(electronic beeping)
- Hey-oh, social isolation fam.
It's your boy, Jared,
here to try something new
and give you my top 10 online co-op games
to play while social distancing.
I've got a good range of titles
for casual to core gamers,
for every console including your phone!
Let's dive right into this list of great co-op online games
to keep your friends close at a distance.
Up first, we have a very good,
old friend of mine, "Stardew Valley."
Way back in the dark times,
also known as "Before 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons,'"
I discovered "Stardew Valley"
while trying to get my little virtual town fix.
Originally released back in 2016 for the PC,
this charming adventure simulation game
is basically the love child
of "Harvest Moon" and "Animal Crossing."
And is now available basically everywhere
with full multiplayer support on all consoles
other than mobile.
You and up to three friends
can share a little farm town, expanding your farms,
wooing the townsfolk, uncovering mysteries,
and spelunking deep into dangerous caves
for precious materials.
There's just so much to do in this game
and none of it is sacrificed when playing in multiplayer
which I love.
You got all your crafting, collecting, animal rearing,
and interpersonal relationship,
having options available to you and your friends
at all times.
This game is just oozing with charm.
The pixel graphics are cute,
the sounds are all so satisfying,
and it is truly a blast with your buddies.
As long as you don't all fight over Alex
because he is arguably the cutest guy in town,
and honestly, he has ruined quite a few friendships
because of that.
(sighing)
He's so worth it though.
Did one of your friends go all Thanos over Alex
and now you guys need to assemble to save the day?
Look no further
than "Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order."
This Nintendo Switch exclusive
is the entire top-down arcade brawler genre
distilled into its purest form.
Okay, that's actually a lie
because there are over 50 playable Marvel heroes to unlock,
all with special upgradeable skills
to level up and keep track of,
and enough visual flair to burn your retinas
a nice golden brown.
What I meant is that, if you just wanna boot up,
hop into a neon skin-tight leotard,
and beat up bad guys with three of your best friends,
and an irresponsible amount of flashy alien magic,
this is the game for you.
Didn't play "Ultimate Alliance 1" or "2"?
It literally doesn't matter.
This campaign is an entirely standalone story
that isn't Marvel canon in anyway.
And also, it's pretty standard
bad guy doing bad things fare,
so it's really not why you're gonna be playing this game.
The animations are slick, the moves are really fun,
and the characters all bring something new to the party,
so this is a total blast
when playing with a group of buddies.
Team fights get super chaotic,
different teammates can tag together,
and do these super cool super moves,
where everyone's kind of flying around the screen,
doing just a bunch of damage.
It's honestly chaos.
And if you hop into a voice chat with your friends,
you are going to be set for hours of smash and bash fun.
Moving right along,
I have a great suggestion
for anyone who isn't afraid
of whacking the heck out of some deadly behemoths
in the name of snazzy new clothes.
"Dauntless" is a colorful free-to-play gear-based RPG
that I call the common man's "Monster Hunter."
In this fictional universe,
a cataclysmic event has torn the world asunder,
and now you and your friends must hunt down
and fight boss like behemoths
to craft better and better gear,
to take down beefier and scarier prey.
If you, like me, wanted to get into "Monster Hunter"
but found it just too granular
with too many options, too many items,
and just so much text going on,
"Dauntless" is definitely an easier
monster-hunting game to get into.
Plus, it's free. So there's that.
With dozens of massive monsters to take down
and hundreds of craftable items
and weapons to mix and match in your kit,
there's a lot of potential playtime here.
Plus, the game has full cross-platform compatibility.
So you can play with your friends
even if you don't all have the same system.
I just found out that they're coming out
with a mobile version at some point this year
which soon means that your friends
will have literally no excuse not to play this with you.
Keeping in theme with this colorful yet violent
fun kick I have going on,
the next game I bring to you
is "Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville."
Being the third edition
in the grossly overlooked "Plants vs. Zombies:
"Garden Warfare" series,
"Battle for Neighborville" brings six new playable classes
to the cavalcade of now 20 different plants and zombies
that you can bring into the battlefield
for third-person or over-the-shoulder
flora versus undead fun.
