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The best co-op games on PC in 2024

By admin April 2, 2024

The best co-op games on PC in 2024, Playing games with other people is one of the beloved traditions of liking video games at all, and if you’re the friendly type like us at RPS, then you’ll enjoy games where you work with others, rather than against them. That’s why we’ve put together our list of the best co-op games on PC for you to find common ground with your besties. Whether you want to shoot monsters together, shoot robots together, or get a divorcing couple to work together as they run around their own home as tiny doll versions of themselves, then you can find something to enjoy on this list of co-op games.

We have broad tastes and definitions sometimes, but key for a co-op game is that you can play with a pal without fighting against each other – even if there might be friendly fire. This means you won’t find any team-based competitive games on this list, such as Dota or Counter-Strike, for example. That’s what our best multiplayer games list is for. We’ve also excluded games that switch between PvP and PvE like Sea Of Thieves of DayZ. They’re all great games, but they belong on a different list.

The best co-op games on PC

Here’s our full list of the best co-op games on PC. You can have a casual scroll through or click the links below to be directed straight to the game in question.

25. Monster Hunter Rise

After Monster Hunter World rampaged onto PC, the bar for Capcom’s next entry in the dino-adjacent beast-hunting series was high, but Monster Hunter Rise is every bit its predecessor’s equal and makes for a thrilling co-op adventure. That’s why we’ve booted World off the list and replaced it with Rise. That’s evolution, baby.

If you’re not familiar with Monster Hunter, it’s essentially a giant playpen where you and your friends can go out and, well, hunt monsters. The biggest appeal is a group of you wailing on some titan, but there’s a comradery and teamwork in Monster Hunter Rise that is different from other co-ops. You all have to meet in a tavern, eat a big hearty meal before you set off, make sure you all have everything you need, and then off you go, skipping into the deep dark woods where the scary monsters await. It’s these little rituals that really make it shine as a co-op.

24. Lethal Company (early access)

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Steam always has to have at least one co-op ghosty game in early access, over which people are going bananas. Right now that game is Lethal Company, and not without reason. It’s a bit of a horror game, as you form up in teams for some good old PVE. As contractors for the Company, you collect scrap from abandoned haunted moons that used to be industrial centres. Successfully salvaging enough scrap earns you cash, which you can use to jet off to new moons with more rewards. The trade off, of course, is higher risk.

There are mundane risks like traps, which one player can spot from the ship scanner and call out to those on the mission. But there are, of course, monsters to contend with, especially at night. Some you’ll only find indoors, while others stalk you on open ground. It’s a great mix of learning a bestiary and knowing what to do in different situations, with having a concrete goal (get salvage), and there are many and varied ways to die, so you learn quickly. If you got tired of Phasmophobia and are looking for something new in the same vein, this is it.

23. Escape Academy

Escape rooms in real life are a lot of fun but extremely expensive for it. Escape Academy combines the twin benefits of being comparatively cheap and being designed by developers who made escape rooms in real life! It’s a great co-op game, whether you’re playing online or via asymmetrical couch co-op (i.e. one of you playing the game and the other writing things down and shouting).

The titular academy is a school where the entire curriculum is based around room escapes. Even art, which seems like a stretch. Each level is a timed escape, often in somewhat dangerous circumstances that you’d imagine would drive the school’s insurance premiums up, with secret codes, cryptic clues, and much frantic running around a library or a locked office as you collect special books, or put post-it notes in the right order.

It’s the right balance of fun and tense, and gets you all reacting exactly as you would if thrown into the Crystal Maze, fruitlessly telling each other you’ve found a paint tin, is that anything? The big, colourful 3D world is non-violent but successfully thrilling, and there are a bunch of DLCs to get stuck into, too.

22. V Rising

V-rising casts you as a freshly awoken vampire on a quest to conquer the human world. It’s an open-world survival game where you and your vampire squad reap havoc on neighbouring towns in search of blood, all while building a lavish castle and exploring the surrounding gothic world.

Crafting and combat are easily accessible – this isn’t a mega difficult survival game – and gaining your vampiric powers (the best part of the game) is quick work, since V Rising’s boss-focused progression is easy enough to follow. You can decide to join PVP or PVE, but if you’d rather have your vampire rule their own little slice of the human world, you can set up your own world and invite your mates to join. V Rising is highly recommended for folks who are looking for a breezy survival sim, but with just enough meat to sink your teeth into.

21. Overcooked 2

Overcooked and its sequel Overcooked 2 are both are silly games of simmering and sizzling, the physical manifestation of the phrase “too many cooks spoil the broth”. You’re in a kitchen with up to three other players, and you have to make food to order by preparing and combining certain ingredients. To get this done properly, everyone needs to carry out their appointed tasks pronto. Thing is, it doesn’t always work out that way.

The kitchens of Overcooked are constantly changing. Narrow spaces mean players get in each other’s way. Sometimes the whole level shifts. Benches on a ship will slide down the deck with each large wave, altering the layout entirely, while cooking in two trucks means that one part of the kitchen will occasionally accelerate, suddenly becoming off-limits. How will you get the chow off the hob before it boils into an inedible paste? By shouting at your fellow chefs, of course.

Overcooked 1 and 2 are much the same, but it’s 2 we’d recommend. For one, it’s now got online multiplayer as well as local, letting you play with those geographically distant friends. For two, you can now throw ingredients back and forth between chefs. Your co-chef needs more mushrooms? Maybe he’ll catch the one you just threw to him; maybe it’ll bonk him right in the face.

20. Stardew Valley

There is a lot of shooting and adventuring on this list, but very few opportunities to hang out in a turnip field. Stardew Valley lets you live out an alternate life as a farmer, away from the hustle and bustle of cities and video games with guns. It’s about escape. Ever since the multiplayer update, you can now escape with friends.

It provides a place to be rather than a challenge to overcome. Each of you gets to dodder around town, either working together and divvying up tasks or ploughing away at individual farms. It’s not that the Valley feels sterile without other humans, but there are only so many blackberries you can hand over to your NPC neighbours before your relationships start feeling one dimensional. With real people in the mix, you get an actual community. Maybe your pal has a spare melon you can give to Penny for her birthday. Maybe they’ll bake you a cake. Or steal your chickens.

People breathe warmth and life into this farming game fantasy that’s already about those things. You’ve got the freedom to pursue whatever charming humdrum activity takes your fancy. Go fishing. Comb the beach. Or, if you want, mercilessly compete to see who can optimise profits. It’s your farm.

19. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 2

You can play through the whole of Vegas 2’s brilliant but flawed campaign with a friend, rappelling down walls, breaching windows and taking out terrorists in unison. While that will keep you busy a while, it’s Terrorist Hunt – a mode where you team up with three buddies to hunt down a set amount of enemies across large sandbox maps – that will keep you coming back.

Guns are powerful and fast; death comes faster. This makes methodically creeping through the maps as a unit, covering corners and assaulting defended positions, an incredibly tense affair. This only ramps up when your squad inevitably gets picked apart on the harder difficulties, right up until three of you are sat watching the lone survivor, the whole success of the mission pinned on them scraping through. It could even be down to you and you’ll feel the tension ramp up as you suddenly become aware of being judged.

18. Payday 2

If you’ve never played Payday 2 or its predecessor, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was about perfect planning, stealth and crowd control. The reality is a bit different, and it usually goes like this: the four of you excitedly chat about how you’re going to approach a heist, you split up, someone fudges it almost instantly and every police officer in the world turns up to shoot you all in the head.

It’s more wave defense than precision stealth, with each player setting up traps, sharing ammo and trying to keep the police at bay as a timer ticks down. It’s chaotic and messy, but the shooting is weighty enough and the skill trees are satisfying to advance through. It’s possible get through each of the heists without raising an alarm, but it’s bloody hard and you stand very little chance until you’ve unlocked some of the more advanced skills. Still, the possibility hangs there like a 24 carat carrot, nudging you all to have another go until you’ve perfected every scenario.

17. Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes

The best example of asymmetry in co-op. It involves at least two players – one of you is defusing a bomb with judicious mouse clicks and cautious wire snips, the other is giving instructions from a bomb-defusing manual. Neither player can look at what the other is doing. It’s one of the most perfect set-ups for the destruction of a healthy relationship and a fantastic example of leaving the screen itself behind.

You don’t have to print out the manual to read from it (you could just read the PDF file from a laptop) but we think it’s the best way to play. You flip hurriedly through pages, trying to decipher the theory of these explosive devices. Then comes the challenge of communicating the quirks and symbols of the page in a way that won’t be misunderstood. As the bomb handler, you’re consistently double-checking and second-guessing your team mate as they stammer out their directions. In the end, you’ve just got to trust them.

