Experience the ultimate joy of bonding with a companion and embarking on thrilling gaming adventures together. Get ready to redefine the concept of couch co-op with our carefully curated selection of the best couch co-op multiplayer PC games.
These are specifically designed to intensify your bond with friends. So, grab your controllers and prepare for an unparalleled gaming experience that will leave you craving for more.
Overcooked 1 & 2
Overcooked is a couch co-op game like no other, demanding intense teamwork, coordination, and plenty of tissues to wipe away your tears of laughter. This is the video game version of Hell’s Kitchen, except in Overcooked, it’s the absurdly hazardous kitchens that are trying to kill you rather than the head chef.
Navigating treacherous lava, slippery ice, and the high seas, to name but a few, players must cook up a host of dishes to meet the demands of hungry customers. Quite simply, it is one of the most entertaining party games ever made.
Baldur’s Gate 3
What does one even have to say about Baldur’s Gate 3? It’s undoubtedly one of the greatest RPGs ever made, and it even boasts a two-player couch co-op game mode. The downside is that you’ll need two controllers to play it.
But all that’s just details. Baldur’s Gate 3 is everything Larian Studios ever wanted to achieve, and oh boy, they did. Whether you are a hardcore DnD fan or playing a video game for the first time in your life, this wonderous adventure is sure to take up hundreds of hours of your time and probably 30% of your brain’s memory capacity just for the character lore.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Perhaps the second deepest and most content-rich PC couch co-op game on this list, Divinity: Original Sin 2 is (obviously) the follow-up to the lauded first game in the series by Larian Studios and the only game of that genre that can stand up to BG3.
You can team up with another friend locally and adventure out on a deep and complex RPG adventure with many different options to approach the game’s quest. Team up or don’t, and go your separate way; it’s up to you. Ultimately, if you want, you can create your own adventure in the game’s Game Master mode. Your options are almost limitless in Divinity: Original Sin 2.
Cuphead
Cuphead has been lauded for years now since its original release on the Xbox One but has slowly trickled onto just about every platform, including PC. The original game included co-op gameplay, which makes the difficult boss rushes much easier, and the PC version contains this as well.
Darksiders: Genesis
The latest in the Darksiders franchise, Genesis adds a couch co-op game functionalities for the first time in the series. Fortunately for PC players who want to play locally with a friend, this feature from the consoles was carried over to PC as well, meaning you can hack and slash alongside Strife with a friend.
Monaco
Monaco What’s Yours is Mine is one of the best indie multiplayer PC games in recent memory, and no top co-op list would be complete without it. This endearing indie heist game brilliantly combines arcade-style gameplay with a whimsical story that draws on classic crime movies. No doubt it needed to be on the best couch co-op games on PC to play with friends.
Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes
Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes is the latest from famed Japanese developer Suda 51. It retains the mature humor expected from the protagonist, Travis Touchdown, and combines it with experimental gameplay that is a departure from the series’ roots.
Earth Defense Force 5
One of the silliest but most fun co-op franchises of all time, Earth Defense Force 5 continues its long-standing tradition of campy but enjoyable action gameplay. Best played with a friend, team up and defeat hordes of unknown alien insect life forms.
Gears of War 5
The long-awaited fourth installment in the Gears franchise didn’t disappoint when it launched on both Xbox One and PC this year. The game’s gritty narrative was brought to life with more interesting characters than we’re used to seeing in a Gears title, and it was married to arguably the best gameplay of the series. Gears of War 5 emerged as one of the best games of 2019, and the entire game is playable cooperatively.
Left 4 Dead 2
When you’re faced with a zombie horde, it’s probably a good idea to have a friend around to help out, and thankfully, Left 4 Dead 2 boasts a split-screen co-op. Navigating a post-zombie outbreak in southern states of the US, players take control of a host of “survivors” with their own unique plot lines.
The replayability of Left 4 Dead 2 is almost unexhaustive, as its constant player numbers can attest to that. Even now, it has over 30,000 players on Steam, 15 years after its release. Not bad for a cliche zombie apocalypse game if you ask me.
Portal 2
The seminal puzzle game Portal 2 has to tingle your brain if you want to call yourself a gaming enthusiast, that is. Lauded for its genre-defining gameplay, the Portal franchise has influenced virtually all puzzle platformers since it burst onto the scene ten years ago.
The sequel title iterated and improved on what was already the golden standard, and the entire campaign can be enjoyed in co-op. This is a must-play title, a classic.
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime puts two buddies in control of a spaceship that requires seven men to operate as it’s bombarded by hordes of hostile aliens. Very quickly, you’ll discover that effective coordination is the key to mastering this vibrant indie adventure. And despite its name, gambling a relationship on this coop experience is a risky venture. Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is a real blast.
