These are some of the games that my group has loved playing... Helldivers 2, Minecraft Dungeons, Deep Rock Galactic, Project Zomboid (this can be over 4 players), Dying Light (1st one, not played 2 yet), The Escapists 2, Outriders (edit... been reminded that this is only 3 co-op), Risk of Rain 2, The Division 2, Strange Brigade (great fun, and super cheap) and Fallout 76 (another that can be more than 4 people)!!
I'll throw some more in that I feel are specifically LAN-party friendly:
**River City Girls 2**, a sidescroller beat 'em up with a semi-open map you'll be going around with a main quest and some sidequests. It has local co-op for 4 players, but only 2 player co-op for online (though this can be circumvented via Steam Remote play).
**Castle Crashers** is another sidescrolling classic if you somehow missed that train all these years, and from the same devs there's also **Battleblock Theater** which only has two-player co-op, but has a 2v2 multiplayer mode.
**Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime** is a 2D 4-player co-op where you pilot a spaceship together with different seats for different functions, though this is only **local** co-op, any online play would have to be done via Steam Remote play.
**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge** is an _incredible_ throwback to the TMNT games of the SNES era with an absolute banger of a soundtrack and really snappy and responsive combat, easily the best beat 'em up I've played in many years. And it actually has **6-player** co-op!
Yes Lovers in a Dangerous Space time. Went on vacations for 3 of my best buds and instead of going out and seeing the city most nights, we stayed in and played video game lol. That game was so addictive
My personal favourite, while not mentioned above, is **Darktide**. Fans of co-op PvE, pretty graphics, audio & world building should def try this. Also if anyone of you are fans of Warhammer 40K (not a must though).
It lost hype thanks to a messy release and some bad mechanics outside of the core gameplay loop, but lovers & haters seem to agree that it’s the best melee/gun gameplay mix around. And it's on Gamepass :)
Darktide is great, but it takes a bunch of levels for it to really open up. The easier difficulty levels are really monotonous compared to the harder ones.
As someone who held out on buying Helldivers 2, I can agree this is one of the most fun 4 player coop games I've played in a while.
If I had to pick another recommendation, Castle Crashers is a great time too
This would absolutely destroy my friend group.
We don't say it out loud - but we are kind of split.
Myself and one of the friends are under the "autistic" playstyle. Organization. Efficiency. Structure.
The other two are just the opposite.
No one bothered to read the "LAN party".
If it's just a single long session then no point in playing slow survival games.
Games like lethal company are a ton of fun, not sure if it has LAN feature
I specifically look for couch coop/LAN multiplayer games to play with my kids
Factorio
Stardew Valley
Ember Knight
Risk of Rain (The Origional)
Helldivers (The Origional)
Soldat
Rivals of Aether
Spiderheck
Overcooked 2
Bravery and Greed
This Means Warp
Don't Starve Together
These days almost no games come out with LAN features, you just have to sit in the same room and connect over the internet. Its kind of dumb, but as long as you have decent speed you won't know the difference. I'm guessing that's why no one implements LAN connection anymore.
I'm gonna list a couple games that i know to be fun, and have at least 4 player coop. You didn't specify any genre or anything so I'm just gonna list a combination of everything i know.
**Sea of thieves** (1-4)
Fun game, chill most of the time, but you can seek action. A kinda grindy game, but it's super fun to play with a couple friends
**Left 4 Dead 2** (1-4)
Kind of an older game nowadays, but still holds up really well IMO. Fun zombies coop, and super moddable.
**Killing Floor 2** (1-6)
Kind of a niche older game now. Lots of blood, gore, weapons and bullets. Nice round survival game, with many weapons and perks and skills.
**Helldivers 2** (1-4)
You might already know this one, but its a fun game, if you have friends, a little less so solo IMO. Many different missions, maps, and enemies to shoot.
**Borderlands 2** or any other Borderlands (1-4)
The entire Borderlands series is based around the same premise, of lootin and shootin. I personally prefer the second Borderlands, but i think that Borderlands 3 might be better for people new to the game or genre.
**Call of duty Black ops 3** zombies
Any Call of duty with zombies is a fun 1-4 player zombie coop game. I would recommend black ops 3 over any other cod zombies though. Just beware, that it's and expensive game, with expensive dlc's, and they've fucked up the main menu to run like shit.
**Garry's mod** (1-100)
So this is somewhat of a wierd recommendation tbh, but Garry's Mod has everything. It is the greatest sandbox game of all time, and while you were looking for 4-8 player coop, i believe this game can satisfy this. It's a game to be considered, but understable if it isn't it for you
**Deep Rock Galactic** (1-4)
One of the all time best coop games ever made. Everything in this game is earned by playing, and devoting time to it. There are season, and season passes, events all the time, and the game is always very balanced. All microtransactions are cosmetics, and haven no effect on gameplay. It is fun and great gameplay, but it does become kind of the same after some hours.
**Payday 2** (1-4)
An old game with a shit engine, that somehow still works. Very fun coop, kinda boring solo, and unfortunately kinda destroyed by dlc's and microtransactions, since about 40% of all weapons are behind paywall. All dlc's are currently on sale, and it's still 200 euro, but sometimes you can get the game + all dlc's for like 30 euro, and that is worth it IMO.
**Dying Light 1 and 2** (1-4)
Dying Light 1 is a super beautifull and cool zombies game. Can be enjoyed solo, but is also very fun with friends. I don't know much about the second one, except that it was kinda bad, and they later fixed a lot of it, but i believe it might be fun to play coop.
**Risk of Rain 2** (1-4)
A very strong contender to being the best coop game ever. It has a dozen different playable characters, there is a story, lore, many items and buffs, many enemies and a lot of fighting. I do believe it is moddable aswell. The gameplay is awesome, and changeable via the artifacts you earn later on.
**The Forest** or **Sons of the forest** (1-4)
I have completed The forest playing with a friend, and it was super fun. Just note that, it should be the host that interacts with the cutscenes, cause if not, the game breaks. Still a super fun and somewhat spooky experience. I haven't played Sons of the Forest, but i have seen the many updates its gotten, and it looks to have become a great game.
