10 Co-Op Games That Come With a Catch

If you're here, you've played at least one video game in your lifetime. Even if it was just one, I'm willing to bet that it was with a friend. I'm also willing to double-down on that game featuring some kind of cooperative play. If it somehow wasn't, then wow, you're missing out. Games are always better with friends.

Everyone loves a co-op game. Something we've all said when thinking about our favorite single-player experiences is "man, if only this game had co-op." Co-op is a major plus for a lot of games when picking them out on the shelves, no matter if you're playing with friends, family, or your friend group online.

Not every game that features co-op is perfect, though. Some games are full of glitches, some games aren't balanced in a way that's fair, and some games are unashamed at how much of it is designed for one player and the rest of the team is just here for the ride. Sometimes games don't fit into black-and-white statements on quality, after all.

10 Resident Evil 6

With an Asterisk Attached

Don't get your hopes up that this list will have a ton of hilariously bad games on it because I started with Resident Evil 6. It's not here because of its reputation or divisive stance among general series fans. It's here for its co-op elements, which makes the game just a bit better than it would be on its own. Resident Evil with friends is fun, and Resident Evil 6 more or less gives plenty of content to make your way through with a buddy.

There's one mode in RE6 that isn't in co-op, though, but it can be played like it is. Ada Wong's side of Resident Evil 6 is designed for single-player only, but if you're in co-op, you can have a friend join in. They'll just stand there. And do nothing. It's pretty hilarious, and I kind of recommend giving it a go if you want to hang out with a friend while they play, and you've got to go cook dinner or something.

9 Shadow the Hedgehog

A Classic Sonic Staple in the Most Unfitting Place

In terms of giving players easy couch co-op that still prioritizes player 1's experience, the Sonic series has been a good go-to since 1992. The Sega Genesis titles let players control Tails if there was a second controller plugged in, and they'd just have to keep up with the person playing Sonic. Out of all the games that used this feature, I doubt you knew that Shadow the Hedgehog was one of them.

Yes, if you plug in a second controller while playing Shadow the Hedgehog, your friend can control the character attached to the mission you're on. Well. If there is one. Any neutral paths, you're on your own. Dark Missions are often through Doom's Eye, so all your partner can do is float around. When controlling Sonic's friends (and Maria in Shadow's PTSD flashbacks), you can attack enemies, but the camera is still focused on Shadow. Going too far warps you right back to him. It's a bizarre way to play co-op, but it's fun all the same.

8 The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

Kooloo-Limpah!

There are plenty of iconic games that offer a co-op mode that has either been lost to time or just not talked about much. Considering I didn't even know about the way The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker includes co-op until it was too late to play it myself, I feel like a lot of us forgot this was an option. Honestly, it's for the best.

In Wind Waker, you could get an item called the Tingle Tuner. It was suspiciously shaped like a Game Boy Advance, because that's what "player 2" would have to use a GBA and the Link Cable to interact with Wind Waker. They could place icons on the map they had, and they'd show in real-time on the screen in Wind Waker. They could direct the player, read off hints in dungeons, and drop bombs. Overall, that's pretty much it. It's kind of a waste of a co-op mode, if you ask me.

7 Aliens: Colonial Marines

So Bad, It's Good

Let's start with the catch on this one. Aliens: Colonial Marines isn't very good. It was kind of the laughingstock among those that were playing it and looking forward to it for a while. There are bugs and technical issues galore that undermine the whole experience, which has typically left more players to make fun of it than being scared of the literal Xenomorphs around them.

If you're one of the people who ended up coming away from Aliens: Colonial Marines with a smile on your face through making fun of what you saw, then I've got good news for you. Colonial Marines has a co-op mode that lets you experience the entire game with a friend by your side. There are still plenty of bugs and the way co-op is implemented can be a bit awkward in a funny way, but experiencing it together heightens it more than going through it alone. It's still not what you'd want a game like this to be, though. Oh well.

6 Overcooked! All You Can Eat

Too Little Cooks in Internet Kitchens

On the other side of the co-op spectrum from the game above, Overcooked is a fairly well-respected and popular multiplayer game. You work together to run across the map to gather and cook ingredients, then serve the resulting meal. The chaos that comes from this game is something everyone should try at least once. Too bad it isn't that easy, though.

If you play local co-op, then Overcooked! All You Can Eat is a great choice because it features all the levels of Overcooked and its sequel with a bunch DLC to go with it all. If you're looking to play online, though, you might be better off with Overcooked 2, which is frustrating. Overcooked! All You Can Eat has really unstable servers, and it's the only way to play the original levels online. Your mileage may vary, but it's sad that these great games are tricky to navigate for long-distance players.

