Hello all! My buddy and I finally finished up Baldur’s Gate 3 this week and we are not left with a giant co-op game shaped whole in our hearts. It was such an incredible experience and it was truly even more fun running through it together. We are excited to hop into another game, but we have no idea what to play. We’ve played a lot, and some games we’ve finished or tried recently included:
- Borderlands 1, 2, and 3
- Minecraft, Terraria, Vintage Story
- Raft, 7 Days to Die
- A Way Out, It Takes Two
I’m posting here today to ask if any of you have some suggestions for co-op games we could check out! I’ve Googled for suggestions to no end and 90% of what’s there is games we’ve already played. If anyone has any recommendations for us they would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
~ Hyrulian
Thanks for all the great suggestions everyone!! I’m going to compile a list and check them all out one by one!
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Portal 2?
It’s not very long, but it has an entire co-op campaign that’s completely inaccessible without a 2nd player.
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My son and i play weekly. Heres our faves
Deep rock galactic
Helldivers II
Enshrouded
Remnant and remnant II
Valheim
How is the Helldivers community these days? I had so much fun with that one before the whole PSN debacle. It kinda killed the vibe for me at the time and I have since moved on to other things, but I was so surprised how much a third-person online shooter sucked me in at this point in my life.
Games playerbase is like, less than half what it was on Steam. Arrowhead has put out like 3 or 4 “apology” letters about “we hear your feedback, we will fix stuff” but its like, how many times you gonna say that? You know?
I haven’t played for a while. Last I played, the bots spawn rate was too high when only two people loaded into a 4-5 star mission. They said they put out an update so I played to check, and they actually made it worse. Maybe it has improved since, but I haven’t been back to check.
They just put another one out last week.
The fact that they’re still apologizing for not listening to the player base and then going ahead and just not listening to the player base really doesn’t fill me with confidence.
As a “3 hour a week dad” who has managed to rack up 150 hours of this game, it’s a lot of fun. But it’s also insufferable when they release updates that cause rag-dolling to launch you all over the map, and new enemies that are just completely bugged out.
From a 400k player base at the start to <25k now, I’m convinced they’re actively trying to hurt the game to lower server costs. And why would they care? Each of those 400k players already paid their $50 for the game. And it’s not like the new DLC is any good. The snow-armour that didn’t help sliding on ice, and the fire armour that came with a fire-nerf.
It’s fun, but don’t go in expecting the same game every week. Chances are they’ll nerf your favourite weapon in the interest of “balance”, then ask for more money.
I remember just a handful of months ago when everyone was saying how “helldivers is already game of the year”
Lmao how the mighty has fallen
They just added a bunch of new missions, planet modifiers, and ship call downs, which was a pleasant surprise. Also, there is a lot of speculation that they’re going to introduce the third enemy race pretty soon, so if you were enjoying it before, now might not be a bad time to dip your toe back in the pool.
I have considered it a few times and I even have Helldivers installed still, buuuut I’m balls deep in my first run of Elden Ring right now and I haven’t even hit the DLC yet, so 🤷♂️.
Ah, well I’m sure it will still be here if/when you escape from Elden Ring. Have fun!
We easily fill with friends so its a blast. We have a group we’ve been playing with for over 15 years when we need more than 2
My time to shine! My wife is notoriously picky about games. You didn’t specify local or online co-op but most of these have local if not online since we prefer to only need one copy.
- Apico
- Death Road to Canada
- Door Kickers: Action Squad
- Dysmantle
- Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 (some of the Lego games around this time are also fun)
- Mother Russia Bleeds
- Nine Parchments
- Party Hard
- Riptide GP: Renegade
- Road Redemption
- Slipstream
- Super Mega Baseball (any of them)
- Textorcist: The Story of Ray Bibbia (I use the keyboard to type, she moves the character around with her controller)
- Traveller’s Rest
- Trine
- Unravel 1 & 2
- Vampire Survivors
- Wizard of Legend
Seconding 9 Parchments and the Trine series. They are both by the same studio and they are beautiful games, they make sure every new scene is a tableau worthy of a screenshot with hyper saturated fanciful environments. The gameplay is fun, polished and goes by fast, in a good way.
Abiotic Factor has been really fun for my buddy and me. Especially with the new update that came out last week. It’s a Half Life themed survival game.
Others that get my vote:
Valheim - Norse mythology themed survival game with Playstationesque graphics
Phasmophobia - THE ghost hunting game(see also Ghost Exile, Ghost Exorcism Inc., Forewarned)
Left 4 Dead - the original Zombie FPS series (see also Back 4 Blood, it’s kinda alright) PILLS HERE!
Risk of Rain - Pretty tough shooter series
Stardew Valley - A modern Harvest Moon, farming/life sim
Don’t Starve Together - If you played Stardew valley in hell, but everyone’s name started with a W
Factorio/Satisfactory - Resource harvesting and logistics sims. One’s isometric, ones first person, one has zerg rushes
Grounded - Honey I Shrunk The Kids: the survival game
Deep Rock Galactic - Left 4 Dead for Dwarves. ROCK AND STONE!!!