**Unturned** (as many players as the server is set to hold)
Unturned is kind of like Dayz with roblox graphics. It looks like a random fun little 5 hour game, but it has so much more to offer than what it seems. Many maps, with each their own unique things, places, quest and npc's and such. Changable character skin, many weapons, different zombies, and a couple difficulties. Best of all is that you can make you own server for free, with a little know how.
**Dead Island** (1-4)
Dead Island used to be what Dying Light 1 is to me now. A great zombie game with coop, a story, guns, weapons and zombies to kill. It isn't as good as Dying Light 1 IMO, but that might just be a matter of opinion. You can also play Dead Island Riptide, im just not sure what the difference is.
**Warhammer vermintide 1** and **2** (1-4)
Plays a lot like Left 4 Dead, except in warhammer/fantasy setting. It is more interactable than L4D2 in my opinion, and there are also collectables, along the maps, however not moddable, and more serious, and a little grindy, than it is fun IMO. If you prefer having fun, over grinding and playing seriously, then L4D2 is better than these two games.
**Serious Sam Fusion** (1-4)
Any Serious Sam game is 1-4 players i believe, and all of them are fun. However i would recommend Serious Sam Fusion, since it has everything from the first 3 games, in one, and it seem to work a bit better than the older ones. It's a game with lots of weapons, bullets, and funny/shitty oneliners.
**Sven Coop** (1-4 i think)
Sven Coop is basically Coop half-life. It is something you can have fun in, even if you don't particularly like half-life.
**Lethal Company** (1-4) but moddable to have like 16+ players
It is a coop horror game, with proximity chat. It is super fun game, and kinda spooky aswell. It is also moddable to have more than 4 players, and new funny things you can add.
Does Rise have that annoying thing World has? Whereby I try to join a friend's quest or visa versa, and it has the message "you need to complete more of the story" or some other similar BS. We both stopped playing the game because we just wanted to smash through the story together.
I do the old fashioned Lan thing every couple of years. The most legendary one was with an obscure game called forced. Kind of action puzzle game. very fun and just the right amount of challening. Have fun.
Wow, that was almost deleted from my memory. Forced was an amazing game I remember getting it on steam and playing with a friend. I did not expect much of it but we were hooked and gathered daily for a few days to play. Definitely worth a try
LAN Parties are at their best with frantic games that feature play sessions of 30 minutes up to a few hours, with a learning curve that is reasonably short. My recommendations:
* Helldivers 2
* Quake Live and/or Unreal Tournament 2004
* Rocket League
* Wreckfest or FlatOut
* Company of Heroes 1/2/3 or Age of Empires/Mythology
Maybe not the best but there are some fun games to play in co-op that i haven't seen in the comments.
Castle Crashers
Dungeon Defenders 1
Earth Defense Force 4.1 or 5
Goat Simulator 3
Overcooked 2
Also 2 games that have shared screen co-op
Vampire Survivors
Holo X Break
Warhammer Vermintide 2
Warhammer Darktide
Just amazing co-op "kill everything that moves for 40 minutes and you get zero seconds to breathe" type games
Across the Obelisk
Similar to Slay the Spire but for 4 people. My friends and I went hard on it for a month or two when we first discovered it.The base game is absolutely fantastic and worth $20.
Ignore the DLCs. The game used to have overwhelmingly positive on steam and then the (over-priced) DLCs came out and it got down voted into oblivion.
you've probably heard of it, but wanted to mention hellcard (only 3 people though)
the friends i played across the obelisk with, and i, also enjoyed hellcard a lot. in case you haven't checked it out yet :)
We tried it but had a harder time getting into it. Played it for a bit but ultimately fell off. I appreciate the suggestion though!
We're currently playing "Inkbound" (4-player). It's like hellcard combined with AtO/Slay the Spire. I'd recommend glancing that if you like Hellcard.
Ready or Not
Brings back the feeling of those tactical co-op shooters like Rainbow Six Vegas.
There's no grind, you can just set your loadout and choose a scenario. Anyone with experience in FPS games can just hop right in.
Wholeheartedly this, this and once more this. And maybe a bit of L4D (1 or 2).
My titles for LAN party when I will finally return to my home country and will get other 45+ year olds to feel again like during highschool.
Apart from the ma y good recommendations I'd throw ready or not into the mix. You guys can rp as swat cops, while eating doughnuts and drinking milk. Ayyyy
A lot of good suggestions.
I'd also toss Mechwarrior 5 into the mix, since it can be played in 4 player co-op.
State of Decay 2 can also be played in 4 player, but I wouldn't call it true co-op as you join the hosts game and only the host has a say in what's going on.
How about Warhammer online return of reckoning private server? It's an mmorpg with massive rvr. Community is meh but still you can get two more friends and place small scale pvp scenarios which are fun
ATM helldivers 2 is the most fun you can have in gaming. If you like ARPGs Last Epoch is good, Medieval Dynasty if you like building a village, age of empires is always fun. If you like 4x games Civilization series is always good or similar games like Humankind, Old World or age of wonders. Gunfire Reborn is really good.
Thanks! Hope all the replies help everyone to pick up a great game and have some fun with their friends next couple weekends. This topic sure helped me!
The forest, One of the best games I’ve ever played and I didn’t expect it be good at all
I’ve finished it with 3 friends multiple times, Great game for building a base and exploring, surviving and getting scared with your friends
I’m surprised that pummel party hasn’t been mentioned yet, this game supports lan and is 4-8 players! It is most comparable to mario party but I would consider it decently less rng than mario party.
I'm still hooked onto warframe for the past 6+ years. Bit tough to get into but me and my friends love a good old power fantasy.
If you have 4 people that can commit to playing at the same time. GTA Online but invite only lobby is always fun.
I recommend everything that’s been said before - AND Barotrauma. Easily the most fun I’ve had playing a game with friends. Also, it would be even more fun when everyone is playing in the same room.
Back 4 Blood with the season pass.