Rocket League
Rocket League is a complete phenomenon of indie gaming. The game, which pits teams of rocket-powered cars in a soccer match, has somehow become one of the most successful competitive multiplayer games of the past few years.
Furthermore, Psyonix continues to add new arenas, modes, skins, and vehicles to a package that is now brimming with content. For an awesome co-op experience, play Rocket mode with a pal and let the good times roll in this game, which is among the best couch co-op games on PC to play with friends.
Human Fall Flat
Human Fall Flat is a physics-based puzzle platform game in a similar vein to titles such as Octodad. Players must navigate several puzzle-filled worlds, each one presenting challenges according to their theme.
The game’s genuinely funny writing and melodic piano score tie together stellar gameplay to produce an experience that certainly sits in the top echelon of the genre. The co-op mode “Father and Son” adds plenty of replayability to the single-player experience and is well worth checking out.
Lost Castle
If roguelikes are your cup of tea, you’ll love the adorable indie title, Lost Castle. Players take control of an adventurer challenged with retaking a castle that has been overrun with demons. The reward? The treasure is buried deep within its confines… of course. Not exactly the most innovative of premises. Then again, there’s much more to it than the minimal plot.
Indeed, the real meat in the sandwich is Lost Castle’s gameplay and progression system, which is a completely addictive grind that is super fun to play. There’s also a host of characters to choose from, made all the more entertaining when joined by a friend in local cooperative mode.
Rayman Legends
This delightful platformer took the industry by storm when Ubisoft published it back in 2013. Legends is a sequel title that takes Rayman’s gorgeous loony-tune aesthetic and manages to find new ways to surprise with even more stunning-level design than the original.
Undoubtedly, each of the game’s levels is both a visual treat and a joy to play, with the climactic boss battles a particular highlight. You can travel the Glade of Dreams with up to four friends cooperatively, and Legends’ difficulty curve is accessible enough that it can be enjoyed by children and adults alike.
Dungeon Defenders
Multiplayer is right at the very core of what makes Dungeon Defenders so brilliant. A scintillating blend of tower defense and action role-playing, Dungeon Defenders is good for countless hours of couch coop fun. The objective is the same each time around: defend the Eternia Crystal from hordes of enemies using a variety of heroes, each with their own unique attributes.
FORCED
A sweet mashup of battle-arena, puzzle solving, and RPG action, FORCED is a smartly designed cooperative action game with lots of depth, great variety in its challenges, and a satisfying combat system that encourages teamwork.
You play from an isometric view, controlling one of four different characters and battling across combat arenas that are connected by short puzzle segments. Each zone you beat rewards you with a crystal, which you can then use for character progression. FORCED is another title that is best enjoyed in multiplayer, either cooperatively or online.
Magicka
Arrowhead Games’ Magicka is an action role-playing game based on Norse mythology. Players assume the role of wizards from a sacred order tasked with the ultimate goal of stopping an evil sorcerer who has thrown the world into chaos.
Each wizard can call upon spells spanning eight different elements, mixing them up in different combinations to unleash havoc on the sorcerer’s evil minions. Up to four friends can enjoy both the game’s campaign mode and the unlockable survival mode cooperatively.
Salt and Sanctuary
One of 2016’s standout indie games, Salt and Sanctuary, is a side-scrolling RPG that is heavily inspired by Dark Souls. In fact, it’s pretty much 2D Dark Souls, complete with ruthlessly difficult boss fights and a nearly identical gameplay loop. However, instead of harvesting souls, players harvest salt, which can be used in a progression tree or spent on leveling up.
There are different classes with different attributes to choose from, but each avatar is essentially a blank slate to build according to player preference. It is possible to play the entire campaign cooperatively, too.
Final Exam
A 2D brawler with a pretty art style and some thrilling gameplay, Final Exam has players take control of up to two characters who have returned to their old high school for a reunion. There’s more to worry about than the class bully this time around, though, as monsters have overrun the school.
Final Exam’s plot is full of cliches and a whimsical blend of horror and comedy that is really well done. Moreover, its gameplay has a surprising amount of variety to it despite being on a 2D plane.
Guacamelee 1 & 2
Guacamelee certainly borrows elements from a host of legendary source material, but thanks to its own charming art style, a host of memorable characters, and great big wads of endearing silliness, it does more than enough to forge its own legacy.
Part Metroidvania 2D exploration game and part action-platformer, Guacamelee, is a joy to play. There are health upgrades and new attacks to seek out, but this isn’t an especially deep or demanding game, which works in its favor as a drop-in, drop-out co-op experience.
Renegade Ops
Avalanche Studios is best known for their work on the popular Just Cause games, a series in which chaotic action is at the forefront of the equation. Renegade Ops is essentially a top-down version of that same design ethos, and though it might not quite match the Just Cause series in scale, it’s no less entertaining to play. The fast-paced vehicular combat is best enjoyed with a controller as a twin-stick shooter.
