For a while there, it looked like the venerable tradition of playing in two-player mode on the PC could be dying out. Online multiplayer was thriving, but fewer and fewer PC games had the option of playing in local or split-screen co-op.
And why would they, that sort of playing experience – sprawled out on the couch, controller in hand, your friend/family member/significant other on the next cushion, enjoying the same game alongside you – has become the exclusive domain of consoles. But that’s no longer the case.
In recent years, there has been a veritable renaissance of games that seek to replicate this wholesome bygone era. Most of these are, unsurprisingly, indie releases. Indie games are a peculiar breed – they serve as the catalyst for a lot of much-needed innovation in the gaming industry, experimenting with new concepts and introducing off the wall game mechanics, while still reveling in the excesses of nostalgia.
This list of the best couch co-op games for the PC is a place where old meets new, tradition intertwines with novelty, and the entire thing is topped off with a whole lot of delightful, shared fun. Since you’re going to be playing on PC, we recommend you take a look at some quality PC controllers.
#1 Best Roleplaying Co-op Game: Divinity: Original Sin 2 (Definitive Edition) (2017)
After scoring a surprise hit with their Divinity: Original Sin 1 back in 2014, Larian Studios quickly set about making a sequel. It was going to be bigger, better, more complex – all the adjectives you’d want a Part 2 to have. Following a very successful Kickstarter campaign, which raised over $2 million and ended with all the stretch goals unlocked, the stage was set for another entry in the Divinity saga.
Gameplay
Just like its predecessor, Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a throwback to classic RPGs of yore, most notably drawing much of its inspiration from the Ultima series. In typical RPG fashion, it starts with you creating your character(s) from a wide assortment of available races, skills, feats, and cosmetic options.
You’re then thrust into an unforgiving and oftentimes bleak world, where you have to solve quests, hone your abilities, and upgrade your gear in order to survive and advance. But what really sets D:OS2 apart from other contemporary RPGs is its highly tactical and involved turn-based combat system. Since characters are basically classless, you can mix and match their abilities to produce some exceptionally effective – and unusual – synergies.
Do you want to play a greatsword-wielding knight that can transform their hand into a giant tentacle to lash out at enemies from afar? Or as a bow-slinger that also dabbles in necromancy and totem-summoning? A battlemage that conjures rain to soak his foes, electrocutes them Emperor Palpatine-style, and proceeds to finish them off with a backstab while they are stunned and helpless? You can do all of this, and much more.
Graphics
Similar to the first game, the graphics are vibrant and charming. The color palette has been toned down a bit in comparison to D:OS1, but it’s still stark and memorable, with characters that are well-animated and distinct.
The darker tone of the game is also reflected in its visual design – several areas that are corrupted by foul energies look like something out of a horror movie, with burning homes, a toxic miasma hanging in the air, and cursed fleshy tendrils writhing on the surface.
Story
You are a Sourcerer, one of the few beings that can manipulate Source – a type of energy inherent to all living creatures in Rivellon. Because of your unique talents, you are targeted and captured by the Divine Order (an organization similar to the Inquisition), and constantly assailed by Voidwoken, monstrous abominations which are drawn to Source users.
After escaping your would-be jailers, you soon learn that you are a Godwoken – a mortal that has the potential to become a God. But your companions are also Godwoken, and, like just like in Highlander: “There can be only one!” You will have to convince them to let you take on the mantle of divinity, or, failing that, defeat them to seize it by force.
Overall Review/Final Thoughts
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a fantastic RPG even in singleplayer, but when played in co-op, it takes on a whole new dimension. Since the ultimate goal of the game is to become a deity, something that only one player can achieve, you can never be quite sure if your fellow player will support you on this quest, or betray you when you least expect it.
This gives the game a very pen-and-paper feel, where every player is a part of the team, but at the same time has their own objectives and motivations, which may or may not coincide with the needs of the rest of the party.
#2 Best Survival Co-op Game: Don’t Starve Together (2016)
Klei Entertainment’s wacky survival game Don’t Starve was very well received when it first came out way back in 2013. Fans and critics alike praised the original setting, the zany characters, and loads of things you can do in-game.
Besides the often punishing (some would say unfair) level of difficulty, there was only one other thing that people faulted the game – a lack of multiplayer. Fans were convinced that the game would be even more fun to play, like it says in the title, together. They were right.
Gameplay
Deserted – but no longer alone – on an inhospitable island, your primary goal is to, well, not starve. Or freeze. Get eaten. Go insane. The list goes on. Basically, most of the things – and natural (and unnatural) elements – there are out to get you.
Your job is to survive. To do that, you will have to forage for food and resources, craft, build, and explore. Now, it may sound easy when you say it like that, but the game is anything but. Permadeath, a constant struggle to balance resources with time and weather conditions, packs of roving creatures that would love nothing more than to eat you or wreck your base – the game throws obstacle after obstacle at you.
To make it, you will need to be determined, resourceful, perceptive, and a bit lucky.