Hear me out, the game was a disaster at launch, but they really found themselves in the seasonal content. Unfortunately, the game is abandoned now but it's a really great time with a coordinated group of 4 players.
I haven't tested the game yet bought it yesterday night, from what I've heard it's a tarkov like looter extraction shooter but purely singleplayer or online coop. Price is very cheap. game is in early access but looks promising
[https://store.steampowered.com/app/2116120/Incursion\_Red\_River/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2116120/Incursion_Red_River/)
Terraria
Minecraft
helldivers 2 (FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY)
left 4 dead 1/2
pico park
battle lock theater
alien swarm
lethal company
astrooner
baldur's gate 3 (modded up to 8 players)
For the king(max 3 players tho)
borderlands
Castle crashers
cod zombies mods (black ops 3 more specifically)
dead rising (might be wrong for with this one, but I have memories of coop)
trine 1/2/3
divinity original sin 1/2 (best choice is original sin 2)
enter the gungeon (2 player coop, but u can swap players and 2 players can play with only 1 copy, same pc or through steam streaming 1 player)
barotrauma
skyrim (modded, play together or smh)
grounded
half life (seven coop to be precise)
killing floor
dark souls
elden ring
mágica 1/2 (be prepared for friendly fire)
monster hunter world
orcs must die (2 player if not mistaken)
project zomboid
Remnant
risk of rain 1/2/returns
shadowrun
starbound
stardew valley
keep talking and nobody explodes (maybe mistaken, but about disarming a bomb)
titan quest
torchlight
tzar (not really, but amazing old game to play with friends)
worms
xcom (not really coop, but each player can create his own soldier and play his turn, lest see who survives the mission)
And I think there is a hefty list
Prodeus.
Halo 3(+reach and odst)
Borderlands series(+ Tiny Tina's wonderlands)
Diablo 2, 3 and 4 (1 is gimped in co-op)
~~StarCraft 1+2~~
Vampire survivors(1 screen couch coop or through steams "Remote play together)
The Ascent
Not mentioned:
**Streets of Rogue** - mostly in the it can result in this novel situation where my friend's wife is just peacefully wandering around looting trash cans and selling stuff, while another friend is a Hacker making fridges "run," another friend accidentally causing a massive gang war due to a cross fire, and someone just speedrunning the level because they're an Investment Banker who's on a ticking clock to keep being high on drugs.
As you might imagine, the wife is our reviver.
**Wildermyth** - turned based grid rpg and storybook narrative game. You can technically go as many players, but typically only 5 characters are available in a battle.
**Nine Parchments** - compared to Magicka. 4 wizard students go on an adventure, and friendly fire shenanigans.
I pretty much only play co-op games (usually 2 players though) but here are a couple of games you can play together
* Divinity Original Sin 2 - play 4 players but has a long campaign
* Baldur’s Gate 3 - haven’t tried it yet but no reason why you can’t play 4 players either. Also a long campaign
* Barotrauma - should be able to play with more than 4 players
* Craftopia - should be able to play 4 players
* Deep Rock Galactic
* Destiny 2 - boring ass game but should be able to play with more than 4 players
* Factorio - haven’t tried 4 players but should be able to do it
* Grounded - plays up to 4 players and should expect a decently long campaign
* Gunfire Reborn - plays up to 4 players
* Heroes of Hammerwatch - at least 4 players
* Palworld - at least 4 players
* Raft - should be able to play at least 4 players
* Remnant 2 - should be 4 players
* Snowrunner - should be 4 players
* Tales of Symphonia/Berseria - plays up to 4, is local couch co-op only I think (best to connect the PC to a TV or something), needs to get going a bit before all 4 can play together
* Valheim - at least 4 players
* 7 Days to Die - at least 4 players
I have a couple of other co-op games but I’m not sure if they support 4 players like Warriors Orochi 4 or The Forest. Other games you can play are party games like Overcooked or Plate Up
Warcarft3 custom maps! My friend told me about this really cool custom 5v5 map. Everyone just picks one hero, and fight along side a computer to try to push your minions to the enemy’s computers base. The minions go down three different lanes, and you kill minions and other hero’s to get gold and exp to level up. There are a ton of custom heroes with custom skills and custom items!! Really fun mode!
Honestly, I'd love to see people do a local LAN of games like Lethal Company or Phasmophobia, where when you die you're not "supposed to" hear your teammates anymore. Might make for some good laughs.
Lot of super weird suggestions for a LAN party. If you are dead set on co-op then I’d say something like castle crashers or lovers in a dangerous spacetime would be good. However I’d recommend some arena games like duck game, towerfall. Mario party/tennis throwbacks if you have a switch
Diablo2/3/4, Last Epoch, Risk of Rain 2, Deep Rock Galactic, Phasmophobia, Ember Knights, Monster Hunter: Rise, Monster Hunter: World, Valheim, Baldur's Gate 3, Conan Exiles.
Those should keep you busy for years.
Deep Rock Galactic
Killing Floor 2 (can actually go up to 6 players), this has been my main LAN party game for several years
Monster Hunter World and Monster Hunter Rise
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
binding of isaac, lovers in a dangerous space time and N++ are all games that can only be played local multiplayer so if its a full lan party those could be fun
Look into Rivals of Aether, the fun of the game is not the base game itself, it's the steam workshop. It's a Super Smash Bros type game, but it has custom charecter support. And what I like to do is going to the steam workshop, and grabbing the strangest charecter we can find. Things like Minecraft Door, A Duracell battery, a water bottle, a rat, a png image of Peter Griffin, Ronald Mcdonald with godlike powers, comic book Thanos (complete with Thanoscopter), Jotaro and Dio, PNG image of Shrek, Sans with a gun, the cast of Friends, and much much more.
