In the mid to late 2010s, split-screen gaming became an increasingly rare site in the gaming industry, with numerous multiplayer titles not featuring the option, while series that previously featured the option reduced its functionality or completely got rid of it entirely.
For example, 2015’s Halo 5: Guardians featured no split-screen multiplayer at all despite the Halo franchise being well-known for couch co-op gameplay and Guardians‘ new campaign putting a stronger emphasis on squad-based gameplay than any other entry in the series.
10 Xbox Games That Made Couch Co-Op Feel Like an Event
These 10 original Xbox couch co-op titles made highly memorable experiences for friends and family alike.
Despite this trend, a few developers and publishers still released a good number of couch co-op capable titles throughout the 2010s, though far more of them skewed towards simplistic E-rated games than previous console generations.
One console that featured a plethora of fantastic couch co-op games in the eighth console generation was Sony’s PlayStation 4, with each title featuring unique experiences friends and family could play through together.
10
The Playroom VR
Astro Bot’s VR Co-Op Adventure
Developer | Team Asobi |
|---|---|
Platforms | PlayStation 4 |
Release Date | 2016 |
Long before Astro Bot skyrocketed into mainstream popularity with 2024’s celebrated platformer Astro Bot, this little robot began its life in the PS4 launch title The Playroom, and its sequel, The Playroom VR.
While The Playroom did feature fun single-player and multiplayer mini-games, The Playroom VR featured a far more unique take on couch co-op gameplay as one person could play it utilizing the PlayStation VR headset and a controller while another person could join them using the TV and a controller.
Like The Playroom before it, The Playroom VR featured several mini-games to play through, but its most notable was, without a doubt, Robots Rescue, which featured Astro Bot and a smaller green Astro Bot floating on a flying vacuum-like vehicle to rescue 20 lost VR Bots.
Most virtual reality games hardly ever feature local co-op options, let alone those that allow people to play together with both traditional controllers and a VR headset, so The Playroom VR made for an incredibly fun way for multiple people to experience the fun potential of PS VR and the Astro Bots themselves.
9
Knack II
An Underrated Sequel
Compared to the exclusive launch lineup of the Xbox One, the PS4 struggled a bit with standout exclusive games that were available day one on the then new hardware. But one of the more unique PS4-exclusive launch titles, alongside The Playroom, was Knack.
Knack at its core is a third-person beat ’em up puzzle platformer similar to Ratchet & Clank, with Knack himself able to grow or shrink and gain new abilities based on the number of Relics Knack is able to attract to himself.
Knack could be played in single-player or two-player co-op and while it received moderate reviews, practically everything it featured was greatly improved upon in its sequel Knack II.
Knack II could still be played in either single or two-player co-op, but it was more heavily designed with co-op in mind than the first game, as players could now use each other as weapons to deal massive damage against enemies, such as being able to rapidly punch Relics off of a player to be used as deadly projectiles.
8
Borderlands 3
Vault Hunters for a New Generation
The Borderlands series proved to be one of the most lucrative new FPS franchises to debut in the seventh console generation, with its robust library of crazy firearms and wide variety of playable characters, and developer Gearbox Software continued this successful trend with Borderlands 3.
Much like Borderlands 1 and Borderlands 2 before it, Borderlands 3 featured a brand-new cast of leading Vault Hunters made up of the new Siren Amara, the robotic Beastmaster FL4K, the Iron Bear mech pilot Moze, and the drone and hologram-wielding Zane.
Borderlands 3 and its DLCs can be played solo, but it’s always better to play through a Borderlands game with other people and Borderlands 3 is a perfect game to do so, either with two-player split-screen co-op or with four-player online co-op.
There weren’t too many FPS campaigns released during the eighth console generation that offered couch co-op, but out of the ones that did, Borderlands 3 was certainly one of the best, if only to allow friends to take out foes with a plethora of wacky and explosive guns.
9 GameCube Games That Made Couch Co-Op Feel Like an Event
There’s a party in the cube, and everyone’s invited.
7
Call of Duty: Black Ops III
COD Zombies at Its Best
While Call of Duty today is far more famous for its competitive online multilayer systems today, it used to be equally known for offering addictive local co-op options, especially with its Zombies modes and occasional campaigns. One rare COD title to offer both a co-op campaign and Zombies was Call of Duty: Black Ops III.
Black Ops III was the second and, so far, last COD game to feature a campaign with a two-player split-screen co-op option after Call of Duty: World at War, allowing players to fight together in 2065 amidst a new Cold War and against Zombies in the Nightmares campaign.
The story of Black Ops III‘s campaigns is alright, but what really made the game special in terms of cooperative play was its Zombies mode, as it not only featured six new Zombies maps with crazy new features, such as the boosting Gobblegums, but featured remasters of every Call of Duty: Black Ops and World at War Zombies map.
Zombies Chronicles alone makes getting Black Ops III a worthwhile purchase, since it’s always a blast to play through The Giant, Kino Der Toten, and Moon with friends in all their remastered glory.
6
Broforce
An Explosive, ’80s Action Side-Scroller
Sometimes, when gaming, people just want to chill and bro out with their best buds in epic, action-packed titles, and one game that perfectly epitomized this playstyle was Free Lives’ Broforce.
A 2D side-scroller, Broforce has players embody a wide variety of elite Bros to fight off terrorists, gigantic mini-bosses, and rescue captured Bros in primarily sword and gun-centric combat similar to Contra.
