“Maybe the real treasure was the friends we made along the way” A meme that’s been around for a long time, but one that sort of resurfaced when Sea of Thieves came along. Releasing to a fair amount of negativity, there was still a tight nit community that enjoyed the game for what it was. People who made friends exploring the seas and going on adventures.
Multiplayer games are something at the very core of my group of friends. For years we’ve played together, thousands of hours spent adventuring, shooting, laughing, exploring, and everything in between.
Fairly often I see people on Reddit or social media asking for recommendations for what the best games to play with friends to play are. I figured I would share some of my favorites, some lesser-known gems and other well-loved games and try to break them down by what gaming experience you’re after.
Co-operative Games
There are numerous great games out there that can be played with a buddy or two or maybe even more. Here are some of the best coop games to check out for when you don’t want to play against other real people.
Deep Rock Galactic
Platform(s): Steam, Xbox for Windows, Xbox One
Price: £24.99
Players: Up to 4
There was no way I wasn’t going to include this game somewhere in this list. Deep Rock Galactic is the dwarven coop mining game where you are sent on missions to mine for precious resources and treasures whilst fighting off alien bugs of all shapes and sizes. The game first released in early access and has since gone on to become an amazing title packed full of content both casual and challenging. You can play on your own or with up to three others and it’s honestly such a fun game. the community is great and friendly so it’s easy to play with others too.
It’s also one of the highest-rated games on steam ever. If that doesn’t tell you something I don’t know what will.
Remnant: From the Ashes
Platform(s): Steam, Xbox One, PS4
Price: £30.99
Players: Up to 3
This is one game I’ve not actually played, but have heard lots of very positive things about. If you’re a fan of games like Dark Souls or Bloodborne but have always wanted to jump in with a friend. Well, Remnant: From the Ashes is your chance to do that!
Take on a world thrown in to chaos by an ancient evil in this challenging action RPG. Wield deadly melee weapons and powerful guns as you take on hordes of beasts and massive bosses.
Satisfactory
Platform(s): Steam, Epic store
Price: £27.99
Players: Up to 4 (although you can create servers with more players, but it makes things a little funky)
If shooting things, or smacking them with swords and axes isn’t your thing and you’d rather create the most elaborate and crazy production lines in existence. Then I’d suggest checking out Satisfactory. Technically there is some combat in the game, but for the most part, you will just be building massive factories and very long production lines. Explore a massive open-world alien planet and industrialise it to your heart’s content.
Monster Hunter World
Platform(s): Steam, Xbox One, PS4
Price: £24.99
Players: Up to 4
How does the prospect of hunting down and defeating massive beasts across huge open worlds sound to you? What about if you could play with your friends? I’m sure most people are no stranger to the Monster Hunter franchise. That being said, I’m still mentioning it because it’s a huge RPG that offers hundreds of hours of content that can all be played with your friends. There is a massive amount of customisation, learning your enemy’s movements, where they live, what they’re vulnerable to. This game will keep you busy for a long time providing you and your friends with tough challenges and epic fights.
GTFO
Platform(s): Steam
Price: £29.99
Players: Up to 4
If you fancy something a little more terrifying then look no further than GTFO. This hardcore tactical stealth shooter is full of tension and horrifying creatures. Working together is key in the dank and dark world of the Complex. Why you’re here, you don’t know. All you know is that you have to complete missions for someone called The Warden.
GTFO offers a change of pace to most modern FPS games. Taking your time and keeping quiet is paramount to not being overrun. Sleepers hide in the darkest of corners and you wouldn’t want to wake them up, trust me!
Risk of Rain 2
Platform(s): Steam,
Price: £24.99 (£14.99 On steam early access, the price will go up on full launch)
Players: Up to 4
Imagine a game where the difficulty literally never stops increasing. The longer you play the more enemies you will face, the bigger and tougher they will become. Don’t worry though as you will also be able to get infinitely more bad-ass.
Risk of Rain 2 is total bullet hell carnage and it’s incredibly fun. Fight through waves of levels constantly unlocking new abilities and power-ups that create truly amazing combinations. Stack abilities to become an insane force of power the further you go. Defeat mega bosses, unlock secrets, new characters and all sorts of other unique items. Risk of Rain 2 is an amazing game that’s simple to get to grips with, but challenging to master!
Outward
Platform(s): Steam, Xbox One, PS4
Price: £34.99
Players: Up to 2
Outward feels like a true adventure. One full of mystery, wonder, strange creatures, and deadly enemies. Whilst the game can be played fully in coop, there is one slight downside to it. That is that any progress made to the story of whoever is hosting the coop session, won’t be carried back over to the player who joined. Meaning if you join someone, complete loads of quests and then leave, you will still have those quests to complete in your save. Thankfully, however, any items or money you acquire does carry over.
Despite that minor inconvenience, Outward is still a really fun game to play with someone else. There is a massive world to explore with dungeons full of tough challenges. To me, it feels like a good blend of survival and RPG. YOu have to look after your hunger, thirst, and other areas like that. But they aren’t a real burden and don’t take up too much time to manage. Furthermore, Outward doesn’t try to hold your hand when it comes to exploring or questing. There are no waypoints, no map makers telling you where to go. Players will have to learn the lay of the land themselves.
There is a whole world of cooperative video games out there that we could talk about forever. But these are just a few of the best games to play with friends that offer up excellent gameplay experiences that are a little different from each other.
Stick around for our upcoming recommendations for competitive games to play with your friends too.
-Will