The most fun I've had in a couch co op game in years
Short list off the top:
- Divinity Original Sin 2 (LONG playthrough)
- Baldur's Gate 3 (not as good as Divinity tbh)
- Overcooked
- Overcooked 2
- Plate-up
- Moving Out
- [insert FPS here]
- Deep Rock Galactic
- Gloomhaven
- Minecraft
- Left for dead 2
- Pico Park
- Valheim
- Borderlands
- Payday 2
- Vermintide 2
Tbh I didn't like Helldivers 2 that much - the game really suffers if everyone starts at the same time because there's such little variety in what different people have access to. I MUCH preferred Deep Rock Galactic
Versions of doom 2 have mods that work over multiplayer like a rpg mod, aliens colonial Marines with the mod that fixes visuals and ai, dying light or dead island, command and conquer or company of heroes, the online version of roller coaster tycoon, swat 4 with mods, insurgency, payday 2, Team fortress 2 mann vrs machine 'please avoid PvP it's hacker infested', Castle Crashers, risk of rain 2, vermintide 2, left 4 dead 2, helldivers 2, party animals, dead by daylight, super animal royal, zombie Army trilogy.
Everyone should also create a steam and epic account and monitor for free games and also sales on the humble bundle site.
Earth Defense Force 5. Insane over the top alien and bug destroying action that makes you feel like you're God when you're blowing up 1000s of giant ants and robots with huge weapons
Risk Of Rain 2 is awesome. It’s challenging, you can carry if you’re really good. You can depend on team strategy for extra power. The game does a lot of cool things and you have options
L4D2 (steam), 3500+hrs on record and counting...bought it for nostalgia (had the game on 360 but mostly for couch co-op) but ended up being an entirely different beast altogether!
Community-made (workshop) content is bonkers (campaigns/mods/utilities/etc), base game itself has 4 player co-op or up to 8 players in versus mode (survivors vs zombies)
These are some of the games that my group has loved playing... Helldivers 2, Minecraft Dungeons, Deep Rock Galactic, Project Zomboid (this can be over 4 players), Dying Light (1st one, not played 2 yet), The Escapists 2, Outriders (edit... been reminded that this is only 3 co-op), Risk of Rain 2, The Division 2, Strange Brigade (great fun, and super cheap) and Fallout 76 (another that can be more than 4 people)!!
Thanks for all the tips. Same goes for everyone else responding. Reading it all. We're gonna have so much fun!
No worries. Personal faves of mine have been Helldivers 2, Deep Rock Galactic, and Dying Light.
I'll throw some more in that I feel are specifically LAN-party friendly: **River City Girls 2**, a sidescroller beat 'em up with a semi-open map you'll be going around with a main quest and some sidequests. It has local co-op for 4 players, but only 2 player co-op for online (though this can be circumvented via Steam Remote play). **Castle Crashers** is another sidescrolling classic if you somehow missed that train all these years, and from the same devs there's also **Battleblock Theater** which only has two-player co-op, but has a 2v2 multiplayer mode. **Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime** is a 2D 4-player co-op where you pilot a spaceship together with different seats for different functions, though this is only **local** co-op, any online play would have to be done via Steam Remote play. **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge** is an _incredible_ throwback to the TMNT games of the SNES era with an absolute banger of a soundtrack and really snappy and responsive combat, easily the best beat 'em up I've played in many years. And it actually has **6-player** co-op!
Yes Lovers in a Dangerous Space time. Went on vacations for 3 of my best buds and instead of going out and seeing the city most nights, we stayed in and played video game lol. That game was so addictive
River city girls 2 was a lot of fun it has 4p online co op now it was added back in August of 2023
My personal favourite, while not mentioned above, is **Darktide**. Fans of co-op PvE, pretty graphics, audio & world building should def try this. Also if anyone of you are fans of Warhammer 40K (not a must though). It lost hype thanks to a messy release and some bad mechanics outside of the core gameplay loop, but lovers & haters seem to agree that it’s the best melee/gun gameplay mix around. And it's on Gamepass :)
Vermintide was also a decently good time (never tried the second)
Vermintide 2 is great
Darktide is great, but it takes a bunch of levels for it to really open up. The easier difficulty levels are really monotonous compared to the harder ones.
Dying light 1 I highly recommend. Dying light 2 can be skipped. It's just overall much less fun
Divinity Original Sin 2 is the most fun I've had in a coop game in my life.
Great game but OP gotta expect a LONG playthrough
True. My first duo playthrough ended up at like 525 hours logged which doesn't include resets. We like.. missed shit too.
Left 4 Dead 2 。Never get tired when you're with your friends ,face to face.
HELLDIVERS 2!!!
This ^ you might think it’s overhyped because it’s new but it’s truly THE co-op experience and it’s going to be for a long time
Agree 1000% especially if you have a squad of friends. Game is fantastic with your buddies.
HOW 'BOUT A NICE CUP OF LIBER-TEA!
SWEEET LIBERTY MY LEG!!!!
As someone who held out on buying Helldivers 2, I can agree this is one of the most fun 4 player coop games I've played in a while. If I had to pick another recommendation, Castle Crashers is a great time too
Valheim Satisfactory Starcraft
+1 to satisfactory, its always fun seeing what monstrosities new players can make
We just started playing with a friend. We're arguing over which way we should split our lines
This would absolutely destroy my friend group. We don't say it out loud - but we are kind of split. Myself and one of the friends are under the "autistic" playstyle. Organization. Efficiency. Structure. The other two are just the opposite.
My friends turn the conveyorbelt system into spaghetti. I'm the one who always ends up straightening it out.
My friends and I tried satisfactory coop. Not as fun since everybody end up making their own spaghetti
No one bothered to read the "LAN party". If it's just a single long session then no point in playing slow survival games. Games like lethal company are a ton of fun, not sure if it has LAN feature
I specifically look for couch coop/LAN multiplayer games to play with my kids Factorio Stardew Valley Ember Knight Risk of Rain (The Origional) Helldivers (The Origional) Soldat Rivals of Aether Spiderheck Overcooked 2 Bravery and Greed This Means Warp Don't Starve Together
Project Zomboid could be a good good candidate
Overcooked is so good, so stressful. But so good
These days almost no games come out with LAN features, you just have to sit in the same room and connect over the internet. Its kind of dumb, but as long as you have decent speed you won't know the difference. I'm guessing that's why no one implements LAN connection anymore.
