E3 2021 has come and gone, and the Summer Game Fest is still kind of going, but in the flurry of news and excitement over big name titles coming out in the next year or two, there are always a few that slip by. Here's a quick round-up of some co-op titles to keep an eye on as time marches inexorably onwards.
It's always interesting to try to sum up an entire year worth of gaming and see what stands out. This year I wouldn't say there was any clear "winner" or "trend" in co-op gaming. VR burst onto the scene and we're just scratching the surface there, but otherwise we had a solid mix of both AAA and Indie releases.
Last year, we looked into a talk given at GDC 2014 that focused on how games can have a social impact on teenage boys. The big idea to come out of this talk was the concept of "incentivized co-op," or co-op that directly provides benefits to both parties. A recent study out of Texas Tech has delved further into the benefits of playing a game cooperatively and gathered some interesting data to add to this equation.
Dear Diary, this week as been good, I have managed to play around three hours of co-op gaming. What with the house, the job, the wife and the kids, getting some “Sam Time” is no longer as easy as it was. Sometimes I feel like there is a constant battle between my Life and my Gaming, but which will win?...
We love co-op games; the camaraderie of friends, the stories that come from downing that final boss when the odds were against you, and that shared sense of accomplishment. Not all co-op is equal, however, and some of those experiences impact our overall psychological health. Jason and Katrina Pawlowski dive into these experiences to take...
Last night, the usual podcasting Co-Opticrew (minus one) streamed some of our playtime in the upcoming sci-fi platformer rogue-life, Risk of Rain. Mike and I fought through three of the game's levels, even braving it long enough to reach "Impossible" difficulty (which is just as hard as the name implies), while Nick did his best to keep up with us. Fun times were had by all and we've capture these precious moments for you to enjoy.
Co-Op games have come a long way since our first terminology guide. We've seen hundreds of new titles appear offering unique ways to share the gaming experience in a non-competitive way. We thought it was a good time for a refresher and a good time to tweak some of the terminology used around the site to avoid confusion. With a database of over 2000 cooperative video games, there's something for everyone.
The spring gaming season is well underway and we've already seen a slew of co-op game releases, like Binary Domain, Journey, and Shoot Many Robots, where cooperative gameplay was a focus for the game from the start. Yet we've also seen some major AAA releases, like Mass Effect 3, hit store shelves where the addition of a multiplayer component is something new for the series; or an existing series, such as The Darkness II, swap it's formerly competitive multiplayer mode for a strictly cooperative one. Finally, you have the revival of older games that have had their format completely changed - leaving them ripe for the traditional player vs player multiplayer style to which we've grown accustomed - and still maintain the co-op gameplay (we're looking at you, Syndicate).
It's a topic/point of debate that gets brought up often here at Co-Optimus: Does co-op make a game better? For a site that's dedicated to co-op gaming, you're surely thinking that the obvious answer would be, "yes, of course it does;" however, that may not always be the case. Bioware, developer of the upcoming Mass Effect 3 - the first game in the series to feature co-op gameplay - seems to agree.
This year the Co-Opticrew approached the Penny-Arcade Expo with a different goal in mind. Having played and covered most of the titles at E3 earlier in the year, we wanted to do something special which featured gamers themselves. So we grabbed our camera and went around asking PAX goers questions about co-op games.
The world of cooperative gaming is evolving so rapidly, I think it's catching some people off guard. In only half a decade we've gone from famine to feast in terms of co-op offerings in games. But what about single player games? Are we seeing a complete shift - a shoe on the other foot scenario?
We're happy to announce a brand new contest in partnership with Split Reason Clothing. The idea is simple - we want you to design your own t-shirt based around the theme of co-op gaming. You'll have a chance to win some great prizes, and maybe even have your t-shirt published!
