Wouldn't it be nice if you could chat with friends throughout your day and then take breaks to play games with them? Sure, you could use Discord for the chat part of things, but people usually play the games outside of Discord. On-Together is cozy chatroom game from GigaPuff and Future Friends (publisher of Gourdlets Together) that will let players hang out and play throughout their days. It's coming to Steam later this year.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2013730/Gourdlets/The original Gourdlets was a cozy town-building game starring cute vegetable people. It's said to be light on content, but it only costs a five spot. AuntyGames and Future Friends are aiming for a bigger, better game with Gourdlets Together. The sequel is due later this year. It will add fishing, new stuff to build, and most excitingly, 16-player online co-op.
Massively multiplayer online games are enjoyable enough, but they tend towards the dark and gritty side of things. Why can't they feature more love and justice? That's what New York-based Pahdo Labs is cramming into Starlight Re:Volver, a cooperative MMO that's due out on Steam Early Access later this year. We played an early demo in co-op and were impressed with the game's charming aesthetics.
The original Neon Abyss is a roguelike run-and-gun shooter whose most memorable feature was the ability to wield a cat as a gun. I found the game to be whelming, but not overwhelming. Co-op support would surely have improved its staying power. Thankfully, Neon Abyss 2 from Veewo Games and Kepler Ghost will kick things up a few notches thanks to the inclusion of 4-player online co-op. The new Steam demo shows off that co-op support and lots more.
We've been excited about Worship, from Chasing Rats Games, ever since we learned of its blend of Pikmin-style gameplay with eldritch creepiness. Teaming up to lead a world-ending cult sounds like good, mean fun. As it turns out, gamers will finally be able to have just that kind of fun in July. That's when Worship will arrive on Steam Early Access. If you can't wait that long, there's a demo to try as well.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, the first game in the Bloodstained series from ArtPlay and 505 Games, is a fantastic Metroidvania game, but its post-release co-op mode was a complete afterthought. Thankfully, co-op seems to be a more integral feature in the upcoming sequel/prequel, Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement. The new game's campaign will feature two playable protagonists and (seemingly) 2-player local co-op right out of the gate, not unlike the Gal Guardians series. It's due out on Xbox Series, PlayStation 5, and PC in 2026.
Digital board games can be tons of fun, especially when they're cooperative. That's what's in store for Beacon Patrol from Shapes and Dreams and Assemble Entertainment. Based on the real-life board game by Torben Ratzlaff, Beacon Patrol has players work together to explore a map and create a network of coastal paths, all by placing tiles. It's a lot like Carcassonne and Kingdomino, but set on the high seas. The upcoming Steam version will support 4-player local co-op, and there's a single-player demo right now.
The Behemoth, the makers of Castle Crashers and several other gorgeous games, likes to release their games on Xbox before PlayStation. Bless their colorful hearts for going against the grain like that. In late 2023, the studio released Alien Hominid Invasion (a multiplayer-focused sequel to Alien Hominid HD) on Xbox, Switch, and Steam. Good th...
Data East's classic arcade game, Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja, was recently delisted from consoles and Steam due to expired licenses. New Joe & Mac is still available, but that's a full remake rather than a truly classic experience. Thankfully, French publisher Red Art Games (publisher of Sonic Wings Reunion) is on the case. They h...
There are plenty of Vampire Survivors-style "Bullet heaven" games in the sea, but it's hard to care about the ones that don't have co-op. If you don't at least bring the same features to the table as the game you're inspired by, what's the point? Well, Survivor Mercs from Wandering Wizard is already out in Steam Early Access, and it's coming soon to consoles as well. Having tried the single-player demo on Steam, I'm excited for it.
A couple of years back, Ocean Dive Studio released a roguelike shooter called Blackout Protocol on Steam Early Access. During the Early Access period, the developers made some big changes, enhancing the single-player experience, overhauling gameplay, reworking co-op, and even renaming the game. Now titled Section 13, the game has fully launched on Steam and also debuted on Xbox Series and PlayStation 5 consoles (albeit without co-op support at present).
Cthulhu's Reach from The Fine Arc and First Break Labs is a Steam Early Access roguelike shooter based on H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos. It features a unique retro art style and isometric graphics, plus the all-important 4-player online co-op. While the game had some good foundations when it debuted, it was somewhat lacking in content. The latest update goes a long way to rectifying that by adding a map editor, not to mention some balance and bug fixes.
