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Although competitive multiplayer games are more popular, there are numerous excellent cooperative multiplayer games that task players with working together to complete objectives. With many cooperative games only offering online co-op today, it’s worth pointing out that every game on this list offers local co-op, making them perfect for folks cooped up together.
Updated May 24, 2022, by Jack Pursey: It’s hard to deny that local co-op has suffered a decline over the last couple of decades, with new releases designed for friends and family on the same couch becoming increasingly uncommon as the years pass. Thankfully, there is no shortage of excellent couch co-op games that have been released in the past. So, to give gamers so more ideas for fun co-op titles to play, this list has been updated to include some more great multiplayer family games.
12 It Takes Two
It Takes Two was developed by Hazelight Studios and released in March 2021 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. The game didn’t draw too much hype in the build-up to its release but has since exploded in popularity thanks to its excellent 89 Metascore, Game of the Year win at The Game Awards, and announcement of a film adaptation involving Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
The game itself isa two-player action-adventure that stands out with its vast range of gameplay mechanics, which ensure that the 13-hour story is constantly engaging.
11 Minecraft
With over 200 million copies sold, Minecraft is the second-best-selling game of all time, with only the classic puzzle game Tetris ahead of it. Minecraft’s popularity can be attributed to how it captures the magic of Lego — as, like the Danish toy, Minecraft allows players’ imaginations to run wild as they create extraordinary structures in Creative mode.
Creative mode isn’t all there is to Minecraft, however, as there is also Survival mode where players gather resources by hand while avoiding monsters. Split-screen co-op is sadly not available on PC without mods, but it is a feature on consoles.
10 Untitled Goose Game
Untitled Goose Game is a stealth puzzle game that was released in 2019 and turned heads for — as the name suggests — putting players in control of a goose. The game gives the unorthodox protagonist a shopping list of items that they must steal from a variety of areas around a quaint British village, which is just as hard as it sounds.
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Untitled Goose Game is hilarious to play by one’s self, but even funnier in co-op as players team up to terrorize unsuspecting and likely very confused residents.
9 LittleBigPlanet 3
LittleBigPlanet 3 is a puzzle platformer that was released on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in November 2014. The game didn’t try to reinvent the wheel, as Sumo Digital kept the core gameplay close to its predecessors with creative level designs that are simple but thoroughly enjoyable to play through.
Along with the developer-created stages, LittleBigPlanet 3 also lets players design their own stages, a mode that is deceivingly easy to sink numerous hours into.
8 PHOGS!
PHGOS! is reminiscent of the classic Nickelodeon cartoon CatDog, in the sense that its protagonists are conjoined together at the waist. The cooperative game puts players in control of one head each and tasks them with reaching the end of puzzle-platforming levels.
These levels would be simple to traverse with a regular platforming character like Mario, but with two players controlling one body, it can be a hilarious nightmare trying to progress in PHOGS!.
7 Snipperclips
Snipperclips is a puzzle game that can be enjoyed by two players in the World mode or up to four players in the Party and Blitz modes.
The World and Party modes feature sets of puzzles that utilize the game’s unique “snip” mechanic, where players cut one another to create different shapes and sizes in an attempt to solve the objective. Blitz mode, on the other hand, offers three different games: Hoops (basketball), Hockey, and a deathmatch-like mode named Dojo, where players try to snip each other out of existence.
6 Human: Fall Flat
Human: Fall Flat is similar to the aforementioned PHOGS! in the sense that both games would be relatively easy if it wasn’t for the playable characters being an absolute nightmare to control. Fall Flat’s characters move like someone after a few hours at a bar, constantly swaying around and falling over.
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The comedic animations make for a great laugh, but the game shouldn’t be dismissed as nonsensical. The game provides physics-based puzzles that require plenty of thought, leading to a gameplay experience that is both fun and challenging.
5 Portal 2
The Portal series has provided two of the best puzzle games of all time, with the second game, in particular, being considered an all-time great single-player experience, exemplified by its whopping 95 Metascore.
However, single-player isn’t all that the second game offers, as Valve’s 2011 game also offers an excellent co-op mode. The mode gives players a series of test chambers to solve together, forcing them to put their heads together and attempt to formulate solutions.
4 Stardew Valley
From a game that requires constant critical thinking to one of the most laid-back gameplay experiences today, Stardew Valley lets players work together to build a thriving farm in a way that is stress-free but still feels truly rewarding.
The split-screen cooperative mode in Stardew Valley is virtually identical to the single-player mode, with most features remaining exactly the same. Stardew Valley is great for families who want together in a rewarding way or perhaps would just like something to do while chatting.
3 Overcooked 2
Playing Overcooked 2 with family is similar to playing Monopoly, in the sense that it sounds like a fun idea at first but ends with every family member despising one another by the end of the night.
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The fast-paced cooking game puts players firmly in the heat of the kitchen by requiring them to cook tons of meals in quick succession. In order to stand a chance, players must work together to fulfill orders, which soon leads to absolute carnage with people desperately shouting instructions and trying to stay organized in obstacle-filled maps.
2 Unravel Two
Unravel Two is a puzzle game that puts the players in control of anthropomorphic yarn creatures, who simply need to reach one end of a level to the other. However, this is easier said than done as many of the puzzles require the characters to stretch their bodily yarn, which only consists of a very limited amount, causing them to get stuck.
Unravel Two has the nod of approval from the D.I.C.E. Awards, who named the puzzle-platformer as “Family Game of the Year” in 2019.
1 Any Of The Movie Tie-In Lego Games
Lego has been a staple of family-friendly entertainment for many decades, and ever since the release of Lego Star Wars: The Videogame in March 2005, the company has been a mainstay in the cooperative video game market. Since 2005, Lego’s gaming releases have predominantly followed the same formula that Traveller’s Tales created with the first Lego Star Wars game, of simple but engaging puzzle-solving, combat, and platforming while collecting as many studs as possible to unlock a whole host of extra characters and content.
One of the best things about Lego’s gaming franchise today is that they’ve created so many movie tie-in games using their signature collectathon formula that almost any family will be able to find a film tie-in that they like. Popular film franchises that have been given the brick treatment include Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Marvel, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and many, many more.
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