We all have our own unique story of how we got into video games, but I’m willing to bet your story involves a friend, loved one, or someone else in some way. Maybe it’s more than you think. For many of us, myself included, it may be because someone handed you the controller and told you to figure it out and learn as you go.
Back in the day, the only way you could share a game with someone like you was by playing in an iconic mode that’s still going strong today: Couch co-op. However, since you are young there are many chances that you did not get into sports because of someone local, but someone far away. Or, maybe not with anyone at all, but a live event you didn’t want to miss. Indeed, the rise of the Internet and online gaming has become a threat to bed compatibility over the years.
Online gaming is undoubtedly a good thing, and co-op is still very much encouraged in the latest titles. There are more options than ever, but the rise of online gaming has changed the way we play. Let’s take a look at how a few cooperative games are leading the way.
7
Minecraft
Play as Human or Play with Mods. Choose yourself.
I got into Minecraft back in 2012 thanks to a friend who is very invested in the scene. Thanks to him, my friends and I were able to play on heavily rigged servers with mods that allowed us to catch Pokémon, explore Tatooine, and travel as fast as Sonic the Hedgehog. Minecraft is a really fun game, whether it has mods or not.
Playing Minecraft with friends has always been tricky, in my experience. I may have been able to play on these amazing servers, but I had to sit through technical issues regarding mods and the server itself at times. In addition, I found that trying to play multiplayer in Minecraft without a server was a common problem. My partner and I were traveling a long way, and ended up buying Minecraft twice on PC and Switch just to use our online switch membership instead of my friend’s server.
Yes, now that we live together, we can play in split screen on our Switch 2, but sometimes we forget that the mods we have on the server are not on the Switch. It’s amazing to have two very different ways to play the game, and I feel like many of us would rather enjoy a modified Minecraft over split-screen, with its own secrets.
6
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Casual Smash Has Never Been The Same
What I remember, Super Smash Bros. Brawl was the first time that a major Nintendo game was made to play online as a prominent feature. It was amazing to me that I was able to play with my best internet friend in Kentucky and his brother despite being so far away. Brawl playing online was a game changer for the older me who struggled to make friends in person but thrived online. At the same time, I feel like Brawl is marked by a change. With the addition of online play, Smash Bros. it never looked back.
There are very few people who play Smash Bros. as the party game appears on top. When I attended the midnight launch party for Smash Bros. Ultimate, my local GameStop let us play Smash, and I found myself surrounded by local rivals, not regular players. (I’ve held my own, at least, and I’m impressed with that!)
There are still ways to play Smash for fun of course – there is a mode called that, after all – but the competitive side has overtaken the casual conversation. The controversy was just the beginning of that. (Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing!)
5
Super Mario Maker 2
Mario Joined The Game
There are a lot of Nintendo games on this list, but that’s because Nintendo has stood by the importance of playing games together in person online for years. Most Mario games had some form of co-op on the couch, no matter how important the single-player experience was. To this day, only a handful of Mario platforms allow you to play together, and the one to mark that change was Super Mario Maker 2.
Super Mario Maker, conceptually, always relied on the Internet to make the resource go above and beyond. If you’re bored with your studies, you can easily go online to play for new ideas or get your hands hurt by doing a Kaizo-level platform. This is what took the desire to why Mario can’t play online like every other game to a new level.
It feels like Nintendo finally pulled it off with Super Mario Maker 2, and other great games have followed since. Mario’s love of co-op hasn’t gone anywhere, but it certainly widens the door for multiplayer to play together in a way that will likely change which mode is used the most.
4
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
A Sign of the Changing Times
Now, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive hasn’t done anything to change the way we relate to games entirely, more on that soon, but it’s a great game to use as an example of how co-op has become second nature to online gaming. It’s here to represent how the internet evolved in the 2010s.
The 2010s marked a slow, but tangible change in Internet speeds. This release was slow, but internet speed is what helped shape the multiplayer scene in the naughts. If you had poor internet, and someone else had better internet, it was unheard of to go to your friend’s place to connect your computers so they could play together with better performance. Beyond the chaotic situations that often ensued, this was the central point behind LAN parties.
With better internet in most homes, there was no real reason to go over to your friend’s place for a LAN party. Especially if you were already anti-social.
So, why would you go to a CS: Global Offensive LAN party? You had everything you needed at home, after all.
3
Super Mario Party
Party of One, Now
As I said before, Nintendo has always favored co-op over online play. If you don’t believe me, just look at the longevity of Mario Party. It’s been around for almost three decades, has had many entries that could have been played online, yet didn’t get a feature until Super Mario Party.
It’s a good thing that we now have Mario Party online. Indeed, it is. But like many situations above, how many times have you gone to your friend’s house to play Mario Party? How often do you play with long distance online friends or use match mode? It may not have marked the end of Mario Party’s reign of chaos, but there has been a change in the way we treat Mario Party that has come about with the addition of online multiplayer. In fairness, that’s not entirely Mario Party’s fault.
2
Pokémon Pokopia
Things We Do With Love
Now, before I get into this, I need to introduce that back when mobile and console gaming were so separate, it made sense to need two consoles to play cooperatively with a friend. It was like that from the Game Boy days all the way up to the 3DS.
Times have changed, and so have prices. Nintendo is trying to make this easier with features like GameShare, but there’s a big flaw in the way with Pokémon Pokopia. You may only need one copy of a game to play co-op locally with GameShare, but you actually need to have two switches to remove it. I’m lucky I still have my original Switch and Switch 2, and that works fine, but Nintendo knows people trade in their old ones, right? Pokopia co-op is not forward thinking and has no players as seen in this economy.
1
Among Us
I Saw You Killing Couch Co-op in Med Bay!
Throughout this list, I’ve been pulling a few strings, talking about my experience, and leading to something. And this is it. Among Us has always been an online game, but the circumstances surrounding its explosion in 2020 have led to a complete overhaul of the way we handle co-op, both in-person and not.
The COVID-19 pandemic saw huge waves of people coming together, any normal or strict conditions thrown aside, to enjoy games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Among Us in ways that were truly unique to this era we were living in. However, between us it grew to the point where it bordered on offending many people. So, if I had to pick a game that represents how the pandemic has changed the way we interact with people, that has had lasting effects on co-op that you can completely remove, I’d go with Us any day of the week.
