- [Narrator] Playing multiplayer games online
is a pretty cool experience.
I mean what could possibly be
playing with people all over the globe?
Well there used to be a time
where online gaming just wasn't as big a deal
and back then, the only a multiplayer action people got
was one half of a screen battling against the other
or by completing a game in couch co-op.
Split screen and couch co-op was so effective
that a lot of games even still use them today.
Plus it got people together in the same room
which is always cool.
Hey guys, ArcadeCloud here and today
we're counting down our list of the top 10
best split screen and couch co-op multiplayer games.
If you're new to our channel,
go ahead and subscribe and hit that bell.
Give this video a thumbs up and share it with some friends.
It's free.
Number 10, Left 4 Dead 2.
Left 4 Dead 2 is one of those rare games
with a near-perfect score pretty much everywhere you look.
The game is a cooperative masterpiece
that builds on the solid foundations left behind
by the original zombie shooter left for dead.
In the game you play as one of four protagonists
fighting back against hordes of infected zombies.
You can split the screen vertically or horizontally
depending on which style you and your friends prefer
but the best thing about the split screen in this game
is you can actually take split screen online,
meaning you and your friend on the couch
can both play against two online players
as well as each other.
Well not against but with, you know what I mean.
The only downside is that this split screen function
was exclusive to the Xbox 360 version of the game.
Well that is until people figured out
how to modify some of the files on the PC version
to unlock the mode.
Number 9, Rock Band 2.
Rock Band is a series that's pretty similar
to the popular game Guitar Hero.
Only then in this game you can play the lead guitar,
the bass guitar, the drums,
and you can even sing through a USB microphone.
People playing the game are scored on their ability
to match the scrolling musical notes on the instruments
and the singer on their ability to match the vocal pitch.
Now of course you can't do all of those things
at once by yourself so the best way to play this game
is through the wonders of split screen co-op.
If you have a group of friends
who really wanna bring the band together,
then you can in Rock Band 2 split screen co-op.
The gameplay is pretty much the same
as it is in the single-player modes
but now there's four of you
and you're all playing an instrument,
which to be honest is much cooler than it sounds.
It's a great party game.
Number eight, Castle Crashers.
Castle Crashers is a 2D beat 'em up
made by The Behemoth that's been around since 2008.
The game has been released on the Xbox 360,
the PS3, Microsoft Windows, and the Xbox One.
The game is best played alongside three other people,
all of which can be done through local co-op,
online co-op, or a mix of the two.
The only real difference in gameplay is that in co-op mode,
you can actually revive people once they go down.
In the single player version of the game,
going down basically just instantly ends the stage.
Each of the four characters has unique abilities
and while level progression in terms of stage unlocks
is tied to the player who's the furthest along in the game,
each player gains experience points,
wealth, weapons, and animal orbs
independently from everyone else.
Really any game that has a revive system tied to co-op
basically guarantees that co-op is the best experience
and your friends on the couch
are probably going to be smarter than the AI,
most of the time.
Number seven, Rocket League.
Rocket League has become one of the biggest indie games
in the past few years going from a purely PC and PS4 game
to being released on Xbox One, Mac OS, Linux,
and now even Nintendo Switch.
One of the things you really need to be able to do
with games like Rocket League
is to be able to communicate with your teams
and obviously if you're playing online with other people,
that can't really happen too easily.
But what if the person is right next to you on the couch?
Well that's another thing altogether.
Playing split screen against other people online
is really fun but the real magic of the split screen
in this game really comes from the Switch version.
You can take Rocket League wherever you want
and then play against another friend on the go or with them.
Sure, split screen game play on your couch is cool
but split screen on the plane
while traveling on holiday, that's even cooler.
Number six, Duck Game.
Duck Game is a PC game on Steam
but it was originally released on the Ouya as well
so I wouldn't exactly blame you
if you hadn't heard of it yet.
But considering the game is coming out
on Nintendo Switch soon, you might wanna give it a try.
It's one of my personal favorite games,
so you know, there's that too.
It's a 2D action game based around shooting,
platforming and has a really awesome four-player co-op mode.
Well not co-op but competitive,
but it's couch co-op, whatever.
Duck Game is seriously the perfect party game.
The premise is simple, you die in a single hit.
Last player standing wins and I guess you can think of it
as a really small 2D local Battle Royale game.
