Now that Marvin has managed to maintain a relationship for over two years, he has become a self-proclaimed co-op expert. Today he takes a look at the best co-op PS4 games that you can play together on the couch. No less than 20 pieces, enough for months of gaming fun, drama and torn friendships.
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De LEGO-games (Harry Potter Collection, Marvel Super Heroes 2, etc.)
Sitting on the couch together and pulverizing countless digital LEGO blocks with characters from your favorite franchises is timeless. The LEGO games are firmly at the top of most lists of best co-op games – they have almost everything: humor, puzzles, a delicious (metroidvania-like) progression and thousands of unlockables and collectibles. The fact that the games can be played by young and old is a nice plus, and no generation is safe from the 100% virus that will undoubtedly strike. You come for the fun blocks and stay for the achievements. It pays to go through these games as completely as possible, because before you know it you will dive into a new mechanic or completely new levels, and that is always a nice surprise.
Choosing the best LEGO games is a feature in itself, so we’ll throw it all together here. You will undoubtedly get the most fun from the LEGO Hary Potter Collection, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2, LEGO Jurassic World and LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens. If you get the hang of it then there are plenty of hours of co-op fun ahead, games like LEGO The Incredibles, LEGO Batman and LEGO DC Super-Villains will be well worth playing.
Overcooked 2
Standing together in the kitchen creates a bond, but doing your best not to throw a controller at each other’s heads does that even more. Fortunately, you can combine the two pursuits in Overcooked 2, which has a simple concept in itself. You have to create recipes within a certain time, but the recipes are getting more complicated and the environments more treacherous. That is why only the best-oiled teams can go far in the game, provided they can handle choice stress and sky-high pressure. Still, once things go right (or go horribly wrong) Overcooked 2 equals a steaming plate of fun.
Minecraft
Do we really need to describe this? Everyone and his mother knows Minecraft, and although the game has a good manual, everyone should be able to pick it up easily. Whether you quietly build a house together, explore the world, battle monsters or recreate a random meme with blocks; Minecraft offers a variety of co-op options that you can get through in an afternoon or spend months doing.
Diablo 3
When it comes to co-op gameplay where you can drop in and out easily, Diablo 3 is very important. The classic hack & slash combat translates wonderfully to the PS4, and ramming buttons together as oceans of demons plummet to death is a mighty feeling. If you are already working on a game (Seasonal or otherwise) your friend can join you, and you can drag him behind you for a while to give him gear and become stronger. Before you know it, the two of you are slaughtering Malthael.
Rocket League
By far the most competitive game on this list: Rocket League. We especially want to discuss games in which you have to work together, and luckily that is also possible in Rocket League. Whether it is 2v2, 3v3 or 4v4, whether you play Hoops or go all out with the settings in the Rumble mode and kick each other around with gigantic shoes; Rocket League guarantees competition, lightning-fast teamwork and glorious or otherwise victories. Nice if you already play it a lot, even more fun to playfully improve together and online opponents to shoot the balls to the side mirrors.
FIFA / PES
Right on with the following football games, although these are of course better football simulators than Rocket League. FIFA and PES have been the most fun games you can play with your friends for over two decades, as long as you are football fans. If so, you can fill tons of evenings with tournaments (if you have enough friends over) or take on people online together in one of the many game modes.
Dying Light: The Following
Zombies have become a permanent part of our culture, because not a year can go by without three new zombie films and / or games appearing. Unfortunately, when it comes to co-op zombie games, you don’t have much choice, but the zombie game that does co-op is immediately one of the best ever made: Dying Light. Freerunning through the city together while trying to keep zombies away from each other, chasing the same quest objectives or choosing their own path, everything is possible. A great story, even cooler gameplay and an unprecedented adrenaline rush when night falls; Dying Light is a must for any zombie fanatic. Unfortunately Dying Light does not have a split screen, so you will need two PS4s.
Littlebigplanet 3
Platformers are pre-eminently the kind of games that you can play with each other on the couch, where you will of course laugh at each other when the other rips off a platform or runs into an enemy. LittleBigPlanet 3 takes it one step further, because there is also a dose of creativity involved in the level editor. In fact, there’s so much to do in LittleBigPlanet 3 that it can be hard to get everyone on the couch excited, but once that happens …
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection
At the time of writing, Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is the absolute pinnacle of co-op loot shooters. After all, Borderlands 2 is one of the most fun shooters ever made, and the fact that the two of you (or more) can walk through it while shooting tons of enemies through their heads just makes it better. By matching characters and weapons you can vary the gameplay wonderfully, and by working together you will be able to take on increasingly stronger bosses and therefore get the thickest loot. Nice drool on pixel guns!
