When it comes to local co-op games PS5 has plenty of options for every type of player. Online play has had a much larger focus in the industry over the past few years, and in 2024 most people seem to play with each other over the internet rather than together on the couch. Shooting games like Call Of Duty have moved away from their offline local co-op and many new games only work with online co-op, such as Helldivers 2.

Local co-op games have not been forgotten, however, with some developers focusing primarily on two-player local co-op games, and some older games coming to the Playstation Store and remaining relevant even now. For those wanting to play together on the same screen like in the old days of gaming, there are still many suitable options.

10 Borderlands 3

The Timeless First-Person Shooter

Even five years after its release, Borderlands 3 still holds the title of the most fun and exciting first-person shooter. The game has a variety of exciting story missions and side jobs for the players to tackle together, teamwork being key to getting through them. The game's quirky storyline, characters, and world-building on Pandora allow for an engaging experience, keeping everything fresh and exciting. First-person shooters are not known for their local co-op success, but Borderlands 3 broke the mold just like Perfect Dark did in the year 2000.

On a functional level, the split-screen implementation, which can sometimes feel restrictive, is clear and precise in Borderlands 3, ensuring a continued unaffected performance in gameplay. It also allows for a fully customizable character, from skill trees to cosmetics, offering not only a well-structured split-screen first-person shooter experience but also adding elements of role-play opportunities.

9 FIFA 24

The Beautiful Game

There are a number of sports games across all gaming platforms that each player would consider the best. Gaining enjoyment out of a sports game may be subjective, but if one were to be selected to be the top of local co-ops, it would be from the most popular sport in the world: soccer. FIFA has a yearly running stream of games, with FIFA 2024 released in 2023.

What makes FIFA so fun is the competitive nature that comes with the sport. Climbing the rankings against NPCs or other players can be a pleasant experience with strategic success, but also causes some major disagreements when someone keeps ing offside or hogs the ball. It can be a fiery game to play together and winning brings an unmatched sense of achievement when players of FIFA can be extremely competitive across the globe.

8 For The King

Topping The Turn-Based Strategy Experience

For a turn-based class adventure, For The King offers a solid experience for a squad to tackle. It may not be the quickest of games, due to taking the time for each player to take their turn before progressing forward. With a small group or a pair of players, this delay when sitting side-by-side feels like less of a waiting game and more of a tactical consideration, as the players can decide how to best tackle their next enemy.

Beating up a bunch of monsters on a relaxing evening is a low-stress, low-pressure experience. When this game is discussed online, the most common opinion to be found is that as a local co-op it offers a stellar performance, but single-player lacks the same inspiring factor. Like Castle Crashers or Don't Stare Together, it is a game made for more than one player to enjoy.

7 Rayman Legends

The Platformer Of Legend

The Rayman franchise was once a powerhouse of the PlayStation, as iconic as Crash Bandicoot and Spyro. While it may have dwindled in popularity in recent years, the platforming game Rayman Legends rekindles the love many had for the innovative world of Rayman. With a group of characters to choose from, such as Rayman and Globox, players can traverse The Glade of Dreams, platforming as a team.

Platforming games can be very hit or miss when it comes to local co-op. Some games can feel clunky and hard to follow with a single screen with two, or more, characters at once. Rayman Legends implements some solid teamwork mechanics to ensure both characters on the screen are offering something to the experience, unlike the old Sonic the Hedgehog 2 with a completely unnecessary Tails for the second player to control. When it comes to two-player platformers, Rayman Legends is the way to go.

6 Castle Crashers

The Underdog Side-Scrolling Adventure

When a couple of players are looking for something simpler without the overly complicated storylines or character arcs of discovery and nuance, Castle Crashers takes them back to hack'n'slash, side-scrolling fun. Sometimes the basic gameplay of smashing through hordes of enemies to save a princess, fighting for a kingdom, and stomping some knights or even some big fish is what an evening of gaming needs.