5 Predator: Hunting Grounds

Get Your Power Trip Elsewhere

You know, the fact that I could fit two movie franchise tie-in games on this list really makes for a good argument that the old tie-in games haven't gone anywhere. At least, they haven't left the co-op department. Predator: Hunting Grounds is an asymetrical multiplayer game where you can either be on a team of special agents or you can play as the titular Predator. The goal of the agents is to complete their one-button tasks while the Predator slowly tries to pick them off one by one. Kind of like Among Us, when you think about it.

Sadly, for those who want to play as the famous alien trophy hunter, Predator: Hunting Grounds is incredibly poorly balanced. The only strategy the Predator has in this game is to genuinely kill the team off one by one. If they all stick together, like good teammates will, they can easily gun down the Predator. What a way to go.

4 Super Mario Galaxy

Interactive-ish

Super Mario Galaxy is one of the most stunning Mario games. Being able to explore so many distinct planets with its own unique and challenging platforming is timelessly charming and fun for anyone. If you haven't played Super Mario Galaxy somehow, I highly recommend you do. You can even share it with a second player through couch co-op. No, they don't get to play as Luigi. A partner can waggle the Wii Remote and press buttons to shoot out Star Bits to interact with stuff. And that's it.

That really is it. For how grand Super Mario Galaxy is as one of the best Mario games ever, the co-op option is a bit lackluster. Though, if I can be a bit biased, my mom played Super Mario Galaxy with me through this mode during one of the darkest times in my life as a teen. She enjoyed it because she could take a backseat when most action games confuse her. So, because of those times, I can understand why lesser co-op modes like this can be important, even if they aren't what you might wish they'd be in a perfect world.

3 Sonic Superstars

The Real Superstar Here is Player 1

So, remember how I said Shadow the Hedgehog kept old-school Sonic co-op? When it comes to the newest Classic Sonic game, Sonic Superstars, you'd expect the developers to keep the co-op, right? Well, it's on this list, so they did. The problem is, though, it doesn't work like you'd expect. Despite Sonic Superstars really advertising its cooperative play down to the players being the "superstars" in the title, Superstars is designed like a single-player game that threw co-op at the last minute. It clearly isn't meant to be that, though.

Now, there are a few interesting features, like how the game will follow whoever stays on screen, even when that isn't Player 1. If one player is faster than everyone else, the camera will typically follow them, and everyone else can rejoin and be teleported to them with a simple button press. Tails' days of being lost off the side of the screen are over. This doesn't bode well when everyone but Player 1 can be straight-up killed by later bosses, leaving Player 1 to save the day and steal the glory.

It explains why online co-op isn't available for this game. Imagine the mayhem with that.

2 Tales of Zestiria

It's Okay to Keep Three Other Players in Your Pocket

I know that a lot of Tales of fans don't take too kindly to Tales of Zestiria. Plenty of people, even a few critics, felt that the story isn't as developed halfway through the game. The camera in battles can decide to stab you in the back and turn your entire view of things around at any given moment. There are a lot of problems, but hey. It was my first Tales of game, so naturally I had to drag my partner into it with me. After experiencing it by ourselves when we were long-distance, we had to have a co-op run when we finally moved in together.

The idea of being able to play through Zestiria as Sorey and Mikleo together is an awesome concept. Too bad it's got its own issues. Whoever is Player 1 is the only one who can explore the overworld. The other players, and Zestiria allows the entire party to be used in co-op, can only join in during battle. That's it.

My poor partner, who consistently plays as Seraph Mikleo, has to deal with me stealing him to Armatize. They can't do anything when Armatized because I take control. The game will also switch which Seraph they're using without warning. They're not even free of the risk of losing their autonomy if they stick with Rose because the CPU can waste the Blast Gauge or even use Mikleo to Armatize whenever they feel like.

We still have fun with it because we like Zestiria. But if this is something a group of friends bought the game for, then god help them.

1 Ico

Honestly, What is the Point?

Ico is one of many games by iconic developer Fumito Ueda. If Ico and Ueda's names don't ring any bells, you might remember him from Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian. Neither of those games aren't co-op in the slightest, but Ico actually has a co-op mode hidden away in it.

It's hidden away as a post-game reward. After beating the game, you can start it again and allow a second player to control Yorda. This would've been great. You'd be able to bring in a friend on this emotional journey in a way where you can literally and figuratively hold their hand. Except it's another co-op mode where the second player can't do anything but move around, turning this reward into a waste of time.