Top 10 Best Couch Games for PC

Typically, the practice of peeking at other people’s screens is frowned upon: not in Screencheat, however. “Screencheat” is structurally very familiar as competitive shooters go, given that it involves multiple people running around colourful maps and trying to gun one another down. Where things get interesting is in the details – each player character is invisible and the game is always played split-screen, requiring you to glance at other screens to get the drop on opponents. If that weren’t enough to draw you in, the challenge presented by the game’s one-shot weapons and unique modes might do the trick.

Picking up 25 years after the ending to “Gears of War 3”, this instalment keeps the series’ approach to cooperative cover-shooting action alive. Two local players can run through the campaign of “Gears of War 4” together, crossing paths with a few familiar faces while experiencing the now storm-ridden world of Sera. A lot of the old standbys remain – popping from cover to cover, blasting and slicing through foes – but with new additions like special executions and increasingly deadly weather conditions to keep things interesting. Basically, it’s good times for all involved.

Talk about diffusing tension, right? There’s a lot of fun to be had with the nerve-wracking experience that is “Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes”. Level by level, the player must solve various intricate puzzles that appear on the sides of a randomly generated suitcase bomb, in order to shut it off. Meanwhile, a second person is expected to aid their friend by reading from the game’s frighteningly extensive manual and guiding the disarmament process. The chaotic mess that is shouting and interpreting instructions in this game has proven, time and again, to be immensely entertaining and hilarious. And really, what good is friendship if you can’t test it with the threat of a virtual bomb going off?

A fantasy adventure with a twist. Building on the template set by the original “Trine”, this 2011 sequel once more puts gamers in command of a trio of archetypal characters and sends them forth on a noble quest. Up to three people at a time can play as a wizard, a thief and a knight through beautifully realized stages littered with environmental puzzles to solve and enemies to battle. “Trine 2” doesn’t lack for ways to engage, be it through fairy-tale-inspired art design, plentiful combat challenges, or surprisingly nuanced themes of powerful magic and the bonds of family.

Sometimes, simplicity is best when you need to bring a party together. Enter “TowerFall: Ascension”, a multiplayer combat game ported over to various systems after its initial launch on the Ouya console. “Ascension” pits the player and their friends against one another in 2D fantasy-themed arenas, with the goal being to slay one another with head-stomps and arrows. It’s straightforward but addictive, relying largely on the quaint charm of its visuals and the friendly rivalry of its premise for its success. Of course, map-specific hazards and a handful of useful power-ups certainly don’t hurt.

Aww... the power of love and friendship combined. “Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime” focuses on the crew of a starship who must travel across the galaxy in order to battle and overcome a range of constellation-themed bosses. Between two and four players serve as that aforementioned crew manning different stations, with the expectation being that they co-ordinate and co-operate so as to traverse deadly mazes. The game manages to balance challenge and excitement in its co-operative environment, keeping its audience on their toes with vibrant yet lethal obstacles and adversaries. Add to that a bright, cheerful visual style, and you have a pleasant adventure through space on your hands.

Have you heard the one about the knights who set out to save some princesses? Generic as the premise sounds, where The Behemoth’s second title “Castle Crashers” truly distinguishes itself is in its sense of humour and in its embrace of the co-op mindset. Anywhere from two to four players can jump into the action, slicing and dicing through animals, rogue knights and a whole assortment of eclectic adversaries. The game’s abundance of sight gags and scatological jokes keep things irreverent, especially when contrasted with the hand-drawn animation style.

Turns out you really can’t have too many cooks. At least, that’s the sense we’ve gleaned from “Overcooked”, a cartoony kitchen sim game about preparing meals in a limited span of time. While there is the option for a lone player to control two cooks at a time, “Overcooked” is at its best when many local people are tackling the various kitchen challenges. That’s to say nothing of the levels themselves, which take the concept of a familiar kitchen environment and toy with it in interesting ways. Pirate ships, space stations, a pair of moving trucks, there’s no shortage of difficult yet endearing “kitchens” to run around in.

Duel for honor, for glory, and to be eaten by a giant flying serpent. Created over the course of four years, “Nidhogg” wears its influences of Norse mythology and classic arcade gaming with pride. More importantly, it’s a swiftly paced and deceptively simple one-on-one sword fighting game where success means catching one’s opponent off-guard at just the right time. There’s a tense energy to stabbing your friend’s avatar, running from screen to screen, and attempting to survive long enough to be swallowed by the creature Níðhöggr. With an art style that hearkens back to Atari 2600-era games and a compelling line-up of themed stages, “Nidhogg” is in a league all its own.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are our Honourable Mentions:

“Trials: Fusion” (2014)

“Broforce” (2015)

Developed as a follow-up to Psyonix’s earlier game “Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars”, this more reasonably titled game makes the core experience work better than before. “Rocket League” takes the fundamental ball-centric play of soccer and mixes in RC karts for good measure, creating a back-and-forth of opposing teams trying to score on one another. The game’s inclusion of local split-screen makes it perfect for couch competitions, especially as players start to dive into the intricate car customization system. Sharp use of a blue-orange contrast and a finely tuned approach to driving mechanics just round out the quality on display in “Rocket League”.