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Co-ophas been a staple of gaming for most of the medium’s lifespan, although its prominence can fluctuate from time to time. While arguably associated more with PvP games, the PC scene is certainly no stranger to cooperative games, particularly ones that are played online. Local co-op options can be a bit harder to find since the feature is not typically prioritized on platforms likeSteam, but they also exist, and there are some great titles out there.
When looking formultiplayer gamesto play with friends, players will likely gravitate either toteam-based shootersor MMOs, two genres that have produced more than their fair share of great releases. However, there are plenty ofgreat Steam co-op gamesthat go beyond those categories.
Co-op games that focus on PvP will be largely ignored.Counter-Strike 2andRainbow Six Siege Xare examples of omitted games, although modes like Wingman can satisfy players looking for PvP co-op.
While the rankings are mostly based on quality, new additions will be mentioned first for visibility’s sake.
Updated June 14, 2025 by Mark Sammut:Free co-op Steam gamesare rare, so each one needs to be cherished to an extent. While not exactly beloved or free of major issues, Game of Thrones: Kingsroad might fill a void for die-hard fans who are dying to take a trip through Westeros.
Also, Madoka Magica Magia Exedra made its Steam debut recently, and it could be worth consideration if you are familiar with the magical girl anime. The project has been out on mobile devices since March 2025, and it has a solid-ish reputation as a gacha game with decent turn-based combat but a lot of grinding. I haven’t spent enough time with the PC version, so I cannot recommend it for now.
Wuthering Wavestook quite a while to make its Steam debut, but the delay was worth it since the game is nowadays in a much better state. At launch, Kuro’s project garnered a notably mixed response, with the visuals and gameplay being considered decent but nothing too incredible. While the story is still not great, in my opinion,Wuthering Wavesarguably offers the best combat in the gacha genre, along with pretty great traversal. Anybody craving a free-to-play open-world action RPG should give this a try, as they have nothing to lose but time.
For its co-op,Wuthering Wavesallows up to three players to share a world, with one of them acting as a host. They all control one playable character, and having some allies can be useful for taking out bosses (although the game is not really that difficult). Honestly,Wuthering Waves' co-op is not much of a selling point, especially since players need to reach Union Level 22 just to unlock it. That is a lot of time to invest for people specifically looking to play with friends.
Following the same thread asinnovative puzzleco-op games likeKeep Talking And Nobody Explodes, We Were Heresees two players lost in a frozen wasteland and separated. The only form of communication they have is through their handheld radio devices. Both players must have working microphones to communicate as they work together through challenging puzzles to reunite, and they will have a unique gameplay experience.
Seemingly inspired by real-life escape rooms, I was surprised at just how wellWe Were Heremanages to replicate those experiences. The game proved to be a big enough success to produce four sequels, none of which are free. That said, they are all very good and are not that expensive when bought together.
Alien Swarmmight just be Valve’s most forgotten game, although the 2010 release is by no means bad. In fact, anyone seeking a twin-stick co-op shooter can certainly do worse than this title; however, they should consider jumping intoAlien Swarm: Reactive Dropinstead of the original game. For one,Reactive Dropis still being updated despite coming out in 2017, which cannot be said forAlien Swarm. Secondly and more importantly, the expansion does exactly what it advertises: improve the base experience.
While not lacking PvP,Reactive Dropis primarily about co-op. 8 players can take on one of the game’s 10+ campaigns, each consisting of a couple of missions. Naturally, the gameplay loop boils down to players going up against wave after wave of enemies while they attempt to work toward a level’s endpoint. Straightforward as this concept is,Alien Swarm: Reactive Dropmanages to incorporate quite a bit of nuance through its classes and tactics-driven gameplay. This is not one of those forgiving games that allow players to effectively disregard the rest of the team as they live out their Rambo fantasy; no, teamwork is necessary for survival.
With Youis awholesome cooperative puzzle-platformergame for two players to enjoy. Together, the couple must collaborate to solve a series of physics and platforming segments through problem-solving, gentle communication, and jumping on each other.
Short and sweet, with its intentionally wonky controls,With Youresolves to improve the bonds and intimacy between the two players and (quite literally) bring them closer together. You will probably finish the game pretty quickly, but it is fun while it lasts.
