Agaming PCmight not have quite the same immediately obvious couch co-op appeal of a console when it comes to playing games together with someone, but through the joy of online play there are almost limitless numbers of great co-op games on the platform.
From story-driven adventures to puzzle-solving capers, there are a huge range of experiences to try, so we’ve gathered a shortlist of the very best co-op games for PC players, right here.
No Man’s Sky
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Stardew Valley
Left 4 Dead 2
Overcooked! All You Can Eat
It Takes Two
Top co-op games we’d recommend
There are naturally a lot of different co-op games out there and what you choose will largely be down to the sort of games you prefer to play with friends. These are our top picks though.
Casual survival fun with friends
Grounded is a brilliant little survival adventure game where you play tiny little people trapped in a backyard, fighting to survive.
Grounded is a perfect game to play with friends. This is a survival game that turns you into tiny people trapped in a garden. You need to survive against all the creatures and creepy crawlies out there while also trying to solve the puzzle of why you’re tiny in the first place.
This game has had plenty of updates since it first appeared and there are loads to do with an ever-expanding garden to adventure around in. Just be warned though, there are giant spiders in this one, so it’s a no-go for arachnophobes.
An epic puzzle game that’s brilliant when play in co-op mode
The classic puzzle game with portal guns is even more fun when played with friends.
We can’t believe it’s been so long sincePortal 2came out, but the game remains untouchable as one of the best, most inventive cooperative titles ever created.
You play as a pair of robots running through deranged Aperture Science trials with portal guns of your own and must work together to make it out of a long series of puzzle rooms. It’s hilarious and innovative and we wish there were more sequels to tuck into!
Untold planets to explore with your friends
Is there anything better than adventuring with your friends in space?
No Man’s Sky has come a long way since it first launched and it just continues to get better and better. This game is brilliant fun to play with friends as you’re able to work together building mega bases in space or just adventuring together through the vastness of the universe.
Recent updates include the ability to play in VR, so if you’ve all got virtual reality headsets then you may really enjoy a special experience.
Gather your group of upto four players and get stuck in
This is another classic RPG from the creators of Baldur’s Gate 3 and that means guaranteed good times in co-op.
An RPG that lets you party up and take on a huge, sprawling story that crosses continents and has some great twists, Original Sin 2 lets you really rip things up and create chaos on the battlefield and in your questlines.
It has such a nice sense of fun and encourages proper teamwork while also rewarding invention and cheekiness.
A wonderfully relaxing RPG for friends
This farming simulator is like a gorgeous comforting blanket to curl up in.
This delightful farming game lets you move to a slower pace, building up a farm and getting to know a small hamlet and its residents over time - it’s insanely relaxing.
Being able to play it together means you can build up a real sense of shared ownership with the other player, too.
What’s more fun that shooting zombies with friends?
It might be getting on in years now but Left 4 Dead 2 is still an utter classic and a blast with friends.
Another game that shows Valve’s titles age amazingly,Left 4 Dead 2 is still a hitif you want short co-operative levels to shoot your way through. Its vision of a zombie menace is detailed but characterful, and the simplicity of its gameplay is part of why it stays satisfying even after hundreds of hours.
Left 4 Dead 2 might be getting on in years, but it was only justrecently updated with more content. Proof that you can’t kill a classic zombie shooter.
Over 200 levels to get stuck into
Overcooked! has an insane amount of levels to play and utterly chaotic content too.
The definitive Overcooked experience, this bundle offers a huge range of levels for you to work through in groups, desperately trying to serve up a long queue of orders while the world conspires against you with moving levels, hazardous pits, hurricanes and more. It’s so fun and so hectic that you’ll keep coming back for more.
Loads of variety and plenty of fun
This is pitched as a genre-bending platform adventure designed specifically for co-op.
A touching story about parenting and relationships, It Takes Two comes from the same developers that made another excellent co-op game, A Way Out, and it’s even more inventive and rewarding to make your way through it with a friend or family member. There are so many genres of game covered by its various sequences that you’ll probably be amazed.