Even if you have some friends
who aren't big into competitive shooters,
there's still a lot of fun to be had here.
With different classes ranging from sniping cactuses
to brawling undead superheroes,
there are dozens of different play styles
and tons of game modes, both competitive and cooperative.
This game is definitely
one of the more intense and competitive games on the list,
so it won't be for everyone.
But if you and your friends are stuck inside,
just itching to show off your gunplay skills,
"Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville"
is a great family-friendly way to get that energy out
and start showing everyone who's boss.
So hop right in and start pea-shooting your way to victory
and unlocking some cute new outfits
for your squad's designated sunflower meme.
Knock-knock! Who's there, you ask?
Why it's another sequel you should check out.
"Trine 4" is, you guessed it,
the fourth installment in one of my favorite
medieval puzzle platformer franchises.
Granted that's not a super crowded market
but this up to four-player romp
is a brain-tingling joy to tear through with your friends.
Team up as either a wizard, knight, or thief,
to tackle dozens of fantastically perplexing
fantasy environments,
on your quest to rescue a troubled young prince.
Each character has a unique set of abilities
for puzzle solving and combat
which you can either use together,
for some super satisfying solutions,
or more commonly, take turns watching each other
come up with wacky ways to get from point A to point B.
I think "Trine 4" is the best game in the series so far.
The Arcady physics in this game
are so fun to play around with
and the newly added combat is a blasty-blast,
Sometimes literally.
Everything is super polished and pretty,
so this is a really easy game to get lost in
and make you forget about the dumpster fire
going on outside.
Just don't let the sight
of identical twin characters throw you off,
if you're gaming with a team of four.
I really can't say why it's so disconcerting to me
that they didn't just create a fourth character
for when you're playing with four people.
But there's something so odd
about just seeing two knights bouncing on the screen
all Tia and Tamera on ya.
Okay, people, blood and guts comin' in hot.
Avert your eyes if you're a sensitive being.
Next up on the list
is the viscerally entertaining
"Gears 5."
This Xbox exclusive series brings back fond memories
of playing through the "Gears of War 2" campaign,
couch co-op style with my best friend in high school.
12 years later and here we are with "Gears 5,"
ready to fill the gore-shaped hole in your heart
left by the rest of the games on this list.
You and up to two other friends
can shoot and chainsaw your way through the campaign
over the internet or in local split-screen,
just in case this isolation period is over
before your first campaign playthrough.
You might wanna binge a few YouTube videos
about the previous game stories
before jumping into this one.
But basically, it's humans versus locust alien monsters.
It's the end of days
and all you're gonna end up doing
is painting the walls with the blood of your enemies.
The weapons in this game are insanely vicious and creative,
the gunplay and gore are just entirely over-the-top,
and there is nothing quite like squatting up
with two of your best wingmen
and tearing through waves of locust scum
that are just asking to be blown up to little bits.
Oh, by the way, it's on Xbox Game Pass.
So if you're throwing down for that subscription,
check it out for free.
Okay, guys, let's take this list
from one extreme to another.
Far far away from the blood-stained halls of "Gears 5"
is a quiet little game
that some of you might have heard before, "Minecraft."
Only one of the biggest gaming phenomenons
to occur in the last two decades,
"Minecraft" has found its way
onto every console and cellphone
you could possibly think of.
I'm surprised at this point
I can't play it on my smart fridge.
Whoa, maybe I can.
Anyway, if you haven't already become hopelessly addicted
to this open-world sandbox builder/adventure game,
please allow me to open your eyes for you.
You can do anything you want in this game, guys.
You can build, you can quest, you can craft.
You could mod the heck out of your personal server
to put trains and freaking Pokemon into the game.
Or you can have a ton of fun
playing this game cross-platform with your buddies
over Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch.
I argue the best possible way to play this game
is on PC and Mac.
Because "Minecraft" has been out for so many years,
there's a wealth of community-created content
from texture packs to make your game look pretty
to mods that let you adopt a dog,
or start your own tea garden.
It's a bit tech intensive
to start your own multiplayer server
but if you can get it all figured out,
I promise, you will lose hours
if not full-on days of your life
running around this blocky world,
building giant cactuses,
and looting dungeons with your friends.
