The Best Co-op Games for Every Situation

CNET

12-07-2025

Cooperative play is intrinsic to gaming. Some of my earliest (and best) gaming memories are of hours-long gaming sessions with friends. There's a reason why Hazelight Studios' Split Fiction and It Takes Two were so well received -- people love playing games with others. Bonus points if you don't need two copies of the game, or can do so from the same couch.
Whether you're looking for a couch co-op or logging in with others across the internet, these are the best games to jump into with your friends.
Best co-op games right now
Split Fiction
It Takes Two
Helldivers 2
Elden Ring Nightreign
Baldur's Gate 3
Best co-op games for two players
These games are best experienced with one other person, so grab a friend and get to work. A few in this section, like Split Fiction, It Takes Two and Cuphead, only require one copy of the game, which makes it even easier to play.
Hazelight Studios/EA Games Split Fiction
When it comes to couch co-op, it doesn't get better than this. Split Fiction follows two writers who inadvertently become entangled in a machine that brings their stories to life. You'll get to know Mia and Zoe as they work through their stories (and trauma) while building their friendship.
Together, you'll solve various puzzles in fantasy and sci-fi worlds that often pay homage to classic, genre-defining games. It's from the studio that made co-op bangers like It Takes Two, A Way Out and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, so it's no surprise that this one made the list.
Price: $49.99
Number of players: 2
Platform: PC, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5
Genre: Third-person action/adventure
Co-op style: Split screen or online
Hazelight Studios/EA Games It Takes Two
As the title suggests, you'll need to bring a friend to work through this story of rebuilding a failing marriage. You step into the shoes of Cody and May, who were unknowingly transformed into dolls by their daughter, Rose. You'll have to put aside your differences, work together to solve puzzles and platform your way to boss fights. Get your marriage on track and your bodies back in this near-perfect co-op experience.
Price: $39.99
Number of players: 2
Platform: PC, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5
Genre: Action/adventure
Co-op style: Split screen or online
Hazelight Studios/EA Games A Way Out
Ever wanted to break out of prison with a partner? So have Vincent and Leo. Set in the 1970s, you'll uncover the protagonists' motivations for needing to escape and why they ended up in the slammer in the first place. Over the course of the game, you'll work together to enact your plan and stay ahead of the law.
Price: $29.99
Number of players: 2
Platform: PC, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5
Genre: Action/adventure
Co-op style: Split screen or online
Valve Portal 2
Arguably one of the most popular (and most quoted) games of all time, 14 years later, Portal 2's co-op campaign is still worth a playthrough. Armed with portal guns, players take control of robots Atlas and P-Body as they solve puzzles and uncover dark secrets hidden within Aperture Science Laboratories. With legendary voice acting and some of the best game writing that still holds up to this day, Portal 2 is a co-op adventure you shouldn't miss.
Price: $9.99
Number of players: 1-2
Platform: PC
Genre: First-person, action/adventure puzzler
Co-op style: Online or split screen
Studio MDHR Cuphead
Styled after 1950s cartoons, you might expect Cuphead to be an easy, light-hearted adventure. While it is light-hearted, it's no walk in the park.
The game starts with an ill-fated deal with the devil. You play as Cuphead, who inadvertently becomes the devil's debt collector. Luckily, you can bring along your brother, Mugman, to help take down everyone on the devil's list in hopes of earning your freedom. While challenging, taking on unique, well-designed boss encounters with a fantastic art style is very fun -- especially when you bring a friend.
Price: $19.99
Number of players: 1-2
Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch
Genre: Side-scroller action/adventure, bullet hell, platformer
Co-op style: Split screen
FromSoft Elden Ring Nightreign
FromSoftware's Elden Ring Nightreign is the studio's first game with a multiplayer focus. You drop in to Limgrave, a well-known location to those who've played Elden Ring, with two other players.
It borrows aspects from battle royale games, like an ever-closing circle that forces you to move as you scavange items along the way. There are three levels, or nights, that you progress through. At the end of each night, you'll fight bosses from across FromSoft's impressive catalogue before culminating in a final battle with the Nightlord. It's an interesting spin on one of the best games that has been released in the last decade.
