sega Dreamcast!
Virtua Tennis Power Stone 1&2 Toy Commander Quake Gauntlet Legends San Francisco Rush 2049 ChuChu Rocket Soul Calibur
Goose Game
slapshonksI have three recommendations.
Split Fiction is a master class in game design. The split screen is so integrated into the experience that even online multiplayer is in split screen. The screens are a part of the story.
The gameplay is constantly changing to the point that discovering new mechanics becomes the gameplay loop.
The level designs are so clever that you’ll have several moments that feel scripted but were actually just inevitable because of how we play games.
To give a snapshot of the experience: there was one scene where my character was driving a motorcycle along the sides of skyscrapers, doing the craziest stunts imaginable, and my wife’s character was sitting on the back frantically trying to solve a series of CAPTCHAs on her phone. She was so focused on keeping a steady hand that she barely noticed the death-defying stunts happening literally out of the corner of her eye.
By the end of it I was like, “Did you see that??” and it turns out she did not. It was absurd and hilarious, and it’s the kind of storytelling that only works in a video game.
My current obsession is UFO 50, which is a collection of 50 “retro” games. In real life they’re all new, but the story of the game is that they’re from a company from the 80s called UFOsoft, and then there’s a dark meta narrative hidden in the background.
Which is all just a framing device for 50 games, most of which are good, some of which are amazing, and half of which are couch co-op multiplayer. It’s like exploring the Switch’s retro NES collection for hidden gems, except there’s a lot more gems.
There are beat 'em ups, obscure sports games, some platformers, tactics games, a little bit of everything.
I’ve enlisted my wife to help me, because a lot of these games are just begging to be grinded out in co-op.
I got the game when I saw someone describe it as “a master class in game design”, and I thought, “that’s the phrase I’ve just been using to describe Split Fiction.”
And finally, I recommend Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, because that’s the multiplayer game I’ve been recommending for almost ten years.
You each play as adorable creatures in an adorable space ship that you customize as you go. The ship has several stations that need to be manned, including the captain’s seat, navigation, a directional shield, and multiple weapons.
But you each can only man one station at a time. So if you need to stay on the shield but a new enemy is approaching from the other side, then that means the captain is going to have to jump on a weapon and leave the ship adrift.
You may have arguments over which type of weapons to add to your ship or over who’s better at piloting which kind of engine. Or maybe you’ll work together in perfect harmony, relying on each other’s strengths and covering each other’s weaknesses as you adapt to every new challenge. Both ways are fun.
Also great for up to 4 players.
Big second for Lovers In a Dangerous Spacetime. Purely co-op, very simple controls so even people who aren’t super into games can play, and a super cute aesthetic make it a great ‘We wanna play a game, but don’t want to sweat’ kinda game.
3 solid picks. Still need to play UFO50
It’s insanely good. At some point I want to make a post just about UFO 50, just to spread the word, but I don’t even know where to start.
Fifty is just an insane number of games, and so many of them are so god damn good.
Even now I want to be like, Porgy would be worth the cost on its own! But then I’m like, should I say Porgy or Avianos? Or Mini and Max? Or Grimstone? No, Rail Heist! Fuck it, I’m just going to go back to playing the damn thing.
My wife and I beat Unravel Two.
That was a fun little game.
I loved doing Unravel Two. Super fun
In contrast to the party games everyone else is listing, I’m gonna say Divinity: Original Sin 1 and 2. They’re more long haul affairs, but still make for great lan gaming.
Borderlands. The first one. The game is amazing by yourself and slightly better with friends. It’s not meant to be worse either way. It’s just a lot of fun.
The later BL games were made the same way, but I haven’t found any of the sequels (/“Pre-Sequel”) to be as engaging as the original. They are bigger and more ambitious, though, with BL2 being a fan favorite. I just really like the Soldier (Roland) from the first game. The other games don’t have a character I like playing as much as him, so I’d rather join the original rather than settle for a lesser character.
