I have very fond memories of the first Halo on the OG Xbox. It was very cool to be able to do the campaign together with a friend.
A FANTASTIC underground couch co-op game is “Super Space _____” (read: Super Space Blank).
Imagine Asteroids, but everyone is controlling a cannon on the same ship, and the only means of propelling the ship is Newton’s third law. When your cannon hits an asteroid, it turns your color and when the asteroid leaves the game space the points for that asteroid go to the person whose color the asteroid is. If the ship leaves the game area, the game is over. It’s the best example of co-ompetitive I’ve ever seen.
It’s only available on Digipen’s website since it was a student project but it’s magnificent for up to 4 players
On the rare moments that my friends come to my house we play some couch coop, most of the time is brawlhalla, but sometimes we play other games like hot shot racing, horizon chase, trick towers, etc.
I will happily take this opportunity to complain
/startrant that the abandonment of couch co-op is the worst thing to ever happen to gaming. There are some great couch co-op games out there, BUT NOT NEARLY ENOUGH. Seriously, the number of goddamn games that expect you to HAVE TWO COMPUTER AND TWO SCREENS SO YOU CAN PLAY CO-OP WITH SOMEONE ELSE IS TOO DAMN HIGH. /endrant
I highly recommend Broforce, any of the Larian studio games (Divinity Original Sin, Baldur’s Gate 3 etc…), Battleblock Theater, Castle Crashers, Cuphead, For The King, Hypercharge Unboxed, It Takes Two, Portal 2, Overcooked, SpiritFarer, Stardew Valley, Untitled Goose Game, Wobbly Life. Wish there were more.
It is the damndest shame that the Halo Master Chief Collection doesn’t have local co-op, still upsets me to this day.
There are some great couch co-op games out there, BUT NOT NEARLY ENOUGH. Seriously, the number of goddamn games that expect you to HAVE TWO COMPUTER AND TWO SCREENS SO YOU CAN PLAY CO-OP WITH SOMEONE ELSE IS TOO DAMN HIGH.
The issue is that not enough people play couch co-op to justify the effort that goes into making it work. It’s a subset of a subset of gamers that play couch co-op even once, let alone on a regular basis.
I played couch co-op with my kiddo on the master chief collection on my Xbox. The only issue I had was depending on the profile signed in first it sometimes gets the progress save wrong.
Diablo III was fun for my family, as was Minecraft Dungeons even though it’s stagnant and abandoned now.
Super Smash Bro’s Ultimate is still the premier Couch Co-Op game for my circle of friends. We also play the JackBox party games and occasionally Mario Party.
I genuinely don’t know what options are even available outside of Nintendo’s fence anymore.
Nuclear throne
Some I didn’t see mentioned:
- Death Squared
- Rocket League
- various Switch games - Super Mario 3D World, Kirby (2P), etc
I do play couch co-op, though some games are multiplayer some are single player and we hand it off or just experience it together.
Some of the games are: Mario party, Mario kart double dash (truly random items mod), Project Melee, Paper Mario thousand year door (amazing game), Kirby and the amazing mirror, and then a lot of one-offs mostly just trying out the random games.
My sibling plays Ultimate Chicken Horse way too much for their health. I’m a fan of Duck Game, Castle Crashers, and Enter the Gungeon. I’ve also licked up Heave Ho and Pico Park, however those are more for party games for like 4 people or more.
I am currently playing “It takes two” together with my wife. It looks cute, has a story that is funny and really sad at the same time and the mechanics of the game change frequently. The occasional (optional) Minigames are really fun too!
Totally agree. Just finished it. My SO and I had a blast playing it - highly recommended!
A bit of an acquired taste, but the entire Earth Defence Force series can be played split screen (2P only). The best entry point into the series is EDF 5 (story reboot, QoL tweaks) which is often deeply discounted. Plus its direct sequel EDF 6 just released in the west last month
EDF!! This is one of my favorite series and one I’m very hyped for again due to the new sequel. Definitely recommend it as a fun coop experience with friends, blowing up hordes of giant alien insects, robots, flying saucers and legally-distinct Kaijus.
Fred & Bread looks amazing though I have not played it. Two penguins who are tied together with a rope have to climb a mountain together using nothing but each other and momentum
They have a demo. Played it with my youngling. It was too much for him.
The game is great - if you like suffering.
The Steam reviews are hilarious.
Torchlight
Torchlight 2
Plateup
Orcs must die
How to survive
Broforce is too much fun with friends.
Hammerwatch is a pretty fun top-down pixel dungeon crawler. There are other Hammerwatch games and it’s also on consoles.
The “Lara Croft and the ________” games are a bit older but are fun puzzler dungeon co-op’s. I really liked Temple of Osiris. I think these are also on consoles, but may be older consoles.
Stick Fight is a silly brawler. Also on consoles.
Party Golf is a fun and varied party game. Also on consoles.
It’s older and I may be misremembering, but I think Hoard is co-op. It’s on Steam still and you play as Dragons in a top-down gold hoarding thing. May be on consoles, but older ones. Pretty sure PS Plus Premium streaming has this under PS3 classics.
Hunted The Demons Forge is NOT local co-op on Steam but it is on PS3 and you can do it via PS Plus Premium streaming without a PS3.
Thanks!
- Assault Android Cactus
- Slick arcade-style twin-stick shooter with a pumpin’ soundtrack. Lots of characters with unique playstyles. Local co-op.
- Crypt of the NecroDancer
- Bring rhythm to the classic roguelike. There’s local and online co-op and lots of mods.
- Just Shapes and Beats
- Rhythm bullet hell with a large EDM soundtrack. Local and online co-op.
- Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
- This is a stretch of the “couch” part of couch co-op. One player must defuse a bomb. The other players have a bomb defusal manual and must help the first player without being able to see the screen.
- Moving Out 2
- Work together to drag and throw furniture into a truck. Chaotic co-op with physics, local and online.
- Gauntlet: Slayer Edition
- 2014 revival of an 80s arcade classic. Co-op dungeon crawling action. Warrior needs food. Badly! Local and online co-op.
- Pizza Possum
- Very soft stealth game about stealing and eating lots of food. Local co-op.
- Assault Android Cactus