Price: $39.99
Number of players: 1 or 3
Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5
Genre: Roguelike
Co-op style: Online
Best co-op games for four players
These games are better experienced with a crew at your back. Squad up with three friends and get ready to squash alien bugs, hunt monsters or battle waves of demons.
Arrowhead Game Studios Helldivers 2
Imagine being shot from your spaceship in a bullet-shaped Hellpod, hurtling down through an alien planet's atmosphere and plunging into the hard earth. You pop up, call in your weapons, and make your stand against an army of giant, democracy-destroying bugs, robots or space zombies called illuminates -- with three of your friends by your side. You will undoubtedly die, but that's a sacrifice Super Earth is willing to make.
The high-octane, third-person shooter gameplay Helldivers 2 delivers is truly unique. It's hard to beat the rush of calling down massive napalm strikes and giant orbital lasers as your friends provide covering fire against the hordes of enemies threatening to overtake you at any moment.
Price: $39.99
Number of players: 1-4
Platform: PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S (starting 8/26/25)
Genre: Third-person shooter
Co-op style: Online
Capcom Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds is a great point to enter this long-running series from Capcom. Team up with up to three friends to track and hunt fearsome monsters in sand-swept deserts, lush forests, frozen cliffs and fiery volcanic biomes.
You'll fight through progressively more challenging hunts as you turn monster parts into weapons and armor to take down the tempered arch-tempered monsters. If you've been hesitant to jump into a Monster Hunter game, Wilds is the best place to start -- especially with three friends.
Price: $69.99
Number of players: 1-4
Platform: PC, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5
Genre: Action RPG
Co-op style: Online
Klei Entertainment Don't Starve Together
This spooky, hand-drawn title drops you and up to three friends into procedurally generated maps (that means each map is uniquely generated when you start a new game) filled with monsters. You're goal is to survive through the four seasons, each bringing different gameplay elements -- like temperature -- for players to contend with. You can choose from an eclectic character roster, each with their own unique abilities.
The game has you scrounging for resources in swamps, deserts and forests, building your base and tools, and fighting off monsters and the weather while doing your best not to starve. If you've ever wondered how you and your friends would fare in a survival situation, this one's for you.
Price: $14.99
Number of players: 1-4
Platform: PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch
Genre: Survival crafting
Co-op style: Online or local
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. Diablo IV
The latest installment in Blizzard's horror, loot-filled series is great fun with three other people. Battle through hordes of demons as one of six classes, chasing loot and the perfect build to eradicate your foes. While it had a somewhat rocky launch, the game is in a much better place since its fourth season, Loot Reborn.
It's now in its ninth season and first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, with another expansion slated for 2026. It's a good time for returning players and those ready to dip their toes into the hellfire to give it a shot.
Price: $49.99
Number of players: 1-4
Platform: PC, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5
Genre: Horror, ARPG
Co-op style: Online or local
Kinetic Games Phasmophobia
Ever wanted to be a ghost hunter? Phasmophobia lets you and up to three friends investigate haunted locales, following clues and dealing with truly terrifying paranormal activity. Your job is to use all the ghost-hunting equipment at your disposal to collect as much evidence as possible and make it out alive. Horror games can be fun alone, but they're a blast to play with friends. Try it in VR for a horrifyingly immersive experience.
Price: $19.99
Number of players: 1-4
Platform: PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and VR
Genre: First-person horror
Co-op style: Online
Anegar Games Chained Together
Do you and your buddies have the communication skills needed to break out of Hell? Now's your chance to test your theory. The only hitch is that all four of you are chained together and must synchronize your movements to climb higher and higher through challenging obstacles. One wrong move and you'll plummet back to the start. While you can play with up to four people, you can also do it with just one other person.
Price: $4.99
Number of players: 2-4
Platform: PC
Genre: Platformer
Co-op style: Online
Best single-player games with co-op
These games are primarily single-player adventures, but they do support bringing along a friend or three. Whether you're passing the controller back and forth or dropping in and out, try these games solo or with friends.