16. Arma 3

Arma 3 takes place on a pair beautiful fictional Greek islands. It does have a single-player campaign, but it’s that island, the vehicles, guns and mechanics, and the painstaking attention to detail, that makes Arma 3 great. It’s a platform for the community to create their own games upon, and there’s enough community made content that if you get into it, you could be playing Arma 3’s cooperative mode to the exclusion of any other game.

There’s something about Arma’s design philosophy that makes it especially well suited to playing with other people. Partly there’s the realism, which obviously lends itself well to the kinds of genuine squad tactics you can enact when playing with some dedicated friends or a committed community like ShackTac. Partly it’s the way in which the islands are designed in spite of you, not in service to you, making your steady journeys across the landscape with another person feel more satisfying than overcoming a set of contrived obstacles. Hopefully one of you is a good pilot.

15. Dead by Daylight

This is one for folks who love playing as the monster. Dead By Daylight is an asymmetrical survival horror sim not for the squeamish. In this 4vs1 co-op, three players take on the role of survivors and one player the killer, in a cat-and-mouse style multiplayer game with simple goals. Survivors must repair five out of seven generators scattered throughout a level to power the exit and escape. The killer, meanwhile, is hunting them, and can strike survivors with a weapon, and then drag them to a hanging hook and impale them on it. Ew.

Skills and abilities are balanced between the survivors and the killer; the killer, for example, is faster than the survivors in general, but is slower at specific tasks, like having to destroy obstacles instead of vaulting over them. With a spookily long list of Killers to play as (including horror film and game favourites like Ghost Face, Pyramid Head, and Michael Myers) there’s plenty of spooky fun to be found with this one.

14. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

Here’s a good ol’ fashioned beat-em-up, courtesy of Tribute Games. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is an old-school side-scroller that pays homage to the TMNT games of bygones past. If you’re a fan of the sewer-dwelling reptiles then you’ll love the pixelart renditions of favourite characters from the series, both heroes and villains alike.

This entry is a little different from others on our co-op list, in that its co-op playstyle is much more laid-back than many others of its stress-inducing co-op cohort. What’s great about Shredder’s Revenge that its undemanding basic button-mashing becomes one of its biggest strengths, making it perfect for groups of friends who just want an arcadey jaunt while also having a nice chinwag surrounded by empty pizza boxes.

13. Valheim

Valhiem’s Steam page describes it as “brutal” but I actually think this is one of the most relaxing co-op games on this list. There’s something for everyone here. If you’d like to focus on laid-back Viking settlement building and boar hunting in a peaceful environment you can hang out in the sandbox’s first area and do exactly that; if you and your friends are looking for some proper Viking action, you can head off into the world and get your butt beaten by skeletons, grey dwarfs, trolls, and its beastly Norse-themed bosses.

Valheim is still in early access, but there is already loads stuffed into its open world for you to dive into. A beginner’s tip: watch out for falling trees. Seriously, they can straight-up kill you in one splat.

12. Deep Rock Galactic

It’s a simple pitch: a group of dwarven friends with class-based skills walk into an asteroid, mine for materials, and fight back the critters who fancy them for dinner. What complicates matters is the need to leave again: once their pockets are full, the dwarves have got five minutes to down pickaxes and reach an escape pod before it leaves without them.

This is even more complicated than it seems, because the asteroid’s tunnels and caverns are a twisting warren interspersed with enormous drops. Re-trace your path inwards in reverse, in a rush, and it’s easy to get lost – and those drops are now, of course, climbs. If you thought to make your ad hoc constructions two-way when you threw them up on the way in, then no problem. If you were hasty, or if your platforms were destroyed by explosive enemies, then you’re going to need to construct a new route. The adrenaline rush of your extraction is a thrill with friends over voice comms all panicking together.

11. Diablo 4

Like Diablos before it (notably Diablo 3), Diablo 4 is a muddy, grim fantasy world beset by demons, which means it’s sensible to take a friend or two. And, again like previous Diablo games, it’s playable with a squad of four from start fo finish, with drop in multiplayer that tracks progress you made so you can go back to it in single-player if you want. But why would you bother! Exploding skeletons and werewolf monsters is a breeze in Diablo 4, requiring a lot of clicking and spamming your favourite DOT spells, but little else. This means you have a lot of time to bond with your friends.

That’s maybe reductive; one of the best things about Diablo 4 is that it has an admirably freeing levelling system for all the classes, so you can respec on the fly to suit whoever you’re playing with. And if a particular boss is giving you trouble, you can change tactics. Get your Rogue a spell to go invisible so you can more easily res your colleagues, while you can change your Necromancer’s spell path to have more debuffing spells, giving your Barbarian attacks more bite, and you’re on your way to victory.

10. Borderlands 3

Borderlands 3 is classic “bigger is better” sequel design: everything you liked in Borderlands 2 (still a great co-op romp in itself) but with more. More gun variables, more character abilities, more locations, more vehicles, more rifles that grow legs and run around as a lead-spewing sidekick. The only thing it has less of is Claptrap, which is a blessing. And so it makes sense that co-op is the way to go in this bombastic FPS game.

At any one time one friend could be ordering a giant battle ant into the fray while another hops into a Titanfall-ish mech suit, a third activates a drone and a holographic double and the fourth performs psychic powerbombs in the middle of it all. The way these character skills can be further differentiated means you never really know which version of each character you’ll be rubbing shoulders with, turning co-operative sessions into a showcase for builds. Of course, the main takeaway is always: I want my own battle ant.

Importantly, it’s a friendlier co-op game than Borderlands 2, too. With instanced loot drops, players don’t have to fight over the same spoils of war, and the difficulty scales to each combatant, so a casual dabbler can comfortably leap into an old pro’s game.

9. It Takes Two

Hazelight have a knack for designing clever, co-op-only puzzle games, and It Takes Two is definitely their best yet. You and a mate play as bickering couple May and Cody, who get turned into tiny doll versions of themselves after upsetting their daughter. Despite their relationship being the verge of a big divorce bust-up, they must work together to get back to their normal selves, and maybe learn a few life lessons along the way.

It’s not the happiest of stories, all told (and features some truly horrifying moments involving stuffed toys and broken vacuum cleaners), but its puzzles are absolutely top notch. Players must really work together to conquer It Takes Two’s imaginative obstacle courses, and its range of ideas is a clear step up from Hazelight’s first co-op-only game, A Way Out. Even better, only one person needs to actually buy the game, as every copy comes with a free friend pass for your player two.

8. Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition

While many are purists when it comes to From Software’s masterful action RPG, refusing to summon help or forcing themselves to equip just underwear whilst wielding only an overgrown twig, Dark Souls is fantastic in co-op. You can jump in with a friend, with a bit of planning, taking turns to help each other through each section. Even without friends, though, Dark Souls will have you forming bonds with silent strangers.

There’s an unwritten etiquette to the Souls games that sees people treating each other with respect, bowing to each other once summoned and waving each other off or cheering after a defeated boss. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of relief when a summoned co-op partner helps you finally beat Ornstein and Smough – the only thing that comes close is paying it back later, becoming the saviour in someone else’s story. Adam said it best in our review: “It’s superb, populating an already haunted world with phantoms and memories, and providing an eventual gateway by which to become an all-but anonymous hero or villain.”

7. Spelunky

Spelunky is a moreish 2D platformer with roguelike elements that kicks your arse until it straightens your spine. Although the geometry might be constantly shifting with each frequent death, the rules that govern the enemy types remain constant. After a while, reflexes handle the enemies of The Mines – it’s like peeking into another dimension, but instead of losing your mind you become Neo. Can you dodge bullets? Yes.

Co-op changes the rules, making it perfect for seasoned players to team up. You might think things would be easier with more health and attack power, but stunning, whipping and blowing each other up will be a regular occurrence in the claustrophobic confines of the levels. More players only add more complication and four player co-op is chaos, creating more hilarious ways to fail. Timing, as ever, is key. Now see if you can make it to Hell with friends.

6. Grand Theft Auto V

Los Santos is a gorgeous playground, each bend in the road bringing you level with a postcard view – every angle feels scrutinised. Trace a route from the peak of Mt. Chiliad, driving down through the dusty plains of the Grand Senora Desert, snaking by the hilltop mansions of Vinewood Hills, cruising on through the twinkling city itself and finally coming to stop at Vespucci Beach – all this, including the skies above and the sea beyond, is your online playground.

