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PS4 couch co-op games: Top 15 to Play at Home
Play with your friends, not against them, with this selection of great multiplayer games for Sony's mega-selling console.
Online gaming is great, but there's nothing quite like the satisfaction of working together for a three-star rating in Overcooked when you're in the same room with your friends, or the agony when your teammate misplaces a backpass and sets your opponent up for the win in FIFA 19.
There are loads of great multiplayer games on PS4, so you have plenty of options when you want to kick back with your friends or family. Here are 10 top PS4 couch co-op games chosen from a range of genres, so no matter what you're into, there'll be something here for you. We've also included a top tip for some of the games, so you can help each other complete your goals, or, in FIFA's case, score some goals.
1. Gang Beasts
Gang Beasts is a physics-based beat 'em up that pits four players against each other in a bunch of multiplayer stages. To win, you need to punch, kick and throw your opponents off platforms, with the last player standing declared the winner. You can play 2 Vs 2 football matches and four players can even team up to battle thugs.
The physics and character animations are what make Gang Beasts so magnificent to play. They're hilarious and often result in incredibly tense moments, as you try to cling on and stay in the game. It's an essential purchase for anyone with a PS4 and a couple of friends willing to throw down.
Top tip: One great move that every player should know is the backflip kick. Press X on your controller to jump and, as quickly as you can, follow it up by pressing Square to kick. This will unleash a devastating backflip kick that will knock your opponent out cold. It's one of the most effective moves in the game, so make sure you know how to use it in a scrap.
2. Rayman Legends
The critically-acclaimed Rayman Legends is as fun as it is challenging
© Ubisoft
Rayman Legends is a 2D side-scroller that allows up to four players to work together, or against each other. The main goal is to reach the end of each stage, but along the way you can also hit your partner and impede their progress to try to get a higher score than them. It's colourful, challenging and lots of fun.
Top tip: The best way to get ahead in the game is to always stay close together. That's because you'll constantly need to pop your friend to revive them and you can also punch them in the air to gather the collectibles that are harder to reach. In other words, don't go bounding off ahead unless you want a much harder time completing each stage.
3. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
Playstation VR adds an extra dynamic to this thrilling game
© Playstation
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is a PSVR compatible game that challenges a group of people to disable a bomb.
To play, one player needs to wear the PSVR headset and relay information about the bomb to the others in the room. This information is then used to find the relevant sections in the bomb disposal guide, which gives instructions on how to deactivate it.
It's extremely challenging and perhaps the most cerebral game on this list. It requires good communication skills, some light puzzle solving and a cool head.
4. FIFA 20 (2019)
Be sure to get plenty of practice using FIFA 19's training mode
© EA Sports
FIFA 20 is perfect for having a quick kickabout with your friends when it's muddy outside or you're just too tired to play the real thing. This edition of the game is similar to previous editions except for Volta mode, which adds some exciting variety and short matches for when you're on a time crunch. Play with up to four friends or even team up with your best mate against the computer.
Top Tip: If you're playing with your mates, just be sure to get in plenty of practice in the training mode first. After all, there's nothing worse than missing a howler when your best friend has set you up. Also, try not to drag your players out of position unnecessarily. Communication is good (even if you're yelling in excitement) since you can coordinate your attacks and not leave yourself open at the back.
5. Overcooked 1 and 2
Cook up a storm with friends in Overcooked
© Ghost Town Games
The Overcooked games are also all about communication. You and a friend need to work together to create the dishes that appear on-screen. This involves slicing ingredients, cooking meat and serving it all up. It's chaotic and difficult, but this just means there's never a dull moment. You'll always have something to do, with the dream goal being to earn a three-star rating for your service.
The second entry in the series adds the ability to throw items and contains more dynamic stages to play through, complicating matters further.
Top Tip: If you want to succeed at either of the two games, you'll need to designate roles and be flexible enough to change when the environment separates you from the workstation you need.
6. Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
Players must work together to pilot the spaceship
© Asteroid Base
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is all about saving bunnies and upgrading your spaceship to defeat the evil power of anti-love. You and up to four friends must delegate jobs to each other, with one player steering the ships through asteroid fields, while the rest switch between the cannons on the four sides to blast away incoming threats. It's a satisfying co-op adventure where every player has an equal role in your success.
Top tip: The best piece of advice we can give is to think deeply about how you upgrade your ship. There are several gems hidden in each level, which let you improve certain aspects of your ship (engines, guns, etc). It's worth tracking these down and designating them to whoever's struggling the most. This will improve the overall strength of your team and make completing levels significantly easier.
7. Don't Starve Together
The Don’t Starve Together expansion allows friends to help fend off enemies
© Klei Entertainment
Don't Starve Together is a standalone multiplayer expansion for Don’t Starve that allows more players to experience the terrors of the wilderness. If you were too frightened to try the game out in single-player, Don't Starve Together gives you the comfort of having a friend nearby to help fend off enemies in split-screen co-op. The game has also been rebalanced for multiplayer and has a bunch of cool new features, like allowing dead players to haunt objects and items in the game's world.