Nex Machina
Developer Housemarque’s latest masterpiece is a culmination of twenty years of working on arcade shoot-em-ups, and it’s their finest work to date. Nex Machina has players battling an army of droids, saving a few innocent human civilians along the way. The frantic action and jaw-dropping visuals are vintage Housemarque.
There are only five stages in the entire game, but given that it’s a score-based game, and mostly because it’s just so damn fun to play, Nex Machina offers plenty of replayability. You can team up with another pal and play the game’s whole campaign in a couch co-op style.
How To Survive 1 & 2
How To Survive strands players on a remote island off the coast of South America, but this is no idyllic paradise. The island is teeming with undead zombies, and you’ll need to work together to forage for essential supplies. The crafting system allows players to build tools and weapons, from fishing rods to Molotov cocktails. It’s best enjoyed in multiplayer mode and works well as a couch co-op experience with one other buddy.
It Takes Two
It Takes Two is one of the freshest additions to this list, and it’s one of the best platformer adventures we’ve had in a long time. It was developed with local coop in mind, so playing it on a split screen using a PC or a Switch is the way to go.
Storywise, it has you and another player take the roles of Cody and May, two humans who were turned into dolls. Your goal is to escape the crazy world you’ve found yourself in and save your complicated relationship. However, to do that, you’ll be facing a load of bosses and puzzles, each more challenging than the other.
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
All of the Lego games are an absolute hoot in co-op mode, but Marvel Super Heroes is definitely one of our favorites. Packed with as much charm and humor as a Disney movie and as accomplished from a gameplay perspective as any AAA title out there, Marvel Super Heroes is not to be overlooked.
If you’re a fan of the franchise, you can look forward to visiting loads of iconic locations from recent Marvel movies and playing as all of your favorite heroes. This is another great one for kids, so naturally, we had to have it in the best couch co-op games on PC to play with friends.
Trine 4
Trine 4 is the long-awaited current-gen return of the popular co-op game. Multiplayer was always a big part of the Trine experience, and that is not only back but refined and improved in the fourth installment, taking this franchise’s couch co-op game features to another level.
It has you play as the three heroes, Amadeus the Wizard, Pontius the Knight, and Zoya the Thief, who’ve set out to save the nightmare Prince Selius. However, dispelling the curse that afflicts the young prince is an arduous task full of peril. So, grab your friends before setting out on this platformer adventure.
Abyss Odyssey
Abyss Odyssey is a gloriously designed, wonderfully weird 2D Brawler Roguelike with its own unique style. Each procedurally generated level has its own charm, from ice caves to toxic forests. The gameplay revolves around a fighting system that requires careful timing and understanding of its nuances, rewarding precision and control.
A second player can join your game at any time for some couch co-op action. There’s a cool community-oriented purpose for teaming up and killing the game’s final boss multiple times, too, as each defeat the Warlock suffers unlocks more content for the game.
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris
Temple of Osiris takes the action from a top-down isometric perspective, controlling more like a twin-stick shooter than the third-person action gameplay from the main series. But it’s a total blast, with all the same Indiana Jones-style action, puzzle gameplay, and interesting tombs from our favorite Lara adventures. Featuring a four-player co-op story, players must work together to explore the temple and defeat hordes of enemies from the Egyptian underworld.
Nuclear Throne
Nuclear Throne is an intense, adrenaline-pumping roguelike that is equally rewarding as it is stressful. Its twin-stick/roguelike mashup feels totally spot on, with controls that are simple and tight. Each procedurally generated level brings players closer to being crowned king of this nuclear wasteland, battling dozens of enemies and trying desperately to stop them. Things can get very chaotic, with the screen awash with explosions and gunfire.
Child of Light
Child of Light probably isn’t a game that immediately springs to mind as a co-op experience, but a second player is actually able to control Igniculus, the firefly. Igniculus’s role is one of support during the game’s turn-based battles, though you’ll likely find a second pair of eyes also helpful in solving the puzzle sections. If you’re in the mood for a thought-provoking, story-driven coop game with tactical combat and a jaw-droppingly gorgeous aesthetic, look no further.
Enter the Gungeon
Enter the Gungeon is a glorious blend of SHMPU, roguelike, and twin-stick shooting. Each randomized dungeon brings new mayhem, flipping tables for cover, rolling around to avoid incoming fire, and shooting enemies as all manner of books, vases, and windows shatter around you. Each chaotic encounter is a careful orchestra of button pressing, timing, and memorizing enemy patterns.
