Whether you’re someone who plays a lot of highly competitive live service multiplayer,dabbles in Soulsborne co-op, or hasendured the heat of the kitchen in games like Overcooked, you’ll know that co-op gaming can be pretty stressful.
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At times, it can demand near-flawless communication, immaculate execution of a well-made plan, and even then, you still might get a fail screen and be forced to do it all over again. Which inevitably leads to friendships being tested to their limit.
But, it doesn’t have to be that way, as there are a number of co-op experiences that offer oodles of fun while also providing a much more chill, straightforward setup that won’t have you pointing fingers or roaring the house down.
Coincidentally, a lot of these chill co-op games can be found on the PS Plus Catalog, so we’ll be sharing a few great options that you and a friend should make use of sometime soon.
One Step At A Time
We kick things off with a robotic romp that is so silly, comical, and cute that it’s almost impossible to take it seriously enough to get worked up about.
Biped is part of the family of gamesthat offer intentionally clunky controls, like Surgeon Simulator or Octodad: Dadliest Catch, asking the player to independently control each limb of a bipedal robot to get through each stage.
It starts out simple, as you’ll be tasked with learning to walk, skate, and grab things. But before long, you’ll need to time each step perfectly to get across gaps, work contraptions, and much more.
It’s a game that requires teamwork to make the dream work, but critically, it’s a game with no hard fail states and a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously. So, in short, it’s just plain fun and well worth checking out with a partner.
9Cat Quest 2
RPGs For Dummies
Cat Quest II
If someone ever asks me what thebest RPG for complete beginnersis, I mention the Cat Quest series without hesitation, as it is all the staples of a classic RPG boiled down to their simplest form to make things super accessible.
That makes progression satisfying; it makes equipment management a cinch, and combat is cathartic without ever getting all that complex. But, what’s best of all is that you can take a pal along for the ride from start to end.
The second game in the series is packed with charm, offering lots of fun side quests to complete and a never-ending stream of animal-based puns that are as enjoyable as they are cringeworthy.
There isn’t a better way to show a complete RPG novice the ropes, so if you want an RPG partner to assist you when playing complex games like Baldur’s Gate 3, Cat Quest is probably the first rung on the ladder.
8Cult of the Lamb
Flock To This One
Cult of the Lamb
While it may not have begun life as a couch co-op affair, Cult of the Lamb has evolved since its release, allowing potential players to run their cult in tandem with their chosen partner as they serve up poop sandwiches between hack-and-slash crusades.
While you might think that the management aspect of this title would have the potential to get very stressful indeed, when you have a partner alongside you, it’s much less likely you’ll get overwhelmed, as you can divide and conquer.
Plus, you’ll gain access to co-op exclusive relics and tarots that will maketaking down the bosses out in the wildeven easier than if you went it alone. Essentially, co-op is the definitive way toplay this taboo indietitle these days.
Sure, if you were one of the disciples in the flock, this would be a really stressful time. But, thankfully, it’s a pretty chill experience when you’re the one pulling the strings, manipulating, deceiving, and dictating.
Hollywood Undead
Dead Island 2
I know what you’re thinking. A game about a zombie apocalypse with endless violence, gore, mutilation, and pseudo-horror. What’s low-stress about that?
Well, here’s the thing. Dead Island 2 may be a zombie thriller, but it’s also one that doesn’t take itself all that seriously, and that surreal silliness only amplifies in co-op.
As you work your way through Hell-A stomping on zombie heads, drop-kicking undead nasties, and ticking off side-quests that marry together the surreal culture of LA with the alien concept of a zombie outbreak, you’ll come to find that there’s nothing scary about this situation provided you have a sturdy melee weapon to hand.
Sure, the game has its moments where you’ll need to keep your wits about you, but the vast majority of the experience is camp, comedic co-op fun with plenty of cathartic combat to enjoy.
6Golf With Your Friends
It’s All In The Hips
Golf With Your Friends
If you’re on the final hole while playing the Masters and you need to sink a tough putt to win your green blazer, I can understand that might be a very stressful ordeal. But when playing Golf With Your Friends, the stakes are lower, chaos is rife, and fun is the primary objective.
Golf With Your Friends is an accessible and fun mini-golf format that challenges you to complete courses as quickly as possible while also minimizing strokes. However, that’s easier said than done.
