10 Best Co-op Indie Games

Key Takeaways

• Phasmophobia offers a scary ghost-hunting experience with unique voice interactions.
• Overcooked provides a fun yet stressful co-op game for culinary chaos.
• Moving Out offers a humorous and team-oriented furniture-moving challenge.

The best experiences you can have in gaming are side by side with your friends. As it turns out, there are thousands of co-op titles on the market, but there are plenty of stinkers you’ll want to avoid.

If you want to make your next co-op session a memorable one, here are our picks for the best Co-op Indie Games.

I’ve tried to include as many genres here as possible, so don’t be upset if a favorite of yours isn’t included. On that note, I’ve only included games where co-op is integral to the experience. Vampire Survivors, for example, is an incredible bullet-heaven game with co-op, but you can absolutely enjoy the title alone.

10

Phasmophobia

A Spooky Experience Not For The Faint-Hearted

At the time of this writing, Phasmophobia‘s console release is just around the corner, so there’s no better time to discuss it.

Phasmophobia is easily the scariest game on this list, putting you and your group of amateur ghost hunters to the ultimate test.

Your goal is to visit haunted locations and use equipment to determine what entity is present. You’ll need puzzle-solving, detective skills, and nerves of steel.

Phasmophobia also monitors your voice to the point where you can even ask the entity questions. It’s unique, immersive, and terrifying.

There’s nothing else quite like this on the market, and it’s an easy recommendation for any group brave enough to play.

9

Overcooked

It’s Raw!

Overcooked is a little stressful for my tastes, but it’s a stellar co-op party game.

You and your buddies are in charge of a busy kitchen, and communication and quick thinking are essential to keep the customers happy.

Early levels are simple affairs where soups are the name of the game. Later, you’ll make custom burgers against the clock, managing hazards like fires, rats, and even your fellow chefs.

Overcooked has a savage difficulty curve and is fun with the right group.

If you’re interested, go with the original first. Overcooked 2 is a worthy sequel but quickly dials up the difficulty, so you’ll want to be a culinary master before trying it.

8

Moving Out

If Only It Was This Fun In Real Life

If you like the idea of a party game, but Overcooked sounds too chaotic, Moving Out may be just what you’re after.

Your objective in Moving Out is to transport furniture to a moving van as fast as possible. Locales range from tiny bungalows to factories, and your teamwork skills will be tested as many items can’t be moved without help.

Moving Out‘s ridiculous characters and humor mean there’s never a dull moment, and the gameplay is just as tight and responsive as Overcooked.

There’s also a deceptive amount of content with bonus missions. Players can even try a “Moving In” mode where you do everything in reverse!

7

Content Warning

Risk It All To Become a YouTube Star

Content Warning is a ludicrous but hilarious co-op game where you and your buddies try to make viral YouTube videos.

How do you achieve this? Well, there just happens to be a haunted realm packed full of monsters under the garden. Go in there, record your buddies being goofballs, and return with that golden footage.

Content Warning is a game where your group needs to embrace the silliness. Your voices are recorded, and the game figures out highlights for your videos based on your sound and actions.

It’s a unique concept with a satisfying gameplay loop. Better videos make more money, and you can spend your earnings on equipment to make your footage even better.

You can even buy a selfie stick! I’m dead serious.

6

Stardew Valley

A Timeless Masterpiece

It almost feels like a moot point to put Stardew Valley on the list, but it’s easily one of the best co-op experiences in the indie space.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Stardew Valley is a relaxing farming sim offering everything from crops and animal husbandry to exploration and combat.

Everything you could possibly want from the genre is here. You can focus on restoring the nearby town or invest in your farm to make mountains of cash.

You can even romance one of several village bachelors and get married. Stardew Valley is a phenomenal single-player experience, but it also has seamless co-op integration.

A group of you can share a farm, and all the mechanics I’ve mentioned can be enjoyed with friends. You can even marry your co-op partner!

If you want a game where you can lose hundreds of hours together, you can’t do much better than Stardew Valley. When you eventually finish all the official content, there are some incredible mods you can explore.

5

Core Keeper

I Hope You Brought A Torch

Core Keeper has finally been released in its 1.0 state, so now is the perfect time to discuss it.

Core Keeper is a survival crafting game set in a beautiful but perilous subterranean world. There’s a focus on combat, but you can do anything from building a village to exploring the caves for rare loot and weapons.

Survival Crafting games have a reputation for lacking substance, but that’s not an issue here. There’s a rewarding progression loop, and each boss you defeat unlocks new biomes to explore.

Spelunking is always better with a friend, and Core Keeper offers a flawless drop-in/drop-out co-op system. This means you can play on multiple worlds with the same character.

Core Keeper also has some Terraria crossover content, which fans will recognize.

4

Raft

Be Careful, Or You’ll Be Shark Food

Raft is a Survival Crafting game set in a world where most of the land is underwater. As the name implies, you’re relegated to a tiny raft but can thrive and survive with the right crew.

There are enough customization options to make some incredible floating masterpieces. The story is solid, and there’s an overarching mystery your team is working to solve.

Raft is pretty heavy on genre tropes like thirst and hunger, which may be a turn-off for some players. If you don’t mind resource management, Raft is an unforgettable co-op game that your buddies will chat about long after you switch it off.

3

Project Zomboid

It’s Not About “If” You’ll Die; It’s When

I wanted to include an experience on this list for hardcore players, and nothing else fits that profile quite like Project Zomboid.

Project Zomboid is a relentlessly difficult survival sim that feels sadistically unfair as a new player. If you’re patient enough to stick with it, the gameplay quickly turns from frustrating to rewarding.

Your goal is simply to survive, but I assure you, that won’t happen. Death is inevitable, but you’ll last a little longer each time you fall to the Zombie horde.

The fun in Project Zomboid is lasting as long as you can against all odds, and the unbelievable situations you and your friends will end up in. There are countless complex systems, and no two sessions play out the same.

Project Zomboid isn’t for the faint-hearted, and it’s the only game on this list I’d recommend researching before playing. There’s a good reason why the game has held an “Overwhelmingly Positive” score on Steam for years, but it’s not for everyone.

2

Viscera Cleanup Detail

This Shouldn’t Be Fun

Viscera is a unique title that allows you to play as the cleanup crew in various grizzly murder scenes. Your goal is to make the area spotless, so it’s time to get your hands dirty.

The gameplay loop is simple, and it takes a coordinated effort to clear areas of bullet casings, blood spatters, and body parts. Stages are wonderfully varied and contain everything from Yakuza crime scenes to a Spaceship that looks suspiciously like the Event Horizon.

Viscera Cleanup Detail shows its age more than most other titles on this list, but I can’t stop playing it. If you’re with a relaxed group who don’t mind a bit of mild trolling, there’s a lot of fun to be had, and it’s ideal for a short evening session.

1

Gunfire Reborn

A Superb Roguelite Co-op Shooter

Roguelites are typically solo affairs with a co-op mode tacked on. Gunfire Reborn is one of the few titles in the genre that’s made for teamplay.

The gameplay is similar to that of a typical fantasy shooter, and each character has unique abilities. As Gunfire Reborn is a roguelite, levels are procedurally generated, and you can upgrade your stats after each run.

You’re expected to die many times before you finish your first run, and the satisfaction comes from getting a little further on each attempt.

Gunfire Reborn has nailed the character designs, and chasing the next upgrade or unlock quickly becomes addictive.

The Developers are constantly adding new content to the game, and it’s grown tremendously since its release in 2021.