There’s no wrong way to game, and the expansive hobby that is gaming has a lot of ways to bring people in and keep them entertained. While single-player stories are fun, there are few moments that are as exciting as playing games with other people.
Shared worlds, shared stories, similar interests; whether it’s joining a squad with friends or going toe-to-toe with people from around the globe, multiplayer games offer a lot. Every year, more and more multiplayer games ask you to test your skills against one another or in unison for a similar goal, and 2023 was no different.
Sometimes your foray into multiplayer gaming needs a few scares. Thankfully, horror multiplayer games have been growing quite a bit in the past few years, especially with entries likeThe Outlast Trials.
It takes the classic Outlast power dynamic and asks you to escape horrific creatures on small maps, with friends this time. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it is well-worth your time. If you find you and your friends all like a good jumpscare, then this is the perfect meeting point.
Building on the success of the first game,Remnant 2brings you back to a world in conflict, with some new twists as well. Now you can experience the war against The Root on multiple planes of existence, each with its own feel, weapons, and unique enemies.
They didn’t just add new stuff; the gameplay itself is sharper and a little bit smoother too, which makes co-op much more fun. You can really sink some time into this game as you go through the story and develop your player to stop the encroaching Root menace.
Fighting fans rejoice,Street Fighter 6has plenty to entertain you with, especially where multiplayer is concerned. Even in this day and age of worldwide multiplayer, Street Fighter 6 still offers local multiplayer for those with friends close to home.
But, fighting against players from across the globe is still readily available to you as well, thanks to the game’s battle hub. This means you’ll never run out of potential opponents to test your moves on, and you may learn some new combos along the way as well.
7Forza Motorsport 9
Sometimes when you want to play against other people, you just want to see who can drive the fastest. For those moments, games likeForzatake the cake. There’s never been a better time to leave your friends in the dust on a wide variety of maps and with plenty of super-charged cars now too.
Forza has been a leading car in the race of, well… racing games, for some time now, and with this installment it’s not hard to see why. Action games are one thing, but the racing genre has been a staple for decades now thanks to games like this one.
A classic game with roots from decades prior, the Super Mario series is back, but some may ask if it’s ever left.Super Mario Bros. Wonderbrings the classic side-scrolling, platforming plumber back with his usual antics, and you can play with friends now, too.
Online and couch-co-opare both available, which is great for gaming families, or those who just may want a little bit of a more lighthearted experience in the gaming universe. You know you can never go wrong with a Super Mario game.
Sometimes, multiplayer means trying your best to survive on an island beset upon by mutants and cultists, and that in turn, meansSons of the Forest. Surviving a plane crash is the least of your worries in this horror-survival game that pushes you and your friends' skills to their limit.
Scrounge for weapons, build bases to keep you safe, and more than anything, try to survive long enough to learn what the island has in store for you. It’s a tougher game to master than most on this list, but it gets easier and more fun playing with others, that’s to be sure.
While Diablo 4’s focus may be on the single-player campaign, there is a good amount of multiplayer the game allows for too. There are plenty of times when you could definitely use the help of a friend when fighting off the many demons thatDiablo 4has to throw at you.
There are also various PVP arenas for you to try out your best character builds against other players. Diablo 4 is the next logical step in the well-loved series, and its multiplayer is a testament to that.
The long-standing series is back for another go, a sort of retelling mixed with a reboot of the earlierModern Warfare 3game. While the campaign may be of some interest to fans of the series, the big draw for the game is the multiplayer.
There are various match types and maps for you and your friends to play on with plenty of operators and weapons, so it won’t get stale quickly. Plus, the zombies mode offers plenty of multiplayer mayhem as well, with some exciting new changes to that as well.
The gory fighting game that people can’t get enough of is here yet again, and while it may seem like your everyday Mortal Kombat tournament,Mortal Kombat 1has revised a few things to keep the universe interesting.
New characters, old characters with new abilities, and plenty of the classic fighting premise all mix together in a game that will make fans rejoice. You can play against people from all over the world in online matches that will pit your best moves against those of your rivals, which never seems to get old.
Mining for loot on abandoned moons might seem like a pretty boring job, but you’ll realize just how wrong that assumption is in Lethal Company. A game that came out of nowhere, and quickly became a heavy-hitter on PC,Lethal Companysees you and a handful of other players group up to take home as much loot as you can.
The only problem isthe random monstersthat quickly begin crawling out of the dark lunar landscape to stop you. Some just want the shiny loot for themselves, others are more keen on stopping you with more permanent measures. It’s surprisingly fun for how simple it is.
