At Co-Optimus, we all share at least one thing in common: we love co-op games. Luckily for us, there are a ton of co-op games out there. Our database has over 2800! For folks that are looking for a new co-op game to play, that can be a lot of titles to sift through - so how does one pick? We have our reviews that give our co-op impressions of a game and each year we do our Co-Op Game of the Year Awards, but for this article we’re going to be doing something a little different. This time we’ll be looking at the Staff picks for favorite co-op experiences.
This list from our staff doesn’t necessarily reflect our opinions on the “best” co-op game for the system; rather, they reflect those games where we look back and say “man, those games were a blast to play with my friends.” These are the games that have made our fondest co-op memories possible and have continued to fuel our love for co-op. So without further ado, these are some of our favorite co-op experiences, sorted by system.
SONY SYSTEMSNick Puleo: Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance
Mike Katsufrakis: The Red Star, The Adventures of Cookie & Cream, Dynasty Warriors 3
Marc Allie: Gauntlet Dark Legacy
Jason Love: The Red Star, Silent Hill 2, Dynasty Warriors
Tally Callahan: Champions of Norrath, Tales of the Abyss
Probably unsurprisingly, ARPGs dominate the PS2. The PS2 had many stellar couch co-op ARPGs, providing hours upon hours of time to shoot, slash, and loot your way through a Saturday afternoon.
Staff Quote on Gauntlet Dark Legacy:
"Rented this when visiting my in laws, and played the entire game except for one last level over a week. Loved the characters, the action, and the challenging bosses." - Marc
Mike Katsufrakis: Demon's Souls, Bionic Commando Rearmed
Jason Love: Dynasty Warriors, Borderlands 2, Bionic Commando Rearmed
Tally Callahan: Diablo III
John Bardinelli: Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Justin Reynolds: Dungeon Hunter Alliance
There's quite an array of games selected for PS3, demonstrating the flexibility of the system. From cross-platform favorites like Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light to platform-exclusive titles like Demon's Souls, we've got a variety of bases covered with these staff picks.
Staff Quote on Diablo III:
"I truly believe the console version of Diablo 3 was what the PC version should have been on launch. This was a version worth waiting 10 years for. And who would have thought that Diablo would feel so natural with a controller!" - Tally
MICROSOFT SYSTEMSNick Puleo: Halo, Halo 2
Mike Katsufrakis: Halo, Halo 2
Tally Callahan: Hunter: the Reckoning - Redeemer
Both Mike and Nick picked Halo and Halo 2 for their favorite co-op experiences for the Xbox. It's unsurprising, as it's hard to think of the Xbox and not think of Halo.
Staff Quotes on Halo and Halo 2:
"Couch play (both competitive and co-op) practically defined the Halo series on Xbox, and probably accounts for about 90% of the total use I got out of that system." - Mike
"They defined that system and are still some of my favorite co-op games of all time." - Nick
Xbox 360Nick Puleo: Halo series, Crackdown, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, Gears of War, Gears of War 2, Gears of War 3, Schizoid, Geometry Wars 2, Toy Soldiers: Cold War
Mike Katsufrakis: Gears 1,2 & 3, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo Reach, 50 Cent: BitS, Dark Souls, Rock Band 2, Castle Crashers
Marc Allie: Halo Reach
Jason Love: Halo 3
Tally Callahan: Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Castle Crashers, Tales of Vesperia
Chris Metz: Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Portal 2
John Bardinelli: Castlevania: Harmony of Despair
The Xbox 360 was the system that, all together, participating staff cited the most favorite co-op experiences. The 360 brought people together online in a way that only the PC had previously succeeded in doing. Certainly a major co-op platform, so it's no wonder that some of our staff members had a hard time narrowing their favorites down to one (or even two!).
Staff Quote on 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand:
"50 Cent was a surprising game, Nick and I loved it so much we named our Game of the Year award in its honor." - Mike
Staff Quote on Halo Reach:
"Of all the Halo games, I think this is the best. The only game in the series I replayed the campaign three times, even on Legendary, in co-op. One of my best gaming experiences ever." - Marc
NINTENDO SYSTEMS Nintendo Gamecube
Mike Katsufrakis: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Marc Allie: Mario Cart Double Dash
Tally Callahan: Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
Chris Metz: Mario Kart Double Dash, FF Crystal Chronicles, X-men Legends, X-Men Legends 2, Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles
The staff pulls out a few somewhat niche titles, but titles that I think many will remember fondly. While many of the most well-remembered titles may have been competitive or single-player, there were certainly some co-op gems played on this system.
Staff Quote on Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance:
"A well-used hand-me-down Gamecube and Xbox were the first consoles my boyfriend and I ever owned. Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance was one of the first co-op games we got. We had an absolute blast playing it, and it started the trend for us playing ARPGs on consoles locally that we continue to this day." - Tally
Mike Katsufrakis: New Super Mario Brothers
Marc Allie: Super Smash Brothers Brawl
Jason Love: Dr. Mario
Chris Metz: Super Smash Brothers Brawl
Justin Reynolds: Dead Space Extraction
Surprising no one, we see a couple of classic platforming franchises; however, I think that titles like Dead Space Extraction took us by surprise. Who would have thought a co-op horror game on the Wii would be so enjoyable?