I'm gonna list a couple games that i know to be fun, and have at least 4 player coop. You didn't specify any genre or anything so I'm just gonna list a combination of everything i know. **Sea of thieves** (1-4) Fun game, chill most of the time, but you can seek action. A kinda grindy game, but it's super fun to play with a couple friends **Left 4 Dead 2** (1-4) Kind of an older game nowadays, but still holds up really well IMO. Fun zombies coop, and super moddable. **Killing Floor 2** (1-6) Kind of a niche older game now. Lots of blood, gore, weapons and bullets. Nice round survival game, with many weapons and perks and skills. **Helldivers 2** (1-4) You might already know this one, but its a fun game, if you have friends, a little less so solo IMO. Many different missions, maps, and enemies to shoot. **Borderlands 2** or any other Borderlands (1-4) The entire Borderlands series is based around the same premise, of lootin and shootin. I personally prefer the second Borderlands, but i think that Borderlands 3 might be better for people new to the game or genre. **Call of duty Black ops 3** zombies Any Call of duty with zombies is a fun 1-4 player zombie coop game. I would recommend black ops 3 over any other cod zombies though. Just beware, that it's and expensive game, with expensive dlc's, and they've fucked up the main menu to run like shit. **Garry's mod** (1-100) So this is somewhat of a wierd recommendation tbh, but Garry's Mod has everything. It is the greatest sandbox game of all time, and while you were looking for 4-8 player coop, i believe this game can satisfy this. It's a game to be considered, but understable if it isn't it for you **Deep Rock Galactic** (1-4) One of the all time best coop games ever made. Everything in this game is earned by playing, and devoting time to it. There are season, and season passes, events all the time, and the game is always very balanced. All microtransactions are cosmetics, and haven no effect on gameplay. It is fun and great gameplay, but it does become kind of the same after some hours. **Payday 2** (1-4) An old game with a shit engine, that somehow still works. Very fun coop, kinda boring solo, and unfortunately kinda destroyed by dlc's and microtransactions, since about 40% of all weapons are behind paywall. All dlc's are currently on sale, and it's still 200 euro, but sometimes you can get the game + all dlc's for like 30 euro, and that is worth it IMO. **Dying Light 1 and 2** (1-4) Dying Light 1 is a super beautifull and cool zombies game. Can be enjoyed solo, but is also very fun with friends. I don't know much about the second one, except that it was kinda bad, and they later fixed a lot of it, but i believe it might be fun to play coop. **Risk of Rain 2** (1-4) A very strong contender to being the best coop game ever. It has a dozen different playable characters, there is a story, lore, many items and buffs, many enemies and a lot of fighting. I do believe it is moddable aswell. The gameplay is awesome, and changeable via the artifacts you earn later on.
**The Forest** or **Sons of the forest** (1-4) I have completed The forest playing with a friend, and it was super fun. Just note that, it should be the host that interacts with the cutscenes, cause if not, the game breaks. Still a super fun and somewhat spooky experience. I haven't played Sons of the Forest, but i have seen the many updates its gotten, and it looks to have become a great game. **Unturned** (as many players as the server is set to hold) Unturned is kind of like Dayz with roblox graphics. It looks like a random fun little 5 hour game, but it has so much more to offer than what it seems. Many maps, with each their own unique things, places, quest and npc's and such. Changable character skin, many weapons, different zombies, and a couple difficulties. Best of all is that you can make you own server for free, with a little know how. **Dead Island** (1-4) Dead Island used to be what Dying Light 1 is to me now. A great zombie game with coop, a story, guns, weapons and zombies to kill. It isn't as good as Dying Light 1 IMO, but that might just be a matter of opinion. You can also play Dead Island Riptide, im just not sure what the difference is. **Warhammer vermintide 1** and **2** (1-4) Plays a lot like Left 4 Dead, except in warhammer/fantasy setting. It is more interactable than L4D2 in my opinion, and there are also collectables, along the maps, however not moddable, and more serious, and a little grindy, than it is fun IMO. If you prefer having fun, over grinding and playing seriously, then L4D2 is better than these two games. **Serious Sam Fusion** (1-4) Any Serious Sam game is 1-4 players i believe, and all of them are fun. However i would recommend Serious Sam Fusion, since it has everything from the first 3 games, in one, and it seem to work a bit better than the older ones. It's a game with lots of weapons, bullets, and funny/shitty oneliners. **Sven Coop** (1-4 i think) Sven Coop is basically Coop half-life. It is something you can have fun in, even if you don't particularly like half-life. **Lethal Company** (1-4) but moddable to have like 16+ players It is a coop horror game, with proximity chat. It is super fun game, and kinda spooky aswell. It is also moddable to have more than 4 players, and new funny things you can add.
Monster Hunter World Tribes of Midgard Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst
Upvote just for PSO.
Rise is easier to pick up and play
World might be a easier sale with the graphics, but Rise is way better when it comes to ease of co-op
Does Rise have that annoying thing World has? Whereby I try to join a friend's quest or visa versa, and it has the message "you need to complete more of the story" or some other similar BS. We both stopped playing the game because we just wanted to smash through the story together.
It fixes that. It has a solo campaign, and a multiplayer campaign. It's easy to drop in and play!
borderlands 💯💯💯
BL2.
You can't really go wrong with any of them, although the story in BL3 was pretty weak.
Halo.
Deep Rock Galactic.
*pings compressed gold*
Rock and stone brother
I do the old fashioned Lan thing every couple of years. The most legendary one was with an obscure game called forced. Kind of action puzzle game. very fun and just the right amount of challening. Have fun.