Grand Theft Auto Online is stuffed full of co-op scenarios, but the best experiences are found in the Heists. These multi-part missions ask you and three other players to take part in everything from the setup – casing the joint and grabbing getaway vehicles – all the way to the caper itself. While not all of them are literal heists, each one does an incredible job of making sure all four players are busy.

Everyone has their own job to do, sometimes all together, sometimes in pairs and sometimes alone. This, along with the randomness of the open-world’s systems, gives each one massive replay value. The only real downside is that you really need to play with three friends to get the most out of it. With each heist taking a couple of hours from setup to execution, it can be as difficult to organise as an actual heist.

5. Minecraft

Nobody knew how huge Minecraft would be when the alpha released in 2010, but there were hints of it even from the first few hours, when the game’s initial players started building rudimentary shapes and sharing screenshots of what they’d created.

Today, Minecraft is played by people of all ages. Part of its appeal, aside from its openness, is the social aspect. Whether helping your child stave off monsters as you build a fantasy land together or collaborating with a group of adults to make a working hard drive, there’s something for everyone.

You can even play it as an RPG, killing mobs with your co-op partner, levelling up and building equipment to grow stronger, with the eventual goal of taking on the final boss, the Ender Dragon. Minecraft is whatever you want it to be and you can play it all with friends.

4. Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 is based on the Dungeons & Dragons world and ruleset, and that’s a party-based tabletop roleplaying game – so why wouldn’t you want to make it a party in its digi-form? BG3 is the tale of a rag-tag bag of heroes saving a lush fantasy world, getting into scrapes, meeting weird NPCs, and engaging in huge turn-based battles against monsters and ghouls. Much of this, like Larian’s Divinity games, is based on using the different skillsets and abilities of your characters effectively, and that’s much easier to do when the different characters are specced and controlled by other people, rather than you juggling it all yourself.

Unlike other co-op games, Baldur’s Gate’s co-op is tied to a single save and campaign. No fairweather dropping in and out! But this makes it feel like more of a collegiate story that you’re telling together, like an adventure you’re having as a group. Like, in fact, a game of Dungeons & Dragons. It’s worth the effort, and the game itself is a beautiful and complex playground for you and some friends to explore.

3. Left 4 Dead 2

Panicking with friends can be sublime. That shared fear and desperation, the yells and shrieks of people facing the same horde, each convinced they’re moments from being overwhelmed. In a sense, they already are.

Horror games reach into your lizard brain and convince your amygdala that you’re in trouble. Left 4 Dead 2 is one of the best, because it’s built around saving your friends from that state. When the necrotic tongue of a Smoker comes grasping for your mate, you get to save the day with a well placed shot. When a Hunter pounces on your pal who’s straggling at the back, there you are with a punch and shotgun blast. When a Tank jumps right into the middle of your group… well, you can’t survive every time.

That’s part of what makes triumph taste so sweet. You’re pulling together against an AI director that keeps you on your toes, sending in hordes when it thinks you can take them, but rarely throwing so much at you that it feels unfair. Every level is an appropriately intense ordeal, where cries of frustration can quickly turn into tears of laughter. Ten years on, Valve are still the kings of co-op horror. Especially if you play Versus mode, and know the Hunter tearing into you is your mate Dave.

2. Portal 2

What happens when you take a single-player game about traversing intricate puzzle rooms with portals, and then double everything? It becomes twice as complicated and twice as satisfying. Portal 2 already expands on everything introduced in the bite-sized Portal, adding things like Excursion Funnels, Thermal Discouragement Beams, Propulsion Gel and other fancy sounding words, but the addition of another player changes things the most.

Four portals make each room more confusing to explore, especially when you consider both players need to reach the exit. In essence, many rooms require two solutions. Some puzzles require both thought and dexterity, and firing your friend across a chasm by moving a portal while they freefall through another eventually becomes as normal as walking.

There’s a lot of personality in the design of the two robotic protagonists, too – the Laurel and Hardy of shiny metal. When you’re working together, you’ll be high fiving each other’s metal hands and barking possible solutions through your headset.

If you’re not using chat, Valve were kind enough to provide lots of ways to communicate in-game, with players able to place markers and emote. Every puzzle solution is punctuated by a dance. Portal 2’s co-op is an experience you can’t quite replicate, its systems a perfect balance of cooperation and friendly rivalry. Grab a friend and become the most stupid pair of geniuses around.

1. Helldivers 2

In like a bullet to the top of this list is the extraordinarily popular Helldivers 2. Robots to the left of you, bugs to the right, here I am stuck in the middle with you, a squad of my pals, merrily immolating all the enemies before us and, quite often, each other.

Helldivers 2 combines a lot of things. Great shooting against horde-style enemies? You betcha. Improbably huge special abilities like actual nukes? Sure thing. Pretending you haven’t set off the bomb in the enemy nest and then exploding your mates for the jape? Absotively.

The titular Helldivers are teams of hard-hitting expendable soldiers sent to clear enemies on planets surrounding Earth, which is at the centre of a global war with giant bugs on one side and advanced robots on the other, so you head down in timed missions do beat them back a bit. The always-on friendly fire is a daring choice, but one players have embraced, along with furious debates over whether the Terminids or Automatons are the worse enemy to come up against.

Buried in amongst this, though, are hints that actually both murderous robots and murderous insects are both the fault of the Super-Earth, though many players enjoy the roleplay aspects of screaming “For democracy!” as they call down an airstrike on a giant monster spitting acid at your mate. Helldivers 2 is simultaneously layered and simple, and it is an instahit you’re sure to love.

Top 20 Best Co-op Games To Play With Friends on PC in 2024 | Best Multiplayer Steam Games

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The best PS5 games for 2024

By admin February 27, 2024

The best PS5 games for 2024, The PlayStation 5 is looking to dominate the console landscape with its incredible library of games. Like the rest of the industry, Sony saw several major game delays in 2022 (and more this year), but has since dropped several new hit games like God of War Ragnarok, the Resident Evil 4 remake, and Alan Wake 2, among others. There are plenty of games out on PS5 for every kind of gamer.

And there are plenty more great titles on the way — don’t forget to check out our list of the best upcoming PS5 games that will come out later this year.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, the highly anticipated sequel from Insomniac Games, raises the bar in every aspect. It shines on the PS5, delivering stunning visuals, and the gameplay matches that excellence with numerous enhancements. From improved combat to web-swinging through the city, sid-quests, and more, everything is better than ever.

This grand sequel seamlessly juggles a plethora of ideas, creating an overwhelming, yet sleek adventure. Even with a 100% completion goal, it’s a manageable 35-hour journey. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 not only lives up to its predecessor, but surpasses it, crafting an emotional and inclusive superhero experience that’s unique to the world of video games.

Alan Wake 2

In the spine-tingling world of Alan Wake 2, Saga Anderson delves into the eerie investigation of ritualistic murders in a quaint town, while Alan Wake himself weaves a sinister tale that shapes reality. These two enigmatic heroes find themselves intertwined by fate and compelled to embrace their latent powers.

Remedy Entertainment‘s long-anticipated Alan Wake 2 delivers a genuinely frightening survival horror experience. The game masterfully blends mind-bending narratives with engrossing survival horror gameplay inspired by Resident Evil remakes. Despite some initial technical hiccups, it stands as Remedy Interactive’s most confident and fully realized creative vision. It explores the depths of horror, both in our everyday nightmares and the chilling stories we craft to confront them. For those who relish compelling and hair-raising narratives, Alan Wake 2 is a must-play where the less you know, the more spookier it becomes.

Diablo IV

Diablo IV brings the series back to its roots with a darker tone and aesthetic while also keeping the combat and looting grind as enthralling as ever. Diablo‘s Sanctuary is rich with grisly lore, and this has never been more apparent than in Diablo 4. The big villains are ambiguous in their motives but decidedly evil in their methods, and they’re played brilliantly throughout the campaign. Moreover, the graphical fidelity, music, and sound design are all top-tier, which is surprising given its frustrating always-online nature.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a massive turn-based fantasy RPG that captures the experience of playing Dungeons & Dragons better than any other video game. Character creation is top-notch and combat impresses, boiling down the complexities of D&D battles to an easy-to-understand, but deep system. We’re still early on in our adventure, but Baldur’s Gate 3 appears to be a major hit and a midyear contender for Game of the Year.

