There is a debate online about whether or not simple player video games need multiplayer modes. In some cases, these games - like Monster Hunter World - can be played solo, but they are much easier and more enjoyable with friends. On the other side of things, did games like Uncharted really need multiplayer?
It didn’t diminish the enjoyment of the campaign, but issues arise when it comes to the division of resources. What could Naughty Dog have done with the extra time without multiplayer? Again, it’s a huge debate, which we aren’t going to dive into now. Instead, let's discuss ten games we think should have multiplayer.
10 Horizon Zero Dawn
Horizon Zero Dawn wears its Monster Hunter inspirations on its sleeve. It is a pretty obvious homage especially given the fact they lent Aloy an exclusive skin for Monster Hunter World on PS4.
That’s why the inevitable sequel should add co-op. If Guerrilla Games were worried about upsetting the balance of the main game or creating a weird story inconsistency, then we wouldn’t mind co-op being limited to an alternative mode. We just want to hunt dinosaur robots with friends in any way possible.
9 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
As is obvious for whenever a teaser trailer is released for a high profile game like Breath of the Wild 2, fans began to dissect it. The theories are rampant on comment threads and message board posts.
A lot of people are hoping the game is going to be co-op since that initial teaser showed Link and Zelda adventuring together. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen, but exploring Hyrule with a friend could be awesome. A DLC expansion for the original would also be cool.
8 Final Fantasy VII Remake
This is not the Final Fantasy VII remake fans were expecting. Instead of making one game, Square Enix really wanted to reimagine the core concept. This first release is going to be all about Midgar. Since they are going crazy, Square Enix might as well go all the way and create a multiplayer mode.
Being able to go on Shinra raids as faceless Avalanche members would be pretty cool. Just being able to play mini-games with friends would also be a nice touch. The Yakuza games do that so it can’t be that hard.
7 Middle-earth: Shadow of War
The fact that no other company has attempted to copy this game’s Nemesis system is crazy. It isn’t an easy task to be sure, but that’s not what we are going to discuss today.
How cool would it be for the developer to release a new game mode where players could create their own Orcs to hunt down Talion? It could be like Evolve or Friday the 13th. Think about the possibilities, Monolith! That’s all we are asking.
6 Marvel’s Spider-Man
We have a similar idea for Marvel’s Spider-Man. Think about it as if Spider-Man existed in Grand Theft Auto V. One team made of thugs could commit crimes like rob banks while Spider-Man has to hunt them down before they could escape.
Randomly, one lucky player on the villain side could send in one of his nefarious foes like the Green Goblin to even the odds. This is reminiscent of the hero classes in Star Wars Battlefront. It may be too late to add in now, but this would be interesting to see in the sequel.
5 Valkyria Chronicles 4
Valkyria Chronicles 4 would be perfect for a multiplayer mode. It is a hybrid between real-time strategy games like Command and Conquer and tactical RPGs akin to Final Fantasy Tactics.
This game is dying for a versus node to take on friends or random people online. That is why Chess is so fun, which in many ways is the father to both of these genres. It might be too late for DLC now, but maybe Sega can consider something similar for the sequel.
4 Just Cause 4
We honestly thought one of the four games had multiplayer in them, but that thought was wrong. How is that even possible? This series was built on the idea of creating mayhem with big explosions that would make '80s action movies blush.
How fun would it be to cause chaos with one or more friends? The biggest answer as to why this has never been done is that this version, and its predecessor, run pretty poorly on consoles. Patches have helped, but only marginally. Adding in just one more player may cause a meltdown of disastrous proportions.
3 Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Sekiro is arguably the hardest game FromSoftware has ever created. It was so challenging that it sparked a huge debate about accessibility when it launched in March 2019.
Dark Souls and their other games were certainly hard, but during tough breaks, like bosses, friends could be summoned. That is not the case with Sekiro, but co-op would have been interesting. Admittedly, the narrative is less welcoming of such a feature, but FromSoftware could have worked something out.
2 Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus is like a massively sized Monster Hunter. Like Horizon Zero Dawn, we dream of the day when we can fight colossal titans of this game’s magnitude with friends.
Multiplayer was actually in mind for the original concept of Shadow of the Colossus. There is even some beta footage. Unfortunately, it never came to pass with this or its indirect sequel, The Last Guardian. We can only hope that one day this dream will become a reality. It could be epic of biblical proportions.
1 Kingdom Hearts III
The Kingdom Hearts series has actually dabbled with multiplayer before. The ridiculously named 358/2 Days was actually multiplayer-focused, wherein players could assume the role of any Organization XIII member they pleased to go on missions in classic Kingdom Hearts fashion.
Birth by Sleep had the Mirage Arena, which supported up to three-player co-op in matches similar to the Coliseum fights in the other games. Finally, there is Union X, the mobile game. All of these were nice steps in a direction we wish Kingdom Hearts III would flesh out more with DLC. We want a multiplayer experience fit for a home console entry!