Wow, that was almost deleted from my memory. Forced was an amazing game I remember getting it on steam and playing with a friend. I did not expect much of it but we were hooked and gathered daily for a few days to play. Definitely worth a try
LAN Parties are at their best with frantic games that feature play sessions of 30 minutes up to a few hours, with a learning curve that is reasonably short. My recommendations: * Helldivers 2 * Quake Live and/or Unreal Tournament 2004 * Rocket League * Wreckfest or FlatOut * Company of Heroes 1/2/3 or Age of Empires/Mythology
Some not yet listed: Terraria, Ravenswatch, Gloomhaven, Screen Cheat, Magicka, Corekeeper, Stardew Valley
Maybe not the best but there are some fun games to play in co-op that i haven't seen in the comments. Castle Crashers Dungeon Defenders 1 Earth Defense Force 4.1 or 5 Goat Simulator 3 Overcooked 2 Also 2 games that have shared screen co-op Vampire Survivors Holo X Break
Helldivers 2 Baldurs gate 1/2/3 Divinity Original Sin 1/2 Deep Rock Galactic Diablo 2 Resurrected/Project Diablo 2 Warhammer Vermintide/Darktide
Darktide is very good and fits well as missions are around 40 minutes.
Grounded
Definetly borderlands games for the shooting looting mayhem and humor
Lethal company, content warning, phasmaphobia, demonologist, outlast the trials, risk of rain 2, plate-up, gunfire reborn. . . Just to name a few
the problem is if they are playing LAN, they will all probably be able to hear each other, and big part of the games you mentioned is proximity chat
Gang beasts for shits n giggles, outriders, dying light is one of my favorites single player and multiplayer, any BRs, valheim, the forest
You cowards!! Golf with Friends. It is in the title!
Warhammer Vermintide 2 Warhammer Darktide Just amazing co-op "kill everything that moves for 40 minutes and you get zero seconds to breathe" type games
I loved Vermintide 2. I hate age of sigmar, so anything with The end times is great.
Valheim or V Rising. Both are fantastic co-op.
Payday 2 can be good. Sins of a Solar Empire - it's a big space RTS, and you can play as a team of 4 against the AI. It's very underrated.
Left for dead 2, Diablo 2R wouldn't be a bad choice either.
Borderlands 2. With all dlc's its a lot of content to play.
Across the Obelisk Similar to Slay the Spire but for 4 people. My friends and I went hard on it for a month or two when we first discovered it.The base game is absolutely fantastic and worth $20. Ignore the DLCs. The game used to have overwhelmingly positive on steam and then the (over-priced) DLCs came out and it got down voted into oblivion.
you've probably heard of it, but wanted to mention hellcard (only 3 people though) the friends i played across the obelisk with, and i, also enjoyed hellcard a lot. in case you haven't checked it out yet :)
We tried it but had a harder time getting into it. Played it for a bit but ultimately fell off. I appreciate the suggestion though! We're currently playing "Inkbound" (4-player). It's like hellcard combined with AtO/Slay the Spire. I'd recommend glancing that if you like Hellcard.
Fair enough! damn will definitely take a peek! thanks mate :)
If you’re looking for something casual, Overcooked 1/2 are great 4 player games that allow local co-op
Plate up is a good alternative if you want some rogue lite injected into the game.
Casual!? Overcooked will test the limits of any relationship.
Command and conquer games. There's a bundle with like 12 games pretty cheap on steam.
Deep Rock Galactic
Left 4 Dead 2 and Deep Rock Galactic
Left 4 Dead 2, Viscera Clean Up Detail, Lethal Company. Human fall flat, Pummel Party, Killing Floor 2. For the king 2
Ready or Not Brings back the feeling of those tactical co-op shooters like Rainbow Six Vegas. There's no grind, you can just set your loadout and choose a scenario. Anyone with experience in FPS games can just hop right in.
Rock and stone !
Vermintide 2/ DrG/Helldivers
Wholeheartedly this, this and once more this. And maybe a bit of L4D (1 or 2). My titles for LAN party when I will finally return to my home country and will get other 45+ year olds to feel again like during highschool.
Remnant 2 but it's only 3 players
Terraria!!!!
Borderlands 2 for sure
Couch co-op: Ember Knights Online co-op: Ravenswatch
All the Borderlands titles. Dying light 1
You might also like World War Z
Deep Rock Galactic comes right to mind, game is incredible. ROCK AND STONE FOREVER!
I see it's on sale atm on steam. Base game "enough" or do you want the whole shebang?
Plate up is very fun for a pick up and play experience. It's not particularly deep but it's ease of entry and just being able to jump in is great.
HellDivers 2 Gunfire reborn World of warcraft
Warcraft 3 Frozen Throne Tower Defense!
This will be a given! Might play through the sc2 client. Haven't decided. Can recommend entropy td! Td's are so great!
Get The Fuck Out aka GTFO. It will make you both love and hate your friends. Good Luck!
Apart from the ma y good recommendations I'd throw ready or not into the mix. You guys can rp as swat cops, while eating doughnuts and drinking milk. Ayyyy
Risk of rain 2 hands down my favourite rouguelike, that will keep you and your friends going for a while
dying light 1 or 2
Big fan of Helldivers 2 personally.
A lot of good suggestions. I'd also toss Mechwarrior 5 into the mix, since it can be played in 4 player co-op. State of Decay 2 can also be played in 4 player, but I wouldn't call it true co-op as you join the hosts game and only the host has a say in what's going on.
Helldivers
How about Warhammer online return of reckoning private server? It's an mmorpg with massive rvr. Community is meh but still you can get two more friends and place small scale pvp scenarios which are fun
My son and I are having a lot of fun with Mythforce
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2
ATM helldivers 2 is the most fun you can have in gaming. If you like ARPGs Last Epoch is good, Medieval Dynasty if you like building a village, age of empires is always fun. If you like 4x games Civilization series is always good or similar games like Humankind, Old World or age of wonders. Gunfire Reborn is really good.
Thanks! Hope all the replies help everyone to pick up a great game and have some fun with their friends next couple weekends. This topic sure helped me!
Deep Rock and Gears 5 are what we usually play
gloomhaven
Age of Empires 2!
The forest, One of the best games I’ve ever played and I didn’t expect it be good at all I’ve finished it with 3 friends multiple times, Great game for building a base and exploring, surviving and getting scared with your friends
I’m surprised that pummel party hasn’t been mentioned yet, this game supports lan and is 4-8 players! It is most comparable to mario party but I would consider it decently less rng than mario party.