Staff Quote on Dead Space Extraction:
"Dead Space Extraction provided me tons of fun solo, but even more fun with a buddy. I felt like a kid again, sitting in front of the TV with a friend with two Nyko gun peripherals going through this intense and horrifying railshooter. Sweaty palms, tons of jumps, tons of 'ohhhh s***!"'and seeing why something was the way it was in Dead Space 1... it was all a blast." -Justin
Mike Katsufrakis: Super Mario 3D World
Marc Allie: Super Mario 3D World
Chris Metz: Pikmin 3
John Bardinelli: Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
The WiiU is not really known for its monstrous library, but it's certainly a great system for co-op with the people in our lives that consider themselves casual gamers. Games like Super Mario 3D World are great to play with the family and non-gamer friends. And then there are the titles that are clearly directed towards the more hardcore, like Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate.
Staff Quote on Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate:
I was going to put Rayman Origins here, but then I remembered I've spent a healthy 457 hours playing MH3U, almost every minute of which has been co-op with a friend. We've played online, we've lugged our systems around to play in the same room, we've sat on porches grasping 3DS systems as our thumbs cramped from hours of play. I think that qualifies as a good experience. - John
PC
PC was a little tricky to do, since, unlike consoles, there's no clear beginning and ending of a system. So we elected to divide by decade. The decade denotes when we were playing it, which doesn't necessarily coincide with the decade the game was released.
Nick Puleo: Diablo, DOOM, DOOM 2, Duke Nukem 3D, Rainbow Six
Mike Katsufrakis: DOOM, Duke Nukem 3D, Diablo, Diablo 2
Chris Metz: Centipede
A PC decade of giants. These days, FPSs and ARPGs come and go, but everyone PC gamer knows the DOOM and Diablo IPs.
Staff Quote on Diablo and Diablo 2:
"Diablo taught me the expenses related to direct modem connections over long distance, and Diablo 2 stole thousands of hours of my life." - Mike
Nick Puleo: Left 4 Dead, Rainbow Six 3, MechWarrior 4
Mike Katsufrakis: World of Warcraft, Left 4 Dead, Borderlands
Marc Allie: EverQuest
Tally Callahan: Dungeon Siege 2, Diablo 2, Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Lord of the Rings Online
John Bardinelli: Borderlands
Justin Reynolds: World of Warcraft
Most of the picks here are either a FPS or an MMO game. That might about just sum up this decade of PC gaming. Those two genres exploded in these two years, but eventually died down a bit in the following decade. These years were both of their heydays.
Staff Quote on Borderlands:
"This is the game that got all of my friends to take off work and play video games again. When this came out, there were entire days filled with shooting and looting in a full co-op game. And by 'entire days,' I really do mean that. 'Brb guys, going to eat whatever's in the kitchen, then more BL.' It's the perfect blend of action, obsessive loot gathering, and trying to jump onto buildings we're not supposed to jump onto." - John
Nick Puleo: Borderlands series, Trine Series, Diablo III
Mike Katsufrakis: Borderlands 2, Diablo III, Torchlight 2, Payday 2
Marc Allie: Diablo III
Jason Love: Dark Souls 2
Tally Callahan: Borderlands 2, Torchlight 2, Divinity: Original Sin
Chris Metz: Awesomenauts, Team Fortress 2, Alien Swarm
John Bardinelli: Terraria
Justin Reynolds: Mass Effect 3
A ton of co-op games here with long shelf lives. Games like the Borderlands series, Diablo III, and Dark Souls 2 can provide hours upon hours of play while players seek out the best loot.
Staff Quote on Dark Souls 2:
"When I first tried Dark Souls on the 360, I hated the game. It just didn't click with me. Time went on and it was a game I felt like I wanted to like; that I should like. Watching videos of Locke and Andrew co-op a final run of the game somehow won me over and I picked it up again. It was love at first death and I pre-ordered the sequel for PC. I felt, in some way, that I had betrayed Nick, as we both had a dislike for the series. Now, I joined the rest of the chorus in saying, "it's great!" I've had some great times with Andrew, Locke, Mike, and even Nick (when he begrudgingly decided to join in) learning the game and now see why it's so beloved." - Jason
MISCELLANEOUS SYSTEMS
Nick Puleo: Streets of Rage, Golden Axe (SEGA Genesis); Dead Rising 3 (Xbox One)
Mike Katsufrakis: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Valkyria Chronicles 2 (PSP); Soul Sacrifice (PS Vita)
Jason Love: Super Motherload, Warframe, Child of Light (PS4)
Staff Quote on Super Motherload:
Super Motherload was one of the downloadable launch titles for the PS4 and one I needed to review. It was also one of the first co-op games I spent any significant amount of time with with my (now) wife. There was something about the casual nature of it all that appealed to both of us and, I think for her, made it easier to approach than other games we had played. It was also a welcome break from the wedding planning. - Jason
So there you have it - our staff picks for favorite co-op experiences, sorted by platform. Not all of us had a favorite for each system, but together we hit all the major ones. These are the games and experiences that keep us loving what we do. What are some of your favorite co-op experiences?
