There’s nothing like shooting up some baddies with friends. The feeling of going shoulder to shoulder with your pals as you mow down swarms of zombies, mutants, aliens, and bugs is unparalleled. Whether you want to play something easy and casual or hardcore and a test of your skills, co-op shooters cater to pretty much all play styles.
Here are the most recent co-op games that you can hop on with your friends for a guaranteed good time (unless your friends are terrible at shooters).
1
Helldivers 2
A very nice cup of liber-tea indeed.
As someone who played the original Helldivers from 2015, I was not shocked to hear that Helldivers 2 was a major hit. The original, though a top-down shooter, had an incredibly fun gameplay formula that was a perfect balance between coordinated teamplay and absolute chaos.
Taking the game from the top-down perspective into the third person was an incredible decision and made the game far more accessible to a wider audience. And now you have the global phenomenon that is Helldivers 2.
This is a co-op shooter that never disappoints. Each mission feels like an episode from an ’80s action TV series or a scene from Starship Troopers. Everything about the game is built to be fun and breathtaking to look at.
And let’s not even get into the strategems. These support weapons, artillery, and equipment that you can order from your destroyer up in orbit are what give the game its flavor.
Best Support Weapons In Helldivers 2
- A gattling barrage from a very big gattling in space.
- A precision strike that never arrives when I desperately need it, but is really fun to use.
- A 500kg bomb that causes an explosion that blinds everyone and everything around it.
- A jetpack (yes, this one’s a bit underwhelming compared to the rest, but still really fun).
- A mortar turret that feels like it only hurts your squadmates.
- And a giant laser from space that destroys everything in its path.
The shooting is satisfying, the strategems, the missions, the maps are all masterfully integrated. And on top of everything, the game has a very specific tone and sense of humor that has charmed many into joining the Super Earth Armed Forces and defending liberty from the enemies of humanity.
2
Deep Rock Galactic
If you don’t rock and stone, you ain’t going home.
I put in an ungodly number of hours into Deep Rock Galactic with my friends, and I don’t regret a single second of it. Sure, some missions drag on for a little too long, and sometimes it feels like the maps are way too labyrinthine and confusing.
But join a single DRG match with 3 other friends and I promise you, it will make your friendship that much stronger. This is all thanks to the intricate co-op sandbox that the developers have implemented, where every role matters and synergy between classes is what wins games.
For example, the Scout has a grappling hook that allows him to reach resources in hard-to-reach areas. But the Engineer is needed to place a platform under him to mine the minerals. The Gunner class packs a lot of firepower, but can also help the entire team reach higher ledges with a zipline.
There are a ton of opportunities for teamplay as squads of four complete various objectives. Every class is important, and all their equipment comes in handy. This seamless synergy is what differentiates DRG from other class-based shooters, where some classes or equipment may not be as useful.
DRG is a lot of fun with friends and even strangers. The gameplay loop of completing different objectives and fighting off hordes of bugs is incredible, thanks to powerful weapons and useful equipment.
3
GTFO
A tense co-op shooter where teamwork and coordination are key.
The first match of GTFO feels like you’re playing video games for the first time. It can feel overwhelming when you seem to be doing everything the game is asking of you, and yet you’re constantly overrun with Sleepers, run out of supplies, and never reach the end of the mission.
But once you start coordinating with your friends, allotting supplies, and playing very carefully, the game opens up quite intuitively. There’s a huge emphasis on stealth in GTFO, whether it’s to conserve ammo or health. Even when sneaking up on enemies, you need to coordinate, lest you wake up all the monsters in the area.
Besides that, you also need to conserve supplies for when the game throws set pieces at you, where you must defend an objective while being attacked by hordes of enemies, similar to Payday or the upcoming Den of Wolves. This is where your supplies are going to be most useful, so to avoid wasting your ammunition, coordinate precise melee takedowns with the rest of your team.
GTFO is also an incredibly immersive game. Instead of going up to a terminal and selecting buttons from a user interface, you actually have to type in command prompts yourself. Now imagine trying to do this while a horde of monsters is attacking you. This means you need to coordinate with your teammates, who will hold off the horde, while you desperately type on the terminal to learn the location of your next objective.
GTFO is tense, difficult, and downright scary at times, even when played with friends. By dedicating enough time to learn all of its intricate gameplay systems, you and your team will become a well-oiled machine that can take on any task, no matter the difficulty.
A little warning to those with friends who don’t play a lot of video games: you’re going to be in for a bad time. So, it’s best to play this with friends who have some experience in co-op first-person shooters.
4
Space Marine 2
The latest title in the grimdark universe of 40k.
The Warhammer 40k universe is one of the most lore-packed intellectual properties out there. It has gained a lot of popularity over the years, as more and more mainstream titles are released to the public.
This is exemplified by Space Marine 2, one of the biggest releases in 2024. And while the campaign and PvP modes are both fantastic in their own right, the most replayable part of Space Marine 2 is the co-op PvE mode.
This third-person shooter is brutal, as you’ll come to expect from the 40k universe. Tearing through hordes of Tyranids can be quite difficult at times, but the experience is deeply rewarding. The co-op PvE mode offers the same class-based gameplay as the PvP where every role matters.
What I personally love about Space Marine 2 is the customization. Making your Space Marine look like your favorite pre-existing chapter or creating one of your own adds a lot to the experience.
There’s something deeply satisfying about pretending to be a Space Marine as you scream 40k classics, such as “Death to the xenos” or “I’m still standing, better than I ever did”, while turning your enemies into red paste. Now add your friends to the mix, and you’re in for a grim, but very fun time.
5
Remnant II
The sequel to the fantastic action role-playing game.
The original Remnant was a very pleasant surprise. I wasn’t expecting much going in, but it turned out to be a really fun experience, especially with friends.
What makes Remnant so fun to play with friends is its satisfying variety of weapons, deep customization mechanics, and looting. Couple that with some really fun boss fights, and you have a fantastic co-op shooter that seamlessly blends traditional third-person shooting with deep RPG mechanics.
The world of Remnant 2 is also quite interesting. Set in a Lovecraftian post-apocalypse, Remnant 2 will have you in a variety of procedurally generated locations that always find a way to keep things visually refreshing.
Though it can be difficult at times, Remnant 2 is a third-person shooter RPG with a lot of character, extensive lore, fully realized RPG mechanics, and deeply satisfying shooting.
