Cooperative play has been an integral part of video gaming since its inception, though its prominence has ebbed and flowed over the years. While it’s often linked to player versus player (PvP) games, gamers on PC are well acquainted with co-op titles, especially online ones. Finding local co-op games might be a bit more challenging on platforms like Steam, as it’s not always a top priority, but there are still some fantastic titles worth exploring.
When players are in the market for multiplayer experiences, they typically lean towards team-based shooters or massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), two genres that have delivered countless hits. Yet, a treasure trove of excellent co-op games on Steam goes beyond these familiar boundaries.
In discussing co-op games, those that focus heavily on PvP tend to be set aside. Take Counter-Strike 2, for instance—though its Wingman mode can scratch a PvP co-op itch, it won’t be the highlight here. These recommendations are primarily quality-driven, although newer additions appear upfront for easy discovery.
As of April 19, 2025, penned by Mark Sammut, the landscape of free Steam co-op games is not infinitely vast, so fresh titles are added at an irregular pace. In response, a section for demos has been included to refresh the content offerings.
1. Myrmidon
Steam User Rating: 40%
Though it hasn’t received glowing reviews on Steam, Myrmidon intriguingly stands out as a notable student project featuring a unique stop-motion art style. Despite its rocky performance, influenced by demanding default graphics settings, a little tweaking can significantly enhance its playability. Designed entirely around co-op, this game casts one player as a landscape-shaping puppeteer while the other maneuvers as the puppet through challenging areas. While it lacks an integrated chat function, communication remains crucial, requiring players to coordinate externally.
2. Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop
Steam User Rating: 94%
Valve’s somewhat obscure Alien Swarm can be overlooked, yet it’s a fantastic twin-stick shooter that stands its ground. While the original made waves, Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop, launched in 2017 and still receiving updates, elevates the experience significantly. Although it includes PvP, its core also lies in cooperative gameplay, supporting eight players across its campaigns. Facing relentless enemy waves while employing strategic class-based gameplay emphasizes the need for teamwork, avoiding a counterproductive solo rampage.
3. We Were Here
Steam User Rating: 90%
Similar to escape room-inspired experiences like Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, We Were Here throws two players into a snowy landscape where they must reunite through the use of in-game walkie-talkies. Players embark on disparate yet interconnected roles, solving distinct perspectives of the same puzzle. With working microphones a necessity for proper communication, the game’s inspiration from real-life escape rooms offers a unique and memorable adventure, potentially leading players to explore its sequels.
4. With You
Steam User Rating: 89%
A heartwarming two-player puzzle-platformer, With You encourages cooperative problem-solving, relying on whimsical jumping mechanics to complete tasks. Featuring endearing physics-based challenges and cuddly interactions, the game aims to strengthen connections between its players.
5. Once Human
Steam User Rating: 73%
Boasting an alien occupation narrative due to corporate greed, this open-world survival game plunges players into a fight against corrupt meta-humans and mutated wildlife. While solo play emphasizes isolation, co-op offers a richer experience amid PvP options. Once Human allows social setups like Parties, Hives, and Warbands, facilitating teamwork and tactical gameplay within this vast, occasionally repetitive setting.
6. Muck
Steam User Rating: 93%
Dani’s Muck shines as a charming, free-to-play sandbox game. Supporting survival and campaign modes on procedurally generated islands, it challenges players to endure as long as possible. Vibrant aesthetics mask its difficulty, enhanced by cooperative play allowing shared strategic survival against tough bosses.
7. No More Room In Hell
Steam User Rating: 89%
This first-person horror game throws players into a zombie apocalypse, with over 30 weapons to fend off undead hordes. Proximity-based chat complicates communication the farther one ventures from teammates, while the option for infected players to keep any impending zombification a secret adds a thrilling quirk to this engaging experience.
8. Unsolved Case
Steam User Rating: 89%
Positioning players as detectives hot on a serial killer’s trail, Unsolved Case highlights teamwork-driven puzzle-solving. Each player gains a unique vantage point of shared conundrums, requiring them to unite their fragmentary clues to crack the killer’s code. Aimed as an enticing preview of Eleven Puzzles’ longer series, this hour-long title proves both engaging and enjoyable.
9. Sven Co-Op
Steam User Rating: 93%
Though dated, Sven Co-Op—originating as a Half-Life mod—still sparkles brightly in its standalone form. Featuring nostalgic maps and engaging FPS mechanics, it echoes the early 2000s charm. Free to download and play, it packs hours of cooperative excitement in this historical modding gem.
10. One-Armed Robber
Steam User Rating: 88%
With its unconventional premise, One-Armed Robber throws players into chaotic heists armed with just one limb. Janky yet addictively fun, it challenges teams of four to devise strategic missions, favoring multiplayer antics to liven up the experience.
11. One-Armed Cook
Steam User Rating: 92%
Breaking into co-op madness with a playful twist, One-Armed Cook thrusts players into kitchen chaos with singular armed chefs. Managing the restaurant, from food prep to serving diners, it thrives on spontaneity and unpredictable physics, promising delightfully absurd sessions with friends.
12. Cry Of Fear
Steam User Rating: 88%
Emerging from a Half-Life 2 mod, Cry Of Fear narrates an eerie tale with a plethora of craftsman’s content. While its co-op campaign reveals fresh perspective shifts, its venerable scares stand firm in welcoming players to revisit this cherished cult offering.
13. Warframe
Steam User Rating: 87%
Warframe, a leader in the free-to-play scene, seamlessly combines cooperative and solo elements, granting players the option to operate individually. Yet those navigating the digital planes as a unit will find its expansive universe, brimming with content, offers a gratifyingly persistent adventure.
14. Damnosaur
Steam User Rating: 91%
Faced with marauding dinosaurs, Damnosaur enthralls with a vibrant world and endless waves of pterosaurs. Proh’s anime-style shoot-em-up antics deliver brisk, cooperative fun, testing players’ coordination and endurance amidst dino-filled dynamics.
15. Escape Memoirs: Mini Stories
Steam User Rating: 86%
This indie offering drapes puzzle enthusiasts in engaging escape room-style tales. Tasked with uncovering logically devilish challenges, players are encouraged to work in harmony, although perplexing puzzles will certainly test their mettle.
16. Lost Ark
Steam User Rating: 71%
An MMOARPG to rival others, Lost Ark delivers an expansive quest-filled saga echoing Diablo’s addictive nature. Offering fast-paced combat and extensive content, its cooperative features harmonize with PvE, allowing players to band together for epic storytelling.
17. Dungeon Defenders 2
Steam User Rating: 77%
When monsters besiege Etheria, mighty heroes rise in this rewarding action RPG-tower defense hybrid. Co-op or solo, the game insists on engaging battles and strategy, with festivities lasting well into its years since release.
18. Palia
Steam User Rating: 84%
Cast within an evolving virtual world, Palia explores an in-beta chapter punctuated by progressive life-simulation components. Though its multiplayer roots aren’t entirely formed, discerning players may find solace in cooperative glimpses promising greater things.
19. Unfortunate Spacemen
Steam User Rating: 86%
A social deduction adventure doubled with chilling narrative modes, Unfortunate Spacemen sees players adrift amid conspiracies. With specific modes aimed at cooperative cunning, its otherworldly yet absorbing narrative unwinds splendidly with friends in tow.
20. Halo Infinite (Multiplayer)
Steam User Rating: 70%
While the campaign requires purchase, Halo Infinite opens its multiplayer vault freely to all. Cycling through dynamic online modes, it challenges competitors in classic Halo style while ever-evolving playlists promise endless upcoming thrills.