You can play in local co-op with up to three other people
and while the game does have a single-player arcade mode,
you can tell that this is the way the game
was designed to be played.
Number five, GoldenEye 007.
Released in 1997 and based on
the 1995 film of the same name,
GoldenEye 007 is often cited as being
one of the classics of FPS video games.
While its single-player campaign was loved by many,
it was the split screen mode
that had people coming back for more.
This game mode allowed two to four players
to compete in different deathmatch games.
There's normal, You Only Live Twice, The Living Daylights,
The Man With the Golden Gun, and License to Kill.
Normal is what you expect a basic deathmatch mode
where you try to kill your opponents
as many times as possible.
You Only Live Twice gives players two lives
before they are eliminated from the game.
License to Kill is a hardcore mode
where players die in a single hit from any weapon.
The Man With the Golden Gun spawns a single Golden Gun
capable of taking out anyone in a single shot.
Then there's the Living Daylights mode
which is basically a capture and hold the flag kind of deal.
Kinda like King of the Hill I suppose.
As I said before, this game was basically revolutionary
for multiplayer when it was released
and it's been cited as paving the way for games
like Halo and Call of Duty,
which both have pretty good couch multiplayer modes as well,
you know, maybe not the newer ones
but at least the old ones did.
Number four, Army of Two.
Some games are literally designed with multiplayer in mind
and Army of Two is one of those games.
Released in 2008 for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3,
this game was designed to be played with another human
and hopefully the one in the same room as you.
It was a third-person shooter that centered
on two mercenaries fighting through brutal war,
tragic political turmoil, and an expansive conspiracy.
The main gimmick of the game is to use
the coordinated teamwork to get through parts of the game
to such a degree that most objectives
are basically impossible to complete
without the use of a teammate.
While you could play the game online,
it was much easier to do all that team stuff
with someone sitting right next to you
and considering that the servers for the game
have now been turned off,
that's basically the only way you can get
the full effect of the game anyway.
Number three, Super Smash Bros.
Well, we had to include it.
One of the best games you could ever play on a couch
with someone else is Super Smash Bros.
It doesn't even matter which one you play,
all of them are pretty good.
Each game in the series features an expansive roster
of Nintendo and guest characters
to fiercely battle against each other
in platform fighter combats.
It's basically the dream game for any Nintendo fanboy.
The reason this game is so superior in local play
is all to do with input lag.
When you play the game online with people,
your controller inputs have to go through online connection
to be registered just like with any game.
If you play it in local mode,
you don't have to worry about any of that,
meaning frame-perfect attacks and combos
are just that much easier to pull off.
Sure, that might not matter to everyone
but that little bit of extra added smoothness
is just enough to make this game
an awesome local experience.
Well that and all the Nintendo character
fighting you'll be doing.
Number two, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is currently considered
the definitive version of the Mario Kart experience.
It builds on everything that the previous
Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U did and then made it even better
and then did the best possible thing
by putting the game on the Switch.
If you want a really good local game
then you literally can't do better than this.
Well, except for our number one spot, maybe, I guess.
But this one's a better party game so whatever.
It's a nice and easy party racing game,
it's filled with fun items and intense races
and pretty much anyone can have fun with this game,
no matter if they're a Nintendo fan or not.
Well until they get hit by a blue shell,
that'll make anybody mad.
Number one, A Way Out.
A Way Out is the newly released
EA published Hazelight Studios
developed co-op multiplayer game.
Like you literally can't play this game in single-player
and it's meant to be experienced
by playing alongside someone you know and care about.
It's a third-person perspective game
that was literally designed to be played in split screen.
In the game, you control either Leo or Vincent,
two convicted prisoners who are attempting
to break out of the prison they're being held in.
The story of the two protagonists is told simultaneously
but even though this is a split screen game,
the progress of these two might not always be synchronized.
This means one player can control a character
even if the other is in a cut scene.
Cooperation is key in this game
and each situation can be approached in multiple ways
by each character taking on multiple different roles.
It's pretty much the perfect story-based
split screen co-op experience.
And there you have it, our list of the top 10
best split screen and couch co-op multiplayer games.
Do you agree?
Did we miss something?
Let us know in the comments down below
and don't forget to subscribe for more great videos
from ArcadeCloud on Wednesdays Saturdays, and Sundays.
Take care and game on.