Friendslop is a term that has become widely used over the past year or so to describe games that fall under a unique umbrella of criteria. They have to be: multiplayer (usually co-op), cheap, accessible, and highly replayable. This new genre has exploded in popularity thanks to the simplicity and addictive nature of the games, as well as the far faster development time it takes to make them.
Best Co-Op Games On Steam To Play Right Now
From online multiplayer titles to local masterpieces, Steam has plenty of fantastic co-op games that cover a wide spectrum of genres.
A lot of the games within the Friendslop wave take inspiration from one another, while others have managed to carve out a niche in the market that others then followed. The best games manage to perfectly capture the essence of fun and friendship, removing most, if not all, frustration and creating an experience full of laughter and smiles that can be enjoyed by so many people all at once.
8 Mage Arena
Casting Spells With Nothing But Your Voice
Details:
- Proximity chat PvP wizard game
- Collect spells and cast them using voice chat
Mage Arena is a super unique multiplayer game that takes the concept of using the player's voice to a whole new level. Rather than allowing players to press keys to attack one another, they instead have to use their voice to cast various spells that can be found littered throughout the map, each with different effects and powers.
Many of the spells are offensive, like fireball and dark blast, while others offer something different, like wormhole, which lets players reposition away from the fight. The result is a chaotic PvP arena full of people all laughing and yelling spells at each other, and since the game's release, while the game is fairly barebones, the developer has already started work on a larger-scale project of a similar kind that promises to be even more insane.
7 RV There Yet?
Not Your Average Road Trip
Details:
- Comedic driving adventure across the wilderness
- Manage survival meters and keep the RV intact
RV There Yet? Is a road trip straight from hell. Players need to carefully navigate their vehicle across a landscape that often has very few clear paths and plenty of places to crash, so they need to use various tools like the winch to haul the RV up vertical walls and across chasms, all while managing basic survival mechanics like hunger and other status effects.
The Best Local Co-Op Games on Steam (Couch & Split-Screen Included)
Find the best local co-op and split-screen games on Steam, from couch classics to modern hits perfect for friends, families, and offline play.
The game manages to create so many naturally funny moments, as each failure doesn't feel like a loss but more like a chance to get out a few laughs. Also, at no point can one player do all the work at once, meaning that cooperation is necessary in order to succeed, as without working together, everyone is going to be stuck at the bottom of the trail for a while.
6 Content Warning
Making A Movie Together
Details:
- Funny horror game about filming creatures and each other
- Automatically cuts clips together to create a watchable movie after each run
Content Warning is a funny twist on the found-footage horror genre that keeps the scares but infuses them with comedy and fun. Players have nothing but a camcorder to take into the various maps and are tasked with filming scary things and anything else they decide is worth documenting.
What makes the game so great is how well it manages to piece together the recording into a hilarious video for everyone to watch at the end. It could be filled with some close-up selfies or could show the final screams of a friend taken by a monster, but no matter what, it is guaranteed to make the whole group laugh.
5 Backseat Drivers
A Test Of Friendship Above All Else
Details:
- One player drives, the others guide them along the road
- Awkward controls make it challenging yet funny at the same time
Backseat Drivers turns the act of giving directions into a life-or-death situation, where one wrong call could lead to the entire car being totaled in a second. The game allows up to four players to sit in the same car at once, with three being in the back and one in the driver's seat, and the goal is to help the driver navigate various obstacles along the road, as only those in the back can actually see ahead.
This naturally spawns countless funny moments, where the driver will make a wrong move or the backseat players will give some poor info, often leading to the car falling off a cliff or being struck by oncoming traffic. What's more, players can swap positions whenever they choose, giving everyone a chance in both roles and allowing everyone to experience the stress of being a driver in a noisy car.
4 Lethal Company
Please The Company At Your Own Risk
Details:
- Enter various structures and collect items to sell
- Avoid monsters by running and working together to make it out alive
Lethal Company is widely cited as being one of the main games that started the Friendslop wave, transporting players to alien worlds and forcing them to hunt for objects to sell while avoiding the creatures hiding around every corner. Where the game really led the way is with the use of proximity chat, which allowed players to only communicate with those around them, resulting in plenty of muffled screams and other hilarious moments throughout.
The basic gameplay loop is easy to understand, which is what allowed the game to become so successful and is also what spawned many other games to follow the same formula of co-op horror. Now with more content than ever, the game stands as a landmark in the genre and shows the world that there are few things funnier than hearing a group of friends all screaming at once.
3 R.E.P.O.
Silly On The Surface, But Terrifying Underneath
Details:
- Procedurally generated levels, each filled with monsters and loot
- Each escape allows players to buy upgrades and items to help them progress further
R.E.P.O. Took everything that made Lethal Company so popular and created a completely different setting that was more childish yet even more fun. The loop of running around with an oversized cart and collecting valuable items never gets old, and the lovable bots that the players play as give the game a more comforting feel, which is quickly subverted by the terrifying monsters that roam the halls.
Upcoming Co-Op Games With Ridiculous Mechanics
These co-op titles introduce creative, unique gameplay aspects that shake things up within the multiplayer space.
Where the game manages to overtake Lethal Company is how well it handles the comedic aspects of the gameplay. The models scream in line with the players, the monsters are more funny yet still engaging, and the whole experience feels far more enjoyable as a group, so while it may not have laid the groundwork for co-op horror, it certainly brought something new to the table.
2 Peak
Climbing To The Top By Any Means Possible
Details:
- Climb to the top of each biome using tools and each other to make it there alive
- Randomly generated maps that reset regularly, adding replay value
Peak exploded into the gaming world in a matter of days, giving players a super simple yet fun climbing experience to play together that requires coordination and communication at all times. Starting out by the shore with nothing but a few suitcases to loot, players need to quickly scale the mountains before them, climbing up rockfaces and helping one another progress before the fog reaches them.
The game leans heavily into the fun and cooperative aspects in basically every way possible, as even the basic act of pulling another player up a wall can be incredibly funny and exciting. At its core, though, the game is simply charming and is incredibly accessible, giving players of all kinds the chance to work together and scale a literal mountain as a group, giving them a deep sense of accomplishment every time they make it to the top.
1 Among Us
The Start Of A New Era
Details:
- Mafia-style deduction game
- Different roles within good/bad to add extra chaos
Among Us is the Friendslop game to top them all. Widely viewed as the game that ushered in the multiplayer wave, its popularity boomed at the height of COVID, giving players across the globe a chance to hop into a lobby with a group of friends and enjoy a simple yet fun experience that managed to bring so many people together at a time when they couldn't be closer apart.
The basic formula of impostors vs crewmates gave players hundreds of hours worth of game time, but the game has since been expanded with more maps, roles, and even community mods that bring with them a boatload of additional things to do and learn. That initial hype train may have passed, but the game remains a staple in the co-op space, and without it, many of the best games in the genre may not exist today.
8 Best Co-op Games For Maximum Chaos
Chaos between friends is guaranteed in these co-op games that provide the perfect playground for shenanigans.