Castle Crashers' cartoonish and colorful art style is all about fun. Side-scrolling has always been quite a popular genre of gaming due to its simple design, which can be used for a mellow experience or some of the most terrifyingly difficult challenges. Castle Crashers hits the middle, by being tough enough to make the journey challenging, utilizing teamwork, but not so difficult that it is a slog. It has replayability, something every local co-op game desperately needs.

5 Don’t Starve Together

Long-Awaited Team Survival

Don't Starve Together is quite the eerie survival game, the second in the series coming after Don't Starve. Survival games are known for their appeal through replayability, trying to remain alive for as long as possible. However, Don't Starve is considered to be not the most exciting survival game when playing alone. The co-op experience really heightens the experience through the desperate bid to survive together.

A friend coming along for the ride in a survival thriller certainly lightens the load and stresses these sorts of games can create and sitting together in a local setting can really feel like two people are tackling the horrors of survival together, rather than struggling alone or with someone else on the other side of the world. Don't Starve Together is such a unique game, it's worth being in every library of co-op games.

4 Overcooked! 2

A Super Simulation Cooking Experience

There are few local co-op games that can inspire more ion and frustration in one fell swoop. Overcooked! 2 is a team-based cooking simulation game where the players must work together to create various dishes for their restaurants. The key aspect is that without teamwork, the entire kitchen falls apart. Someone needs to prep, someone needs to collect, someone needs to serve, and so on. Without good communication and routine, success can be challenging.

What makes Overcooked! 2 so engaging is how it avoids becoming stale. The repetitive nature of the game is at risk of being tedious, even with the change of locations, dishes, and kitchens, but somehow Overcooked! 2 remains fun and exciting. This is mainly down to the players, who have to constantly ramp up their energy to win the level. You can't be slow and placid in Overcooked! 2 - you have to stay on the ball at all times.

3 Diablo 4

Dungeon-Scrawling Action At Its Finest

Diablo 4 is the King of dungeon-crawlers. Scouring through hellish dungeons for loot, battling the grotesque beasts of the underworld makes for a challenging teamwork experience in its local co-op game play. Blizzard Entertainment even listened to its fans and ensured new mechanics were implemented from Diablo 3 to make the co-op run that much smoother, such as having separated inventory management and menus, so players do not disrupt their friend's game play.

Diablo 4 is a local game that will have players strapped in for the long-haul. Unlike some of the others which can be jumped in and out of, Diablo 4 will need some serious focus and dedication, especially when approaching some of the later game challenges. As communication is key to a successful run, having a local game will help with ing those commands where online may have messages lost in translation.

2 It Takes Two

For the Perfect Partnered Puzzle Game

Soon to be a movie, It Takes Two by Hazelight Studios is created entirely around the concept of two players tackling puzzles as a team. Its creative puzzle design and accessibility make it one of the most popular and successful local co-op games on the PS5 to date. Without strong communication and good teamwork, It Takes Two can be challenging to complete, but it ensures the journey is visually stunning with its artistic-doll style.

It's not only the gameplay that makes It Takes Two so engaging, but also the two primary characters and the immersive storyline they are wrapped up in. The two players can pick between either May and Cody, a couple close to divorce, who are unintentionally turned into dolls by their daughter, Rose. This narrative thread builds on the game by giving their struggles through the puzzle more meaning and weight. It's a game about adventuring through puzzles, and about love.

1 Baldur’s Gate 3

An Amazing Role-Play World For Friends To Explore

Baldur's Gate 3 not only changed the market for single-player roleplay games, it also offers a unique co-op option. Two players can load up Baldur's Gate 3 on their PS5, create their own customized characters, and set off together into the world to tackle the Absolute and the many other threats in the D&D universe. There may be a main character in which the story follows, but the secondary player can have just as much impact.

The second player in the game can form their own bonds with the origin party , have their own dialogue, and travel the map wherever they please, without being tied to their companion player. This allows more freedom in a co-op RPG than ever before, showing just how much thought Larian put into every aspect of the game, and not only its immense story.