Plus, the newest update gave us cute little bees.
Oh, look how cute! It's bees!
If the storyless structure of "Minecraft"
leaves you desiring more substance,
look no further than "Divinity: Original Sin 2,"
a feature-packed RPG
that plays very similarly
to a video game version of "Dungeons & Dragons."
In classic D&D fashion,
you and a party of up to four players
have nearly unlimited options of ways
to solve problems, complete tasks,
and eviscerate your enemies.
As with all good fantasy worlds,
there's tons of magic and weapon variety here
with fun possible interactions
like cows shooting a flame arrow
at a bubbling puddle of poison,
causes a beautiful noxious explosion.
Each party member will have totally different ways
of interacting with the world too.
Hydrosophists, for example,
can freeze blood or water that is spilled on the floor
which makes enemies slip and slide around,
while another member of your team,
might have the face ripper,
a special weapon
that lets you skin your foes' faces right off
and wear it as a disguise.
If face stealing and open-ended problem-solving
in a magical realm sound like a good time to you,
you are in for a treat.
Be warned though,
you will really see your friends' true colors
while battling it out in this game.
Last time I played with my friend,
he broke me out of prison,
by literally burning the entire place down
with me still in it!
What I really like about "Divinity: Original Sin 2"
is just how many different ways each interaction can go.
You really just never know how things are gonna play out
and that kind of uncertainty keeps me on my toes
and keeps me coming back for more, again and again.
If you prefer your RPGs
to have a little less creative problem-solving
and a lot more hack-and-slash action,
allow me to introduce you to "Blackmoor 2,"
a silly little game that takes me back to the good old days
of playing browser-based flash games
in my middle school computer class.
The simple 2D art style
honestly isn't super impressive
but what is impressive about "Blackmoor 2"
is the sheer number of levels to play through
in a free-to-play game.
I mean, you could pay to play it on your Switch
but for how surprisingly smooth
the online play is on my iPhone,
I'd be hard-pressed to suggest
playing anywhere but on mobile.
With tons of wacky characters to unlock,
diverse game modes to explore,
and literal endless hordes of ogres
waiting to get smashed and looted,
I really can't think of a reason
this little gem isn't worth checking out.
For a game that looks this simple,
I was very impressed
by how complex and fun the bosses were
at the end of each story mission.
Each boss has a different set of moves
that changes as you do damage to them.
So you're constantly on your toes,
trying to figure out what the tells of the attacks are,
and I was just very surprised
at how complex each of those fights were.
Don't let the art style fool you.
There is a lot of good gameplay here.
Light-hearted action combat, coins flying left and right,
and a full story mode to play through
with three of your closest necromancers?
Honestly, what more can you ask for?
Jared, I could ask for a puzzle game
to play with one of my closest friends.
That's what more I could ask for.
Ah, well then, person who thought that,
do I have the game for you.
Last up on our list of fabulous,
friendship-sustaining online games,
is a pleasant little puzzler called "Death Squared."
You can actually play alone, with a partner,
or with four people at once.
So that segue wasn't the most accurate
but honestly after nine,
that's the best that I've got.
"Death Squared" is a really cute
straightforward puzzle game,
where you play as colorful little cubes,
making your way to same colored little goals,
all while avoiding tons of perilous traps, laser beams,
and the general likelihood of falling
straight to your death.
Teamwork is imperative here.
So I do very much suggest playing with someone
you know you can handle butting heads with,
otherwise, those heads might roll.
And that's that, folks.
I hope this list brought some new games onto your radar
for this really weird trying time of social isolation.
I know I've really been relying on these games
to keep me connected with my friends and family.
So I hope that you like some of them too.
There are so many co-op games out there,
I'm sure I missed some.
So let me know down below,
if your favorite game wasn't on this list,
and maybe I'll include it in a future video.
Okay, guys. Stay safe out there.
Stay inside and see you on the next one!
(upbeat music)
Hey, guys! Jared here.
I hope you liked that video.
If you did, leave us a like,
make sure to subscribe, and check out the other videos,
that we got hangin' out on our channel.
They're all pretty fun.
(upbeat music)