You double-check the Wi-Fi, grab your snacks and log in. There are plenty of games that you can play with your friends in the barracks, back home or across the world via the internet. But what if you want an experience that will harken back to the golden age of cooperative play: Couch co-op?
Well, whether your barracks or bunks have a couch or not, these games will let you play with your (physically) closest friends, no internet required.
"Cuphead"
Originally released in 2017, "Cuphead" is getting a little long in the tooth. But the 2D platformer holds up, in part because it deliberately harkens back to the "rubber hose" animation style of the 1920s and '30s.
Players take control of Cuphead or his brother, Mugman, and lead them through six levels of cartoon chaos. The soundtrack is fun, and the gameplay is simple to pick up, even though the game itself is famously challenging. The struggle comes in learning the patterns of levels and bosses, but having two players attempting different strategies throughout makes it easier and more fun.
Since the game can be beaten in about five hours, this is a good one to use to fill up a Friday evening when you don't have duty.
"Portal 2"
"Portal 2's" co-op mode is a bit odd in that the story is different from the main game. It can be played online, but it's also available on local area networks, meaning you and your buddies can connect with ethernet cables.
In co-op, GlaDOS tries to pit you and your friend against one another, but you have to work together to solve the puzzles as they get increasingly complex. Since the game is, at heart, a puzzler, play it with someone that you can work through logic issues with. You'll need a lot of discussion and experimentation to make it through.
"Diablo IV"
The "Diablo" series has become known for great couch co-op, and the top-down action works well with having multiple heroes on-screen at once. Players can definitely hop in with any class duo, slaughtering their way through undead and demon hordes as the players circulate around Sanctuary, but there's even some great synergy between some classes.
If you want to play with maximum versatility so one of your barracks buddies can hop in at any time, pick one of the versatile classes, such as druid, necromancer or, probably the best, sorcerer.
One admin note: Each player needs a Battle.net account, but only one needs a game license. So there will be a little admin when a player joins you for the first time, but at no cost.
"Baldur's Gate 3"
"Baldur's Gate 3" is a hell of a fun, complicated game. It plays out like an entire "Dungeons and Dragons" campaign in a video game. That's just a warning that starting a multiplayer campaign can become a commitment (a usually 40- to 100-hour commitment).
But if you do so, it can really change how the game works in fun ways. Each of the 2-4 players in a "Baldur's Gate 3" co-op campaign can navigate the world in real time, either together with each other or even on opposite sides of the map. So half of your party can be under your control as you talk to the leaders of a city while the other half is actively fighting in a nearby dungeon. Or you can all be in the field talking to an important NPC, with one player actively conversing and the rest voting on the dialogue options.
This allows the campaign to play out in ways that would otherwise be impossible. The game's sex scenes can become either extra awkward or hilarious when you're on the couch with other players, though, so make your romance decisions wisely.
"Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga"
The "Lego" games are often fun chaos. "Lego Star Wars" goes through the story of the nine main episodes of the movie series, from Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan escaping the Trade Federation ship through Rey Skywalker fighting the Emperor. And the story hits a little differently when droids explode into a pile of Lego blocks.
Playing with a friend lets you enjoy the chaos with a friend and laugh together. Most of the game works great in co-op, but the second player can sometimes get a little bored during boss fights. So take turns toppling the big bads, or use that time to let the second player do a bathroom run or refill drinks and snacks.
"Borderlands 3" (or Really Any Title or Expansion from the Series)
As most shooters move past split-screen co-op, it's great that such a fun and well-received series as "Borderlands" sticks with the model of maximum fun for maximum people. Up to four players can play in couch co-op.
Like in "Diablo IV," plenty of class combinations let 2-4 players combine their capabilities. Combine the mystical powers of a siren with a gun-wielding commando or send out a madman with a minigun alongside a robot beastmaster with an aggressive pet.
"Borderlands 3" remains hilarious as you pile characters in.
"Team Sonic Racing"
Like in most racing games, it's fun to sit next to your buddy and trash-talk each other in "Team Sonic Racing." But one of the things that sets "Team Sonic Racing" apart is that the game mechanics explicitly require teamwork, and it's way easier to coordinate plans with another human on the couch than to do it with the game's artificial intelligence (AI).
Each team needs a power type to fight off other racers, a technique type that can drive faster on different terrain types and gather rings, and the speed type that finds the groove and gets around the track. The game has an exhibition mode, a grand prix and even an adventure mode that players can enjoy together.
"F1 23"
"F1 23" is a much more traditional racing game than "Team Sonic Racing." You and your buddies can fly around F1 tracks with strong physics and racing techniques. (Don't expect simulation-level physics, though.)
You can play aggressively against each other or act as teammates, one of you drafting off the other or carefully blocking out other racers from achieving a pass. Two players can even progress through the career mode together, though that mode only works as teammates.
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