Larian Studios Baldur's Gate 3
Arguably one of the best RPGs ever made, with incredible emphasis on player choice. If you've ever wanted to play Dungeons and Dragons but could never find a Dungeon Master to run a campaign for you, Baldur's Gate 3 can fill that void. And with drop-in, drop-out co-op with up to four people, you can start a campaign alone and finish it with friends or vice versa.
It's one of the best games made in recent years and certainly worth your time if you like fantasy RPGs. Patch 8 -- the game's final content patch -- was released in April, which added 12 new subclasses to the game, so it's a great time to jump back in or pick it up for the first time.
Price: $59.99
Players: 1-4
Platform: PC, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5
Genre: Turn-based strategy RPG
Co-op style: Online
343 Industries/Splash Damage/Ruffian Games/Bungie/Saber Interactive/Xbox Game Studios Halo: Master Chief Collection
Staying up way too late and playing Halo: Combat Evolved with friends might be my first co-op game memory. Whether you're tearing through the campaign or playing online, the Master Chief collection can give you the co-op hit you're looking for. It contains six Halo games, more than enough to keep you and your friends entertained for a while. Snipers and swords, anyone?
Price: $39.99
Number of players: 1-4
Platform: PC and Xbox Series X/S. Available on GamePass
Genre: First-person shooter
Co-op style: Online or split screen
Iron Gate AB/Coffee Stain Publishing Valheim
A Norse-inspired survival crafting game of the highest tier. Face off against monsters and collect resources to build weapons, bases and armor to surpass increasingly difficult biomes and bosses. And you don't have to go it alone, you can bring up to ten friends in a lobby. It offers some of the best crafting, survival gameplay I've experienced, and building a whole settlement with friends is a blast.
Price: $19.99
Number of players: 1-10
Platform: PC, Mac, Xbox One, Xbox Series x/s
Genre: Survival crafting
Co-op style: Online
Ballistic Moon/PlayStation Publishing LLC Until Dawn Remastered
While not technically a co-op game, it's a single-player experience that's just as fun with your friends. If you've ever watched a horror movie and thought, I wouldn't make that choice, this game is your chance to prove it.
It's a different style of game than others on the list; you'll essentially take part in scenes in a movie, making split-second decisions and participating in quick-time events. It was recently remastered for current-generation consoles, making it a good time to pick this one up if you didn't when it was initially released. It's also been made into a movie, though it only shares a name -- the story is entirely different.
Price: $59.99
Number of players: 1
Platform: PC and PlayStation 5
Genre: Horror
Co-op style: Pass the controller
Best free co-op games
You don't always have to shell out to play with friends. Here are a few free options.
Mediatonic Limited/Epic Games Fall Guys
A wacky game that has you and your friends take control of clumsy, cartoonish characters. The goal is to avoid being knocked off of zany obstacle courses. That's really all there is to it. It's fun with friends and free to play, so it's worth a shot if you're looking for something to get into together.
Price: Free
Number of players: 1-60
Platform: PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch
Genre: Battle royale, Platformer
Co-op style: Online
Total Mayhem Games We Were Here
This game puts you and a friend in control of an explorer and a librarian lost in a castle. Your task is to solve the puzzles you encounter. You'll be separated from each other, so use your walkie-talkies to work together to solve the problems you encounter. You'll need to describe the solutions over voice chat to one another, which can lead to some funny situations. This one is free, so give it a shot. There are two other We Were Here titles, but you'll have to pay for those.
Price: Free
Number of players: 2
Platform: PC, Mac, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch
Genre: First-person puzzle solver
Co-op style: Online
Digital Extremes Warframe
Warframe is a long-running, third-person action game. You take control of a Warframe -- a bio-mechanical suit of armor -- which offers various combat functions and roles like your tank, damage or support class. There are over 100 warframes to choose from, each with its own unique abilities. The game was released in 2013 and has received numerous content and gameplay updates. While free to play, an in-game cash shop offers both gameplay advancements and cosmetics.
Price: Free
Number of players: 1-4
Platform: PC, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5
Genre: Third-person shooter
Co-op style: Online