God of War Ragnarök

It’s always impressive when a sequel to a highly-acclaimed game can actually live up to its predecessor. That’s the case with God of War Ragnarok, which successfully rode the hype train all the way to launch, landing to rave reviews. The action-adventure sequel pulls it off by largely sticking to the formula established in God of War (2018), but it makes some key changes to help make it stand out. The biggest of those comes from its refined combat, which makes chopping up enemies with the Leviathan Ax and Blades of Chaos even more satisfying. Your mileage may vary when it comes to story, but God of War Ragnarok is undoubtedly a triumphant return for Kratos.

The best PS5 games for 2024

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a sequel to 2019’s excellent Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and expands on it in almost every way. The story feels more ambitious and personal at the same time, as all of the worlds players can explore as Cal are more densely packed with content than before, and combat has been refined to be even more fun thanks to new stances and perks players can use.

It’s an entirely single-player Star Wars adventure and a meaty one at that. This game can easily keep you entertained for 20 hours or more and tells the most engaging Star Wars narrative since Andor. This is one of the best Star Wars games ever made, so fans of the franchise shouldn’t miss out on it.

Street Fighter 6

Street Fighter 6 feels like the most significant revelation for the fighting game genre since Street Fighter 2. No matter the skill level, all types of players will find something to enjoy here. The core fighting gameplay felt as amazing to play as ever, bolstered by a flashy new Drive Gauge system. Those who enjoy the series for its hardcore, competitive elements will like that, as well as its multiplayer Battle Hub mode. T

hat said, Street Fighter 6 is also the friendliest fighting game ever for newcomers to the genre. New modern controls, as well as a meaty RPG World Tour mode that teaches the ins and outs of many of the game’s characters and mechanics, means there’s a ton of enjoyment to be had no matter one’s skill level.

Lies of P

Lies of P, the quirky Pinocchio-inspired Soulslike game with a Timothée Chalamet look-alike, is a surprisingly competent addition to the genre. Drawing inspiration from FromSoftware’s Bloodborne, it immerses players in a fascinating world with a unique twist on Soulslike gameplay. While some boss fights can be frustrating, they add to the game’s charm and overall appeal. Lies of P has a captivating setting and distinctive gameplay systems, and it has a place among the genre’s top contenders like Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, Code Vein, and Nioh. Despite its unusual premise, the game’s confident execution earns it respect and a strong recommendation for fans of FromSoftware-style titles.

Resident Evil 4

Before you jump in for your hit of nostalgia, you should know that this isn’t 2005’s Resident Evil 4. Instead of putting out a shot-for-shot remake — a truly transformative remake that isn’t afraid to throw out what didn’t work and put its own creative spin on everything from story to level design to its wildly improved combat. Capcom delivers everything you want in more in this stellar revisit to one of the most iconic titles in the Resident Evil series.

Remnant II

Step into a realm of relentless survival and unyielding battles in Remnant II, the eagerly awaited follow-up to the acclaimed Remnant: From the Ashes. Humanity’s remnants confront an onslaught of otherworldly beasts and omnipotent adversaries across harrowing dimensions. Rally solo or join forces with a pair of companions to plumb the enigmas that guard against reality’s annihilation. Skill and camaraderie prove paramount as you forge an unbreakable front against the brink of extinction.

Beneath its seemingly typical third-person shooter experience, Remnant II boasts captivating mechanics — the game weaves combat akin to Souls titles with firearms, entwining them within a roguelike framework of ever-changing quests. Gunfire Games’ sequel resonates with the essence of its predecessor, making it a treasure trove for Remnant devotees and newcomers alike.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

While this year’s Call of Duty installment is a bit of a mixed bag of gorgeous visuals and classic multiplayer despite pacing issues and some ugly UI choices. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II gives COD fans what they want — another COD game. If fast-paced warfare and detailed weapon customization are your jam, this is the first-person shooter for you (at least until Warzone 2.0 drops.

Overwatch 2

Overwatch 2, the not-so-new and definitely improved free-to-play Overwatch “sequel,” has given the series new life for hardcore fans and newcomers alike. New heroes Junker Queen and Sojurn have joined the fight, old heroes have learned new skills, and there are already new character releases on the horizon. Overwatch 2‘s specific brand of objective-based shooter isn’t for everyone, but if it’s up your alley you’ll be playing this title well into the new year.

Like a Dragon: Ishin!

A remake of 2014’s Ryuu ga Gotoku Ishin! (released only in Japan) Like a Dragon: Ishin! takes place in 1867, during Japan’s regime-changing Bakumatsu era, and stars Sakamoto Ryoma, a character resembling former Like a Dragon series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu. This new-to-the-West Like a Dragon installment will be a romp for longtime fans and newcomers alike.

The Last of Us Part I

While the original The Last of Us for PS3 still holds up, technology has advanced tremendously since the game first launched in 2013. That’s why Naughty Dog and Sony decided to remake this game, exclusively for PS5 (and PC at a later date). What you get is a revamped version of what was already one of the best games ever made. Of course, visuals have been overhauled, with its characters mirroring their counterparts from The Last of Us Part II. Beyond that, a slew of gameplay improvements, such as smarter AI, have been implemented, making the game feel more immersive. It also utilizes the PS5’s best features, including haptic feedback. Full stop, this is the definitive version of The Last of Us.

Stray

Stray is one of the most unique games to have launched in a while, offering an emotional story and a cute, cuddly feline protagonist. This cat game has taken the industry by storm, but it’s not just a meme. Stray really is fantastic and deserves all the praise it has received. It includes light platforming, puzzles, and some stealth segments that are approachable, yet satisfying, allowing players of all skill levels to enjoy. Beyond its easy-going gameplay are its stunning visuals that are gorgeous, yet stylized, making it hard to look away. There’s a lot going for Stray, and it’s one that all players should check out, even if you aren’t a cat-lover.

The Callisto Protocol

The Callisto Protocol is a survival-horror game set in a maximum-security prison on Jupiter’s moon, Callisto. Players take on the role of a character trying to escape the prison while facing off against a variety of terrifying enemies. The game features intense, atmospheric gameplay and high-quality graphics that create a truly immersive experience. It also has an intense story and the survival horror element ensures the players will be on the edge of their seat. With the AAA development team at Striking Distance Studios behind it, it’s a thrilling adventure for horror and sci-fi fans.

Cocoon

Cocoon, crafted by the designer behind Limbo and Inside, invites players into a mesmerizing realm of insect-like creatures navigating worlds within worlds. This puzzle game, deceptively simple ,yet profoundly unique, showcases Director Jeppe Carlsen’s talent for intricately designed challenges. It offers an experience both grand and intimate, teleporting players into the minds of these enigmatic insects. Cocoon is a striking journey, celebrating the remarkable efficiency of Earth’s tiny creatures. While occasionally routine, it beckons players to fathom the instinctive intelligence of bugs.

Horizon Forbidden West

Horizon Forbidden West is the culmination of all the things Guerrilla Games has learned over the years. It’s an open-world action RPG with a stellar story, well-written characters, and incredibly satisfying gameplay, making it hard to put down. It’s a game that looks expensive, featuring some of the most beautiful visuals we’ve ever seen. The gameplay mechanics have been refined from its predecessor, making it much easier to traverse the world, defeat enemies, and progress through the story.

For instance, the implementation of a glider is a huge improvement, as it means the main character, Aloy, can get around with ease. And of course, there aren’t many games like Horizon, giving it an edge over the competition. Taking down massive mechanical dinosaurs is just as cool as it sounds, as is exploring the sprawling open world this game has to offer. Guerrilla Games is at the top of its class and we can’t wait to see what the team does next.

Elden Ring

Somehow, Elden Ring exceeded expectations, building upon its predecessors and featuring an incredible journey full of mystery and unease. That’s one of this game’s greatest strengths: It encourages you to explore by littering items and awe-inspiring boss battles all around the world while keeping you on the edge of your seat. This isn’t just Dark Souls in an open world. Every inch of this game feels meticulously crafted, with plenty of secrets to uncover.

Of course, the game’s exploration is a selling point, but so is its combat, which feels like an impressive evolution from the Souls games. It’s not perfect, but developer FromSoftware absolutely knows what it’s doing when it comes to making an action RPG and we hope the studio continues creating open worlds like this one. Elden Ring is an absolute gem, throwing surprises at you every time you play.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Early on in a console’s lifespan, each exclusive is heavily dissected. We’re always looking for how games push hardware in ways that truly make “next-gen” come to life. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart will be remembered as the first game that showed us the true potential of the PS5. While games like Returnal showed off what the DualSense controller is capable of, Drift Apart is more of a graphical powerhouse that uses the console’s solid-state drive to nearly eliminate load times altogether and fuel a gorgeous superhero spectacle. While we could wax poetic all day about how beautiful the game is, that doesn’t overshadow the fact that the game is just plain fun.

