Couch co-op evokes nostalgia. There’s nothing like sitting down with friends or family to play a game together — in the same room and on the same platform. While not as popular as it once was, here are my top 10 most-anticipated couch co-op PS5 games releasing in 2024.
Top 10 Local Co-op PS5 Games Coming in 2024 to Add to your Wishlist
10. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake
If you haven’t experienced the beautiful, touching story of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons before, now is the time. The 2024 remake on PS5 is an epic local co-op journey focused on story and adventure as two brothers seek a cure for their dying father. The remake features updated graphics, remade landscapes and characters, as well as a re-recorded live orchestra soundtrack.
Local co-op is the game’s focus, as the two brothers must work together to solve puzzles and traverse the environment. Even the combat and diverse boss fights are structured like puzzles. Deciphering a boss’ weakness and overcoming requires deft teamwork. There are plenty of secrets to discover, too.
9. POPUCOM
Dive into some split-screen color madness with POPUCOM, a platforming adventure filled with casual puzzles and lighthearted fun. The game is all about jumping in with a buddy and solving color-switching puzzles, where you usually need to match three of the same kind. The twist is that you do it with a gun while dashing and jumping around the level.
Everything around the world is color-coded, so you must swap them to traverse through terrain and obstacles. Block red lasers with red shields and pass through purple walls by turning purple. It sounds decently simple until you have to coordinate with a buddy who just wants to watch the world burn. I speak from personal experience.
8. Goons: Legends & Mayhem
Speaking of chaotic light-hearted fun, coming in 2024 is Goons: Legends & Mayhem. This is a local PvP hockey-based title that just screams party game. There’s a standard hockey ring level, but you’ll also slide around alternatives like hockey forest labyrinths or with raised platforms and obstacles.
Each character has their own set of abilities to either propel the puck or defend it. Some can teleport, some can generate a shield, but there’s no end to the madness. It’s a constant back-and-forth hockey boss fight to enjoy with friends on the couch.
7. Baladins
Baladins is a choose-your-own-adventure style local multiplayer game where you and your friends play as traveling entertainers. You travel from city to city, entertaining the masses, completing quests, throwing parties, and solving social puzzles. You can play with up to four players locally or online, and the best part is its interactive story.
Together, you can decide which route to take, which decisions to make, and all the other tabletop roleplaying campaign goodies you’d expect. There are four unique classes with gameplay mechanics that will challenge your perception of modern RPGs.
6. Contra: Operation Galuga
The hair-pulling and rage-fueled run’n’gun shooter Contra is back with Operation Galuga. Releasing on PS5 in 2024 with room for up to 4 players in local multiplayer, this is your new-age take on the classic.
As in the original, you shoot, jump, and run through hordes of enemies with friends. All the mechanical goodies and levels are back, but you can now shoot in all directions, and it seems there will be three maddeningly fun difficulty levels. I would assume the highest difficulty is just vanilla Contra, and I can’t wait to find out.
5. Streets of Rogue 2
Fans of the original will be happy to hear that we’re getting Streets of Rogue 2 in 2024 with local co-op support. So far, I’ve seen that the sequel is just a bigger version of the original. Matt Dabrowski made the procedurally generated levels thousands of times bigger. There are more weapons, unique traits, gadgets, vehicles, and destructible buildings for a massive sandbox experience.
The story is similar in that you’re trying to overthrow a corrupt government with complete freedom on how you do it. It’s highly repayable. In co-op, you can split up with friends as you make your separate playthroughs in the same world. Or you can join against the main bosses.
4. PlateUp!
The local multiplayer kitchen management cooking game PlateUp! is finally arriving on PlayStation 5 on February 15. Gather your friends and manage a restaurant as you unlock new abilities, dishes, locale upgrades, and more with the roguelite-style progression system.
Each run unlocks something new to play around with as you prep food for guests and inevitably cause kitchen fires for one player to extinguish as the others scream at him lightheartedly. While PC cross-play won’t be supported on launch, It’s Happening has stated that they have plans for it in the future.
3. Toxic Crusaders
Based on the original TV series of the same name, Toxic Crusaders is coming to PS5 as a side-scrolling beat-‘em-up local multiplayer title. There are seven playable characters and four player slots to fill out. You can invite your friends over and smash through the streets of Tromaville. In short, there are two elements I really like about this game.
Each character, from Toxie to Headbanger, has unique moves that you can combo with the other players. And in classic Toxic Crusaders fashion, Retroware voice-acted the entire story in comic cutscene style. Lloyd Kaufman, the series creator, even approved the game.
2. Earth Defense Force 6
Earth Defense Force is a great example of a cult series that can make local multiplayer split-screen work in third-person shooters. EDF 6 showcases that in 2024 as you dive into alien bug-shooting goodness with friends on the couch. There are four different soldier classes, as well as new maps and locations to explore. There are also new enemy types to blast through.
The story continues from the fifth game. And while it’s not mandatory, I recommend you play the fifth entry to understand all the inside jokes, narrative elements, and weapon descriptions. EDF is a series that’s constantly improving upon itself. EDF 6 will, without a doubt, be an overall great co-op shooter experience.
1. Fallen City Brawl
Last on my list of 2024 PS5 couch-cop games is another side-scrolling street brawler: Fallen City Brawl. Inspired by 80s and early 90s arcade games, this is your old-school revenge story with over-the-top action. There are four playable characters, and there’s even a cute puppy (uhh, I mean vicious wolf beast).
Fallen City Brawl is essentially that Streets of Rage or Final Fight-style experience, where you beat up bad guys with fists, kicks, pipes, bats, knives, and flaming oil drums. Each character has its own special attacks. And you can command your wolf to sow additional chaos across eight unique levels. If Toxic Crusaders is too light-hearted for you, this is a great alternative in 2024 for your local multiplayer 2D fighter.
Those are my picks for the Top 10 couch co-op PS5 games releasing in 2024 you should be excited for. For more list on upcoming games, check out our articles on the Top 10 RPGs coming in 2024 and 10 indie games you shouldn’t overlook this year.
