Source: https://www.gamespot.com
15 Of The Best PC Co-Op Games To Try With Your Friends
It's just so nice when a game lets you play with your friends--when implemented well, co-op can make a good game great, or turn an awful game into something amusing. The not-so-good ones are plentiful, but we aren't here to talk about the many games that are only fun because you like spending time with your friends. No, this is about the PC co-op games that deliver enjoyable and entertaining experiences for you to dive into with your friends, from smaller indies to the very biggest AAA blockbusters. And while we'll be focusing on PC games here specifically, many of them will be cross-platform titles available on console, so don't fret just yet if you're not much of a PC gamer yourself. There are plenty of options here. SatisfactoryDeveloper: Coffee StainPublisher: Coffee StainPlatform(s): PC, PS5, Xbox Series S/XThere are plenty of games that will let you build and manage big logistical chains until the cows come home, but almost all of them are played from a top-down, god-like viewpoint. For those who prefer to get their hands dirty, there's Satisfactory--a factory builder in which you play from a first-person perspective and have to build all your complex networks by hand. But you don't have to do it alone, because Satisfactory will let up to three of your friends help you out--and when you're done, you can all ride together on the dope train network you built. Check it out on Humble Abiotic FactorDeveloper: Deep Field GamesPublisher: PlaystackPlatform(s): PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/SOn its most surface level, Abiotic Factor is a survival-crafting game set in a secret base that is inspired by Black Mesa from Half-Life, and as in that game, it's experiencing a catastrophic containment breach while being invaded by entities from a bunch of parallel worlds, all while a secret military organization tries to wipe out everything that's moving. Along with salvaging stuff around the base itself to make weapons, you'll travel to some of these alien worlds--and when you do, pretty much anything has a chance of happening. Check it out on Fanatical PeakDeveloper: Team PEAKPublisher: Aggro Crab, LandfallPlatform(s): PCYou and your friends must climb a very tall and incredibly unforgiving mountain, where one false step can send your character plummeting to their death. With how relatively easy it is to screw up the climb, sharing the journey with others both makes the climb more manageable in general and more hilarious when you screw it up. The best part? Peak only costs $8, so getting a group of friends playing it is pretty affordable. Check it out on Humble PowerWash SimulatorDeveloper: FuturLabPublisher: Square EnixPlatform(s): PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, SwitchNot every gaming experience needs to be action-oriented or overly complicated. Instead, a soothing and menial activity can make for a surprisingly compelling game--say, for example, cleaning the grime off a very dirty van with a high-flow power washer, which can be a pretty therapeutic experience. Add in co-op, and PowerWash Simulator makes for one of the best low-key games for digital hangs. Check it out on Humble Echo Point NovaDeveloper: Greylock StudioPublisher: Greylock StudioPlatform(s): PCIf you're looking for the sort of co-op experience that's faster paced and involves a lot of jumping and flying around, you'll want to check out Echo Point Nova, a shooter where you simply never stop moving as you navigate a massive and extremely vertical open world that consists entirely of hundreds of islands floating in the sky. There's a main quest that you can follow if you want, or you can instead just hop around between these sky islands at your own leisure. Everything about this one is unique. Check it out on Steam Viscera Cleanup DetailDeveloper: RuneStormPublisher: RuneStormPlatform(s): PC, MacFor those who prefer their cleaning games to be a bit more devious, we've got Viscera Cleanup Detail, which tasks the player with cleaning up all the blood, gore, and other garbage left behind after an M-rated video game protagonist passed through and shot everybody. Viscera Cleanup Detail is a game that is constantly giving you the chance to screw up and make the mess worse, by spilling your blood-filled mop bucket, or dropping a bloody dismembered limb on the floor and making a new stain, or even by walking through a puddle of blood and then leaving blood shoeprints everywhere. Because of how easy it is to goof things up, playing co-op might actually make your cleanup efforts take longer--but that's part of the fun. Check it out on Fanatical REPODeveloper: SemiworkPublisher:SemiworkPlatform(s): PCYou and up to five of your friends have to navigate spooky environments while collecting valuable items for extraction. But this isn't the sort of game where you click a button and the item immediately disappears into your impossibly large pockets. Instead, you'll have to use physics-based mechanics for holding and manipulating your loot--and that's going to lead to a lot of hilarious mishaps. And at just ten bucks, REPO is another great option for folks on a budget. Check it out on Steam Lethal CompanyDeveloper: ZeekerssPublisher: ZeekerssPlatform(s): PCBefore REPO, there was Lethal Company, which is the same general gameplay premise as the above but without the amusing physics aspect. Instead, Lethal Company forces you to make use of your very limited inventory space to carry your loot from various abandoned outposts in outer space, and it gives a very atmospheric experience that's very likely to creep you right out. If you'd prefer a game that's a little more serious, Lethal Company is probably the one that you'll enjoy more. