Best Co-Op Games On Steam

Thanks to the Steam platform, there are tons of amazing games for PC players to purchase, download, and enjoy. The Steam Greenlight program is even helping indie developers push their products, giving players even more choices, with tons of games released on the service each month. Steam also makes it incredibly easy for players to join one another in games, thanks to the handy friends list and invite features.

This makes the platform the perfect place for players to hop online and enjoy cooperative adventures together. There are tons of great co-op games on Steam to choose from, ranging from AAA releases to Indie darlings. To better point out some of the memorable cooperative adventures floating around the service, here’s a look at some of the best co-op games on Steam and what players can expect from them.

Updated November 23, 2024 by Mark Sammut: The last few weeks saw a couple of co-op games land on Steam, notably Lego Horizon Adventures, Zephon, and Luma Island. While still a bit too early to include them among the best cooperative titles on Valve’s platform, they merit consideration by people looking for something new to play with their friends (or family).

An October 2024 shooter has been added as a recommendation. Although this release was and still is a huge deal, it is very accessible through another store, so Steam might not be the ideal pick for everyone.

Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Zombies)

Steam User Rating: 59%

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is kind of difficult to recommend on Steam, mostly due to the game being available through Game Pass. If somebody has access to Steam, that means they can also jump into the PC Game Pass version, and if they are on the fence about trying Activision’s latest entry in the series, they should go with the latter.

Still, removing that component from the equation, Black Ops 6 is a good return to form following the disappointing Modern Warfare 3. The single-player campaign is one of the best in the franchise’s history, specifically when it comes to gameplay. It has variety, intensity, and even a few surprises. At eight hours, the story is relatively long too, although it does not support co-op. The PvP modes are fairly standard for Call of Duty.

For this particular discussion, those elements do not matter, and everything comes down to Black Ops 6‘s Zombies. Nowadays, this mode is firmly established as a COD staple, with each iteration allowing four players to come together as they mow down undead hordes, upgrade/buy weapons, and occasionally unlock a few buffs. After MW3 took a bit of risk with Zombies, Black Ops 6 opted to play things safe and return to Black Ops Cold War‘s formula, with storylines following a rounds-based structure that constantly pushes teams to unlock new areas.

Starship Troopers: Extermination

Steam User Rating: 84%

After spending roughly a year in early access, Starship Troopers: Extermination made its full debut in October 2024, and it is a fun but messy time. Despite reaching that 1.0 milestone, the game still has plenty of bugs, and not the type that you are meant to blast in the face. Still, there is a lot to enjoy here, largely thanks to strong gunplay, an impressive sense of scale thanks to the expansive maps, and the well-implemented co-op.

Although containing something akin to a single-player campaign, Starship Troopers: Extermination is unquestionably meant to be experienced in multiplayer, one designed to continue endlessly as players wage an exhausting war with a fun assortment of alien bugs. Fittingly, considering the original movie inspired Helldivers 2, Extermination provides a somewhat similar multiplayer structure as Arrowhead’s project, although the gameplay is fairly different. Besides the focus on first-person combat, missions incorporate base building, along with just feeling like larger-scale wars.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

Steam User Rating: 80%

It took more than a decade to materialize, but Space Marine 2 is now a reality. So, was it worth the wait? Well, the answer is mostly yes, even if some aspects could use some tweaking. Putting aside Operations, the PvE mode designed for players to replay the same missions and grind XP, the main campaign supports online co-op, and it is by far the best way to experience this story.

Sure, co-op improves nearly everything, but Space Marine 2 is very much designed around a three-person squad; consequently, solo players will be saddled with two AI partners who are not always the sharpest knives in the shed. Just to be clear, the campaign is still a blast in single-player as it is always satisfying to tear armies of Tyranids to shreds. Co-op just lessens some of the occasional frustration.

Operations can be fun too, but it is a grind and its mileage may vary from player to player. That said, the mode is worth a try since it will greatly extend
Space Marine 2
‘s life cycle.

Satisfactory

Steam User Rating: 96%

After roughly 5 years in early access, Satisfactory finally made its full debut on September 10, 2024. Unsurprisingly, the full game is fantastic, delivering an addictive sandbox-style experience that allows players to create the factories of their dreams. Obviously, this type of game is fairly niche, but if someone wants to get lost in creating elaborate metal jungles that turn an alien planet into the ultimate resource farm, they will struggle to find something quite as deep as Satisfactory.