Graphics
The graphical style could best be described as a “Tim Burton movie transported into a computer game.” Just like Burton’s movies, Don’t Starve is also clearly inspired by German Expressionism, purposefully designed in such a way to blend the cute with the macabre.
Put together, the game looks like something out of a hand-drawn cartoon, with watercolor painted backgrounds that give it a warm appearance – a great choice to lighten the mood of its frequently gloomy atmosphere.
Story
To give away the story is to take away a large part of the joy you will get when you slowly piece it all together. It’s one of those games that is mysterious on purpose, with a plot that’s simply a thinly-veiled excuse to get the player moving in the right direction.
Overall Review/Final Thoughts
Don’t Starve Together puts the co-op in cooperation. It’s best to play it with friends who are coming into the game completely fresh, without knowing too much about it. That way, you can share the glee (and frustration) of figuring out how to conquer all the challenges that the game thrusts at you – few things can compare to the satisfaction of Don’t Starve Together’s “Eureka!” moments.
#3 Best Run & Gun Game: Cuphead (2017)
Ever since it was first announced in 2013, Cuphead has been one of the most hotly anticipated games that practically everyone was looking forward to. Even people who otherwise don’t pay much attention to games such as this took notice of Cuphead’s particular visual style, which is based on American animation from the late 1920s and 1930s.
The end result was a game that was destined to be a big hit even before it was released. In a welcome (and amusingly ironic) turn of events, it will even be getting its very own animated adaptation on Netflix – The Cuphead Show!
Gameplay
Cuphead belongs to the run and gun subgenre of shoot ‘em ups. As the name all but spells out, the gameplay is centered around running (and jumping) around, shooting at enemies, dodging their shots, and evading other environmental hazards.
When the game first came out, it was lambasted for being notoriously difficult. And while the game does take some getting used to – there are a lot of things happening on the screen all the once, enemies are constantly being respawned from all sides, and you can only take a few hits before dying – it isn’t on the same level of brutal difficulty as some Nintendo games from the late 1980s and early 90s.
Just like in Dark Souls, you have to be aware of your surroundings and look for a pattern of attack. This is especially important for the boss sections of the game, where it’s all about figuring out the rhythm of their movement and offense. With DS resemblance in mind, Cuphead is not nearly as dreadful but you can enjoy some challenging combat until we get more Bloodborne 2 news.
Graphics
Obviously, Cuphead’s graphics are a huge and undisputed part of its appeal. As mentioned earlier, the game was designed to look like an old cartoon. The characters are drawn in the rubber hose style of animation – constantly in motion, bobbing up and down, with loose, stretchy limbs.
Of course, this is a modern reimagining of that style using technologies that, clearly, weren’t available back then, so many of the flaws of that old-timey animation – disappearing details between frames, inconsistent perspective and character designs, miscoloration – are thankfully not present. There are so many Easter eggs that only the very best animation and gaming connoisseurs will be able to catch them all.
Luckily, for the rest of us – there’s always YouTube.
Story
The premise is simple and appropriately loony, in true 1930s cartoon fashion – Cuphead and his brother Mugman go to a casino where they make a bet against the Devil that costs them their souls (the game is subtitled “Don’t Deal With The Devil”). If they want to keep their souls, they have to defeat and collect the “soul contracts” of other debtors.
Their grandfather, Elder Kettle, gifts them with a potion that gives them the power to shoot blasts out of their fingers and sends them off on their debt collecting quest.
Overall Review/Final Thoughts
Cuphead is a dynamic, fast-paced, exhilarating game with an endlessly likable and fun artistic tone. It can be hard to master, but it’s even more enjoyable to play with someone in co-op, with the two brothers, Cuphead and Mugman, sharing the screen as a finger-shooting, death-defying duo.
#4 Best Cook ‘em Up: Overcooked! 2 (2018)
As any good chef – professional or amateur – knows, cooking is a pleasant and relaxing activity where absolutely nothing can go wrong. No sirree, nothing at all. The only thing that’s even easier and more soothing – cooking in a restaurant. The stress, the time management, the impatient and hungry customers – a real zen-like experience.
Legendary game developer Team17, makers of Worms – one of gaming’s most beloved and enduring series – wisely saw the interactive potential that the preparation of food offered. Together with Ghost Town Games, developers of the original Overcooked, they wanted to make a sequel that was even more chaotic and zany.
Gameplay
Just like in a real restaurant, Overcooked’s gameplay revolves around careful logistics – who’s working on what, how long is any given action going to take them, what path are they going to take, and so on.
You take, place, wash, slice, chop, stir-fry, bake, boil, grill, stir, and flambe your ingredients until the dish is done and ready to be served. But your biggest hurdles come from the other players – they’ll keep bumping into you, taking your spot on the counter, messing up the steps in the preparation of the recipe, and so on.
The locales where you’ll be cooking become more and more silly – everything from hot air balloons to the middle of the street, every level soon devolves into a frantic race against the clock, with fires that need to be put out and food getting flung to and from every direction.