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1966720/Lethal_Company/ PhasmophobiaDeveloper: Kinetic GamesPublisher: Kinetic GamesPlatform(s): PC, PS5, Xbox Series S/XExplore haunted houses as you seek to identify and find the evil ghosts that are haunting them--Phasmophobia is basically like somebody made a video game out of the ghost hunter scenes in the Insidious movies. Yes, this game is very likely to scare the bejeezus out of you, both through jump scares, existential dread, and sometimes embarrassment. But one particularly great thing about Phasmophobia is that if going into the haunted houses sounds like it might be too much for you, you can stay in the van, safe from the evil spirits, and play a support role using CCTV. So even the scaredy cats among us (like me!) can get in on the fun without stressing ourselves out too much. Check it out on Steam Borderlands franchiseDeveloper: GearboxPublisher: 2KPlatform(s): PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, SwitchIt can be tough to remember at this point, but we used to live in a world that was completely devoid of co-op RPG looter shooters. And then the folks at Gearbox dropped Borderlands in 2009, and a genre was born. It's generally agreed that Borderlands 2 is where the series peaked thus far--the recent release of Borderlands 4 hasn't changed that calculus--but the other ones are still plenty fun too. It's just not very easy to get out of your own shadow after you put out one of the most influential games of all time. Check it out on Fanatical Baldur's Gate 3Developer: Larian StudiosPublisher: Larian StudiosPlatform(s): PC, Mac, PS5, Xbox Series S/XWhile Baldur's Gate 3 is probably most commonly thought of as a traditional single-player CRPG, the whole thing can actually be played in co-op with up to three other players, with each of them taking up one of the party slots. Suddenly, this game transforms from one where you're the main character, to one where you're just another adventurer in a party. Beware that Baldur's Gate 3 in co-op isn't something done casually, since even folks in a relative hurry will take 70 or 80 hours to get through it--and in co-op, your path is not very likely to be a straight one. But that's also part of the reason to play Baldur's Gate 3 in co-op: you'll probably explore parts of the game you never would have seen if you were the only one calling the shots. Check it out on GOG Split FictionDeveloper: Hazelight StudiosPublisher: Electronic ArtsPlatform(s): PC, PS5, Xbox Series S/X, Switch 2One particular variety of co-op game that has always been far too rare is the kind that has a story campaign with unique player characters that have their own perspectives and narratives in the story. Maybe that's because it's hard to do it extremely well and isn't necessarily worth the trouble to do it right. But one that manages to pull it off is Split Fiction, about a pair of authors--one who writes fantasy and one who writes sci-fi--who become stuck in their fictional universes and must team up to get home. After honing their craft with their previous games A Way Out and It Takes Two, the developers at Hazelight Studios may be the only ones who are any good at making a game like this. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2001120/Split_Fiction/ Helldivers 2Developer: Arrowhead Game StudiosPublisher: SonyPlatform(s): PC, PS5, Xbox Series S/XThis shooter takes all sorts of inspiration from Starship Troopers, from its galaxy-wide campaigns against bug aliens to its satirical tone and"patriotic" humor. But the real fun is in the chaotic action, where the epic weapons at your disposal make it just as easy to blow up yourself and your teammates as it is to kill the bugs--and yeah, you'll definitely do a lot of team-killing in Helldivers 2, which has been one of the delightful hallmarks of Arrowhead Game Studios titles since its first game, Magicka. Check it out on Fanatical Tom Clancy's The Division 2Developer: Ubisoft MassivePublisher: UbisoftPlatform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox OneThis cover-based co-op looter shooter is set in an anarchic version of Washington D.C. after a deadly pandemic destroyed the country's infrastructure--you play a government agent tasked with helping restore order in the capital. Unfortunately, several large gangs are making that very difficult--and as is usually the case with stories in the Tom Clancy franchise, the government itself is a major part of the problem, too. And in addition to the campaign missions, The Division 2's world map has several vicious endgame"dark zones," where the game turns into a very solid extraction shooter. Check it out on Humble Sea of ThievesDeveloper: RarePublisher: MicrosoftPlatform(s): PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PS5Considering the immense long-term popularity of games like Sid Meier's Pirates and Assassin's Creed: Black Flag, you'd think we'd have piles of competing multiplayer pirate games out there. But we don't. Instead, we've only ever had one that really caught on: Rare's Sea of Thieves. This title's cutthroat co-op mode sees players venture out into the ocean in search of treasure, and they can battle other players, or ally with them and betray them later. The dynamics of Sea of Thieves are a lot more complex than just"our team is going against that team," and that's what makes Rare's game so fun to keep coming back to. Check it out on Steam