Overcooked - cooking and serving game, lots of communication required
Portal 2 - First person puzzle game, also lots of communication required
Barotrauma - Submarine sim on Europa, requires marriage levels of communication
Binding of Isaac - Roguelike shooter that’s sort of Zelda inspired, multiplayer was a little janky last time I tried it, but that was a while ago
The Forest - Excellent horror survival series
Starbound - Terraria in space
Trine series - A modern Lost Vikings, side scrolling puzzles and platforming
Subnautica 2 - A beautiful and terrifying diving/exploration game, original game has a coop mod 8 years in development, but it’s been very buggy
Diablo - First and second games are still very solid experiences and there are some excellent mods out for both
Escape Simulator - Literally an escape room simulator. Has workshop support on steam for even more puzzles.
Green Hell - The Forest, but in the jungle, much more focus on the reality of being stranded in a place where just about everything is likely to kill you.
No Man’s Sky - Space/planetary exploration sim
Dead Island - another zombie FPS
Dying Light - a zombie game with parkour
20XX/30XX - Megaman X styled platformers with roguelite elements
GTFO - Extremely hard, stealth based, alien FPS
Most “Souls” games - Very fun coop summoning, if you don’t mind the sometimes extreme difficulty
Goat Simulator series - Goofy exploration games
Magicka series - Isometric action adventure games where you combine different elements to cast spells
Barony - a true roguelike FPS RPG, voxel based, very hard
Void Crew - Space sim, mission based, sort of Egyptian mythos themed, meant for up to 4 players but definitely possible with just 2
Human Fall Flat - Puzzle/exploration game
Half Dead series - Cube: the game
Orcs Must Die series - Tower defense
Dungeon Defenders series - also tower defense, but with class based
Secret of Mana - One of the first action JRPGS, the remake has drop in coop just like the original, but I believe it’s couch coop, so if you’re not right next to each other, you’ll need something like Parsec to play it
Have a ton more, but those are the ones I can recall having the most fun. Others have probably listed a bunch of them and I probably missed a few good ones, but hopefully a few of them are new.
You could always tinker with some emulators for some retro coop games!
The overcooked series is definitely fun and always comes up cheap on sales for like 3 bucks. It’s definitely one to add to any co-op rotation because it’s easy to learn but hard to execute so you’ll always be going back to get those extra stars you missed.
Note about Overcooked is that the new version that combines 1 & 2 (Overcooked All You Can Eat) seems to have major issues with online multiplayer that never got fixed. You’re better off just buying Overcooked 2.
Great write up man, thanks :)
I agree, if they like survival games like Minecraft and Terraria, I too would recommend Valheim and The Forest/SOTF
Since you enjoyed BG3, I’d strongly recommend Divinity: Original Sin 1&2 if you have not played them already.
Other than that, a few random suggestions with sizeable coop campaigns:
- Outriders
- The Ascent
- Remnant 1&2
- Resident Evil 5&6
- Saints Row 3&4
- Trine 1-5
- Valheim
I own DOS 2 from back when it came out, does DOS 1 still hold up? Would it be better if we just played 2 either way?
Both are great games, with 1 being a little rough around the edges but still very playable. The gameplay is different enough that it’s worth playing them both imo. Story might be better if you play 1 first, but I played through 2 first, then went back later to play 1 and was pleasantly surprised how good it was.
I probably vehemently disagree with some recommendations to play BG 1 and 2 btw, your mileage may vary. It requires very specific builds and knowledge of DnD, or lots of trial and error. You can easily build a well rounded group and find yourself unable to progress because of lacking one very specific thing. If that doesn’t sound to annoying, it might be worth a shot. If nothing else, rolling characters is fun.
Well, OP could always play BG1 and BG2 which are still two of the greatest games ever.
Survival Coop
Actiony
- BIGFOOT
- Children of Morta
- Content Warning
- Broforce
- Gauntlet
- Generation Zero
- Road Redemption
- Warhammer: Vermintide 2
- Worms Armageddon
- Shadow Warrior 2
Sportish
RPGish
Strategy
Puzzle
Cozy
There’s just not many story mode games that compare to Larians for co-op. Besides take two/a way out, I haven’t found any RPGs that are worthwhile (borderlands was the closest I guess but the gameplay is boring)
There is the Baldur Gate 1 and 2 Enhanced Edition that has multiplayer. I never really tried it, so I can’t say how good it is.
Another one is Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura. The multiplayer has standalone campaigns. Definitely need to get the fan patches for this game.
I appreciate the response. Unfortunately my partner wouldn’t want to play such dated games. I on the other hand don’t mind them.
Best out of these for couples? She doesn’t play shooters nor most first-person titles. I don’t like turn-based games.
I’d recommend the we were here series. They’re two people puzzle games.