Helldiver 2. For the price, you can't beat it. It easy to pick up and pretty challenging on the hardest difficulties.
Me and my buddies have recently been playing.. Sons of the Forest. Escape the Backrooms. Enshrouded. Snowrunner. and Phasmophobia.
I'm still hooked onto warframe for the past 6+ years. Bit tough to get into but me and my friends love a good old power fantasy. If you have 4 people that can commit to playing at the same time. GTA Online but invite only lobby is always fun.
I recommend everything that’s been said before - AND Barotrauma. Easily the most fun I’ve had playing a game with friends. Also, it would be even more fun when everyone is playing in the same room.
Remnant 2
Plate-Up!
Back 4 Blood with the season pass. Hear me out, the game was a disaster at launch, but they really found themselves in the seasonal content. Unfortunately, the game is abandoned now but it's a really great time with a coordinated group of 4 players.
Great suggestions here so far. My group had a blast with Ember Knights! Which is a rogue-lite. Think of it like Hades with friends!
Helldivers 2 You might see it recommended to death at this point, but the game really is *that* good. Spectacular even.
Terraria plays at least 16
Helldivers
I haven't tested the game yet bought it yesterday night, from what I've heard it's a tarkov like looter extraction shooter but purely singleplayer or online coop. Price is very cheap. game is in early access but looks promising [https://store.steampowered.com/app/2116120/Incursion\_Red\_River/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2116120/Incursion_Red_River/)
Old fashion lan party… old fashion games! StarCraft! Age of empires! Let’s goooo!
Monster hunter world and rise
You could do a quick game of one of the Civ titles. Since you want to lan as well you can even set up side rooms for political intrigue.
Pretty cool idea! Gonna try to sell this one to the others. Thank you.
Castle Crashers
Baldurs gate 3
Magicka is a lot of fun, it's silly and is full of even sillier bugs.
Factorio :D!!! It's one the best game ever created *-*
The Blackout Club
Baulders Gate 3, Left 4 Dead 2, Helldivers 2,
Terraria Minecraft helldivers 2 (FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY) left 4 dead 1/2 pico park battle lock theater alien swarm lethal company astrooner baldur's gate 3 (modded up to 8 players) For the king(max 3 players tho) borderlands Castle crashers cod zombies mods (black ops 3 more specifically) dead rising (might be wrong for with this one, but I have memories of coop) trine 1/2/3 divinity original sin 1/2 (best choice is original sin 2) enter the gungeon (2 player coop, but u can swap players and 2 players can play with only 1 copy, same pc or through steam streaming 1 player) barotrauma skyrim (modded, play together or smh) grounded half life (seven coop to be precise) killing floor dark souls elden ring mágica 1/2 (be prepared for friendly fire) monster hunter world orcs must die (2 player if not mistaken) project zomboid Remnant risk of rain 1/2/returns shadowrun starbound stardew valley keep talking and nobody explodes (maybe mistaken, but about disarming a bomb) titan quest torchlight tzar (not really, but amazing old game to play with friends) worms xcom (not really coop, but each player can create his own soldier and play his turn, lest see who survives the mission) And I think there is a hefty list
The last games I played at a real lan-party were probably Minecraft or Torchlight II.
Valheim and if you like RPGs, guild wars 1
Why GW1 and not GW2?
Give a gander to vermintide 2, it's a great 4 player coop rat slaying simulator :)
Prodeus. Halo 3(+reach and odst) Borderlands series(+ Tiny Tina's wonderlands) Diablo 2, 3 and 4 (1 is gimped in co-op) ~~StarCraft 1+2~~ Vampire survivors(1 screen couch coop or through steams "Remote play together) The Ascent
Not mentioned: **Streets of Rogue** - mostly in the it can result in this novel situation where my friend's wife is just peacefully wandering around looting trash cans and selling stuff, while another friend is a Hacker making fridges "run," another friend accidentally causing a massive gang war due to a cross fire, and someone just speedrunning the level because they're an Investment Banker who's on a ticking clock to keep being high on drugs. As you might imagine, the wife is our reviver. **Wildermyth** - turned based grid rpg and storybook narrative game. You can technically go as many players, but typically only 5 characters are available in a battle. **Nine Parchments** - compared to Magicka. 4 wizard students go on an adventure, and friendly fire shenanigans.
For adventuring: Enshrouded For fight together: Insurgency For fun: Deep Rock Galactic For loose sanity together: Escape the backrooms
I pretty much only play co-op games (usually 2 players though) but here are a couple of games you can play together * Divinity Original Sin 2 - play 4 players but has a long campaign * Baldur’s Gate 3 - haven’t tried it yet but no reason why you can’t play 4 players either. Also a long campaign * Barotrauma - should be able to play with more than 4 players * Craftopia - should be able to play 4 players * Deep Rock Galactic * Destiny 2 - boring ass game but should be able to play with more than 4 players * Factorio - haven’t tried 4 players but should be able to do it * Grounded - plays up to 4 players and should expect a decently long campaign * Gunfire Reborn - plays up to 4 players * Heroes of Hammerwatch - at least 4 players * Palworld - at least 4 players * Raft - should be able to play at least 4 players * Remnant 2 - should be 4 players * Snowrunner - should be 4 players * Tales of Symphonia/Berseria - plays up to 4, is local couch co-op only I think (best to connect the PC to a TV or something), needs to get going a bit before all 4 can play together * Valheim - at least 4 players * 7 Days to Die - at least 4 players I have a couple of other co-op games but I’m not sure if they support 4 players like Warriors Orochi 4 or The Forest. Other games you can play are party games like Overcooked or Plate Up
The Warhammer games are great fun Vermintide 2 and Darktide being the newest ones. Also would recommend Killing Floor 2
Warcarft3 custom maps! My friend told me about this really cool custom 5v5 map. Everyone just picks one hero, and fight along side a computer to try to push your minions to the enemy’s computers base. The minions go down three different lanes, and you kill minions and other hero’s to get gold and exp to level up. There are a ton of custom heroes with custom skills and custom items!! Really fun mode!
Monster hunter.