Four players can jump into the same world, and they can mostly decide how much they want to interact. Like the rest of the game, co-op is not for everyone, and player compatibility is important to reduce irritation. That said, with the right group, this function can improve what is already a brilliant experience.

Helldivers 2

Steam User Rating: 85%

When February 2024 started, few people would have predicted that the month’s big game would be Helldivers 2 rather than Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League or Skull and Bones. The latter two titles both support co-op, although only Rocksteady’s superhero project is on Steam. While not devoid of positives, Suicide Squad is the definition of a mixed bag, although it is better when played with a couple of friends. However, Helldivers 2 is on a whole other level, delivering one of the best multiplayer experiences of recent years. The original Helldivers is a great co-op game, but it operates on a far smaller scale than its successor, which significantly expands on the same general blueprint.

Boasting a tongue-in-cheek narrative and presentation, Helldivers 2 casts players as soldiers who are liberating the galaxy, one planet at a time. The community takes on this (not so) righteous battle as a unit, so it genuinely feels like a joint effort. Players can join randoms or play with friends, and while the latter generally leads to a superior experience, the former is also fine for the most part. Helldivers 2 handles co-op beautifully, but that would not matter if the actual gameplay was not addictive and fun. As it so happens, Arrowhead also crafted a brilliant third-person shooter that is both satisfying and challenging.

Chained Together

Steam User Rating: 89%

Chained Together is the definition of an acquired taste. Designed to be frustrating to an extent, Anegar’s project fits into a peculiar platforming/puzzle subgenre that challenges players to climb up a collection of assets, all the while living with the knowledge that a restart could be just a single mistake away. Chained Together has a few things that set it apart from releases like Only Up!; for one, the game is set in hell, with the “story” revolving around escape attempts. While not sounding like a big deal, this element gives the title a clearer identity than most of its contemporaries.

More significantly, Chained Together is designed with up to 4-player co-op in mind. Solo runs are viable, but going down this route eliminates the game’s freshest ingredient, resulting in an experience that might be too infuriating to take on without the presence of a Twitch audience. Co-op adds far more replayability, turning the frustration into potential hilarity. That said, it could also result in fights.

Lethal Company

Steam User Rating: 97%

Every month, Steam seems to produce a couple of early-access games that take the world by storm, and Lethal Company won this lottery in October 2023. Supporting four-player co-op, the first-person horror game revolves around visiting moons that happen to have a few wayward creatures running around. The goal is to explore the area, collect loot to satisfy the company’s quota, and make it out alive. Basically, the concept is very similar to an extraction shooter, albeit without the shooter part.

Even though solo runs are possible, Lethal Company really emphasizes teamwork, to the point that someone can stay on the ship to monitor the moon and guide the rest of the group to safety. While still a work in progress, Lethal Company already executes its premise well, and the progressively growing quota provides replay value. The game can also be genuinely intense and terrifying.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Steam User Rating: 96%

A belated sequel to an all-time beloved RPG franchise created by a different developer who opted to change the core gameplay in a new direction, Baldur’s Gate 3 needed to be near-perfect to avoid backlash. Somehow, Larian accomplished just that. After spending a few years in early access, Baldur’s Gate 3 was finally released on Steam in August 2023, and it was everything most people could potentially want in a CRPG. For one, the game’s character creator is deep and impacts the rest of the campaign, meaning the first few decisions players make have consequences. This foreshadows the rest of the experience since player choice is a huge part of this Dungeons and Dragons adventure.

Baldur’s Gate 3 went down as one of the best single-player RPGs of 2023, and the same can be said for co-op. Friends can jump into each other’s campaigns, and they are largely left to their own devices in how they interact with the world. While groups can decide to do everything as a unit, they can also spend considerable time apart as they focus on different things.

Palworld

Steam User Rating: 93%

Launching into early access on January 19, 2024, Palworld instantly took the gaming world by storm, cracking the million-player count on Steam. It is safe to say that Pocket Pair’s open-world survival game with monster-collection and shooter elements is a resounding success, and the project is still a work in progress. While the latter fact might discourage some folks from taking the plunge, the current version is hardly lacking in content, although some aspects are rough around the edges and mechanics could change as the weeks and months roll by.