Top tips: Some useful tips to remember are to always hunt in pairs to avoid being ganged up on by mobs and to coordinate who's doing what. On top of that, you’ll also want to raise the necessary resources to build a Crock Pot early on. Multiplayer means more mouths to feed and a Crock Pot will let you detoxify Monster Meat, keeping you stocked up with a number of high-quality food items.
8. Laser League
Few multiplayer games on the PS4 are as high octane as Laser League
© Roll7
Though Laser League can and should be played online, that doesn't stop you from being able to throw down and team-up in local multiplayer when you have a couple of friends round.
The principle here is just the same. You select your character from a bunch of different class types and have to outlast the other team through activating laser grids. It's an often-desperate experience with only a fraction of a centimetre being the difference between winning and losing at times. This makes the game an adrenaline fuelled rush to play, as you dart between active laser grids.
Top tip: If you're playing as a team, the key to success is to coordinate your movements to trap opponents and revive team-mates whenever possible, to ensure you always have more than one player on the board.
9. Spelunky
Keep your eyes peeled for spikes, spiders and an invulnerable ghost
© Mossmouth
Spelunky is a roguelike, with a few twists up its sleeves. The action is from a side-scrolling perspective rather than top down, gameplay isn't turn-based and there's more platforming goodness than RPG elements.
In the game, you and a bunch of friends must explore procedurally generated levels in order to find an exit and progress onto the next level. Along the way, there are a series of pitfalls and obstacles, including spikes, spiders and an invulnerable ghost that appears if you take too long on a stage.
Top tip: There are a couple of adjustments to the multiplayer that make the game more attractive for a group. For instance, you can revive a fallen team member should you come across a coffin. Fallen players will also be able to haunt levels, too, stunning enemies and shopkeepers to give the living an advantage. It's excellent for a small crowd of players, with lots of great opportunities for mischief.
10. Lego Marvel Superheroes 2
Assemble your friends for a bash at Lego Marvel Super Heroes
© Warner Bros. Interactive
The Lego games are always great fun to play with friends. The latest, Lego Marvel Superheroes 2, lets you and a partner become your favourite superheroes. You're able to explore a bunch of locations ripped straight from the comic books, smash up your surroundings and build fabulous contraptions out of Lego.
It's a tremendous instalment in the long-running franchise, packed with plenty of gags, mini-games and collectibles to keep you and your friends entertained for days.
Top tip: The most useful things to know are that you can use the quick switch feature to revisit levels later on and finish them 100 percent and that studs are better farmed in freeplay with a multiplier unlocked, as opposed to within story missions. Taking note of these will tidbits will let you enjoy the game that little bit more and make it easier to see everything it has to offer.
11. Rock Band 4 (2015)
The fact that Rock Band has a fourth edition should tell you all you need to know about how addicting this co-op game is. Plug in and jam out with your friends in Rock Band 4's multi-instrument format. Choose from hundreds and songs and bands in nearly every genre imaginable, and keep playing long offer the song is over with the game's extended party sessions.
12. Rocket League (2015)
Rocket League is an exciting and unique game that will have you addicted in just about five minutes flat. You can play with up to four friends both online or offline in this split-screen co-op. Choose your car and get down to business playing either soccer, ice hockey, basketball, or Dropshot. The ease of the game makes it great for beginners and seasoned pros alike, and the skill-based control system lets you play with training wheels until you feel confident to beat your buddies on your own.
13. LEGO DC Super-Villains (2018)
If you like Lego Marvel Superheroes 2, you'll love the LEGO DC Super-Villains co-op game. Despite being a game based on some of DC's most wanted criminals, LEGO DC Super-Villains is lighthearted and great for the whole family. Each level adds new challenges, games, and puzzles you have to solve before moving on, and you'll have the pleasure of enjoying various LEGO-specific humor along the way. Choose to be a villain or a good guy depending on your mood that day.
14. Divinity: Original Sin II - Definitive Edition (2018)
Divinity: Original Sin II is loved on various platforms, but the PS4 edition may be our favorite. This exciting co-op game gives you a traditional RPG experience that's as deep as it is interesting. You'll be lost in the fantasy world and intense tactical combat before you know it, and you'll spend all night enmeshed in the role-play that Divinity: Original Sin II is best known for.
15. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (2019)
Strap into your kart of choice and get ready to race through lands that all have new and exciting challenges to conquer. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is a game that's addicting in both single-player and co-op mode. Play with up to four friends in the split-screen mode, and enjoy monthly content updates to keep things interesting.
Top tip: If you're new to Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, choose the Turn Class driving mode to help you turn corners with ease. When you're feeling more confident, try Acceleration Class or Speed class for great abilities on the track.
Whether you're looking for light-hearted PS4 couch co-op games to play with your buddies on a slow Friday night or you're up for a days-long challenge that will have you missing sleep, this list should give you plenty of options for whatever mood you're in.
