Sunday, December 09, 2018

2019 PC Coop Games

Welcome the definitive listing of all the cooperative oriented PC video games for 2019!
This list will be continuously updated throughout the year.

Coop list for a different year 

The games on this list, must meet the following criteria:

  • PvE - Player vs Environment
  • Online, split screens limited
  • Available/announced for PC
  • Involve 2 or more human players
  • Players must work along a progressive storyline, campaign, or various goals
  • Generic RTS Skirmishes and Team based game types like CTF and Deathmatch are not included
  • No MMOs (game must have a conclusion or set goal)
  • Greenlight & Early Access games are generally not listed unless intent for release is stated
  • I'll be subjective with Survival/Horde modes as the genera has matured a bit. However, most are slapped-on after thoughts and not list worthy.
Shooter

World War Z - 4 player
Metacritic - 72 ]
L4D gameplay with more hordes, set in multi locations around the world. 

Borderlands 3 - 4 player
Metacritic - 85 ]
Praised for being more of the same.  On the plus side, it also means not embracing the micro-transaction, loot box chasing, markets of recent dissent.

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries - 4 player
Metacritic - 73 ]
 The king of the great Mech games has a release date. Its worst enemy is its hype and legacy.   Coop missions, and a committed developer that has trust issues with its community. 

Gears of War 5
Metacritic - 82 ]
Jimmy, do you like gladiator movies? Burly people folk with bro-emotions shoot bug alien things.multi gameplay options.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood - 2 player
Metacritic - 70 ]
Play as the daughters of the previous protagonist.

Remnant: From the Ashes - 4 player
Metacritic - 78 ]
Third-person co-op “survival-action” shooter.  Compared a bit to Warframe.

Rico - 4 player
Metacritic - 56 ]
Payday like gameplay to a buddy cop 80s movie.

Ghost Recon Breakpoint - 4 player 
Metacritic - 57 ]
Sequel to GR: Wildlands

RPG

Ashen
Metacritic - 82 ]
Dark souls genera with a more minimal style..

Dauntless - 4 player 

Metacritic - 79 ]
action RPG, Compatible to Monster Hunter, with a difficulty spike like Dark Souls.  Its free to play, so this could translate to grind fest.

Strategy

AI War 2
Metacritic - 81 ]
Millions of bits floating around the screen with the intent to remove humanity. AI War is the bread and butter of this indie dev.  Revisiting that which worked well.

Conan Unconquered - 2 player
Metacritic - 62 ]
 This RTS may lean more toward wave of enemies, ideal for the turtleing gamer.  From makers of Grey Goo and Empires of War.

Men Of War: Assault Squad 2 – Cold War
Metacritic - 41 ]
Ultra granular war sim takes on the cold war US v Soviet battlefield.

We were here Together - 2 player
Metacritic - 78 ]
Sharing clues and solving puzzles. Adventuring escape room theme, 3rd in series.

Simulator

Team Sonic Racing
Metacritic - 73 ]
In spirit to the Sonic Transformation Racing game, this update dumps the Transforming, and adds coop "collaborative" racing.

The Dark Pictures - Men of Medan
Metacritic - 76 ]
A bit more of a interactive horror movie, choose your own adventure then actual game.  If you wanted a coop Telltale game, this will be your best bet. 

Action

The Blackout Club - 4 player
Metacritic - 64 ]
The the BioShock 2 creative director.  Inspired by modern teen horror movies.  Procedural-generated survival Horror, part stealth, part shooter.

Hot Lava - 2 player
Mirrors edge like 1st person parkor gameplay, based on the child game where you can not touch the floor.  From developers of Don't Starve.

Astroneer - 2 player
Metacritic - 71 ]
Planet hopping survival game, focused on exploration, and lighter on the survival.

We Need to Go Deeper - 4 player
This game likely set records for longest in early release. Rougelike, Verne-inspired undersea universe. You and your crew must embark on many voyages into a mysterious undersea trench known as The Living Infinite.

Xenoraptor - fast action top down shooter - 8 player 
Take control of a cyberdragon and annihilate swarms of rocket propelled chainsaws. Twitchy seizure  shooter with lots of flashy nonsense.

Contra: Rogue Corps - 4 player 
Metacritic - 40 ]

2019 Summary

 8 Shooters avg 72.  A 4 point decrease.

4 Strategies avg, avg 66.
2 RPGs, avg 85.
.
The Winners



MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries
We've waited a long time for MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, glad they took their time.


Notables

Play'n it safe
Titles Borderlands 3, Gears of War 5 churn out the same as before, reviews and sales indicate the love for more of the same.  Innovation fails to have big payoff.  There were some attempts  to do something different, and credit is due to them:  Blackout Club, We were here Together, Dark Pictures were attempts that had little payoff in the end.


Dark Soul clones
Both RPG coops were based on Dark Souls inspirations.

The Losers

Brand killers
Certain elements just don't belong in certain titles, see the following...

Wolfenstein: Youngblood
Brand don't need coop to kill a Nazi.
 
Ghost Recon Breakpoint
 The GR series should be about Tactical and not grind an loot.  Your not a ghost, doing recon, you're one of many in FarCry. The original this was based on, GR: Wastelands, was not a hit because this doesn't work.  Should not have been tried again as its bad for the brand.
 

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