2020 has been a rough year for the entire world, with many finding themselves stuck inside due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Not able to enjoy their usual public activities, many people have turned to video games to escape into digital worlds, where they can get away from some of the stressful situations bearing down on them in real life.
Video games have been huge for socialization during the COVID-19 pandemic, as millions of people around the world have played with friends and family online instead of meeting with them in person. While many have spent this time in versus multiplayer games, there are plenty of cooperative games that have kept people busy as well, with 2020 having quite a few notable co-op games that released over the course of the year.
These are the 10 best co-op games of 2020.
10Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Easily one of the most-played co-op games of the year was Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons for the Switch. Given a boost thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,Animal Crossing: New Horizonsallows players to visit each other’s islands online, letting people play and hang out together while sticking to social distancing guidelines. While visiting each other’s islands,Animal Crossing: New Horizonsplayers can share items, interact with each other’s villagers, and show off their decorating skills.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons' online co-op play is one of its main draws, but the game also offers local co-op options as well.Animal Crossing: New Horizonsallows for multiple villagers to all exist on the same island, completing tasks, interacting with the other villagers, and more. The controversial decision to only allowoneAnimal Crossing: New Horizonssave file per Switchputs a damper on the local co-op play somewhat, but it’s still a great option for Switch owners.
9Genshin Impact
Heavily inspired byThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,Genshin Impactputs its own spin on the formula, adopting a free-to-play gacha monetization model and allowing for online co-op play. When playing in co-op,Genshin Impactplayers can play with up to three other players to explore the game world and complete objectives. Better yet,Genshin Impact’s co-op is crossplay, meaning players can join up with their friends regardless of if they’re playing on PC, PlayStation, or mobile devices.
WhileGenshin Impact’s co-opcan be a fun time, there are some drawbacks to keep in mind. For one,Genshin Impactco-op doesn’t unlock until players reach Adventure Rank 16, and beyond that, it limits the number of characters that players can have in their party at any given time. Still, being able to play aBreath of the Wild-style experience with friends is hard to beat, and withGenshin Impactbeing a live-service game, there’s always time for it to improve the co-op experience in future updates.
8Ghost of Tsushima
Ghost of Tsushimalaunched as a single-player only experience, and it seemed many were satisfied with it.Ghost of Tsushimareviews were mostly positive, with many praising Sucker Punch’s open world samurai game for its intense action and stunning graphics. But then Sucker Punch surprised everyone by releasing a co-op mode forGhost of Tsushima, which was made available for free.
TheGhost of Tsushima: Legendsco-op is class-based, with players completing co-op missions and slicing down enemies in a horde-style mode.Ghost of Tsushima: Legendsalso features a raid for up to four players. So whileGhost of Tsushimamay primarily be known for its single-player content, co-op fans shouldn’t sleep on its co-op modes.
7Huntdown
Huntdownfrom Easy Trigger Games and Coffee Stain Publishing flew under the radar for many, which is a shame because it is easily one of the best co-op experiences around. Harkening back to the 16-bit era of gaming,Huntdownis an action-packed shooter that offers plenty of action-packed moments and seriously tough boss battles.Huntdownhas been criminally overlooked, and it’s an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a fun co-op game, especially fans of retro side-scrolling shooters.
6Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
In 2014,The Legend of Zeldafranchise crossed over withDynasty Warriors, to mostly great results. The originalHyrule Warriorsearned decent reviews at the time of its release, with a lot of praise given to its co-op mode. Fast forward to 2020 andHyrule Warriorsis back withAge of Calamity, a game that serves as a prequel toBreath of the Wildand once again features a local co-op mode.
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Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamityallows two players to play through the majority of the campaign in split-screen, completing main missions and side quests together as variousBreath of the Wildcharacters.Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity’s frame rate issueshave been well-documented, but they’re worth putting up with for the large scale, over-the-top battles that the game provides.
5Pikmin 3 Deluxe
The originalPikmin 3was one of the Wii U’s most critically-acclaimed games, and so it’s no surprise thatPikmin 3 Deluxeon the Nintendo Switch has been well-received by critics and fans alike.Pikmin 3 Deluxebrings a number of new features and fresh content to the game, but its biggest addition is easily the co-op mode. The entirety ofPikmin 3 Deluxe’s story can be played through in co-op, resulting in a much different experience than fans of the Wii U original may remember.
Pikmin 3’s co-op extends beyond the campaign, with new missions built with co-op in mind. This greatly boostsPikmin 3 Deluxe’s replay value, making it worthwhile even to fans who extensively played the original. If a newPikmingame ever materializes, here’s hoping it retains the co-op mode and maybe even expands on it to support online play as well.
4Sackboy: A Big Adventure
The PlayStation 5 didn’t launch with many co-op games, but one of the most notable ones isSackboy: A Big Adventure. Essentially a combination ofLittleBigPlanet’s aesthetic withSuper Mario 3D World-style gameplay,Sackboy: A Big Adventurelets up to four players take on the game’s various platforming levels, bosses, and more, with everyone able to earn trophies and customize their own characters.
There are some levels inSackboy: A Big Adventurethat are actually co-op exclusive, forcing players to work together to solve their puzzles and overcome their challenges. Unfortunately,Sackboy: A Big Adventure’s online co-opmissed launch, but an update should be coming sooner rather than later that will allow players to play through the game with some of their online buddies as well.
3Spelunky 2
The originalSpelunkystands out as one of the highest-rated platformers of its time, and is often hailed as one of the better roguelikes ever made. Considering this,Spelunky 2had some lofty expectations to meet, but many would agree that it did just that.Spelunky 2has enjoyed critical acclaim since it launched earlier this year, as it retains the gameplay style that made the original such a hit, but added new features, physics, areas, items, and more. And just like the original game,Spelunky 2has local and online co-op modes, with up to four players able to brave the dangerous caves together.
2Streets of Rage 4
Some of the earliest examples of co-op games were the beat ‘em ups that used to dominate arcades in the 1980s. Nowadays, beat ‘em ups are finding new life through the digital marketplace, withStreets of Rage 4standing out as one of the best beat ‘em up games in recent years. Retaining what made the originalStreets of Ragegames great and ratcheting everything up to 11,Streets of Rage 4is exactly what fans would want from a modern take on the franchise. Full of nods to the first three games and delivering a wealth of content,Streets of Rage 4is easily one of the best co-op gamesthat released this year.
1Wasteland 3
Wasteland 3is the highest-ratedWastelandgame to date, with the game earning rave reviews for how it makes player choice truly meaningful, and for its wealth of hilarious, unexpected moments. And while there have been some technical issues to wade through,Wasteland 3’s co-op is a real treat when it works, letting two players explore the open world either together or completely separate from one another. Now that inXile is under the Xbox Game Studios banner and will presumably have a bigger budget to work with, it will be very interesting to see what it manages to cook up next.