Still, Palworld is an impressive achievement by any metric, and it manages to cover various genres and concepts without buckling under the weight of its ambition. While not especially punishing, the game’s survival elements are handled fairly well, especially the building and crafting. The gunplay is not that big of a focus and takes a while to open up, but the action is exciting whenever it takes center stage. The monster-taming element attracted the most attention before Palworld‘s debut, and the project succeeds in taking ideas from staples like Pokemon while still carving out a unique identity.

The game is largely presented as a solo experience, and anyone who decides to stick to their own worlds will not feel like they are missing out on a large part of the overall package. However, Palworld also supports multiplayer in the form of 4-player co-op, along with servers that allow for 32 players at a time. While showcasing the game’s early access status due to its somewhat uneven implementation, this component nevertheless adds another dimension, permitting players to work together to craft bases and head out on exploitative adventures as a unit.

Ready Or Not

Steam User Rating: 88%

Void Interactive’s Ready or Not spent roughly two years in early access before officially launching in December 2023, and that time was not wasted. As members of a SWAT unit, players can tackle more than 15 maps, each of which is well-designed and fairly large for this type of shooter. While the gunplay is great, Ready or Not is very much intended to be tactical rather than a twitch shooter, and the game encourages teams to coordinate their movements to ensure maximum success (and a great score). The enemy AI can be quite aggressive and intelligent too, so just going in guns blazing with no thought will result in poor returns.

Ready or Not features a single-player option that teams players up with AI characters, but this exchange robs the gameplay of its sophistication. As such, this release is only worth recommending to people who plan to play online multiplayer with friends. For those who are struggling to piece together a full squad, they should try reaching out to the community through Discord or Reddit. The game has a relatively big playerbase, so it should not be impossible to find a few people to play with.

Rabbit And Steal

Steam User Rating: 97%

A fairly small release compared to Palworld and Baldur’s Gate 3, Rabbit and Steel is nevertheless a noteworthy co-op option that provides a pretty unique adventure that not many other projects can deliver. Inspired by MMO raids, the game challenges players to pick a class and then progress through chapters that contain mostly boss-style encounters that utilize bullet hell gameplay. The combat revolves around skills with cooldowns, adding a strategic element as players have to decide when it is best to use, for example, their dodge maneuver.

Rabbit and Steel knows what it is trying to be and succeeds in bringing that experience to life. That said, it is designed with a very specific audience in mind, and it is much better when played with a few friends (after all, it is based on MMOs, a genre driven entirely by multiplayer). Due to its specialized combat, new players should try out the Steam demo before picking up the full game, just to make sure it is their speed.

Sons Of The Forest

Steam User Rating: 86%

Endnight Games introduced its wildly popular horror survival game, The Forest, back in 2014. Now, almost ten years later, the studio is back with a new adventure in Sons of the Forest. This sequel features all the same gameplay elements that fans enjoyed in the first release with a handful of surprises thrown throughout. The title is currently in Early Access, but developers are adamant about adding tons of new content over the coming months, with countdown timers that outline subsequent patches and releases.

Although Sons of the Forest can be played solo, it’s an absolute blast to play with friends. Similar to the original game, players can build their own bases, traps, and defenses, and explore areas with friends. Sons of the Forest‘s horror element is diluted in co-op, resulting in a less tense and (obviously) isolating experience than in single-player; consequently, the feature might be better left for a second playthrough.

Borderlands 3

Steam User Rating: 85%

All the Borderlands games revolve around co-op, even if they are still perfectly playable solo. Now, personal preference might promote some of the other entries to the top position, especially Borderlands 2 for its great story and main villain; however, Borderlands 3 has pretty comfortably the best gameplay in the series, which is arguably more important for a co-op run. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a fine D&D-twist on the formula, but it is not quite as replayable as the main entries. Borderlands and Borderlands 2 are still worth playing, as long as new players go in with realistic expectations as their gunplay is outdated by this point.

Despite its polarizing narrative and characters, Borderlands 3‘s gameplay, progression, vault hunter builds, and visuals are all best-in-class, delivering the most enjoyable overall experience if players mainly want to shoot and loot. Seamlessly implemented and encouraged, the game not only implements co-op well but also minimizes any hassle to access it.

