Playing games alone can feel lonely after a long time. Playing competitive games can get your blood pumping, but it can also get your blood moving Boiling.

This is where cooperative games come in.

It can be hard to find good co-op games, but a good game can solidify itself as a regular activity with your group, or even be a way to make new friends if you start diving into the community.

They require communication and focus, but they also get through the frustration of getting run over by the same team for 45 minutes.

We're showing you a collection of killer co-op games released in 2024. They range from top hack'n'slash to tree-hole to ship management, and they're all amazing.

Editor's Note: All games on this list are traditional "Web2" games without cryptocurrency or blockchain integration. But you might enjoy it anyway!

Vacuum crew

Platform: PC

Void Crew puts you and up to three other players aboard a spaceship, where they are tasked with going on a journey, undertaking missions, and eventually fighting a boss.

On board your ship, you'll have to decide on the placement of weapons and facilities, manage your engines and power consumption, defend the ship, and strap on a jetpack to venture out into the darkness of space to repair your boat and complete missions.

When you have a crew of four, this game turns into something special. FTL-style task nodes allow you to keep things moving with little downtime between tasks. Of course, there's always the risk of emerging from your empty tunnel and being ambushed by AI enemies.

Things can start out very simple, but in the end, your entire team will be working overtime to stay on task. There's a lot of fun to be had here, especially if you have this crew.

surrounded

Platform: PC (PS5 + Xbox coming soon)

Survival crafting games can be expensive, but they are often a great source of cooperative play. Shrouded is in early access but already offers a lot to do.

The basic mechanics are pretty standard: collect resources, build, upgrade, and fight enemies. However, the game focuses on entertaining combat and offers challenging but rewarding boss battles. Traversing is also fun, as you'll eventually get gliders and a grappling hook.

One other notable feature is the way Enshrouded handles construction. The game is smart about how it combines textures, meaning that not only can you place anything where you want, but the game will help you make it look good.

Path of exile 2

Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series

So you're tired of Diablo. This is where Path of Exile comes in. The first PoE is still alive and well with a thriving community, but the new Path of Exile 2 is here in Early Access with improved visuals, a new campaign, cross-play and shared progression.

If you're familiar with Diablo, it will look very familiar at first glance. There are new classes, and the class progression system is as frighteningly huge as ever, with 1,500 nodes to put skill points into. You can wing it, or you can use the building guide to help you get the right character.

While there is a single-player mode, of course, playing co-op with a friend or group of friends is where the game shines.

Hell Divers 2

Platforms: PS5, PC

It would be foolish to talk about 2024 co-op games without mentioning Helldivers.

Helldivers 2 picked up two awards for the game recently, including Best Multiplayer Game, and has been a huge success in the first half of 2024, thanks to a crucial combination of truly amazing explosions, a level of hilarious sarcasm that encouraged everyone to get in together, and of course co-op. killer.

If you haven't played this game and you have a PC or PlayStation 5, what are you doing here? It's time to defend managed democracy and keep Super Earth thriving.

Finals

Platforms: PC, PS5/PS4, Xbox Series

While most of this list eschews PvP gameplay, we wanted to get at least one here — and The Finals, a free-to-play competitive shooter, is a great place to start.

In teams of three or five players, depending on the mode, you'll do things like control points and compete for points. Instead of pretending to be the real world, The Finals puts you in a traditional virtual environment; When you die, you turn into a bunch of cubes that fall to the ground.

But the biggest advantage here is the massive destruction. You can tear up levels with grenades, mines and exploding tanks, destroy entire buildings and completely change the landscape of some levels when the match is over. As a PVP game, things can get pretty sweaty, but with two friends, it can be a lot of fun.

The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria

Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series

The biggest draw of Return to Moria is of course the fact that it's set in Middle-earth.

In this survival crafting game, you and up to seven other players take on the role of dwarves summoned to Moria to reclaim a Dwarven ancestral home.

You will explore, collect, and build while also facing the dangers of a giant cave system that has been abandoned for years. It's a great addition to any co-op roster.

Modified by Sebastian Sinclair