Valheim is good even if you can't be on at the same time. Just slowly build out a world as you would in Minecraft and save the biome raids for when you can get the party together. It's flexible.
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Seconding Valheim. There's nothing quite like starting with a simple objective, getting it derailed by a deathsquito or something and now you and your besties are trying to Oceans 11 the stuff you lost out of a hostile biome that you sailed to from across the map.
I opened this thread to see if anyone recommended Valheim, because what you said is exactly what my group does. We’re all dads with jobs and we play when we can, but we schedule 2-3 hour video call sessions to fight the bosses.
When it comes to Valheim, you need the help, too. Those bosses can be brutal.
Slowly adding these to a list; I think I might start with Valheim and work my way down
Have to host/rent a server though, unless the host is always on. Love Valheim, but we had a few server issues that forced us to move on
Try Helldivers, it's isometric twin stick shooter, with second game coming this year switching to third person kinda like Risk of Rain 2
Golf with Friends is casual and at times frustrating fun. Don't have to wait for each person to hit the ball before you hit yours either, so the games courses don't drag on.
Try Factorio!! It’s got a demo you can try to get a taste as well. I spent ~20 hours in the demo itself before I bought the game. Looooved it.
Try Overcooked, cheap and fun, also might get mad at each other
My friend and I have fun playing Bro Force. It's like contra. If you like beat em ups, the ninja turtles game or streets of rage 4 are fun.
100% can recommend BroForce
I once did a weekend on the campaign of Borderlands 2 with friends, it was awesome. Also, PlateUp is a nice coop game to play over a WE
I can always recommend Guild Wars 2. It is f2p but the base game still has alot of content with some restrictions to not get overrun by bots.
Big detailed world to explore together and do stories which you get every 10 levels. If you pick different races and decicions at character creation, it all converges after lvl 60.
You also unlock all waypoints for every starter zone from the get go, so you can play together immediatly.
It can feel very easy there so you might want to tackle zones above your level, but the game gets harder in the 80 zones, group content and the expansions. Especially in Heart of Thorns, where the whole jungle tries to kill you.
It has no subscription which makes it perfect to play and then take breaks and even if you outlevel your friends you get downscaled and still get loot, so you can help or the other way around.
PULSAR is pretty amazing if you have a few friends to play with. It really feels like actually running a spaceship together. You can shout things like "Divert all power to main turrets" and actually mean that.
Pulsar is the game that I feel like was so close to being a great game but they gave up on it before it got there. Working together to run the ship is awesome but the world is SOOO empty. Like at least add mod support so folks can help or something. I want to love the game but that always stops me.
I don't know how much of a good fit it might be but maybe Divinity original sin 2?
I would recommend Vermintide, its like left 4 dead but you're bashing rats
On that note I'd recommend Darktide. Why? I dunno, I just like it better than Vermintide.
Have they fixed all the issues with Darktide? It was really rough on launch.
Really? I love the setting of darktide but couldn't commit to it like Vermintide. Has there been a fair amount of improvements since launch (I haven't looked)?
Check out Phasmophobia.
It's a ghost investigation game that's easy to pick up, and has some really awesome scary moments. It's only about $14 and it's got an overwhelmingly positive rating on Steam.
overcooked, though its only got the one campaign and little replay ability
phasmophobia is extremely fun, though getting into it brand new can probably be a bit overwhelming
fall guys is a pretty fun party style game, pretty casual and all
skribbl.io is a little browser charades with drawing type deal if youre just feeling like doing something easy and low effort
valheim i definitely recommend if youre into terraria dst and minecraft together, same with the forest
Starship Troopers: Extermination is PvE wave/extraction shooter, from the company that developed Squad. Looks pretty fun but if you are not into that universe nor have enough friends you'd need to rely on other players as well.( basically max 12 players in 3 teams atm.) Warning: early access so if you are not tolerant to EA type of development/update cycle just avoid.
There is a couple other PvE wave/extraction shooter as well, so give them a try.( Just google that term, usually around $30 and could go on sale.)