Like other entries in the series, it’s an action-packed platformer filled with creative weapons. Notable new additions in Ratchet’s arsenal include a Topiary Sprinkler that turns enemies to shrubs and the new and improved RYNO-8, which pulls references from other Sony games into Ratchet’s dimension. It’s a colorful, exciting game that contains all the thrills of a summer blockbuster.

Returnal

When the PS5 launched in November, it seemed like Sony was firing on all cylinders. While Microsoft had no real exclusives to pair with the Xbox Series X, Sony came out the gate with Demon’s Souls, Astro’s Playroom, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and more. That momentum ground to a halt over the next few months … that is until Returnal. The third-person shooter is a haunting action game that feels like the first real next-gen game. Part of what makes it feel so far beyond what we’ve seen so far is its Dualsense support. It takes full advantage of Sony’s unique controller to deliver a more immersive experience.

The haptic feedback simulates everything from rain to the icky sensation of an alien parasite attaching to the main character’s body. The adaptive triggers are used to control different firing modes depending on how far they’re pressed down, doubling the functions of a single button. The built-in speaker drops helpful sound cues that let players know when their alt-fire has recharged, cutting through an otherwise busy sound mix. For those who really want to see what this generation is capable of, Returnal is the starting point.

DEATHLOOP

Enjoy your time with Deathloop on PS5 while you can; this is one of the last times you’ll ever play a Bethesda game on a Sony console. The publisher’s games will be Xbox console exclusives from now on since Microsoft owns Bethesda. Due to a deal that existed pre-acquisition, Sony was able to lock down Arkane Studios’ latest game as a timed console exclusive for PS5, which is a bit of good foresight in retrospect. It’s the last hurrah for a long history between Bethesda and Sony. And what a send-off it is. Deathloop is one of the PS5’s most critically acclaimed titles.

The first-person shooter is a clever stealth action game that combines the assassinations of Hitman with the supernatural powers of Dishonored. That’s all tied up in a roguelite gameplay hook where players relive the same day over and over. Each run is about collecting intel as Colt tries to figure out how to take down eight “visionaries” in one day and break the time loop. The game also features a creative (though polarizing) multiplayer mode where players can invade one another’s games and cause chaos. That’s all topped off with tight shooting and Arkane’s signature level-design strengths, making this a must-own PS5 game.

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Best new PC games 2024

By admin January 12, 2024

What are the best new PC games in 2024? Perhaps you’ve just been paid, your bank account is filled with virtual dosh, or you simply want to get caught up with the latest PC games because they’re, well, new and shiny.Stay up to date with the best new PC games around this year so you don’t miss out on the freshest experiences on which to spend your hard earned cash.

What are the best new PC games in 2024?

Perhaps you’ve just been paid, your bank account is filled with virtual dosh, or you simply want to get caught up with the latest PC games because they’re, well, new and shiny.

It’s all well and good starting another daring round of multiplayer game PUBG, taking on a new 100-hour Football Manager save, or embarking on yet another The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim adventure but, as much as we love setting mammoths ablaze, there are plenty of new PC games that will more than supply your gaming fix. You don’t want to be the person who isn’t ‘in the know’ now, do you? Whatever you’re into, this list includes the best PC games from the last few months, including RPG games, that space game, and more.

The best new PC games in 2024 are:

Against the Storm

Against the Storm isn’t the first game to mix roguelike and strategy game mechanics, but its time in early access has enabled Eremite Games to craft something special. In this dark fantasy woodland setting, you are the Queen’s Viceroy as you build the city. Your decisions affect the fate of the humans and other critters that inhabit your town, leading them to prosperity or damnation.

It certainly impresses, as our Against the Storm review mentions that it’s “both simple enough on the surface to draw you in and complex enough to keep you enthralled in its gratifying risk/reward gameplay loop.”

Assassin’s Creed: Nexus

As we express in our Assassin’s Creed Nexus review, this jump to VR for such a massive series was a worrying one, but our fears were allayed as soon as we donned our headset and stepped back into the lives of Ezio, Kassandra, and Connor in three separate story arcs. If you’re a big AC fan, you may want to know if Assassin’s Creed Nexus is canon to the main story.

The campaign takes us through new adventures of these three characters, and some new ones, and provides hours upon hours of engaging gameplay. Check out our how long is Assassin’s Creed Nexus article to find out exactly how long this journey should take you. That said, we didn’t ever feel the need to rush through and we didn’t want it to end, which is handy when you’re playing in VR.

Football Manager 2024

A game about you (the manager) molding a team of players into the best darn sports (football) team the world has ever seen. Perhaps one for football purists only, the Football Manager series has hit new heights this year, with an under-the-radar set of changes and the new ability to continue that old Rotherham save that’s been going for 30 seasons.

Our Football Manager 2024 review goes into the overhauls in detail but with agent improvements, as well as the much-needed increase to positional control. We’ve got some handy guides to help you on your journey, including a list of the best free agents, the best tactics and formations, and where to find the best bargains. If you’ve ever wanted to dip your toe into the world of football management, or if this is your 10th year in the job, it looks like FM24 is the place to be.

Alan Wake 2

Over a decade later, Alan Wake is finally back. Where’s he been all this time? Unfortunately for him, stuck in the Dark Place where we left him. Literally all this time, as Alan Wake 2 kicks off in the present day. The horror novelist is still trying to work out how to get out, but otherwise, nothing much has happened since we last saw him.

As we explain in our glowing Alan Wake 2 review, you start in the role of a new Alan Wake protagonist, an FBI agent exploring a series of murders. We’ll leave you to discover how Saga Anderson’s story fits in with Wake’s as he tries to escape the Dark Place, but you will switch between the two characters during your adventure. If you can’t wait to play Alan Wake 2 but aren’t sure whether you should play Alan Wake first, we’ve got you covered with a Remedy recap.

Ghostrunner 2

If you’re looking for a parkour game to rival Mirror’s Edge, consider it found. Ghostrunner 2 boasts a slick parkour system that allows you to harness breakneck speed and agility without even breaking a sweat. It also seamlessly drops you back into the action whenever you stumble, and includes abilities like bullet time, invincibility, and even lasers to outfox even the toughest of bosses.

As our Ghostrunner 2 review certainly attests, it’s a worthy sequel, declaring it a “surprise GOTY contender” that’s “so much more” than its predecessor – including an all-new hub area and a rogue Ghostrunner faction intent on bending the citizens of Dharma to their will. On that note, Ghostrunner 2’s traversal and combat mechanics are folded into a cyberpunk world dripping in rain, neon, and pure style. Whether it’s parkour, puzzles, or pure aesthetics you’re after, Ghostrunner 2 has all of the above in spades.

Total War: Pharaoh

A war set against the backdrop of the Nile Delta, Total War: Pharaoh sees men attempt to achieve victory over enemy TW Pharaoh leaders, environmental disaster, and the constant threat of outsiders. Our Total War Pharaoh review goes into depth about this compelling strategy game, but if you ever wanted to visit 12th-century Egypt and battle over every grain of sand, you won’t do any better than this.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage

Our Assassin’s Creed Mirage review highlights the apparent “renewed focus that trims the fat from its predecessors to commemorate the very best bits of the series.” By going back to basics, Mirage’s missions don’t outstay their welcome, and the investigation-based campaign allows you to take your time following leads. Combat eschews the excessive RPG elements of earlier entries, instead opting for a simpler and ironically more engaging block and counter strategies. While there are plenty of collectibles, such as AC Mirage outfits and AC Mirage Lost Books hidden in Baghdad, they aren’t anywhere near as horrendous to try and find – well, except for the AC Mirage Enigmas that is.

Payday 3

In our Payday 3 review, we celebrate the improvements to Payday 3 weapons and other, more refined mechanics in comparison to the previous two games. Payday 3 truly makes you feel like an expert thief, whether you’re new to the series or a returning veteran. With eight Payday 3 heists available at launch and four difficulties to try for each, there’s plenty to keep you busy as you strive to get away with the most cash you can. The biggest downside to the stealth game, meanwhile, is the Payday 3 server issues, thanks to its overwhelming popularity.