The Outlast Trials

Steam User Rating: 93%

Red Barrels’ Outlast is well-cemented as a modern horror staple, even if the games can be divisive. Taking a single-player franchise in a multiplayer direction will always attract doubt from the fanbase as it comes with a significant risk of undermining the IP’s core appeal. Although not without issues, The Outlast Trials serves as an admirable example of how to execute this shift without gutting everything that came before.

Playable solo but designed with 4-player co-op in mind, The Outlast Trials challenges players with completing experiments within self-contained maps. The latter zones are structured similarly to the classic areas in the previous Outlast games, albeit with the objectives being generalized rather than story-driven. Just to be clear, the game still has a story and adds important lore to the franchise as a whole; however, the runs themselves are fairly light in this area. The maps are all atmospheric, creepy, and well-designed, and they are littered with horrifying monstrosities that live up to Outlast‘s horror reputation.

Stardew Valley

Steam User Rating: 98%

One of the best Indie releases ever made, Stardew Valley actually has a pretty fun and robust cooperative mode. Up to four players can band together to build their own farm, though it is important to note that one player will be the “owner” and the others will work as farmhands.

This means that players will be forced to wait for the owner to be online in order to continue their journey and their characters will be saved to that player’s specific world. Still, there are many unique features in multiplayer, like the ability for each player to marry their own NPC and the ability to build additional player housing (via cabins) onto the farm property. Players can even track and complete quests on their own.

For The King

Steam User Rating: 88%

Turn-based RPGs are a ton of fun, but they’re even more entertaining with friends as proven by For the King. This multiplayer cooperative (up to 3 players at the same time) story-driven adventure sees players choosing a class and then setting out to battle enemies, make decisions, and uncover lore.

There are tons of areas to explore and battles to engage in, with each player taking their own turn in both the Overworld and during a fight. Players can unlock new abilities by swapping weapons and will have to make a series of dice-roll decisions that can strengthen or weaken their character over time.

For the King 2
‘s launch has been a bit of a mixed bag, but the sequel is also on Steam and, obviously, supports co-op.

Remnant 2

Steam User Rating: 84%

Gunfire Games has sought to bless the world with third-person shooter Soulslikes. While not the only developer to accept this worthy challenge, Gunfire is the most notable, with both Remnant: From the Ashes and its sequel garnering predominantly praise. Released in 2019, the former was a great proof of concept, but Remnant 2 is bigger and better. The 2023 release offers way more (unlockable) classes and build options, superior and more nuanced combat, and far more diverse locations, all the while still incorporating procedurally generated elements like its predecessor.

Both games support 3-player co-op, and this is undoubtedly the best way to experience Remnant. Players are encouraged to create balanced teams from the available archetypes, all of which have unique strengths and weaknesses that allow them to slip into specific roles. While playable solo, the dungeons are designed to be tackled by a group of players, and they will need to work together well if they want to survive the game’s challenges, particularly on its highest difficulties.

Monster Hunter World Or Rise

Steam User Rating: 88% (World) & 81% (Rise)

• 	Monster Hunter World	Monster Hunter Rise
  Released	2018-01-26	2021-03-26
  Developer(s)	Capcom	Capcom
  Genre(s)	Action RPG	Action, RPG

Monster Hunter World and Rise both support online co-op, and there is not a huge difference in quality between them. Consequently, newcomers should just go with their gut instinct and pick the game that looks the most enticing to them, although they should try to pick up a version that includes each title’s respective expansion, both of which are better than the base content. Despite being the newer release, Rise looks somewhat worse than World since it originally launched on the Nintendo Switch, and its maps are generally smaller than its predecessor’s offerings. Nevertheless, Rise is well-rounded and awesome, all the while being the most accessible entry in Capcom’s franchise.

Both games allow up to four players to go on hunts together, and their combat loops are fundamentally identical. However, World‘s co-op implementation is slightly more peculiar since it requires the host player to summon hunters during quests, resulting in a process that is not as seamless as the version in Rise. That said, it is not complicated, just unnecessary. During the harder hunts, co-op makes a notable difference in battle, and the feature should extend the game’s replayability since it helps reduce the grind’s exhaustion.

Overcooked! 2

Steam User Rating: 90%

Players looking for a puzzle, strategy, and skill-based challenge should definitely check out Overcooked! 2. What starts out as a deceptively simple cooking game soon devolves into madness, and it takes quite a bit of teamwork to do well in the later levels. Players will need to work together, tossing each other ingredients and ensuring they use the right cooking stations in order to get meals out to hungry customers.