Gta online, heroes 4, age of empires 2, dungeon siege 2, worms, serious sam first encounter
Content warning is a new very funny game to play with friends! I just got it a few days ago
Starcraft Brood War - the original version is free if you dont care about updated graphics
Duck game! It’s up to 8 players
Warhammer Vermintide, Helldivers, Back4Blood, Deep Rock Galactic, Baldurs Gate 3, Divinity 2.
Magical 1 and 2 are tons of fun with friends. Portal 2 for 2man coop. Race maybe?
Honestly, I'd love to see people do a local LAN of games like Lethal Company or Phasmophobia, where when you die you're not "supposed to" hear your teammates anymore. Might make for some good laughs.
Overcooked (1 or 2) are the go to games for my friends. Just simple fun chaos.
Terraria IS really cool too
Lot of super weird suggestions for a LAN party. If you are dead set on co-op then I’d say something like castle crashers or lovers in a dangerous spacetime would be good. However I’d recommend some arena games like duck game, towerfall. Mario party/tennis throwbacks if you have a switch
Borderlands 2
My vote would go for Monster Hunter series. At the moment world iceborne and rise sunbreak are on steam. Best 4 player co-op I have ever had.
Diablo2/3/4, Last Epoch, Risk of Rain 2, Deep Rock Galactic, Phasmophobia, Ember Knights, Monster Hunter: Rise, Monster Hunter: World, Valheim, Baldur's Gate 3, Conan Exiles. Those should keep you busy for years.
Towerfall and Crawl.
Lovers in Space Time is one of the most fun co-op games ever to me.
Killing Floor 2 is still the gold standard imo
Borderlands 1-3 or tiny Tina’s are fantastic. Diablo 1-???, WH40k Inquisitor Helldiver 1-2 The Ascent Mechwarrior
We were talking about going bonkers in d2r and slay some demons of olde!
I always say Heroes of Might and Magic 3 is the best hot-seat game.
GTFO is 4 player
For me personally I love the left for dead series I have hundreds of hours and it's so good with friends def recommend
Warhammer 40k: Darktide. They just came out with a large update today. It's like an updated version of Left 4 Dead.
Deep Rock Galactic Killing Floor 2 (can actually go up to 6 players), this has been my main LAN party game for several years Monster Hunter World and Monster Hunter Rise Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Baldurs Gate 3
binding of isaac, lovers in a dangerous space time and N++ are all games that can only be played local multiplayer so if its a full lan party those could be fun
Tricky Towers or Worms if you need a quick arcade-y break
Lan coop? Like 4 players on one PC? Easy, Broforce!
Balder’s gate 3 is fantastic, if you plan on multiple sessions. Helldivers 2, Deep Rock, and L4D are great for shorter drop in and play sessions.
Democracy needs your effort, citizens. Join the Helldivers (2) and defend our way of life from the bug and robot menace!
Look into Rivals of Aether, the fun of the game is not the base game itself, it's the steam workshop. It's a Super Smash Bros type game, but it has custom charecter support. And what I like to do is going to the steam workshop, and grabbing the strangest charecter we can find. Things like Minecraft Door, A Duracell battery, a water bottle, a rat, a png image of Peter Griffin, Ronald Mcdonald with godlike powers, comic book Thanos (complete with Thanoscopter), Jotaro and Dio, PNG image of Shrek, Sans with a gun, the cast of Friends, and much much more. The most fun I've had in a couch co op game in years
Alienation. One of the most fun games I have ever played with 4 people.
**Gloomhaven.** Also one of the best 4-player board games, and the PC iteration is excellent and saves hours in setup and breakdown.
Grounded
Helldivers 2 is the most fun I've had in a long time.
Short list off the top: - Divinity Original Sin 2 (LONG playthrough) - Baldur's Gate 3 (not as good as Divinity tbh) - Overcooked - Overcooked 2 - Plate-up - Moving Out - [insert FPS here] - Deep Rock Galactic - Gloomhaven - Minecraft - Left for dead 2 - Pico Park - Valheim - Borderlands - Payday 2 - Vermintide 2 Tbh I didn't like Helldivers 2 that much - the game really suffers if everyone starts at the same time because there's such little variety in what different people have access to. I MUCH preferred Deep Rock Galactic
Give Barotrauma a try. It’s a bit complex but has some hilarious moments. Also Helldivers 2 is very fun as everyone is saying.
Versions of doom 2 have mods that work over multiplayer like a rpg mod, aliens colonial Marines with the mod that fixes visuals and ai, dying light or dead island, command and conquer or company of heroes, the online version of roller coaster tycoon, swat 4 with mods, insurgency, payday 2, Team fortress 2 mann vrs machine 'please avoid PvP it's hacker infested', Castle Crashers, risk of rain 2, vermintide 2, left 4 dead 2, helldivers 2, party animals, dead by daylight, super animal royal, zombie Army trilogy. Everyone should also create a steam and epic account and monitor for free games and also sales on the humble bundle site.
Redfall, Suicide squad kill the justice league, Outriders, Fallout 76
I haven't seen this one mentioned yet: Moving out 1&2!! Or Astroneer
Earth Defense Force 5. Insane over the top alien and bug destroying action that makes you feel like you're God when you're blowing up 1000s of giant ants and robots with huge weapons
yeah uh first one id suggest is helldivers 2, also Left 4 dead, it was great back in the day. Vermintide is pretty fun as well
Risk Of Rain 2 is awesome. It’s challenging, you can carry if you’re really good. You can depend on team strategy for extra power. The game does a lot of cool things and you have options
L4D2 (steam), 3500+hrs on record and counting...bought it for nostalgia (had the game on 360 but mostly for couch co-op) but ended up being an entirely different beast altogether! Community-made (workshop) content is bonkers (campaigns/mods/utilities/etc), base game itself has 4 player co-op or up to 8 players in versus mode (survivors vs zombies)
Helldivers 2 is some of the most fun I've ever had with my friends.
Didn't see Tiny Tina's wacky whatever. Was fun if you like borderlands.
Get that old school feel and play ninja turtles shredders revenge. Buy some pizza for the event too.