Best Co-Op Games of 2019

It’s award season here at Twinfinite! Today, we’re looking back at the best co-op games of 2019. Voted on by our editors, these were the best games to enjoy with a few friends or family members by your side.

Let’s start with some honorable mentions, followed by our two runners-up, and of course, our winner.

Best Co-Op Games of 2019

Honorable Mention: Earth Defense Force – Iron Rain

News Editor Giuseppe Nelva: Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is a bit of a crazy game, pretty much like its predecessors. It pitches you against enormous hordes of wacky aliens that require massive amounts of firepower to handle.

That description alone likely conveys why it’s perfect for co-op. Mowing through the aliens with friends (or strangers) is even more fun than doing it on your own.

If you want to live your Starship Troopers fantasy with a platoon of like-minded people, this is as exhilarating, chaotic, and fun as it comes. It also has a ton of missions, so things stay fresh for quite a while.

Best Co-Op Games of 2019

Honorable Mention: Killer Queen Black

Staff Writer Andrew McMahon: One of the funnest things about playing video games with friends is the chaos that ensues when you’re competing with and against each other.

The 2019 release of Killer Queen Black knows all about that mayhem, embracing and reveling in it. Allowing up to eight players to go at it in teams of four, Killer Queen Black’s sole objective for each team is to simply win.

That goal can be accomplished one of three ways: Military, Economic, and Snail (Yes, that does say Snail). Whether playing as the Powerful, yet vulnerable, Queen Bees or the diligent Workers, the combat is frantic and rewarding.

While one strategy may work one game, all it takes is for one Worker to turn into a Soldier or ride off on a snail into the sunset to change the landscape of the game entirely.

Best Co-Op Games of 2019

Honorable Mention: Dauntless

Features Editor Greysun Morales: When Dauntless was first announced, I made it out to just be an inferior version of Capcom’s Monster Hunter franchise.

The game hits all of the same marks such as allowing the player to hunt down behemoths, upgrade your gear, team up with your buddies, and doing those things over and over again.

Dauntless may not be as polished or beautiful as say Monster Hunter: World but as a free-to-play multiplayer title, it’s a great starting point for those looking to get into the genre. It’s easy to jump in and play with friends, the combat is surprisingly solid and satisfying, and there are a bunch of different weapons to use and grind out.

Dauntless also does a good job at letting you play without making you feel like the microtransactions are necessary to advance or be on the level of other players.

It’s highly accessible and is such a fun game to just chill out and beat on some monsters without having to think too much about the metagame.

Best Co-Op Games of 2019

Second Runner-Up: Borderlands 3

Editor-in-Chief Ed McGlone: Borderlands 3 is a game that lives and dies with its co-op. It’s a game that begs to be played in tandem with other players so you can mix and match your overpowered destructive skills and weapons for hilarious effect. It’s one thing just blowing stuff up on your own, but it just becomes comical and even awe-inspiring at times when you’re working together with 1-3 other people.

I played a lot of solo Borderlands 3 for my review, and while I enjoyed my time with it, it’s not something I can see myself going back to solo very often. If my little brother three hours away wants to play with me, though I’m rushing back to my Xbox One and pop Borderlands 3 in because it’s a wholly different experience with co-op. 

There’s so much to laugh together about, creative ways to kill enemies, and difficult challenges that are more satisfying (and easier) to take down with friends. Borderlands 3 might not be the perfect shooter, but it’s a pretty close to perfect co-op game, that’s for sure.

Best Co-Op Games of 2019

First Runner-Up: Apex Legends

Guides Editor Chris Jecks: The Battle Royale genre got pretty crowded very quickly over the course of 2018, and the early months of 2019 saw Respawn Entertainment and EA reveal its team-based shooter-cross battle Royale title, Apex Legends.

While many BR titles before it focused on solo skirmishes, Apex Legends did away with that idea, instead opting to focus purely on team-based combat. In doing so, Respawn made a combat experience that’s far more tactical and strategic than any other BR title before it. Each character has its own set of abilities, lending themselves to particular playstyles, and in turn, combinations of Legends to work together. 

With new Legends being added to the roster each Season, new challenges to keep long-term players invested, and a vast array of cosmetics, Apex Legends if the game that keeps on giving to you and your teammates… just as long as you’ve got a good aim.

Apex Legends may have dropped into the Battle Royale genre late, but its fast-paced combat and emphasis on teamwork not only makes it one of the best examples of the genre, but one of the finest co-op titles you can check out this year.

Best Co-Op Game of 2019

Winner: Gears 5

Guides Editor Chris Jecks: One of my personal favorite games to check out this year has been Gears 5. Embarking on the campaign, diving into the PvP multiplayer, or taking on endless waves of the Swarm alongside friends in Horde has taken up plenty of the tail-end of my 2019. But for as great as Gears 5 is when you’re playing solo, everything gets that little bit better with friends.

Gears 5 ups the ante when it comes to co-op play compared to its predecessors. Its campaign can be played with up to two friends which sees Kait, JD, Del, Marcus, and trusty bot Jack take the fight back to the Horde by getting the Hammer of Dawn satellites back online.

Not all players will assume equal roles though, as the third player will always take on robot handyman Jack to rip open doors, grab weapons from the battlefield, and deal their own form of justice with shock and cryo weapons.

Once you’ve wrapped up the campaign, there’s plenty more to dive into alongside your friends. The standard PvP multiplayer makes for one of the most enjoyable tactical shooter experiences you can play on the Xbox One right now, with an eclectic mix of maps and modes to keep things fresh.

Its Horde mode is back and stronger than ever with more defined character classes and roles within the team. It means the whole thing becomes a more strategic experience.

You’ll need to coordinate the use of your character abilities, pick characters that complement one another, and generally work as a team to come out on top over 50 ever-increasingly difficult waves of enemies.

Finally, you’ve got the newest addition to the Gears stable of modes: Escape. The mode places players at the heart of a Swarm Hive with nothing but a Snub Pistol and a handful of rounds.

It’s then down to you to work with your friends to fight your way through countless Swarm and various sections of the Hive before the poison gas from your planet bomb catches up with and kills you.

With a map creator and the ability to play custom-created content, Escape provides an endless conveyor belt of bite-sized co-op content to munch through one evening with friends. 

Gears 5 isn’t just one of the best games you can play solo in 2019, but without a doubt the finest and most comprehensive co-op experience to release this year.