While hardly flawless,Once Human, an open-world survival game, is nevertheless an outstanding achievement and well worth a download. An alien infestation driven by human corporations has caused corruption to spread across the land, mutating humans, animals, and objects in the process. Meta-humans are in charge of fighting back against this chaos, all the while trying to learn who exactly is behind this apocalyptic situation.
AsOnce Humansupports solo play, an argument could be made that this type of survival experience benefits from the sense of isolation presented by a single-player run. However, Starry Studio has implemented both PvP multiplayer and co-op. The former is a mixed bag that can be largely ignored if someone does not want to engage with it, even if they opt to play with other players. Conversely, co-op generally results in a superior experience, even ifOnce Human’s implementation of the feature leaves something to be desired.
Players can set up either a Party, Hive, or Warband, depending on how many friends will be joining the run. While they all have their uses, Hive might be the best option for those who are planning to mostly play together, as it will allow them to effectively run through the campaign as a unit.Once Humancan get repetitive at times, an issue that is lessened when a few friends are along for the ride.
Dani’sMuckis just an all-around solid free-to-play sandbox game. While not necessarily pushing the genre forward, it does cover the basics well while providing an enjoyable multiplayer experience. Friends can live together on the same server, seeing how long they can survive on a procedurally generated island as they steadily work towards the campaign’s endpoint (which does exist). Death is permanent in survival mode, so the stakes are fairly high.
Despite its vibrant and simple visuals,Muckdoes not pull all that many punches, and it even has a couple of challenging boss fights. Multiplayer helps ease the difficulty somewhat, but it does not make the game a walk in the park either.
No More Room In Hellis afirst-person horror gamewhere players can join forces with up to eight others and try to survive the zombie apocalypse with over 30 weapons at their disposal. There is proximity-based voice communication, so the farther players are from one another, the harder it is for them to communicate.
Taking inspiration from contemporary sources likeThe Walking Dead,No More Room In Hell issurprisingly fun and guaranteed to provide hours of entertainment.Withthe zombie virus running rampant, players can become infected and decide to warn their team of impending zombification or stay quiet about their fate.
Unsolved Casecasts players as detectives and puts them on a serial killer case. To catch the Cryptic Killer, the two sleuths will need to solve a series of puzzles, and teamwork is the name of the game. Players need to constantly communicate since they are each shown just a fragment of a room’s overall puzzle, and a solution can only be found by combining each person’s clues.
Lasting approximately an hour,Unsolved Caseis an enjoyable brain-teaser. While thefree co-op gamedoes not have much replay value, it is designed to act as a sample of what Eleven Puzzles' future Cryptic Killer games will contain.
A blast from the past,Sven Co-Opfeels like it has always been around in some form or another, even if it never quite reached the same level of popularity assomething likeGarry’s Mod. Like all great Steam projects,Sven Co-Opcan be traced back toHalf-Life; in fact, it started life as a mod for Valve’s game. As suggested by the title, the developers sought to bring co-op toHalf-Life, a straightforward promise that does not even begin to capture the sheer amount of content incorporated in this package.
Nowadays,Sven Co-Opis available as a standalone download on Steam, so it is completely free to play and does not even require owningHalf-Life. Heck, it hasHalf-Lifewithin it (along with a bunch of maps for other games likeOpposing Force).Sven Co-Opis dated by this point. Everything about it screams “early 2000s,” and that is part of its charm. The mod was a pioneer in the co-op FPS market, and its gameplay is still rock-solid and fun to this day.
I love games with titles that say everything that needs to be said about the content.One-Armed Cook’s gameplay revolves around a team of chefs who must run a kitchen and restaurant while dealing with wonky physics courtesy of only having a single arm. The game goes beyond just putting together dishes, as players are essentially put in charge of the full process, which means taking orders, preparing and cooking dishes, and taking them out to customers. Chaos is always just around the corner, and it tends to arrive quicker when more people are trying to make things work.
One-Armed Cookdoes not have a story or any real progression. This game is designed to be as immediate and accessible as possible, encouraging friends to simply jump on for quick sessions and to see how long they can last before they burn everything to the ground. Duhndal has found a nice niche for itself, and while these games might never become full mainstream successes, they have found an audience that seems to enjoy their brand of silliness. Long may it continue.
One-Armed Robberis a good option if you prefer heists.
