Summary
- Co-op in video games amplifies chaos, leading to hilarious moments.
- Left 4 Dead 2 remains a benchmark for quality and carnage in co-op zombie survival.
- Payday 2, Gang Beasts, and other games offer unique co-op experiences with varying degrees of chaos.
Nothing beats video games when it comes to wreaking pure, unadulterated mayhem, and only one thing makes it better. Co-op. The volatility of a group of friends makes chaos grow exponentially until it inevitably turns hilarious.
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Luckily, there are quite a few games out there that lean into the chaos and let players spread as much of it as possible, whether it's surviving hordes of zombies or saving the intergalactic Super Earth. This list is ranked not just by the quality of the game, but by the amount of chaos the co-op gameplay provokes.
8 Left 4 Dead 2
Zombies Galore
Left 4 Dead 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Co-op zombie survival games have been in a tough spot ever since the release of Left 4 Dead 2 because nothing has been able to surpass it in quality or carnage. The follow-up to the original Left 4 Dead leveraged everything great about Valve's source engine, leaned into the multiplayer, and had brilliant custom campaigns.
While AI partners are mostly competent, the real fun comes with a group of four friends, particularly when they need to work together not to provoke the ire of massive mobs of zombies. Of course, they'll fail, and the subsequent chaos is not to be missed.
7 Payday 2
Clock's Ticking
Payday 2
- Released
- August 13, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Overkill Software
- Publisher(s)
- 505 Games
- Genre(s)
- FPS
- Platform(s)
- Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
To be part of a heist team, every unique heister needs to know their job and be able to execute it to a tee. There's no room for error, and everyone relies on each other to be professional. Unfortunately, for the crews in Payday 2, that very rarely ends up being the case.
Instead, the game's many, many heists have countless ways they can be messed up among a crew of co-op partners. Yet, even if perfection is elusive, it's still a riot of a time trying to fight out of the consequences of the team's stupid decisions.
6 Gang Beasts
Ragdoll Physics
Gang Beasts
- Released
- December 12, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
For a brief time in the late 2010s, co-op games weren't just popular, but completely dominant in the gaming sphere, particularly as increasingly casual games like Fall Guys encouraged non-gamers to get in on the action, and Gang Beasts is one of the best games from that crop.
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Essentially a wrestling game with extra steps, Gang Beasts has players take control of floppy, strange creatures with hilarious ragdoll features to fight alongside, and against, each other in a variety of wacky situations. The physics simulation is unmatched even to this day.
5 Deep Rock Galactic
Dwarves Be Digging
Deep Rock Galactic
- Released
- May 13, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen due to Blood, Language, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Ghost Ship Games
- Genre(s)
- FPS
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Recently, many games have wondered whether the traditional ideas of what video games can be should be stretched, and Deep Rock Galactic is a great example of why they should be pushed. Instead of being co-op heroes fighting hordes of villains in this game, players are... Miners.
Of course, it's not quite that simple, and between environmental hazards, monsters, and increasingly insane situations, hilarity and chaos ensue in the game's most pressing missions. It's hilarious how badly missions can go so fast, making it great for a little bit of hapless fun.
4 Lethal Company
The Expendables
Lethal Company
- Released
- October 23, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
Casual co-op games were the king of the co-op world for a long time, but as the 2020s began, a new king arose and still sits there to this day: co-op horror games. These simple games, most inspired by Phasmophobia, plunge players into horrifying contexts with local voice chat and hilarious results, amplified by a thriving modding scene.
In Lethal Company, this formula seems to have found its most perfect form. Players, employees of a hypercorporation that doesn't particularly care whether they live or die, are tasked with exploring abandoned facilities and mines to recover valuable data and equipment, all while terrifying ghosts and creatures procedurally stalk them. It's delightfully chaotic seeing a party get picked off one by one.
3 Overcooked 2
Made To Order
Overcooked 2
- Released
- August 7, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E for Everyone
- Developer(s)
- Team17, Ghost Town Games
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
- Platform(s)
- Switch, PS4, PC, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Stadia, Amazon Luna
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Co-op games usually take place in fantastical situations, but the Overcooked series took inspiration from the real world and found that a lot of chaotic stress already exists, like the busy kitchens of successful restaurants. Remarkably, that was the basis for the great Overcooked and the even better Overcooked 2.
In the game, players (playing as adorable animal chefs) are tasked with preparing meals to order, under a time limit, while cleaning dishes, communicating with each other, and navigating increasingly chaotic levels that change at a moment's notice. The operation inevitably breaks down, resulting in total chaos as players struggle to stay on top of their sanity.
2 Magicka 2
Talk About Chemistry
Magicka 2
- Released
- May 26, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
One problem with some co-op games is that it feels like players are playing beside each other, but not with each other, not meaningfully impacting each other's gameplay or developing unique strategies together. The Magicka series is all about making sure that never happens.
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In the Magicka games, players can access an elemental-based magic system where different elements combine to make different effects. Single-player, this results in magic slinging fun, but in co-op, one player's spells can interact with another player's spells, meaning they can combine into uncontrollable blasts of magical energy, often inflicting chaotic friendly fire. It's a lot of fun to fail at, but really satisfying to be brilliant at.
1 Helldivers 2
For Super Earth!
Helldivers 2
- Released
- February 8, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Arrowhead Game Studios, Nixxes
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Sony has broadly struggled with getting live-service games off the ground, but Helldivers 2 is nothing short of a monumental success, boasting many thousands of players every day on account of its ridiculous narrative, its satisfying gameplay, and its stunning graphical fidelity.
However, the co-op action is the magic that brings it all together. With massive airstrike stratagems, mechs, and vehicles, players have plenty of opportunities to work together to beat back the enemy, but just as often, they end up killing each other with extremely lethal friendly fire. It's almost inevitable that players accidentally kill each other in the heat of chaotic hordes of enemies, resulting in some of the most cinematic and memorable moments in recent gaming history.
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