Couch co-op is sadly a genre that has fallen by the wayside. With online play becoming so prevalent, the need for split-screen has lessened drastically. It's a shame as many people fondly remember both LAN parties and playing games with a bunch of friends in person rather than over a long distance.
However, the genre isn't fully in the grave. There are a few games that have recently helped fill the void and others that while aged, are still plenty of fun to play with a buddy on a Saturday afternoon or well into the night. These are some of the best couch co-op games that any system has to offer, ever.
10 Divinity Original Sin Feels Like Playing An Active Tabletop Game With A Friend
More often than not, co-op games are more focused on having fun with a friend rather than an immersive storytelling experience. Divinity Original Sin proved that you can do both, creating a game that is at its best with another person and has a story that feels like it came straight from a tabletop game.
The second game in the series managed to improve on almost everything, giving more customization and depth to the choices the party makes. It's a game that feels like it transcends the typical co-op experience.
9 Rainbow Six Vegas 2 Is One Of The Last Games Of Its Kind To Have Local Multiplayer
Anyone who hasn't played the game may find Rainbow Six a strange addition to the list, but it was an incredibly fun co-op game, especially in part two. Two players could go through the campaign, as several other shooters allow.
What made Rainbow Six Vegas 2 different was the outstanding Terrorist Hunt mode. In it, up to four players would have to hunt down and at times survive, a set number of terrorists, depending on the difficulty chosen. Plotting out paths and taking down the bad guys was rewarding and fun to do.
8 Broforce Is A Throwback To The Side-Scrolling Days Of Old
Broforce is a game for anyone who wanted to be the star of their own action movie. There are loads of bad guys to plow through and tons of bullets to do it with.
The fact it's a side-scroller rather than a first-person shooter makes it all the better because it plays into the silliness of the premise. It's not meant to be taken seriously and is the perfect game to mess around in with a few friends for a lighthearted afternoon. In the end, that's what a good co-op game is all about.
7 Overcooked Is A Game That Overcomes Simple Mechanics To Become Addictively Fun
A game about characters trying to cook things doesn't sound like the most engaging of concepts. The mechanics in Overcooked are equally as simplistic, but none of that ends up mattering because it's fun.
There is something immensely enjoyable about starting a level on a hot air balloon while you try to prepare a salad, only to end up crashing into a sushi restaurant by the end. It captures the family fun and party-style atmosphere you'd get from Mario Party. The fact it can be played with kids is an added bonus.
6 Diablo Helped Spawn An Entire Subgenre Of Co-Op Games
Games like Magicka, Gauntlet, and many others owe their existence to Diablo. It's the ultimate top-down dungeon crawler that still has a massive fan base today. It's not hard to see why that, even with its flaws, Diablo 3 was an immensely fun game to play with a few buddies.
The classes all have a unique feel to them, making a Witch Doctor feel nothing like playing a Demon Hunter. That doesn't mention all the loot that can be grabbed in the dungeons, the ranking system, or the ability to do a hardcore mode. It has a little something for everyone.
5 Portal 2 Offers A New Campaign In Coop & A Uniquely Difficult Experience
Portal 2 as a single-player game was great, but what sets it apart from its original is that it can be played cooperatively. Players take control of two robots who go through the trials just as a human would, and GLaDOS becomes increasingly bored with them since they can't die.
The real fun isn't so much in the added story. It's that the game is far harder than in single player. The puzzles require more precise timing and constant teamwork to overcome. It makes for a rewarding experience for both players.
4 A Way Out Offers A Cinematic & Story-Driven Experience
A Way Out is a rare game that was designed specifically with couch co-op in mind; normally it's more of an afterthought. The fact it sold a million copies in two weeks shows there's still a love for couch co-op and that everything doesn't need to be online.
The game itself is a great story-driven experience that requires two players to work together in a very immersive setting. It follows two convicts escaping prison and evading police once free. The ending is nothing short of incredible as well.
3 Castle Crashers Is The Best Beat-em Up Game On The Market & Can Be Played By Anyone
Who knew a Newgrounds game could be so fun? Castle Crashers is a beat-em game that understands that the core of those games is to have mindless fun rather than be dragged down by difficulty. The game is simplistic to pick up, making it playable by anyone who'd want to.
That simplicity helps feed into how addictive it is. Playing for thirty minutes can quickly end up being a few hours with how the game sucks the player into it. It's too fun getting to hack through enemies— and occasionally your friends, at least when it comes to earning a princess's love.
2 Left 4 Dead Made Shooting Through Huge Waves Of Zombies Ridiculously Fun
Left 4 Dead is one of the pinnacles of co-op shooters. It can be played with up to four friends and takes players through a variety of scenarios where they have to survive the zombie apocalypse. At first, it seems pretty simple as the zombies are more than manageable. That all changes when rescue is on the horizon.
The players are bombarded with hoards of zombies and infected, making escape a true challenge. The special infected only ramp up that difficulty, providing far different challenges than normal zombies would.
1 Borderlands Provides All The Loot A Group Of Players Would Ever Want & Is The Ultimate Co-Op Game
When it comes to co-op games, the top of the heap is always going to be Borderlands. It's the ultimate looter shooter and practically invented the genre (before "loot" became a dirty word in the video game industry).
In Borderlands, up to four players get to select a vault hunter who comes with their own special talents and skill trees. It makes replaying the game multiple games more fun and gives the group of players more variation. What sets it apart from other coop games is the loot. Borderlands has loot all over the place, offering some of the strangest and most fun guns a shooter has ever had.