Each level has a star-based system and players can earn more stars by performing better. It can be quite challenging and is a ton of fun, featuring up to four players racing around a wide variety of strange kitchen settings.

Content Warning

Steam User Rating: 93%

Released on April’s Fools, Content Warning exploded onto Steam thanks to an inspired premise that is (literally) made for streaming. While performing OK on Valve’s store, Landfall’s release will probably not have the same shelf-life as other recent successful co-op Steam games like Helldivers 2 or Lethal Company; conversely, the fact Content Warning has not been forgotten completely yet serves as a testament to its quality. Still, people interested in giving this a go should probably not wait too long.

Content Warning challenges players with filming “scary” videos, and then airing them on an in-universe platform to earn cash. This concept is so obvious that it seems like it should have been done already, and Landfall presents a charming interpretation of this idea. Armed with items and gadgets, players head out into the Old World’s facilities in search of monsters, and survival is not guaranteed.

Grounded

Steam User Rating: 89%

Obsidian’s Grounded is a charming take on the survival genre that is perfect for both solo players and groups. After being shrunk down to ant size, four children find themselves trapped in a backyard that has its own ecosystem ruled by different insect societies. While reversing their stature is important, the characters have more pressing matters to attend to, including setting up a base that will hopefully be able to keep them safe from the many threats that exist in this familiar but creative world.

In theory, the survival genre seems like a better fit for single-player projects since the lack of support heightens the challenge; however, Grounded serves as a prime example that adding a few companions can reveal a new dimension to the overall package. Unsurprisingly, the writing is consistently witty and endearing, even though the game does not emphasize its main story all that much. The gameplay and mechanics are relatively typical for the survival genre, but they are executed well and regularly expanded upon.

Phasmophobia

Steam User Rating: 96%

Those looking for something that will really scare their socks off should consider trying out Phasmophobia. In this Indie release, players must enter locations and gather paranormal evidence using a variety of tools. What starts out as a seemingly routine exploration soon turns to chaos as players realize that the spirits they are investigating are hostile. Phasmophobia is dark, gritty, and can be downright terrifying, especially when played in VR.

Players can bring friends along to help cut through the fear and tension and many of the game mechanics offer up a great opportunity for cooperative play as players will need to work together and communicate to make it out of each location alive. In terms of the horror genre, Phasmophobia is comfortably among the best Steam co-op games​​​​​​.

It Takes Two

Steam User Rating: 95%

Anyone looking for a fun and engrossing cooperative experience needs to put It Takes Two at the top of their list. This release, from the same studio that created A Way Out, is a masterpiece of cooperative gaming. Not only is the story engrossing, but the art style is also fantastic, and the gameplay is addictive. Players will have to support one another on their journey through It Takes Two‘s action-and-puzzle-filled chapters.

No matter which character they pick, players will constantly switch back and forth between a leadership and support role, spending time in the limelight before helping to accentuate and elevate their partner. It’s a beautifully balanced release that shows how incredible a good cooperative multiplayer experience can be.

Crab Champions

Steam User Rating: 98%

Crab Champions is a third-person shooter featuring crabs. This description might make it sound like a joke game, but that would be a disservice to the quality on display here. In early access, Noisestorm has been updating the base game at a fairly consistent rate, releasing patches that either add new content or improve things like balancing. Consequently, Crab Champions will continue to improve over the following months and possibly years, which is exciting since the current version is already great.

Crab Champions absolutely nails its movement; in fact, an argument could be made that it is one of the most smooth and fluid third-person shooters on the market. While the gameplay loop gets repetitive after a while, the core mechanics are so enjoyable that they can carry the load. The game is a blast as a solo experience, and it is only enhanced when a few friends are brought along for the ride.

Terraria

Steam User Rating: 97%

Although many would consider Minecraft as the defacto building, crafting, and survival game, there are some who would argue that Terraria is just as, if not more, engaging. This release ditches the 3D blocky aesthetic in favor of a pixelated, 2D side-scrolling adventure. Like Minecraft, Terraria‘s worlds are procedurally generated, so no two playthroughs will ever feel the same. Those craving something a bit more difficult than a traditional Minecraft session can turn to Terraria for a much more in-depth combat system, as well as an array of difficult bosses that will have the player fighting, grinding, and exploring for better gear.

