We've all been there. It's 5pm and you have sweaty palms, weak knees and heavy arms. Your uncle's buckle lies loose, spent and broken. With turkey stuffed deep in your stomach and football slowly playing on prime time television, you desperately look around for something to make you think you could have lived without that second slice of pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving dinner is over, but its presence lingers in more ways than one. So, let's talk cooperative games.
If you're in a massive group primarily made up of non-gamers, you should go the party route this Thanksgiving; however, if it's just you and a few players, then a more traditional co-op title might be a better choice. Heck, you can even jump online and join forces with a few friends and escape your family in the process. Whatever works for you.
Overcooked! 2
Thanksgiving dinner is full of cooperative circle
The Overcooked games are fantastic cooperative experiences suitable for seemingly all circumstances, but especially suitable for Thanksgiving night. Most of the day is spent preparing meals in the kitchen, so returning to one of them to break a food coma adds an element of synergy. For the uninitiated, these games have you running a restaurant kitchen where you have to complete orders while (ideally) smoothly coordinating with your fellow chefs.
The 8 Most Fun Local Co-op Games, Ranked
Players who want good, old-fashioned local co-op fun will find a lot to love in the following games.
Even when everyone is on high alert, Overcooked sessions can quickly turn into a circus while still being completely dependent on player performance. If there are mostly sleepy cooks in the kitchen, the silliness of the games tends to be maximized, making the game an absolutely hilarious explosion of screaming, laughing and moaning. It's great fun.
Overcooked! All you can eat has both games in the series and Overcooked! 2 is better than its predecessor.
Castle Crashers Remade
Save the princesses to the chorus of thanksgiving belches and farts
Beat 'em up they are perfect cooperative gamesbut most of them are too punishing to be viable after Thanksgiving dinner. Shredder's Revenge it could work, but players would have to familiarize themselves with its basic mechanics. Now, Castle Crashers can definitely be a rewarding skill-based experience, especially if you want to go far in the campaign…however, it also welcomes button mashers who crave (somewhat) mindless romps full of pretty colors and over-the-top animations.
The Behemoth takes the genre down to its core basics and simplifies them in a way that creates an accessible yet still addictive loop. Castle Crashers contains a few RPG mechanics, but they are not really important in this case. Just fire up the remaster, lay out a few controllers, and the sleepy knight makes his way through a living adventure.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
End a wonderful Thanksgiving with a touch of cooperative Mario Magic
Honestly, you can choose Mario games, as many of them are local multiplayer staples. Mario Kart and Mario Party they're obvious PvP candidates and the like Luigi's Mansion 3 brings an easy co-op campaign. However, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the best modern co-op game in the franchise and its core gameplay is so traditional Mario that almost everyone will be able to quickly find their groove.
The 7 best co-op games that are instantly fun, rated
These co-op games throw players right into the action and make it all the more fun.
The stages are generally gorgeous, low-stakes, and fairly easy, while still requiring players to really pay attention to what they're doing. Miracle's feature is co-op, as it turns good solo stages into great ones that can be messy at times. Honestly, I prefer 2 player co-op because 4 players can be a little much, but “a little too much” is like the cornerstone of Thanksgiving.
Human fall flat
The closest thing to a Thanksgiving dinner simulator
“Relatable” is not a term many would use to describe it Human fall flatbut that fits the situation. After all, what better represents a food coma than a group of Bobs staggering around awkwardly as if their bodily balance has been shaken to its core?
The physical puzzle-platformer can be quite challenging if you're really trying to complete the level's tasks, but Human fall flat is actively improving when everyone is at their uncoordinated worst. Sessions are almost always pressure-free, and the mechanics are straightforward enough that you can still get things done even as you slowly advance into Never Never Land.
Stardew Valley
The best co-op game if you want to relax and put Thanksgiving behind you
Stardew Valley can be the best game since Thanksgiving for solo and cooperative players. The farming sim now supports local multiplayer, so you can technically play with family members; However, let's be real, most people opt for online co-op. So you can schedule a session with a few friends who will also be looking for a way to relax after a long and tiring day.
Stardew Valley it offers endless things that have depth but are second nature to most gamers these days, which is exactly what you want when you don't want anything mentally demanding but still want to be productive. Also, Stardew ValleyThe fall aesthetic just screams “Thanksgiving.”
The best 6 player co-op games
Larger groups of players who get together often struggle to find great games to play together, but there are some excellent options out there.
