Playing through a solid single-player campaign is one of the greatest joys to be found in video games, but experiencing a good campaign with friends provides another level of satisfaction. While it seems that every year the number of games that offer split-screen and even online co-op is shrinking, there are still good offerings to be had.
Phenomenal hits like 2018’s A Way Out have shown that there is a market for well-crafted and co-op-centric games, but these titles have become a rare exception to the general trend in game design. However, several big-budget games in 2019 included co-op gameplay that can provide a bombastic bonding experience for friends who are seeking a story without too much competition.
This list includes some of the biggest titles of the year alongside some smaller sleeper hits, so they are listed in alphabetical order rather than in any order of ranking. Some have couch co-op while others are only online, but each title provides quality hours of content for two or more companions to burn through.
Borderlands 3
Borderlands 3 released on September 13th to near-universal acclaim. Ever since the original Borderlands defined the looter-shooter genre, various sequels, prequels, and pre-sequels to the Borderlands series have provided wacky humor, wild action, and millions upon millions of weapons to collect and experiment with.
One of the best things about Borderlands 3 is its co-op gameplay. Ever since the first game, these titles have been great at providing drop-in, drop-out co-op that works simply and reliably throughout the game. In Borderlands 3, friends can team up in groups of up to four people online and two people locally to play any story mission or side quest together. The whole game can be experienced with friends, or teammates can just be brought in to grind a tough boss for loot drops. Either way, teamwork is rewarded with good times, fun combat, and plenty of loot.
Code Vein
Dark Souls and its successors spawned an entire genre of Souls-like RPGs that mimic and re-interpret the tight combat and environmental storytelling of the originals. Dark Souls also pioneered summoning-based co-op in which players can be brought into each other’s worlds as phantoms to help clear a level or a boss through glowing signs placed on the ground. Code Vein is a very good Souls-like game with the added twist of an anime aesthetic.
The new aesthetic makes the story more easily digestible, but Code Vein's core mechanics of combat and exploration are up there with the best of the Souls-like genre. Co-op is done slightly differently, with players sending out distress signals that can be found by others. Summoned players can only join in areas that still have an undefeated end boss, and they will be returned to their own worlds once the boss is defeated. However, much like the Dark Souls games, password matchmaking allows friends to summon each other repeatedly and experience the entire game together. Unfortunately, Code Vein’s co-op supports a maximum of two human players and one AI companion, but it is still a good option for those seeking good combat with a flashy vampire theme.
Gears 5
Gears of War games have earned their reputation as great games for co-op adventures. Earlier titles had intense two-player campaigns that relied heavily on teamwork and coordination, while later games traded in that focused design for the frenetic chaos of four-player co-op, yet Gears 5 took a step back to two-player co-op. However, this has allowed the story to focus on a narrative driven by just a few core characters, and level design to be more deliberate.
As one player draws fire, the other can move to a flanking position, forcing players to learn levels and explore them carefully rather than just rampaging through each area. A third player can join in as a support robot, but most will chose to forego this feature. The co-op is both local and online, and horde mode also offers a replayable co-op survival option.
Luigi’s Mansion 3
Fittingly released on October 31st, Luigi’s Mansion 3 is spooky, goofy, and fun in all the right ways. The Nintendo Switch has been one of the last bastions of consistently great couch co-op titles, from platforming and puzzle-solving as Mario and his hat in Odyssey to jamming through the challenging beat-‘em-up homage River City Girls. Luigi’s Mansion 3 continues this tradition with very few shortcomings.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 can be played entirely cooperatively as soon as player-one unlocks Gooigi very early on in the game. From that point on, the game is a treasure trove of spooky puzzles, wacky hijinks, and the beautifully polished design that still sets Nintendo games apart to this day.
There is no online co-op, but the ease of adding a joy-con for a nearby friend makes up for it in spades. The simple joy of two friends sitting down and bumbling into each-other’s way while trying to solve puzzles that should be simple will never get old.
Man of Medan
If Luigi’s Mansion 3 isn’t quite scary enough, Man of Medan should certainly fill the gap. While Man of Medan is relatively short and does have its fair share of flaws, it offers a lot of replayability and some very interesting takes on both co-op and horror.
The game can be played in online co-op, with players controlling separate characters whose paths interweave but are not always tied to the same areas. Each player’s individual choices, successes, and failures have an impact on the overall narrative and the experience of the other player. The horror is heightened by the presence of another person, and the branching, mysterious narrative can be endlessly retold from different perspectives and possibilities.
The game also has a couch co-op mode in which players trade off the controller to experience the story together. The two co-op modes both have their proponents, but either way the game shines when experienced together with a companion.
Remnant: From the Ashes
Remnant was yet another quality Souls-like from 2019, with its unique features centering on level design and gun combat.
Making firearms a prominent part of Souls-like combat is enough of a selling point for many, but Remnant also maintains its replayability with randomly generated world design. This allows the player to re-roll the world at any time while keeping their character intact, and ensures that no two players will have the same campaign. This, combined with the usual Souls-like drop-in co-op, allows co-op partners to help each other back and forth while still experiencing new parts of the game each time one is summoned.
Risk of Rain 2
Risk of Rain 2 is an early access title that already feels polished enough to provide hours of solid third-person rogue-like bullet-hell action. Risk of Rain 2 is available on the Switch, and can be played with up to four players who are tasked with battling through hordes of enemies to unlock better and better items for future runs. The game feels hectic and frantic as the third-person camera angle gives a sense of scale for the tiny spacemen dwarfed by huge environments and swarmed by masses of creatures. Part of the challenge comes just from keeping track of the action, and the finely tuned iterative progression system makes each successive run part of one addictive gameplay loop.
Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
The Division 2 is a strong looter-shooter that improves on the progression and design of its predecessor. Grind-centric looter-shooters are the perfect way for many to relax, especially in a co-op game.
The grim militaristic style of Tom Clancy games combined with a natural-feeling progression system and well-designed linear missions makes for a great way to kill time with friends. Co-op supports up to eight players at once, making The Division 2 a great option for large groups. Co-op also makes missions go much quicker, rewarding players with faster progression towards the satisfying end-game and episodic new content.
Total War: Three Kingdoms
Total War games offer a great balance between real-time combat and strategic territory management, even for those who are not well-versed in complex RTS or city-building games. While it lacks the varied units and extremely unique factions of the Total War: Warhammer games, Three Kingdoms ups the ante with the most polished and useful diplomacy system in any Total War game.
The entire map can be conquered through deal-making and diplomatic skulduggery, while complex strings of alliances, trades, and betrayals often feel pulled straight from the pages of the legendary Chinese novel that inspired the setting. The Three Kingdoms setting offers a unique mix of supernatural and mythical elements while still staying grounded in real historical figures and events. The campaign can be played entirely cooperatively, and the fantastic diplomacy elements allow even allied co-op partners to manipulate each-other’s factions for personal gain.
World War Z
Left 4 Dead 2 was one of the greatest co-op games ever made, and a full decade of zombie games has failed to put a scratch on Valve’s masterful horde AI, perfectly challenging level design, and satisfyingly crisp combat.
World War Z is the closest anyone has come to a proper spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead, and it does a very good job of it. The game’s horde mechanics feel like an improvement over Left 4 Dead 2’s. It wouldn’t normally be impressive to compare technological improvement between a new game and one from ten years ago, but no one else has managed to do it.
In other ways, the game feels dated. Its objective-based levels hearken back to classic Left 4 Dead design, but can begin to feel repetitive when compared to modern titles. This being said, World War Z is still a challenging co-op campaign that forces players to work together, which is all that is needed for a good time.