Second this. It’s a puzzle game that is all about communication. One player is in the room that has to solve the puzzle, the other player is in a different room that has the solution to the puzzle.
This is a game that you don’t play being able to look at each other screens.
Just a warning, I’m a wimp and got scared in one specific scene/puzzle. It’s a very minor horror theme, ended up having to have my husband sitting on the floor next to me facing the other way to complete it cos I got too scared. Loved the series though, amazing games.
I wouldn’t say horror, but it does have a sinister motif.
portal 2
Definitely this, and make sure you also play the community modules when you’ve finished the campaign.
Co-op is making a comeback!
Playing right now:
- Helldivers 2
- Hunt: Showdown
Ideas based on games you mentioned:
- Divinity 2
- Remnant
- Wasteland 3
- Crayta
- Medieval Dynasty (haven’t actually tried coop on this yet, but single player was great)
Interesting team dynamics:
- Deep Rock Galactic
- Lethal Company
- Rimworld (Coop is wild)
- Aliens: Fireteam Elite
Surprisingly Engaging:
- Journey to the Savage Planet
- Golf with Friends
Nintendo:
- Donkey Kong Country 1, 2, and 3
- Contra / Contra 3 (I think there is a new one coming)
- TMNT Turtles in Time (There is a new TMNT already out too)
- Bubble Bobble
Keep coming back to it:
- StarCraft II Coop (free to play now)
- Diablo II Resurrected (still better than III/IV/Last Epoch/Grimm Dawn etc.)
- Portal 2 (lots of challenges to complete)
I didn’t see this mentioned but it’s a great couch co-op indie game. Has a 93% rating on steam. https://store.steampowered.com/app/252110/Lovers_in_a_Dangerous_Spacetime/
Can also recommend this game, it’s a cute and fun coop that can get kinda frantic at times. The kids love playing it with us
Try out the Divinity Original Sin series, also produced by Larian. Different system and setting but it’s wonderful.
Seconded, Divinity is great!
i’ll just add a few i haven’t seen yet:
- Chained Together - running gauntlets while … chained together
- Children of Morta - adorable graphics meet solid gameplay and vivid storytelling
- Core Keeper - top-down Terraria with great pixel art, full release in a week!
- Cosmoteer: Build your 2d-Spaceship and do what you want! Full workshop support with tons of available mods.
- (hmm so much stuff starting with c, gotta change my game)
- Element TD 2 - classic tower defense experience
- Heavenly Bodies - Adventure game with physics!
- Kingdom: Two Crowns - the right thing for chilling :-)
- Necesse: even more Terraria, but with a huge world and settlements to build and manage. Still in EA, and needs polish, but great game even now!
- Neon Chrome: Cyberpunk twin-stick shooter
- Operation Tango: Asymmetric Coop, one is a hacker, the other is the agent on the ground
- Streets of Rogue: “immersive sim”-top down twin stick action roguelite - i cant even describe it well, but it is heaps of fun and chaos can pop up around every corner!
- Synthetic: twin-stick shooter with tons of guns and a hefty difficulty later on
- Grim Dawn: ARPG, and one of the best in its class. Dated, but still updated (and gets a new expansion soon-ish!). community is running seasons which add new areas, items and whatnot! i’ve sunk 1500 hours into that one, so i am probably biased when i say give it a whirl.
loved grim dawn, great diablo style and awesome characters.
I liked Grim dawn for the amount of time that we (my other half and I) played it, but I seem to remember it had issues with shared quests in that you had to complete all quests individually (I’m pretty sure that was it, forgive me it’s been awhile), is that still a problem? I might have to go check it out again if it isn’t.
- Halo MCC
- Overcooked 1,2
- Moving Out 1,2
Project Zomboid. Feels like a Sims game with zombie and great survival elements. Arguably, the best zombie survival game to hit the market. Supports split screen couch co-op.
Came here to say Zomboid!
Also, OP, dont be afraid to jump straight into mods. You dont have to fuss with a single file. Right from the start, inside the client, you can join modded multiplayer servers. The mods are automatically installed and applied then and there. Zero setup! I say this because a whole heap of mods are strictly quality of life and they really ease the learning curve.
However, picking and choosing your own mods for your own server is the headache you might expect. Let some saintly admin do all that work for you.
Good recommendation! I’ve played a decent bit of Zomboid, but never with any mods. I definitely should check some out!
Maybe Valheim?
Games I enjoyed playing with my then-gilfriend:
- Castle Crashers. 2.5D side scrolling action
- Skyrim Together, although this requires at least one of you to have a decent level of understanding to get things to work smoothly
- ibb & obb, puzzle
- Portal 2, puzzle
- Shadow Puppeteer, puzzle
Chiming in to confirm: ibb & obb was a whole lot of fun
Stardew Valley. My wife and I have sunk well over 1000 hours into it and we still aren’t bored. The amount of mods for it is insane and gives so much more depth to the game, but vanilla is super well done as well.