Rocket League, this one I played since launch and really good game to start before your group all come online and then move on to other games.(since it supports up to 4v4, but usually people only queue 2v2 or 3v3 matches.)
We had a lot of fun with V Rising. It's a bit like Diablo I'd say, but with base building and crafting and the level is based entirely on gear, so if someone misses a few sessions you can just craft one extra set of the latest armor you unlocked and they are on your level instantly.
V Rising was such an amazing co-op play through. My friend and I expect to do it again soon since the new content dropped.
- I'd recommend 9 parchments if you just want to play together. My roommate's got a play list similar to yours and he's obsessed with it right now.
- I'm not one for multiplayer, but if you ever do two player my favorite is wizard of legend. I usually play solo. If you play with friends it's fun though since you can design complimenting loadouts and you get different dungeons.
- Trine is a puzzle platformer that's fun but can be frustrating if you've got a "smash everything" friend with you. It's 3 player IIRC.
Pummle Party: it's basically a Mario Party clone for PC.
Streets of Rogue. It's a top-down roguelike with many different characters and items. You can do the missions in different ways playing solo, but co-op opens even more possibilities.
I don't think Barotrauma has been mentioned yet? Survival in a submarine, as far as I know. Haven't played it, but it reviews well.
Ark and other survival/crafting games like 7days to die and Raft are great fun. Persistent worlds for collective fun.
There's a new Starship Troopers co-op shopter out with 16 simulataneus players kilming bugs.
And Legion Td2 for a co-op campaign/bots experience.
You could try dead by daylight
I haven't played it just yet, but people have been praising Crab Champions a lot.
Also if it's just you and one mate, and you'd like to enjoy an experience together in one session and be done with it, try A Way Out but make sure to not Google a single spoiler.
For the King (and coming soon, For the King 2) has been a go-to coop game with one of my buddies. It's a turn based, low poly dnd-esque game with a handful of different campaigns. FTK 1 has 3 character parties, so one of us will just play 2 characters, but otherwise it's pretty perfect for 2 people.
My friend I have been playing Children of Morta and it's a pretty fun coop experience.
I have to second this one, it's really fun as a couch coop.
My husband and I have easily gotten hundreds, maybe thousands of hours out of each of the Gears of War games. I would recommend the first three absolutely.
While I find the campaign OK, I love the Horde mode in the games.
Squad! super fun game to play with friends. It's an FPS that isn't as hard to learn as Arma and more milsim than an arcade shooter like battlefield.
Overcooked, Overcooked 2, Movin Out, Out of Space, Cod Zombies, PlateUp!
I liked multiple of the Tom Clancy games, like Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon.
Not sure if it's been mentioned, but Hunt Showdown is a blast with a friend. Me and my buddy have played it a long time. They're always patching and adding content here and there. :)
Based on your played games you would probably all enjoy World of Warships. It’s F2P, possible to play and enjoy without spending money (though of course spending money does allow you to get more stuff), has deep gameplay and large learning curve but matches are all less then 20 minutes.
The Dead Island games are great for co-op
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is a local co-op where you share the controls of a spaceship. Your goal is to save the space bunnies. Not quite the same style as the games on your list but it's inexpensive and cute.
Spiritfarer is a very sweet cartoon game about death where you can play couch co-op with your other player being a kitty. HIGHLY recommend this game, but don't be surprised if it makes you bawl your eyes out.
Core Keeper has a Terraria / Zelda: Link to the Past vibe if you are looking for something like that.
For your base building survival fix, I highly recommend Raft or Subnautica Nitrox, the unofficial multiplayer mod
If you hate your friends or want to hate your friends, try Pico Park or Overcooked. Also the space game Heavenly Bodies, but it's only 2-player
If you like horror Outlast Trials is pretty good. It's a little short on content (there are 9 unique missions) but the experience is well worth the money, I'm hoping they add new content soon.
warframe is a lot of fun
Monster Hunter World and/or Rise.