Mortal Kombat 1

Our Mortal Kombat 1 review praises the new fighting mechanics, with the refreshing addition of MK1 Kameo characters making for a fast-paced experience that isn’t too complex. With comically gruesome Mortal Kombat 1 Fatalities, the returning Mortal Kombat 1 Brutalities, and a story that’s utterly bonkers from start to finish, fans of the NetherRealm Studios fighting game series will likely have a grand time. Time will tell when it comes to how the MK1 Invasions Mode will keep an active player base during its six-week seasonal offerings, but at least it’s something a bit different from the norm.

Starfield

If you’ve ever dreamed of taking to the stars in your own spaceship, exploring planets, mining resources, and… eating sandwiches, then it doesn’t get much better than Starfield. Our Starfield review talks about the game’s lofty goals – giving you the freedom to do as you please while you slowly orbit a rather intriguing story, the space game takes what Bethesda Game Studios does best and blasts it off into the big black.

If you’ve just started your adventure, we have a Starfield walkthrough here to aid you on your travels and a bunch of the best Starfield builds so you can take on whatever the universe throws at you.

Sea of Stars

If you want to experience a classic JRPG without having to put up with dated mechanics, Sabotage Studios’ Sea of Stars has been inspired by some of the genre’s best, like Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG, to relive that era. Our 9/10 Sea of Stars review points out that many developers have tried their hand at recreating the nostalgia those Super NES games elicit, but few have managed to do so convincingly.

Sabotage Studios’ wonderful pixel art assets, combined with the tracks from Chrono Trigger’s primary composer, Yasunori Mitsuda, blend together to create a brilliant turn-based RPG. You can even collect Sea of Stars relics to alter how you play the game, allowing you to customize the experience to your liking. We also have a list of Sea of Stars Rainbow Conch locations if you’re struggling to find all 60 of them on your own.

Armored Core 6

Before the legendary Japanese developer became known for their Souls games, their claim to fame stemmed from the long-running Armored Core series. First released back in 1997, Armored Core lets players live out their mech dreams as they build a giant robot to lay waste to their evil robotic counterparts. After 11 years since the last mainline game, From Software has a brand new audience of fans to pull from. As our 8/10 Armored Core 6 review points out, AC6 isn’t trying to be a Souls game; it’s unequivocally an Armored Core game in every sense of the word.

Armored Core 6’s length should take most players just under 20 hours to complete, but the game has been designed for multiple playthroughs as there are different missions, endings, and mech parts to unlock. Speaking of Armored Core 6 parts, the robot game gives you plenty of options to build radically different mechs. From AC6 weapons like missile launchers and shotguns to Armored Core 6 OS Upgrades that drastically enhance your mech’s abilities, your subsequent playthroughs can be completely different just by picking new parts.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

We don’t often get a new asymmetrical multiplayer that we want to shout about, but The Texas Chain Saw Massacre comes from the horror experts behind the sadly defunct and very missed Friday 13th The Game so you know it’s good. Whether it’s a contender to dethrone DBD as the king of asymmetry remains to be seen due to its single-IP limitations, but, as Gun told us in an exclusive interview, “Having the game set a few months before the original 1974 film allows us to create new characters without being bound too tightly by the entire franchise.

” We think there’s room for both service games to coexist, though. As we explore in our The Texas Chain Saw Massacre review, the unique 4v3 team setup makes for an entirely new and more challenging experience.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has already found its footing in the genre, with a hugely positive reception as soon as the game was released. New characters are already on their way, as well as new maps, so there’s still plenty of reason to get involved now if you missed out on this terrifying multiplayer game.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Our Baldur’s Gate 3 review backs this as one of the best PC games of the year, thanks to its varied outcomes, interesting (and sometimes annoying) Baldur’s Gate 3 companions, and the fact that you can craft your BG3 experience as you see fit.

Based on Dungeons and Dragons 5e, Baldur’s Gate 3 is accessible for both DnD veterans and novices, and you don’t need to have played a Larian Studios game before this one either – thanks to its immersive RPG experience, making it one of the best RPGs around, you’ll learn everything you need as you go.

The Expanse

If you want a space game with great dialogue, an epic story, and severe consequences, then look no further than The Expanse. As we explore in our The Expanse review, even when you think you’re doing the right thing, it could turn out to be the wrong thing, so no consequence is predictable.

This varied game combines several genres in one, such as puzzling, stealth, and shooting, which perfectly complements the deep and emotional story to give you hours of engrossing gameplay.

Remnant 2

Gunfire Games returns with a follow-up to cult hit Remnant: From the Ashes to bring everything its predecessor did, but better – just check our Remnant 2 review if you don’t believe us. Remnant 2 is a multiversal adventure like no other, blending the RNG of roguelike games with the no-holds-barred punishment of Soulslikes in a third-person shooter.

Weapons scavenged from a variety of distinct worlds are imbued with mods and function as the basis of Remnant 2’s build customization, allowing you to cultivate your firepower until you can take down the toughest and meanest bosses in the multiverse. You can even bring a friend along with you for the ride and uncover the secrets that lie beyond Ward 13’s World Stone. If you’re looking for a co-op experience full of surprises, look no further than Remnant 2.

Oxenfree 2

The world of indie sleeper Oxenfree is expanded in its sequel, as Night School Studio seeks to close the book on the mysteries of the fictional Ellis Island and the lost souls that lie beyond its shores. Like its predecessor, Oxenfree 2 has a few light puzzles and plenty of exploration to scratch that classic adventure game itch, but its main draw is its organic conversation system.

Level-headed hiker Riley is thrown into cahoots with local weirdo Jacob. Instead of reconciling the trials and tribulations of a teenage friend group, Riley and Jacob struggle to reconcile regrets spanning familial relationships and careers against the background of Oxenfree’s ‘80s movie aesthetic. As per our Oxenfree 2 review: “Closing rifts between realities is hard; closing rifts between people is harder.”

Diablo 4 is the first 10/10 to grace the site in a long while, but in our Diablo 4 review, not much stands in the way of making this pitch-perfect as news editor Lauren says, “Diablo 4 embodies the essence of what makes Diablo so great, taking the best elements of its predecessors and sewing them together to create an ever-changing, ever-evolving chimera that we can’t wait to play for years to come.”

If you don’t need any more convincing, then here are our Diablo 4 tips to get started, including which Diablo 4 class to pick and whether Diablo 4 is coming to Game Pass.

Street Fighter 6

Now, this is a game that welcomes newcomers, if you aren’t familiar with this fighting game, now’s the time to punch in. Our Street Fighter 6 review highlights just how much the game has learned from previous installments and creates an in-depth campaign with a control system that appeals to newbies but challenges fighting game veterans. If you’re thinking of giving it a whirl, here’s our Street Fighter 6 tier list and Street Fighter 6 roster.

System Shock remake

Though not much separates this from the original, the System Shock remake does bring forward the graphics and playability of the game, giving it a slight edge and making it a thoroughly enjoyable FPS game. Though our System Shock remake review touches on the outdated mechanics the remake carries forward, there’s still a lot to love for newcomers to one of the best PC games of all time as you battle cyborgs in a frantic race to stop the destruction of Earth.

The Outlast Trials

If you’re looking for a horror game to play among friends, The Outlast Trials is the perfect co-op experience for a terrifying and disturbing look at the events before the original Outlast games. As you head to a secretive facility with the promise of a brighter future, that quickly fades as you’re forced into mind control experiments and brainwashing.

To flee the facility and return to society, you and up to four friends must compete in a series of trials and challenges involving evading creepy monsters and making morally compromising decisions – all in the name of science.

Age of Wonders 4

If you’re after a strategy game, the new fantasy game Age of Wonders has earned rave reviews, especially our Age of Wonders 4 review: “This is undoubtedly the best 4X game I’ve played in years, delivering top-notch exploration, combat, and diplomacy alongside a rewarding and dynamic customization system.” With improved customization and faction mechanics and compelling exploration, combat, and diplomacy systems, it’s no wonder Age of Wonders 4 has stormed the Steam charts.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Though the Star Wars game got off to a bit of a rocky start, we found a lot to love in our Star Wars Jedi: Survivor review, deepening the Jedi power fantasy and expanding on the world. There are plenty more hours to sink into Survivor than its predecessor due to open-world areas and all-new Jedi Survivor bosses. Get started with our Star Wars Jedi Survivor tips and tricks, all Jedi Survivor lightsaber colors available, and all Cal Kestis cosmetics and outfits.

