Best Asymmetrical Multiplayer Games

Video games are always much more enjoyable with friends; whether it be working together or competing head-to-head. The typical multiplayer games that some may first think of are ones that give every player an even playing ground, essentially mirroring each other's screens, giving them the exact same controls, abilities, and roles; to maintain a fair and even playing field.

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However, an asymmetrical multiplayer game is one in which players have unique abilities, roles, or powers that will give them different overall experiences. Sometimes, players will be working side-by-side, taking care of distinct jobs. Others, they will be in different areas of the map and working independently of each other entirely. The best asymmetrical multiplayer games manage to find balance, despite some of these differences.

Updated December 5, 2023, by Christine Mendoza: There's never a bad time to take a break from life and spend some time bonding with a few friends over a good game online or in person. Whether it be cooperative or competitive, asymmetrical multiplayer games offer lots of variety and allow players to have some friendly competition as well as build their teamworking skills. For any gamers looking for a fun gaming session with friends, the best asymmetric multiplayer games should help to scratch that itch.

19 Evolve

Steam User Rating: Mixed (65%)

Evolve takes place in a distant future in which humans have created the tools and technology to explore the outer reaches of space, colonizing different planets to spawn new communities for the rest of the population as well as land for further industrialization. However, as they continue to explore the distant planet of Shear, they find themselves being threatened by alien life forms that thrive off of eating local wildlife to gain power.

The game features co-op, competitive, and multiplayer gameplay; having a four-versus-one structure in which four players take control of the human team (the Hunters) while the fifth player then takes the role of the Monster. The four Hunters must track down and eliminate the Monster before it has the chance to evolve.

18 Dustnet

Steam User Rating: Positive (88%)

• Release Year: 2019
• Genre: Action, sandbox, FPS

Despite its vastly different aesthetic, Dustnet is heavily based on 2001's famous Counter-Strike. Dustnet is a sandbox FPS game that takes place in a copy of the "Dust II" multiplayer map from Counter-Strike. Dustnet's aesthetic aims for minimalism as both the guns and the environment (as well as other players) all have a geometrical wireframe, "unfinished but on purpose" visual style.

Dustnet has a typical FPS style of asymmetrical gameplay where players are separated into two teams: Terrorists and Counter-Terrorists. Terrorists are the team to try to plant the bomb, while the Counter-Terrorists are to fight them off and diffuse it.

17 Identity V

Steam User Rating: N/A

• Release Year: 2018
• Genre: Survival horror, role-playing

Identity V is a free-to-play multiplayer survival horror game in which players are put into a four-versus-one situation, pitting four Survivor characters against one Hunter. The four Survivors are tasked with decoding five Cipher Machines around the map and entering the correct password in order to escape safely. Meanwhile, the Hunter player must eliminate all the Survivors using Rocket Chairs.

The Hunter wins if at least three Survivors are successfully eliminated (not rescued by fellow Survivors), while the Survivors win the match if at least three of them escape to safety. In the case where two Survivors are eliminated but two have escaped, neither party will win, and the match will go down as a draw.

16 Evil Dead: The Game

Steam User Rating: Mixed (67%)

Evil Dead: The Game is based on the famous American comedy-horror movie franchise of the same name. It embraces its roots and includes locations and weapons based on ones seen in the movies. Players either take control of a Survivor or a Demon. However, not all characters are equal and instead belong to unique classes dedicated to a specific specialty. Survivors can pick from four different classes: Leaders, Warriors, Hunters, and Supports.

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Meanwhile, the player that takes control of the Demon is also given some variety, choosing which antagonist fits their personal gameplay style. They're able to choose from playing the Warlord, the Puppeteer, the Necromancer, the Plaguebringer, and the Schemer.

15 Predator: Hunting Grounds

Steam User Rating: Mostly Positive (78%)

Based on the long-standing Alien vs. Predator movie franchise, Predator: Hunting Grounds is an FPS game that features the extraterrestrial species known as Predators that sci-fi fans all know and love. One lucky player gets to control the notorious Predator and hunt down the other players.

Meanwhile, the other four players take on the role of special operations operators who are dispatched to a remote jungle to take down a drug lord, all while avoiding (or capturing/killing) the deadly Predator. The special operations members not only have to worry about the Predator, but must deal with various NPCs that try to sabotage their mission.

14 First Class Trouble

Steam User Rating: Mostly Positive (79%)

• Release Year: 2021
• Genre: Party game, social deduction, survival

First Class Trouble is a party game that takes place on a luxury cruise in a futuristic setting where A.I. Has advanced to the point of putting humanity in danger. Players are all stuck onboard as they try to shut down the dangerous rogue A.I. System that is trying to kill off all human beings onboard.

However, among the regular human passengers (the Residents) are impostors (the Humanoids) who look exactly like the other human passengers. They're tasked with flying under the radar and sabotaging the others in their endeavor to survive, a little like Among Us, or some of the many other imposter games like it.

13 Resident Evil: Revelations 2

Steam User Rating: Mostly Positive (78%)

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 is an episodic survival horror game that allows two players to fight against zombies and other mutated enemies in the co-op mode. The players switch between two different scenarios; one featuring Claire Redfield and Moira Burton and another featuring Barry Burton and a small girl named Natalia.

Each player will have a different role in the game, requiring the pair to work together to make it through each level; whether that be when navigating through different parts of the map, using their unique abilities to solve a puzzle, or taking down a dangerous enemy.

12 Among Us

Steam User Rating: Very Positive (92%)

Imposter games have made a huge comeback in recent years, all thanks to the craze around Among Us. Among Us pits a player up against their friends by assigning them all different roles. The players that are given the role of impostor are to sabotage the ship and kill the innocent crewmates before having their true identities found out.

Meanwhile, the crewmates are to finish their tasks and report any dead bodies found, discussing who among the group is most suspicious and thus, voting them out. If all impostors are voted out correctly, the crewmates win. If the impostors are still alive with an equal number of living crewmates, the crewmates lose. Since the game's initial release and rise in popularity, new cosmetics, maps, and roles have been added to keep the game fresh and feeling new.

11 Who's Your Daddy

Steam User Rating: Very Positive (80%)

• Release Year: (Microsoft Windows) 2016, (Remake) 2020
• Genre: Simulation, Parody

Who's Your Daddy is a hilarious parody-simulation game in which two players are put head to head in a heated battle; one playing the role of the daddy and one playing the baby. The player that takes the role of the baby is tasked with finding dangerous objects around the house to off themselves as fast as they can while the opposite player does their best to prevent them from doing such.

As the dad, the player is responsible for the health of their baby, sabotaging any insane, dangerous shenanigans the baby gets up to. The dad character can place locks on doors or cabinets, place safety plugs in electrical sockets, and even give the baby medicine to heal them. Discovering new, hilarious ways to sabotage one another, Who's Your Daddy makes for a hilarious asymmetrical one-on-one game for friends that is surprisingly more strategic than it first appears!

10 Secret Neighbor

Steam User Rating: Very Positive (88%)

• Release Year: 2018
• Genre: Horror, Adventure

The Secret Neighbor horror-adventure game is a spin-off of the Hello Neighbor horror-puzzle game and takes place in the same universe. The game takes place between Act 1 and Act 2 of the original game and revolves around six children all trying to work together in order to break into the Neighbor's basement. The catch is that one of the six children is secretly the Neighbor in disguise.

The disguised Neighbor is to catch all the children before they finish their task of looking for a total of six keys to open the basement door. There are six different roles that the children can choose from that grant them unique abilities. The Neighbor also has many abilities as well as power-ups that can be obtained to even the playing ground.