We are all for choice here at Co-Optimus. Let the customer decide what they want we say! But to be perfectly honest? We do think ININ Games took it a bit too far this month with the various Ninja JaJaMaru compilations. Was it really necessary to offer so many versions with only slightly different content? Oh well, it is what it is. At least retro fans can finally enjoy the adventures of "Ninja Kid" on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. PC users, on the other hand, finally got the promised wave of Toaplan-Shoot'em-Up-Goodness courtesy of publisher Bitwave Games: Out Zone, Twin Cobra, Zero Wing and Truxton (no co-op) all hit the Steam store this month.

January was a bit on the quiet side in terms of co-op titles - at least compared to other months. So in the end there were still more than enough titles released to keep everyone and their friends occupied. A couple of examples: Shoot'em up fans got Wings Of Bluestar as well as Raiden IV x MIKADO remix, Monster Hunter Rise finally hit Microsoft and Sony consoles, retro gamers rejoiced upon the release of the Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection, the unique survival-platformer Rain World received a co-op DLC and strategy fans can now enjoy Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition on Xbox (both using a controller or connecting keyboard/mouse).

Fifteen years ago we embarked on a journey. Frustrated with the state of information about cooperative games in the renaissance of online gaming, we set out to catalog all of the important bits of information about non-competitive multiplayer. On January 28th, 2008 Co-Optimus was born. 

It is done. 2022 is over and we wish you a happy new year. 2023 is special to us because Co-Optimus celebrates its 15th Anniversary. On January 28th 2008, the site finally went public. But that's a topic for a different news item. We're instead here to talk about December 2022, a month our very own arcade aficionado, Paul Acevedo, enjoyed very much thanks to releases like New Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja, River City Girls 2, Jitsu Squad, and Bubble Bobble for Nintendo Switch. Otherwise, it was actually a rather quiet month with "only" around 42 new releases. So at least during the holidays we did have a bit of time to work on that dreaded backlog before the madness continues in the new year.

Welcome back to Beyond Co-Op Reviews, our critical look at games that don't feature co-op modes....

63 releases across all platforms and 107 new additions to our database - that's the TL;DR for November. Yes, we want to finish writing this news post as quickly as possible in order to continue playing Warhammer 40.000: Darktide. How can you blame us? It's really good, and not just compared to the sea of other Warhammer games releasing each second on Steam (only a slight exaggeration). It also holds its own and is well worth a look.

PlayStation 5-specific retail copies of games are a thing for some reason. Nobody wants a physical copy that says PlayStation 4 on it nowadays! Merge games knows this, and so they've just released new TMNT: Shredder's Revenge physical editions for PlayStation 5. Available in both standard and Signature editions, these PlayStation 5-specific versions of Shredder's Revenge can be ordered online or bought at retail in the UK and other international markets.

Earlier this year, we reviewed the Brook Wingman XB, an accessory that allows the use of PlayStation, Switch, and other controllers on Xbox consoles. Several months later, Brook is set to follow that release with the Brook Wingman XB2 on November 30. The new Wingman XB2 adds improved controller compatibility and additional turbo modes, which should make it an exciting accessory for Xbox gamers who own controllers for lots of different systems.

There are many different gaming strategies out there, but not all of them are effective. By making this extra effort, you'll be a much better gamer beating your opponents left and right. This article will discuss the most effective gaming strategies that you can use to improve your gameplay.

Today is the annual Extra Life Game Day celebration, so we'll be spending all day raising donations and playing games. We're streaming on our Twitch channel, so stop by and chat with us. More importantly, shoot us a donation! Sixty-two children enter a Children's Miracle Network Hospital every minute seeking quality medical care for all...

Hey, you! Yes, you over there! You need to stop that! Another month down the drain and we once again didn't have nearly enough time to play even a fraction of all those sweet new releases this month. So either stop publishing new stuff or stop time itself. Doesn't matter as long as the result is us having more chances to play games with our friends. All those survival horror games hitting the Steam Store don't play themselves after all and now we need to switch over to the Christmas events starting up in our favorite titles. So even less time to enjoy that barrage of new games still coming.

A few months ago, Sega launched the Astro City Mini V in Japan. The Astro City Mini V is a miniature arcade cabinet with a vertical screen, so it excels at playing vertically-scrolling shoot 'em ups. 23 games are included on the unit, including several co-op shmups like Raiden, Out Zone, Gunbird, and more. Classic gaming fans no longer have to import the Astro City Mini V from Japan, as Limited Run is now offering the unit and accessories for preorder!