The Best Single-Player Games Where You’re Not Solo

Summary

• Some single-player games offer companions or dual-character gameplay, enhancing the experience.
• Titles like Resident Evil Zero and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons prioritize managing multiple characters.
• Games like Pikmin 2 and The World Ends With You focus on solo play but involve companions in unique ways.

Some of the best single-player video games of all time involve a lone hero fighting through armies of enemies with nothing but their wits and power-ups. Not all heroes have to do it solo, as some single-player games give players allies on their journey.

Whether it’s controlling multiple characters separately or being joined by party members that have limited interactivity, it’s possible for solo players to be joined in the story mode of their games. There are even titles like this listed among the best games of all time, helped by how they handle multiple characters in a solitary experience.

10

Resident Evil Zero

Rebecca Chambers finally stepped into the spotlight in Resident Evil Zero, in a prequel adventure set before the Spencer Mansion incident. She wasn’t alone on her journey, only this time, it wasn’t the S.T.A.R.S. team with her, but an escaped prisoner.

Resident Evil Zero is all about managing two characters at once, with the player able to switch between them at will. Players not only have to manage two inventories while fighting zombies, but also need to solve puzzles by switching between characters, in one of the most underrated Resident Evil experiences to date.

9

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is hinged around a central gimmick: the player controls two brothers using both analog sticks at the same time, which means solving puzzles in real time with two people. The story follows two brothers as they go on a journey to find magical water to heal their ailing father, which means tackling danger together.

Later iterations of the game (notably, the Nintendo Switch port, but not the remake) would add multiplayer, which takes something away from the experience. What makes Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons so engaging is the dual character mechanic and experiencing the siblings’ harrowing tale as a solo experience.

8

Pikmin 2

While later Pikmin games would embrace co-op multiplayer, the early entries kept it solo, with games like Pikmin 2 forcing Olimar to go it alone in the story while they attempted to repair their spaceship with the help of an army of adorable Pikmin.

Controlling and managing the Pikmin, commanding them to battle wildlife, and using them to clear obstacles is a bizarre yet oddly satisfying experience. The player gets to sit in the back, like a general in war’s past, guiding the vegetable people to victory. While the Pikmin games are light on story, they’re packed with fun gameplay that’s built around companionship with the titular aliens.

7

The World Ends With You

The World Ends With You is all about partnership, as the main character is forced to take part in a deadly game to return to life after their untimely death. This means tagging with another person and completing tasks as they go, as they learn more about their mysterious pasts.

The World Ends With You on the Nintendo DS lets you control two characters at once, using the touchscreen for one and the D-pad for the other. Later versions of the game reduced the other cast members to one-off attacks, which took something away from the experience but didn’t stop this from being one of Square Enix’s best non-Final Fantasy/Dragon Quest RPGs.

6

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

Many Legend of Zelda games could fit this list, as Link is often accompanied by a fairy or similar helper being, some of whom will help the player out in rare circumstances, such as Navi in the final Ganon fight in Ocarina of Time.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks fits the concept better, as Link is accompanied by Princess Zelda’s ghost on his journey. Together, they travel across the land on railway lines, with Link using Zelda’s ethereal state to possess items and solve puzzles as he attempts to reunite her spirit with her body.

5

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

Arguably the best Castlevania game of all time, Portrait of Ruin, involves two vampire hunters outside the Belmont clan foiling the plans of the undead. The player gets to switch between them at all times, with Jonathon acting as the traditional whip-user and Charlotte casting spells to destroy foes.

The twin character gimmick leads to lots of exciting battles (including possibly the best boss fight in the series, which we won’t spoil) and well-done puzzles involving the use of both heroes. Even better, you can play this game on modern systems, thanks to the Castlevania Dominus Collection finally freeing it from the Nintendo DS.

4

Mass Effect 2

The Mass Effect trilogy might have been about uniting the species of the galaxy against the Reaper threat, but the player was stuck in Commander Shepard’s shoes for the vast majority of the journey, with only the power to command allies to use specific powers in battle.

Fortunately, this control of a lone hero doesn’t detract from Mass Effect 2 being the best entry in the series and possibly the best sci-fi RPG of all time. It’s just a shame its sequels couldn’t keep up the quality, even though Mass Effect 3 did finally bring some multiplayer action to help fight off the Reapers.

3

The Last Of Us

The world of The Last of Us is a lonely place, with zombies wiping out most of humanity while the vestiges of civilization murder each other in the ruins of buildings over supplies and petty conflicts.

Fortunately, Joel doesn’t have to go on his journey alone, as the player spends most of the game in the company of Ellie, who represents humanity’s best hope for the future. The father/daughter relationship between the two is the highlight of the game, which helps make its eventual story twists all the more harrowing, eternally cementing The Last of Us in the minds of players.

2

Kingdom Hearts 2

The Kingdom Hearts series is known for merging the worlds of Disney and Final Fantasy together, but it usually puts the player in the oversized shoes of Sora. He might have multiple companions, but the player only has minimal access to their abilities.

This doesn’t stop Kingdom Hearts 2 from being the best entry in the series. While Sora is firmly in the driving seat, it’s in this game that he has the best combat controls, and where the player won’t want to strangle the person who designed the camera, unlike nearly every other entry in the series.

1

God of War

After several God of War games of Kratos fighting alone, he was joined by his son in the 2018 revival of the series. Kratos and Atreus are now stuck fighting figures from Norse mythology, as deities won’t let him enjoy his retirement in peace.

While some complained about the idea of Kratos fighting alongside a dopey kid, Atreus proved himself to be one of the highlights of God of War, making fans excited to see him become a regular character in the games going forward. It also helped that God of War is an excellent title, especially as Kratos doesn’t have to carve through hordes on his own.