Terraria can be a blast alone, but it’s even better with friends. Players are free to tackle the entirety of Terraria as a coop pair or even in a group.

Left 4 Dead 2

Steam User Rating: 97%

Although Turtle Rock Studios recently released Back 4 Blood, a game influenced by its original Left 4 Dead release, there are still many players flocking to Left 4 Dead 2 to get their zombie-fighting fix. This is because Left 4 Dead 2 has been a phenomenal part of the cooperative scene ever since it hit store shelves back in 2009. It’s a bit of an upgrade from the original release while still maintaining all the core gameplay elements that made it such a fantastic experience. The end result is a sequel that is engaging, fast-paced, hectic, and immensely fun.

Left 4 Dead 2 can be experienced alone with AI partners, but it’s much more fun via cooperative play. With so much mod support and even custom campaigns, players who are just hopping into Left 4 Dead 2 will find tons of content to explore with their friends.

Valheim

Steam User Rating: 95%

Another difficult-yet-rewarding release, Valheim is an Indie smash-hit that has players taking over the role of a Viking. To survive, new adventurers will need to construct shelter, craft weapons, and collect materials to fasten armor and other tools. Similar to The Forest and its sequel, players will find themselves weak and helpless at the start, as they’re forced to avoid or tangle with some pretty difficult enemies.

Valheim is a bit more “Dark Souls-like” in its combat approach, and players will need to learn enemy attack patterns and behaviors in order to defeat most of them. There are even some imposing bosses to take down. The best part is that players can bring a friend along, to make the journey a bit easier.

Don’t Starve Together

Steam User Rating: 95%

Don’t Starve was another Indie release that took the gaming world by storm, quickly developing a cult following thanks to its punishing game world, seemingly unfair mechanics, and alluring storybook-like art style. Played from a top-down perspective, players will have to survive by foraging for food and other items while building shelters and avoiding an array of deadly monsters found in each procedurally generated playthrough.

Don’t Starve Together lets players experience all the struggles found in the original release with a group, helping one another to survive by picking from a series of interesting characters, each with their own abilities and stats.

Payday 2

Steam User Rating: 89%

Those who enjoy heisting their way through Grand Theft Auto 5 and GTA Online will find a lot to love with Payday 2. This release takes the heist concept and crafts an entire release around it, giving groups of players access to an array of missions, bank jobs, and other types of heists to complete. Players will need to keep a level head as they attempt to avoid guards, disable security cameras, take hostages, and perform other heist tasks while avoiding capture.

What makes Payday 2 so engaging is that players can complete missions in a variety of ways. Sometimes they’ll need to attack things from a stealthy perspective, and sometimes they can run in guns blazing. There are also an array of character types and special abilities that players can unlock as they play.

Killing Floor 2

Steam User Rating: 89%

Tripwire’s Killing Floor 2 has had a longer-than-most shelf life. While not quite as popular as Valve’s own zombie co-op shooter, the game has maintained a decent playerbase on Steam, and it is frequently on sale for dirt cheap. Technically, Killing Floor 2 can be played solo, but it is not recommended nor particularly enjoyable; as such, this is one title that should be played alongside a few other people. Wave-based levels are not unusual for the genre, but it is a tried and tested structure and formula that can provide accessible and constant thrills when executed well. Killing Floor 2 proves as much, and the game has more to offer than just an enjoyable loop.

The title’s classes are arguably the game’s highlight, as the Perks all bring something fresh to the plate. Testing different team configurations adds a great deal of replayability, and each class can be leveled up to expand its abilities. Killing Floor 2 implements these light RPG elements well, and their inclusion elevates what could have otherwise been a fun but forgettable shooter.

Sea Of Thieves

Steam User Rating: 90%

When it set sail in 2018, Rare’s high-seas project hit immediate rough waters; however, the game managed to weather that storm to come out on the other side. Now, more than 5 years later, Sea of Thieves is firmly established as a cornerstone of the online scene that can satisfy both co-op and PvP fans, along with the occasional lone pirate. While not devoid of direction, Rare designed the game to encourage players to seek out their own adventures, which is generally easier to do when part of a crew.

Even if it is not narratively dense, Sea of Thieves is still stuffed with content and objectives. There are missions, tall tales, factions, treasure hunts, and timed events to keep players engaged; more importantly, a crew can simply spend their days exploring the sandbox and embracing whatever comes their way, be it a Kraken or another pirate ship.