Rayman Legends
Whoever thinks of co-op games quickly thinks of platformers, and who thinks of platformers (unfortunately) quickly thinks of Nintendo games, but that does not mean that there is nothing to do on the PS4. Rayman Legends is one of the nicest platformers you can play on PS4: cool (and iconic) characters, the ability to run through levels and collect whatever you want and just enough variety to surprise you a few times. Wholesome fun for the whole family.
Divinity: Original Sin (1 & 2)
This is certainly not a game that you just start with your brother who has played Minecraft once or with your father who only plays FIFA. No, Divinity: Original Sin is a game for fans of Dungeons & Dragons and similar in-depth RPGs. The choices in this game are so many that no playthrough will be the same, the quests are often fantastically written and the gameplay is also wonderful to master. Yes, these games take a ton of time, but those who love top-down RPGs like Baldur’s Gate and have never experienced anything like this in a co-op style will be in for a revelation here.
Alienation
A twin-stick shooter like no other: in Alienation you face armies of aliens with up to four people. Think Halo, but from above and even more chaos unfolding on the screen. Yes, with four people this game can get a bit too busy and it can be difficult to see what is happening on the TV, but Alienation is guaranteed to keep you all on the edge of the seat – uhh, couch.
Don’t Starve Together
Sounds simple, doesn’t it; In Don’t Starve Together, you have to survive by building bases and collecting resources and food. Don’t Starve itself was a great game for survival game fans, but the two of us only add to the fun. After all, it is nice to divide all the work between two people, and with the constant threat of permadeath (for both players) you have to work well together to survive.
A Way Out
Today there are very few co-op games that you can play together on the couch; usually you both have to sit behind a console and work online. A Way Out is therefore a unique game that you should give a chance just because of its approach. This game can only be played with two people; the story revolves around two prison buddies who must work together to survive and find a way out of their prison lifestyle. It’s a relief to experience the interaction between the two characters, and hopefully A Way Out will be the trigger for more game developers to produce unique co-op games like this one.
N++
With N ++ you will probably think of a lot of broken controllers in the corner of your room, but nowadays you can also just play the game in pairs to relieve the stress. Not that it will; co-op in N ++ is still packed with tricky levels, annoying obstacles and crazy fast gameplay. This time, however, you have to work together to solve puzzles, for example by experimenting with switches and timing well. Stressful, but fantastic.
Rock Band / Guitar Hero
Anyone who loves music should just get Guitar Hero or Rock Band, because forming a digital band with your friends is also a timeless experience. Unfortunately it costs a bit more than the average game (you need the accompanying guitars, drum kit and microphone to start a whole band and they are not exactly cheap), but if you have friends who also love music then you can with Guitar Hero Live and Rock Band 4 do no harm. There are certainly skills involved, so try to be all the Expert level and then play the stars from the digital sky.
Guacamelee! 2
There are a little too few games on this list where you can use your aggression and your passion for avocados, and that’s why Guacamelee exists! 2. Travel together through the Mexiverse to complete wonderfully atmospheric levels packed with interesting platforming moments, and alternate them with some very intriguing boss fights.
Crypt of the Necrodancer
This game is already a pleasure to play on your own; In itself, going through dungeons and slaughtering pixelated monsters isn’t unique, but its emphasis on musicality makes Crypt of the Necrodancer one of the nicest indies to hit PS4 in recent years. The fact that you can do that together makes it even more fun; every move you make has to be to the beat of the music, so just pushing buttons won’t get you there.
Unravel 2
Sometimes you just want a game that doesn’t require too much effort, and Unravel 2 is one such game. The woolly characters must go through a beautiful world together to solve some simple puzzles, making use of the wool that connects them. Swing from the body of the other, become one woolly character together or try to unravel the somewhat vague story together; Unravel 2 is played comfortably on the couch without worrying too much.
Gang Beasts
From a quiet game to a game that will leave you cursing and screaming on the couch: Gang Beasts. Okay, Gang Beasts isn’t exactly a cooperative game (unless you make teams or something like that) but the game is so damn funny that it doesn’t matter. There are a few different modes (football, endless wave, standard multiplayer combat) in which you can go wild, and especially the frustrating controls and hilarious physics will ensure that no game goes the way you want. That makes Gang Beasts all the funnier and a mandatory number if you regularly play games with friends on the couch.
Do you know any cool co-op games you can play on PS4? Then drop it in the comments! Honorable mentions: Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, Spelunky, Sundered: Eldritch Edition, Resogun, Attack on Titan 2, Sonic Mania.