The courses can get pretty wacky, fellow players might go out of their way to smack your ball off course, and naturally, you might be in an unassailable lead only to crumble on a tricky hole.
It’s all the fun of golf without the need for a caddy, stuffy clothes, or the need to work on your swing. So gather a few pals, and hit the green.
All Bark & No Bite
If Biped was something that excited you, then we reckon you’ll get a real kick out of this action-adventure puzzler, too.
Phogs is essentially a puzzle game that riffs on the idea made famous by the Nickelodeon staple, CatDog. Only in this case, it’s more like DogDog, as you’ll control Siamese dogs that work independently to solve puzzles, platform, and cause mischief.
As you’re literally conjoined together,you’ll need to communicate well with your partner to progress, as there’s no option to run on ahead and blitz things independently. You need each other to get through this zany world.
But thankfully, everything you’ll be tasked to do is fun rather than frustrating, and even if your partner doesn’t always comply, this usually leads to equally enjoyable and stupid outcomes.
Plus, you get to choose your own custom hats, which is worth the price of admission alone in my opinion.
4Sackboy: A Big Adventure
Don’tSackThis One Off
Sackboy: A Big Adventure
I’ve always been a little at odds with calling the LittleBigPlanet series a low-stress game because to get the most out of games in the series, you need to really embrace the DIY approach, and that personally stresses the heck out of me.
However, you’ll find none of that in Sackboy: A Big Adventure, which offers all the quirkiness and charm of the LittleBigPlanet series, but this time with bespoke levels and refined co-op platforming at the heart of the experience.
Essentially, it feels like if LittleBigPlanet was pivoted into the LEGO game series, offering collect-a-thon fun, accessible gameplay, and outstanding level design, but with just enough challenge to keep you on your toes.
It can be played in short bursts, or you may binge through the levels like my wife and I did, routinely changing our costumes as we went. It’s a gorgeous, wacky, low-stress title, and one of the best PlayStation exclusives in the catalog today.
3TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge
Heroes In A Half Shell
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
While I’ve never been a huge fan of games like Streets of Rage or Double Dragon, I must admit that thanks to the modern assortment of games that have come courtesy of Dotemu, I’m beginning to change my tune.
Shredder’s Revenge was one of the games that has helped me develop a love for these classic-inspired beat-em-ups, and it’s perhaps down to the fact that these games are fun for just about all skill levels.
I don’t consider myself skilled at these games, but through some mindful button-mashing, even the most inexperienced novice can contribute on screen and kick some butt, which is why these games are less akin to methodical fighters and more in line with high-octane hack-and-slashers.
This TMNT outing is probably the best game of this ilk on the market at the moment, at least until Absolum orMARVEL: Cosmic Invasion comes around.So, if you want to enjoy some arcade-inspired bliss but don’t want to work hard to learn combos, then this is the game for you.
2Pile Up! Box By Box
Stack ‘Em High
Pile Up! Box by Box
There’s nothing that screams low-stress more than a family-friendly platformer, and they don’t come much cuter than Pile Up! Box By Box.
It’s a box-based bonanza where you and three other boxy characters can work through various stages, stacking each other and using the world around you to solve fun puzzles and collect goodies as you go.
Alongside this, you have a wealth of fun mini-games to partake in, a litany of custom box designs to try out, and a surprising amount of replayability due to the freedom players have to solve puzzles as they choose.
It sounds cliche, but it is a game for all the family, that caters to all skill levels and offers good clean fun for all. You know, until you lose a mini-game and your competitive side takes over.
1Untitled Goose Game
Untitled Goose Game
You know what really takes the stress out of a co-op experience? When the chaos and the mayhem isn’t happening to you, but rather, is being caused by you, a silly goose.
Much like Cult of the Lamb, Untitled Goose Game didn’t start off as a co-op experience, but with later updates, the title allowed two geese to terrorize the quaint Shropshire village that acts as the setting for this plucky indie.
There’s something even more manic about having another rambunctious bird running around alongside you, stealing stuff, giving chase to the locals, and honking with careless abandon.
It’s a puzzle game at heart, but it’s the sandbox aspect of this game that will resonate with most. So, partner up to make a gander and cause pandemonium on a scale that this village has never witnessed before.
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