Broforce can be played solo, but it does feature four-player local and online co-op, allowing people to bro out in Broforce in many ways in all of its high-octane, explosive glory.
What makes Broforce a standout among other 2D side-scrollers is its titular playable Bros, as they’re all inspired by classic 1980s and ’90s action and sci-fi films and feature unique abilities such as Broden, based on Raiden from 1995’s Mortal Kombat, who uses electric powers while Brominator, based on The Terminator, uses a minigun.
5
Sackboy: A Big Adventure
The Legacy of LittleBigPlanet
PlayStation is well-known for being home to some of the best console-exclusive franchises in all of gaming, but while many haven’t received new entries in several years, other series have been able to find new life in other ways, such as the LittleBigPlanet spinoff Sackboy: A Big Adventure.
LittleBigPlanet was arguably at its peak during the PlayStation 3 era, and while LittleBigPlanet 3 did launch simultaneously on the PS3 and PS4, the series never had a mainline entry release since. But Sony still saw potential in the franchise by releasing Sackboy for the PS4 and as a launch title for the PlayStation 5.
Unlike the mainline LBP games, Sackboy saw the series’ mascot go beyond the franchise’s traditional 2D realm into 3D, with Sackboy functioning more similar to 3D Super Mario platformers like Super Mario Odyssey and even the PS5’s later rival platformer, Astro Bot.
While the iconic level editors of LBP are absent in Sackboy, it makes up for by featuring two to four-player local and online co-op, a feature that’s noticeably absent in Astro Bot, with certain stages requiring co-op as many puzzles and obstacles require teamwork to be completed.
8 Dreamcast Games That Made Couch Co-Op Feel Like an Event
These games brought everybody ’round for a bit of Dreamcastin’.
4
The Escapists 2
Multiple Ways Out
Oddly enough, there were many games released during the PS4 era that centered around players escaping prison, but one of the best to truly exemplify that concept was Mouldy Toof Studios’ The Escapists 2.
A top-down, third-person strategy game, The Escapists 2 has players embody inmates in prison with the goal of planning an escape while following daily routines and orders so as to avoid suspicion from guards.
Unlike A Way Out, which only features one way to escape prison, with said breakout only making up the first hour of the game, The Escapist 2 features multiple different ways to escape prison depending on level difficulty, and it features multiple different types of incarceration centers to escape from, such as a local precinct, a prison transport ship, and a train.
Similar to A Way Out, The Escapists 2 can be played in local co-op but with four players instead of two, allowing players to strategize and help each other to avoid guards, hide contraband, and ultimately escape like scenarios seen in some of the best prison breakout films.
3
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
The Comeback of a ’90s Classic
The PS4 era was popular for brand-new video games, but it was also a great time for video game remasters and remakes, with one of the best being the return of a PlayStation 1 classic, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled.
A remake of 1999’s Crash Team Racing, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled brought back Crash Bandicoot‘s kart racing debut back to modern platforms with brand-new improvements and features as well as updated maps, karts, and modes from 2003’s Crash Nitro Kart.
Here, gamers can play as 56 characters from across the Crash franchise and Spyro the Dragon, customize their karts, race against friends, and play its single-player campaign in either the classic Adventure Mode or the more challenging Nitro-Fueled mode.
Much like other kart racing games, CTRNF can be played solo against CPU racers, but it’s far more fun to play it with friends in four-player split-screen co-op and online, making it the best kart racing experience available on the PS4.
2
Overcooked
Hell’s Kitchens
Sometimes the best games to play with friends in couch co-op are indie games and a great one to test friendships is Ghost Town Games’ top-down cooking simulation game Overcooked.
Here, gamers play as a group of four chefs tasked with traveling back in time to become the best chefs in the world by the Onion King in order to eventually quell a monster bound to devour the world.
In terms of gameplay, players must work together to chop up and cook ingredients to meet customers’ orders and while that seems simple, it can quickly become intense if players are unable to work together efficiently and often miss orders or overcook food.
Overcooked is designed to be played in four-player co-op, and though it can be played in single-player with one person controlling two chefs, it’s far more fun and exhilarating to play it with friends, especially as kitchens become increasingly complex and stress-inducing, such as struggling to cook food in two kitchens split between two moving vans.
1
Helldivers
Big Things Have Small Beginnings
Long before Arrowhead Game Studios saw monumental success with the third-person shooter Helldivers 2 in 2024, they first released the far less well-known Helldivers in 2015 as a top-down, third-person shooter.
Similar in gameplay and appearance to twin-sticker shooter games, Helldivers has players embody the titular Helldivers of Super-Earth as they’re deployed on planets to wipe out hostile Bug, Illuminate, or Cyborg forces or die trying.
Unlike Helldivers 2, which is an online multiplayer-focused title, Helldivers 1 can be played solo, but it’s far more fun to play it in four-player couch or online co-op, as it not only makes it easier to fight off alien hordes but sets up chaotic and sometimes comedic situations.
For example, friendly fire is always active in multiplayer, which can often see friends accidently shoot each other or ordinance drops accidentally fatally land on players, but if players are able to hold out together, Helldivers can make for some of the most intense and exhilarating co-op experiences available on the PS4.
10 PS2 Games That Made Couch Co-Op Feel Like an Event
If you were going to buy a multitap, it was probably for one of these games.