There you have it, the new PC games you should be playing right now. Now, we’ll admit we were being a little facetious earlier: new PC games aren’t necessarily the cream of the personal computer crop. For that, you should swing by our list of the best old games for the classics, perhaps our favorite free PC games so you can try them without consequence, or even check out our collection of free online games, no download required.

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The best co-op games on PC

By admin January 10, 2024

The best co-op games on PC, PCs were where multiplayer gaming began. While consoles stole the spotlight for a while by allowing multiple people to easily play on one system together, PCs have always taken the lead in providing players with the most options for multiplayer gaming. Most of the time, people come to PCs for competitive action, and there are a ton of options for those looking to go head-to-head in just about any genre imaginable, but there’s also a wealth of high-quality and unique experiences that focus on cooperation.

PC gamers almost have too many co-op games to pick from now, which is why we have scoured all the storefronts and picked out the best co-op games you can play on PC.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is technically a spinoff from the core Borderlands series, but essentially in name only. As far as co-op fun, this game is exactly the thing you expect from the looter-shooter series, only with a much-needed change of tone and coat of fantasy paint. The humor, for once, is actually appropriate and not immediately grating, and the new mechanics that are introduced for the tabletop-style framing device are used to great effect. It’s not the longest game, but if you just want a fun time blasting tons of skeletons, looting, shooting spells, leveling up, and looting even more, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a perfect choice.

The best co-op games on PC

Baldur’s Gate 3

When you look at just how well the game has done and all the records it has broken, it almost feels unnecessary to bring up Baldur’s Gate 3. However, even as popular as it is, you may not have fully explored just how great the game’s co-op is. If you thought the base game couldn’t get any more interactive, wait until you and a second player character start tweaking the systems. Trust us, even if you’ve played the campaign two or three times over, it is more than worth it to do it all over again with a real person by your side. Just like a tabletop experience, the fun you two will create can never be predicted or replicated.

Valheim

Survival games have been a hot genre for almost a decade now and don’t show any signs of slowing down. One of the newer ones to catch on in a major way is the Norse inspired Valheim. This early access title initially caught the gaming public’s eye for its interesting art style that combined somewhat low detail textures with high quality lighting and particle effects that make the game feel like it takes place in a fairy tale book.

Once you get into the game itself, however, it is clear that the game’s unique qualities are more than just visual. Yes, it is a survival game at heart, but Valheim puts its own welcome spin on things that make it even more fun to play with friends. Dropped into the randomly generated world of Valheim, survival is your first goal as you would expect. You and your friends will gather resources, build settlements, make upgrades, and all those classic survival game staples. Where Valheim starts to get interesting is in the progression.

There are a series of bosses that act as goals for you and your team to build towards. Each one has unique moves and drops, allowing you to advance further, explore new areas, and challenge even more difficult bosses. Of course you could always ignore these combat challenges and focus on simply creating your own ideal home, farm, village, or what have you as well. Valheim can be as calm and relaxing, or brutal and heart pounding, as you and your friends want it to be.

No Man’s Sky

From the ancient world of trolls and swords we head into the endless expanse of space for the next survival crafting game, No Man’s Sky. At this point this game has earned a near universal level of notoriety and acclaim for launching in a state that fell far below the expectations it set for itself, only to add more and more content, all free by the way, over the course of more than half a decade until it has become even more than what was initially promised.

In fact, the game is nearly unrecognizable from the launched product, and all for the better. In fact, it initially didn’t even allow for true co-op play, but now we can’t imagine the game without it. No Man’s Sky puts you in the shoes, or space boots rather, of an astronaut in a nearly endless universe of planets, ships, aliens, and mysteries to explore.

The game does technically have a main plot, simply reaching the center of the universe, but even accomplishing that goal doesn’t end the game and encourages you to explore all the other systems and events the game has. You and a friend can set up a base on a particular planet, go on missions throughout the stars, gather resources and craft upgrades, or simply explore a planet no one has ever set foot on. The sheer scope of No Man’s Sky make every discovery feel that much more satisfying and personal, and sharing that with a friend just makes it all the more memorable.

Monster Hunter: World

After so many entries locked to console, the Monster Hunter franchise finally came to PC with arguably the best version of the game made yet. Taking full advantage of the power afforded to modern systems, Monster Hunter: World not only looks amazing, but is almost dangerous in how deep it can suck you and your friends into the game’s satisfying loop.

The complex mechanics, deep systems, and almost endless amount of variety, customization, and content have never felt as well realized as they have with Monster Hunter: World on PC. Add in all the extra content they’ve added, plus the Iceborn expansion pack, and there’s easily hundreds of hours you and your team can sink into this experience. You’re a monster hunter with the sole purpose of going on missions to track, hunt, fight, and capture all types of massive beasts. While you can do it solo, Monster Hunter: World really begs to be played in a co-op party.

The different weapons all serve unique purposes, almost making each player their own different class in a way, so that teaming up and synergizing strengths and weaknesses against an overwhelming force just feels like the intended way to play. Monster Hunter: World is also a game perfect for chilling out and grinding familiar monsters for drops while you chat and relax with pals.

Deep Rock Galactic

This will start the trilogy of Left 4 Dead style games, but they’re all about as similar as a Call of Duty is to a Doom game. Deep Rock Galactic, as our first example, is a game that has been steadily improving since it was put into early access in 2018, and is now one of the most popular and best co-op games on Steam.

Again, as many games on this list are, Deep Rock Galactic is something you can play alone, but the game was undeniably intended for teams of four to play together. For the development team’s first game, Deep Rock Galactic has already been given multiple awards as a multiplayer experience. In Deep Rock Galactic you take on the role of a team of space dwarfs who undergo various missions in procedurally generated caves. There are four classes of dwarf to pick from, Engineer, Gunner, Driller, and Scout, that each have their own weapons, utility, and progression system.

Gameplay is a mix of the aforementioned Left 4 Dead style of gunning down endless waves of mobs while frantically trying to get to and accomplish your objective, plus dynamic terrain destruction and resource gathering for permanent progression. Thanks to the randomly generated levels, this is a game you and your friends can dive back into and chip away at time and time again.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2

The most obvious game on the list inspired by Left 4 Dead has to be Warhammer: Vermintide 2. This game, obviously using the Warhammer license, was the most notable attempt to not just copy that game’s formula, but really innovate and put a new spin on. Since Left 4 Dead 2 is still so playable today, that was the right call, and it paid off.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 has picked up not only fans of the Warhammer universe, but those looking to shake up the hoard based, co-op survival experience with new enemies, weapons, and systems that the aging zombie shooter just doesn’t provide. There’s even an upcoming sequel of sorts, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide that will take this same formula to the 40K universe. Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is set in the first person perspective, but with a much heavier emphasis on melee combat.

There are some guns and ranged weapons, but for the most part you’ll be swinging swords, hammers, and other blunt and slashing objects. The target? Giant humanoid rats and mutants, which seems like a no brainer in terms of the perfect enemy to send at players in massive swarms.

There are five classes to pick from for your team, dozens of weapons, abilities, and four massive DLC expansions that have more than doubled the content the game launched with. If you’ve played all the Left 4 Dead maps forwards and backwards a dozen times already, Warhammer: Vermintide 2 will put the fear and excitement of barely scraping through a mission back in your blood.

Left 4 Dead 2

Yes, there’s no getting around it. Even over a decade after release, we’re still always ready to jump into a game of Left 4 Dead 2. It is obviously the sequel to the original, but at this point it has absorbed that game whole and become the Left 4 Dead experience. Thanks to a more stylized art style, emphasis on color, and perfect mix of variety and balance, Left 4 Dead 2 doesn’t feel like it’s aged a day.

Many have tried to take its throne, even the game’s own original developers, but there’s something about the simplicity of this seminal zombie co-op shooter that keeps us, and thousands of others, coming back to it time and time again. The set up is simple: You and three other survivors pick a campaign where you need to fight your way between safe rooms, completing objectives along the way, while endless amounts of zombies whittle away at you.

The standard mobs are nothing to worry much about, even in huge numbers, which is where the special infected come in. These can incapacitate you in a variety of ways, requiring a teammate to free you before your health is drained.

Going solo is going to get you killed in seconds, so sticking together and communicating is a requirement. Between the base game’s campaigns, all the ones carried over from the first Left 4 Dead, and the insane amount of user created content, Left 4 Dead 2 is the gold standard for survival co-op games.

Destiny 2

The Destiny games have had their ups and downs. The first game was notoriously lacking in story and long term content, but was able to build itself into a pretty solid experience by the time the final expansion came out. Destiny 2 kind of reset things, unfortunately, but has had even more time to fill in it’s content gaps with not only more expansions, but more experimental and ambitious additions.