Actually, the best co-op game is Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. It’s played with your left hand and your right hand. I’m being a bit of a smartass, but technically it does qualify as co-op because two characters on the screen are being independently controlled and they must work together. But it is specifically designed to be played by one person. Your dominant hand should control the older brother, with the analog stick moving him and either trigger doing the action, whatever that may be (it’s basically a one-button game, plus the stick). Your other hand controls the younger brother, same thing. So naturally the older brother runs straight and does what you expect but the little brother tends to stumble and waver. All intentional. Also, don’t bother with the remake. It breaks a few things and honestly doesn’t look much better. Different art style, not better. Just play the original. You can get it on GOG on sale all the time for like $2-3. Also, it’ll take ~4 hours to complete and you’ll probably never want to play it again (but recommend it to everyone). I actually bought the remake (mistake) and had my wife play it. For the hell of it, I speed ran both of them (this was on Xbox) for the achievements. Then I did the same on the original. Interestingly, you do not have to complete the game to get all the achievements! You don’t even have to complete the final fight, or do the climactic scene before the final fight. Before you’re even aware the climactic scene is coming, you sit on a bench and blip, there’s the last achievement, if you’re doing an Achievement% run, that’s when you call time. (I’m not a competitive speed runner. I just did the runs to pop the achievements before uninstalling them.)
Added to wishlist! Great recommendation!
My girlfriend and I play (mostly local) co-op sometimes. Some games that we enjoyed so far were (local unless otherwise indicated):
Love Portal 2 coop mode and Minecraft!
I’ve gotten multiple non gamers to enjoy portal 2. The portals draw them in.
My wife, two friends, and I all played Diablo IV online together. We beat the main campaign together and had a lot of fun with it. We’re trying to beat the expansion campaign too, but my wife and one friend dropped out, so it’s just been me and a buddy powering through it.
That’s a game where you can just have fun dicking around in the world, even if there isn’t an objective. And it has plenty of endgame content to keep you entertained after you beat the campaign.
I really enjoyed It Takes Two.
Highly recommend
do we include arcade games? because the xmen and golden axe2 were big ones to play with a friend using only one quarter. The old baldurs gate for consoles from the aughts was a great two player co-op.
I second Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 1 and 2, and would also like to mention Champions of Norrath and Champions: Return to Arms for really similar PS2 games.
X-Men Legends is a similar have engine to the dark alliance games and is 4 players.
I remember playing beast and wolverine, and being able to have beast their wolverine at things
Where is Raft in these lists?
Spelunky2 is good, up to 4 players.
Very hard but definitely worth persevering with.
My two are cult of the lamb (local/steam stream) and kingdom two crowns (local/steam stream/online)
Rainbow Six 1 (GOG) and 3 (Steam) are both playable via LAN and some of my favorite co-op games ever. The first game may require hacking some easy-to-read level config files to make them finishable, but 3 doesn’t have that problem. Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear isn’t available for purchase anymore. I hear SWAT 4 (GOG) is great for scratching this itch too, but I haven’t played it myself.
While not so story focused, you could also co-op Star Wars: Battlefront II; the good one, from 2005 (GOG).
magicka 1 and 2 has couch and/or online coop, it’s challenging, chaotic fun, with some pretty funny jokes
if you get into emulation, cooptimus hides older platforms under “classic”, but it has another dropdown to filter them more precisely
Quake and Quake 2 have a bunch of co-op modes and they have been updated for crossplay on modern systems. I was just running some of the newer map packs with my buddies last night. Quake is $4 on Humble right now.
New classic Doom versions have very good split screen options
Personally i like Duck Game for parties of 4+
This is an older pull, but the Army of Two series was a ton of fun. Coop third person shooters with no more plot than your average action movie. It’s great, lol
Couch Coop?
lol
Anyway, here’s a second for Soullock challenge. Can be very hilarious. Have to add Lego Star Wars: Skywalker Saga and Lego Harry Potter, awesome couch co-op.