Look, there aren't many cooperative driving games. There are even fewer that require two players. That's WheelMates from Firevolt, though, a 2-player RC car driving adventure that's built solely for co-op. Thankfully, the game includes a friend pass, so a second online player can join in for free, in addition to 2-player split-screen support. Early Steam reviews are super positive, so this could be the next big co-op game.
I'm not big on building decks, whether the decks are made of cards or planks of wood in the back yard. Thus, a deck-builder needs to be pretty unusual to peak my interest. Duo Quest from 1 plus 1 Studios and Rising Tide is just such a game. It's 2-player only (local or online), and the cards that players draw require them to ask questions about each other. Answer correctly to damage foes; fail, and the team's adventure might come to a premature end. The quest begins on Steam on September 16.
The Hammerwatch franchise is interesting. Following the excellent Heroes of Hammerwatch roguelike, indie developer Crackshell released the super buggy Hammerwatch II and, to my knowledge, never fixed it up. Despite that misstep, Crackshell and Team17 then returned to the roguelike formula with Heroes of Hammerwatch II on Steam. This one is very good, and some of our team has spent dozens of hours on it so far. Well, the game recently gained even more replay value with the release of the "Celestial Ruins" DLC. It adds a new. a survival mission, unique equipment, and more.
Ever since the release of Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes and the MacGruber movie, people have been crazy about defusing bombs. Nobody wants to blow up, and everybody wants to be a hero, after all. As of today, there's a new bomb defusal game in town: BOMBANANA! from Lefto Studio and TARK.
Traditionally, one of the biggest obstacles to game development is learning to code. That's time consuming! Developing for retro hardware can be even more challenging thanks to the scarcity of modern development tools. Well, the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive homebrew scene is about to explode thanks to the impending release of MD Engine from indie developer Two Black Cats. The MD Engine software will launch on Steam on September 7.
Almost two hundred! That's the number of new entries added to our database in August, many of which were just announced during this year's Gamescom festivities. While everyone keeps eyeing Grand Theft Auto VI (still no co-op announcement!) as the biggest game release of the decade, there will actually be a ton of interesting co-op titles coming out over the next few months and going into 2027.
The first Aliens: Fireteam Elite was a pretty big hit, pitting teams of three colonial marines against countless deadly xenomorphs. You can't keep the xenos down, as we all know, and now they're back in a big way. Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 from Cold Iron Studios and Daybreak Games ups the ante with 4-player online co-op and cross-play, a new class, a Horde mode, and more. It's out now on all Xbox Series, PlayStation 5, and PC.
Scott Pilgrim EX, the long-awaited sequel to Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World: The Game, is probably the best new beat 'em up this year. It features gorgeous pixel art, catchy chiptunes, a diverse but manageable open world, and 4-player local and online co-op with cross-play. That's a lot to like! Well, now there's even more to like. Today, the game got a free update alongside the arrival of a DLC character pack.
You know what? Even our Database Master learns something new from time to time! Yes, we were just as surprised as you. Even he didn't know that Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspirary featured a unique co-op mode when it was released back in 2004. But thanks to the games re-release on PlayStation this month, he finally discovered the crazyiness of trying to control the main character in a third-person-shooter with two people: one player handles movement, while the other takes care of weapons and Psi Powers.
Since Tripwire's Killing Floor 3 arrived last year, the game has received several big updates. That's how things have to be if a developer wants a game's multiplayer modes active. The game launched with "perks" (classes) being locked to specific character skins, and fans weren't having it. Well, that issue has since been fixed, and the new "Operation: Shadow Hunter" update primarily adds lots of new content for loyal floor killers to enjoy. We took the game's 6-player online co-op for a fresh spin and had a blast with it.
What a month, eh? Our database saw an increase of a whopping 212 new entries. Not just, but mainly, thanks to all the announcements made in the 29 showcases that took place during this year's "Not-E3" season. And yes, our Database Master had to scan each game shown for possible co-op features. That's literally hundreds of games!
Abyssus is a "brinepunk FPS" (whatever that means) from DoubleMoose Games, The Arcade Crew, and Dotemu. After arriving on Steam last year, it has received a handful of major updates. The latest update, version 1.3, does not seem to be popular with Steam players. On the plus side, Abyssus also just launched on Xbox Series and PlayStation 5, and those players probably won't be attached to a previous update. There is 4-player online co-op with crossplay and plenty of brine in store for them!