Sure, the game is in a constant flux of balance and available content that will keep some members of the community upset, but no one can deny that Destiny 2 is an insanely satisfying shooter to play with your pals. Billed as a shared world shooter, think a small scale MMO, Destiny 2 is all about co-operation. Events in the world will automatically join you up with anyone else in the area to take on a threat or do an objective, plus all the story content is built for you to bring a squad along.

Of course, it’s in the end game level stuff that the co-op really shines. Raids in particular require not only a high level of FPS skill and maxed out characters with top level gear, but critical thinking and coordination among your party in order to make it through these long gauntlets of combat and puzzle challenges. If that’s not your speed, there’s always the PvP modes where you can play more traditional team based multiplayer modes. If you need a solid FPS to fall back on with your pals, Destiny 2 will have something to offer you.

Warframe

For whatever reason, Warframe has not gotten as much public attention as it’s competitors like Destiny 2. That’s a real shame, because in a lot of ways Destiny 2 owes a lot of it’s success to what Warframe had done before it. This little game that could started out with a simple concept of making a game about ninjas in space, but has grown so much and in so many different ways that it is almost unbelievable.

What was first a game where you took on pretty linear missions in just a handful of environments, with very slick and satisfying movement, has become essentially a looter shooter MMO hybrid, plus some Monster Hunter in there, with a massive 11 major expansions already released, the latest coming at the very end of 2021. Like most ambitious games, Warframe had a middling start, but has essentially only gotten better and better in the years since, which is not an easy feat.

It’s a weird comparison to make since Warframe came first, but if you imagine all the things you can do in Destiny 2, only in third person, with way more movement options, more skills, classes, abilities, and … well … basically everything, you will have an idea of what Warframe is.

Zipping around levels, blasting through trash mobs, and grinding for that next rare drop is satisfying enough on its own, but with friends is even sweeter. Plus there’s a surprisingly deep story here, and tons of other new activities like flying your own ship or even fishing. Warframe has basically become its own MMO, but with some of the best third person combat on the market.

Portal 2

An oldie, sure, but who can deny Portal 2 as one of the best puzzle games of all time? The first game was a surprise hit when packaged inside the Orange Box all those years ago, but Valve took notice to the amazing reception it got. That little game, introducing the simple concept of solving puzzles in a 3D environment by placing and jumping through two connected portals, was not only a satisfying and novel mechanic at the time, but lends itself perfectly to a room based puzzle game.

When they added in the sarcastic and mechanical humor of the main AI antagonist, it all just clicked together into a near perfect little game. Portal 2, as a sequel, had a lot to live up to. Setting the single player aside, since we’re focusing on co-op games here, even the idea of co-op in a puzzle game like this was risky. Portal 2 already introduced a bunch of new concepts, like gels, lasers, and light bridges, so adding two more portals to the mix could’ve easily been overwhelming and made puzzles either too difficult, or easily broken.

Thankfully, the genius designers managed to make an entire co-op experience that feels just as satisfying to solve as the rest of the experience. Teamwork is once again key, and usually works so that both players will have opportunities to reach a solution to a problem rather than one person basically just directing the other around the entire time. It also doesn’t hurt that the two robots you play as are rather adorable and packed with personality despite never speaking.

It Takes Two

The underdog winner of The Game Awards game of the year category, It Takes Two is the only game on this list that has to be played in co-op. Just like Hazelight’s previous game, A Way Out, there’s no option to even start this game without a teammate by your side. Because of that, this is perhaps the most tuned and crafted game on the list for co-op play since the entire design, both in terms of story and game play, depend on two players.

It Takes Two really feels like the pinnacle of all the co-op ideas the team wanted to get into their last game, and despite a mixed reception to the actual narrative, is an amazing experience from start to finish. Playing as a couple about to enter a divorce, It Takes Two transforms the two characters into handmade doll versions of themselves. Each player takes the role of either the husband or wife, and start their journey to try and return to their normal bodies.

At heart, this is a 3D puzzle platformer, but it is also so much more than that. Nearly every hour you will get some new mechanic to play with that has a use on its own, as well as when used in conjunction with whatever different mechanic your partner has.

The amount of variety and creativity the team has with this is amazing, and will keep you fully engaged the entire time since you will never play with the same tool set for long enough to get bored of it before the game throws something entirely new at you. Regardless about how you feel about the story itself, this is just a blast to play with a friend all the way through.

Diablo IV

How could we have a list with so many loot-based games without at least mentioning the series that popularized the term? Thankfully, we can do more than just pay tribute to the Diablo games because Diablo 4 has become not only a fantastic loot game, but among the best co-op loot games the PC has to offer. This series has spawned countless imitators, and some like Path of Exile are even giving the series a run for its money, however, Diablo 4 still has that high-quality polish that few other games can offer.

The initial release was indeed a rough start, but the team stuck with the game and is now above and beyond what fans wanted from the series. Diablo 4 is the perfect place to experience a great co-op adventure, whether you’re an old vet or brand new to the series. After updates and expansions, there are plenty of classes to pick from, level up, gear up, and experiment within a very adjustable range of difficulties.

Even when you max out one character, which alone will take you dozens of hours, there’s always end-game content to run through or all the other classes to give a shot that plays completely differently. Sharing loot, taking down bosses, and going on quests with your friends feels like a real adventure that can range from nail-biting to a mindless stomp through swarms of mobs while you catch up, depending on what you’re looking for. Teaming up is easy and seamless, and progress is carried over for everyone involved, not just the host.

Final Fantasy XIV Online

The only true MMORPG on this list is the underdog that came back from near death to take the crown from the once invincible World of Warcraft. Of course we’re talking about Final Fantasy XIV, the current gold standard for an online game reinventing itself and almost becoming too popular over time. Not many people were around to experience the original version of the game, but the revival of this struggling MMO is very well documented and needs not be repeated here.

The point is, it is at the top of its game now and shows no signs of dropping in quality. What’s most impressive is you don’t need to be a Final Fantasy fan, or even a real MMO fan, to have a great experience. As an MMO, Final Fantasy XIV naturally encourages co-op play just like any other. You can run through the entire main story, which now spans almost a dozen expansions, plus all the raids and side activities. Basically, anything you can do in this game, you can do with your friends.

There’s guild mechanics to form larger groups, and tons of tools to make playing together easy. They even allow players to visit other servers so if you and a friend happen to be playing on different servers, you can still team up without having to start from scratch on their server. The quality of life features are second to none, much like the game’s narrative which is quickly becoming many people’s favorite Final Fantasy story of all time, MMO or not. This is one game that deserves a monthly subscription for how much regular content it offers you and your friends to take on.

Lethal Company

As an indie breakout, Lethal Company punches far above its weight class. Playing as an employee of a mysterious company tasked with collecting scrap on randomly generated moons, the intentionally dated graphics and restrictive inventory system all play into that sense of dread, knowing that unspeakable horrors stalk you and your team.

The real fear — and fun — comes in playing with friends. You need to work together, but the game doesn’t make it easy thanks to proximity chat, a time limit, and deadly traps constantly pushing you to rush and get careless. This is a great game to grab some pals around late at night to laugh (and scream) over.

Overcooked! 2

Cooking is a mechanic in many games, mostly RPGs, but usually not the main focus of a game. There are even fewer games that make cooking the main focus and are centered around co-op. If that intrigues you, and you somehow missed it, then Overcooked 2 is your answer. Naturally, this is the sequel to the original Overcooked, and follows the same structure, only expanding on all the mechanics and having even more levels to cook through. If you don’t think that a cooking game would make for one of the most hilarious, frustrating, and rewarding co-op games, often being all of those within the span of seconds, then you really need to give this one a shot.

Overcooked 2 is a cooking game with a very simple and easy-to-grasp game loop. You get orders for different foods that you need to prepare and serve before the time expires. The faster you can serve the meal, the more money you earn, and the more stars you will ultimately get when the level finishes. Dishes usually have just two or three ingredients that need to be prepared in some way, such as chopping, cooking, or boiling, before being combined on a plate and delivered to the right spot. Sounds simple, especially with three other friends to help out, right? Wrong. The level design in Overcooked 2 is what makes it ask for such a high level of teamwork.

Sometimes, ingredients will be moved away from the prep stations, or there could be shifting rows of tables that block access to different areas at certain times. You’ll never fall into a groove with Overcooked 2, and that’s what makes it such a fun game to go back to even after you’ve beaten all the levels.

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