Graphics
The characters and their surroundings look similar to old stop-motion animation specials, with prominent, expressive, happy characters and lively colors and backdrops. It is a style that is so oozing with charm, that you will find yourself grinning with sheer child-like joy, even when everything in the game has descended into complete chaos.
Story
The Onion Kingdom is in trouble once again! Coming into possession of the fabled Necronomnomicon, the Onion King inadvertently unleashes an army of the undead – The Unbread! It’s up to you and your plucky team of chefs to master the skills of cookery so you can defeat this ravenous foe.
Overall Review/Final Thoughts
As with cooking, Overcooked! 2 has the potential to bring out the best and worst flavors in people. It is a testament to your ability to both work by yourself and to cooperate with others at the same time, all the while being cool (as a cucumber) under pressure.
#5 Most Action-Packed Game: Broforce (2015)
Fads come and go, but our collective fascination with pop culture from the 1980s is here to stay. Mix awful hairstyles with an even worse fashion sense, throw in some awesome music, non-stop, high-octane action featuring a burly dude spouting cheesy one-liners – and you’ve got a typical action movie from that era. Broforce embraces the best parts of those movies – the fun, crazy, campy bits – and takes them up to 11.
Gameplay
You play as a bro – a hypermasculine, hyperviolent commando based on iconic movie badasses such as Rambo, Chuck Norris, Mr. T, the Terminator, etc. Whenever you start the game, you will be assigned a random bro character, with each one having different moves and attacks.
The goal of every level is to find and release your captured bros as you wade through hordes of expendable terrorists and destroy the environment with bullets, explosives, lasers, grenades, flamethrowers, swords, whips, airstrikes, and other assorted weaponry.
Like every other aspect of the game, the action is visceral, over the top, and very satisfying.
Graphics
Designed with a retro look in mind, Broforce harkens back to the games from the early 90s. Though the graphics are 2D pixel art, unlike many other games that use this style just because it has become something of an indie game staple – even when it feels gratuitous and is at odds with the rest of the design – Broforce includes a lot of little details and a variety of effects so the game never looks dull or plain.
Story
An homage to “Generic evil threatens the world and only YOU and your team of near-supermen can defeat it!”, the plot of Broforce is intentionally US-centric and very tongue-in-cheek. It lampoons a time period in movie history when all of society’s problems could be fixed with a roundhouse kick to the face, or by blowing up an entire city block to get to one bad guy.
Overall Review/Final Thoughts
Broforce is a great choice for all those times when you’re hankering for some mindless, fast-paced action. Like the films it was inspired by, the best way to play it is to shut off your brain and enjoy it in small bursts of testosterone-laden mayhem.
#6 Best Co-op Space Game: Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime (2015)
Broadly speaking, Science Fiction comes in two types. In the first one, the author(s) will try to explain how everything functions within a set of underlining scientific rules and laws that govern that universe. The other type is more concerned with cool concepts than with attempting to clarify how they work.
Simply put, it’s the age-old “Star Trek Vs Star Wars” debate. Liking (or disliking) these two types boils down to personal preferences, as both can make for an excellent – or awful – story. Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is a game that walks a fine line between these two, enough to satisfy every geek’s desire to see the inner workings of a spaceship, while still being irreverent and fun-packed.
Gameplay
In LiaDS, you pilot a spherical spaceship. You do this by taking control of stations across the ship. These stations allow you to manipulate the movement, shields, weapons, and map. In order to successfully navigate across space, you will have to physically move your character avatar from one station to another, according to the needs of the situation.
Sometimes you will have to man several battle stations, while at other times your shields will be more important. The goal of a typical level is to find five trapped little space animals and free them, after which a heart-shaped portal to the next level will open.
Graphics
The visuals are reminiscent of a children’s cartoon, with the same bright and cheery use of colors and shapes. Even when the game is at its most intense, it never looks oppressive and always retains its sense of innocence and sincere optimism.
Story
All you need to save the universe is Love. Love is such a powerful force, that a group of scientists constructed the Ardor Reactor to harness it. This Reactor was then protected by the League Of Very Empathetic Rescue Spacenauts – The Lovers, for short – until a glitch in the XOXO matrix allowed Anti-Love to enter the universe.
Now it’s up to you and your friends to save the Space Bunnies and recover the parts of the Ardor Reactor needed to vanquish Anti-Love.
Overall Review/Final Thoughts
Unlike some of the other entries on this list, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is a game where you’re least likely to quarrel with your teammates, no matter how badly you’re doing. There’s just something about the game that inspires good vibes all around – a desire to see everyone get along so you can save a bunch of cuddly Space Bunnies.
Final Words
While playing by yourself or in standard online multiplayer have their pros and cons, nothing quite compares to a local co-op. The feeling that your players are right there, besides you in the same room, somehow makes the entire experience that more involving and memorable.
This list of the best couch co-op games was made to appeal to just about any players out there. It has something for everyone – if you’re a fan of hardcore RPGs, life-like survival games, cooking, space cruisin’, or fast-paced FPS games, you’ll definitely want to check these out and invite some friends over for the game night.