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4

Steam User Rating: 92%

Koei’s Musou games tend to be polarizing. Either they are action-packed romps with cathartic gameplay or repetitive wastes of time with combat that gets old within seconds. There does not seem to be much of a middle ground. Despite being the definition of niche, Warriors, as a franchise, is somehow popular enough to warrant a billion sequels and spin-offs. And, sometimes, nothing hits the spot like blowing away thousands of enemies with a single swing as a one-person wrecking crew. Sure, the combat might not be deep, but it is flashy and fun.

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 is packed with fanservice that should thrill people who have spent the last two decades reading Eiichiro Oda’s manga, and they are frankly the only people who should consider picking up this title. Along with cliffsnotes versions of past arcs, the campaign also tells a non-canon storyline that is fun enough to keep things interesting for 20 or so hours. The playable character roster is absolutely massive, containing more than 40 options in just the base game.

Now, co-op comes with a few limitations, and it needs to be unlocked for story missions. However, Pirate Warriors 4 has a couple of modes that allow up to 4 players to join in on the mayhem, and the co-op is entertaining whenever the connection is smooth.

Barotrauma

Steam User Rating: 93%

Barotrauma drops players in a submarine that is exploring the depths of an alien ocean, one crawling with entities far scarier than a Great White Shark. Along with a campaign catering to solo players, Barotrauma has two modes designed specifically with co-op in mind, and they arguably showcase the game at its peak.

In the latter options, Barotrauma players take charge of individual roles in the submarine, each of which has a crucial part to play in a mission’s success and the crew’s general survival. Even when surrounded by friends, the game manages to still be excruciatingly stressful, in the best possible way.

Rotwood

Steam User Rating: 72%

Klei Entertainment created one of the best co-op Steam games in Don’t Starve Together, and while it would be a tall order to surpass that masterpiece, Rotwood is a viable alternative. To be clear, the early access project is a wildly different beast than that survival title and focuses way more on combat. A beat ’em up that follows a roguelite structure, Rotwood has an over-the-top cartoony animation style that lends itself brilliantly to the flashy and fairly challenging action.

While accessible enough at a glance, the gameplay focuses on combos, which does bring an element of challenge. With multiple weapon types to master and a decent range of biomes and bosses, the current version is already a respectable package. Solo runners will likely have a decent time with Rotwood, but the game shines far brighter when played with a couple of friends.

Portal 2

Steam User Rating: 98%

Pairs of players looking for a great puzzle game should put Portal 2 at the top of their list. Although this release has a great single-player campaign, it also features a robust cooperative storyline that stands as its own adventure. Players will control one of two bots and be subject to a variety of GLaDOS’ seemingly sinister portal-based tests. This is a fantastic puzzle game and a great use of Portal’s unique gameplay mechanics. The cooperative play is well-thought-out and will force players to work together to escape each room.

Portal 2 is a game that all players should check out at least once and the cooperative experience makes it even better.

Deep Rock Galactic

Steam User Rating: 97%

Deep Rock Galactic puts players in the shoes of a resource collection team as they’re sent off on an array of missions to collect minerals and other valuable items. In this futuristic and campy first-person shooter, players will need to band together as one of four different classes in order to ensure that each mission goes off without a hitch, checking certain tasks off their to-do list like collecting a specific amount of resources, defending a specific area, or subduing certain threats.

Deep Rock Galactic is a great FPS, offering a challenge at higher levels while simultaneously promoting a fun and funny environment.

Dead Island 2

Steam User Rating: 64%

After spending a year as an Epic Games Store exclusive, Dead Island 2 finally made its Steam debut in April 2024, garnering a mixed reception due to issues not related to the game’s quality. While these criticisms should not be ignored, this section will focus solely on Dead Island 2‘s co-op gameplay, which is awesome enough to warrant a spotlight.

Like the original Dead Island, the sequel is primarily concerned with providing accessible first-person action with a lot of gore. Dead Island 2 does not tell a complex narrative or feature particularly memorable characters, and it is fine without them. After a short intro section, players will unlock co-op, allowing them to join forces with two other slayers. From that point, the campaign descends into glorious madness as players get to rampage through a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles. The combat is simple but satisfying, and it is complemented by decent progression and customization systems. Dead Island 2‘s post-game is also quite robust, ensuring the fun does not stop just because there are no story missions left.