Death Squared
Death Squared is the ultimate cooperative brain teaser. The game’s single-player is based on a story about an AI tester progressing through the ranks of a corporate robotic company, but the multiplayer component throws that out the window and instead pits you and a buddy against 40 purpose-built levels.
Things start easy but quickly get tricky, employing some very clever level design to keep you on your toes. Completing these more difficult stages is super rewarding and a genuinely entertaining experience.
Sacred 3
Unlike previous Sacred titles, Sacred 3 is a much more linear affair, replacing action-RPG traits with more hack-and-slash style action. But this doesn’t take away any of its merits as an awesomely entertaining co-op experience.
The campaign takes place across over thirty different stages, which can be played in any order. Multiplayer places a great emphasis on supporting teammates, with each character given a power meter that fills up as they use their special attacks. Single-player might be a fairly shallow experience, but Sacred 3 is awesome with friends.
Skylanders
Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure is one of the very best toys-to-life games. Drawing inspiration from the LEGO games, Skylanders offers a co-op action game for a younger audience, though it’s equally enjoyable for older crowds, too.
The gameplay revolves around beating up hordes of enemies throughout various castles, forests, and ships. There’s an incentive to purchase extra figures, but the whole game can be completed with just the starter kit. It’s really a game designed for co-op and certainly feels best when played with a friend.
Warhammer: Chaosbane
You should know by now that you don’t have to be a Warhammer enthusiast to enjoy video games based on the license, but we’ll remind you again anyway. Chaosbane is the latest in a line of excellent games, and this time, it’s an isometric action RPG design that should be familiar to anyone who’s played Diablo III or Paths of Exile.
The game features four different character classes from which to choose: Empire Soldier, Dwarf Slayer, High Elf Mage, and a Wood Elf Waywatcher. As you pick up loot and level-up, you’ll, of course, be upgrading and building your character’s abilities along the way.
The couch co-op functionality lets you and up to three of your friends experience the game’s full campaign, which sees you battle hordes of Chaos monsters across different fantasy settings. There’s also a boss-rush mode, too.
Wargroove 1 & 2
Fans of tactics games, rejoice! Wargroove is a glorious throwback to the golden era of the genre, based liberally on the excellent Gameboy title Advanced Wars. It’s almost as good, too, with challenging but rewarding strategy combat, glorious pixel art, and both multiplayer and level-editing modes that really enhance its replayability.
For the uninitiated, Wargroove is a turn-based strategy game in which you’ll try to outsmart enemy generals across a 12 or so-hour campaign. There are four factions, each of which looks visually distinct but has access to the same units. The trick is to successfully counter your enemy’s units with the type they’re weak against, but you’ll have to factor in moves they’ll make down the line to make sure you aren’t caught out yourself!
Wargroove’s skirmish mode supports both local and online co-op play of up to three players allied against AI enemies, and it’s one of the best couch co-op PC games out there.
Outward
Outward isn’t your ordinary fantasy RPG. Ignoring the tired “chosen one” trope, in Outward, you’re a total nobody, and you’ll have to fight for survival at every turn. There’s no fast travel, and the game really makes you work for your money and progression. This might sound like a bit of a chore, but there’s a satisfaction to achieving small victories in Outward that one would totally gloss over in other open-world fantasy RPGs.
Certainly, the survival elements, lack of a map, and lack of structure to the narrative make a playthrough of Outward a real journey of discovery. It sure is tough, though, forcing you to think about your food intake, sleep, inventory, weapon degradation, and much more as you traverse the hostile world of Aurie. Thankfully, if you do want someone to hold your hand through the experience, there’s the option to play the campaign in co-op.
Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition
The definitive version a 2008 classic, Tales of Vesperia is as good an anime-JRPG experience as it was over ten years ago –and now there’s even more content to enjoy. This beautifully animated role-playing experience takes players on an epic journey across Terca Lumireis, a world that depends on a natural energy source called blastia for all its needs. As the plot unfolds, factions seek to use the resource for nefarious purposes to resist their party’s own plight to aid the noblewoman Estelle.
Tales of Vesperia’s pretty aesthetic, a story with a focus on character development, and excellent role-play systems make it a top-notch JRPG, but the battle system is arguably its best feature. There’s a lot of nuance to its mechanics, though it’s designed in such a way that these need only be paid attention to on higher difficulties, making it accessible to newcomers and hardcore JRPG fans.
Vesperia’s co-op mode allows multiple players to join in on the real-time battle sequences. So, while only a single player will control the gameplay outside of combat, this is a fun way to experience the story with a friend while giving them a key role during the action.
There you have it! Those are the best couch co-op games on PC to play with friends. We hope you liked this post! Here are some other guides for exactly this topic, with the best couch co-op games on Xbox One, the best couch co-op games on PS4, and the best couch co-op games on Nintendo Switch.
Published: Jan 31, 2024 07:52 am