At the start of May, Secret Base Games and Modus Games announced Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons, the latest game in the long-running Double Dragon series. The publisher promised the game would arrive by the end of summer. We now know that to be true since Double Dragon Gaiden's official release date has been revealed! The game will hit consoles and PC on July 27.

Last year, ININ released Taito Milestones, an exclusive collection of 10 classic arcades, for Nintendo Switch. The low-frills presentation and mundane selection of games resulted in a fairly niche product. Perhaps the developer took feedback into account, for Taito Milestones 2 sounds more exciting. Of the ten games coming in the new comp...

Volleyball is a fun and simple sport that lends itself well to arcade-style games like Volley Pals. Indie developer Les Crafteurs has taken a different approach with Toasterball, a physics-based volleyball game that recently launched on Steam after a period of Early Access. Here, players control toasters who hit the ball by flopping around and launching slices of toast into the air. It's a very silly experience that supports 2-player local co-op.

Replica arcade cabinets are popular among collectors nowadays, with three sizes commonly available: 3:4 scale cabinets from Arcade1Up, 1:4 scale cabinets from Quarter Arcades, and 1:6 scale cabinets from Replicade (New Wave Toys). Numskull's Quarter Arcades line is stepping up their game (and prices) with today's announcement of 1:4 scale Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and TMNT: Turtles in Time cabinets. Both miniature cabinets are fully playable and support 4-player local co-op.

Gal Guardians: Demon Purge (formerly known as Grim Guardians) is a fantastic Castlevania-style action platformer set within the Gal*Gun universe. The game features two teenage demon hunters fighting to save their school, so of course it supports 2-player local co-op. Following a digital release on all platforms, physical editions of Gal Guardians will soon be released on PlayStation and Switch.

in 1987, the arcade version of Double Dragon became the first co-op beat 'em up. After the original developer, Technos, closed down, the property started getting licensed to different developers with their own unique visions. WayForward released Double Dragon Neon, a Korean developer unleashed the awkward Double Dragon II: Wander of the Dragons (the game that brought me to Co-Optimus), and Arc System Works, the current IP holder, created the retro-style Double Dragon IV. Now, Secret Base Games and Modus Games are throwing their hats into the ring with Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons, coming to consoles and PC this summer.

Last year, Berserk Studio and The Arcade Crew released Infernax, an amazingly good Metroidvania platformer, on all platforms. Since then, the game has received two major updates, the most recent of which added 2-player local co-op! Very few games gain multiplayer modes after they come out, so we interviewed Mike Ducarme, the "Get s***&nbs...

Atari and AdamVision Studios have spent the last few years producing modern “Recharged” versions of classic Atari games. Yars: Recharged is a new but faithful sequel to Yars’ Revenge, the Atari 2600 shoot ‘em up from 1982. This one casts one or two local players as the insect-like Yars who must shoot and bite their way throu...

The Nintendo Switch excels as a local multiplayer system, with many great co-op games across a variety of genres. We can add volleyball to that list, because Volley Pals is now available on Switch. This one supports up to 4-player local co-op, custom arenas, and lots of family-friendly, cartoon-style sports hijinks. The only things the Switch game will be missing are the Xbox and Steam versions' easy Achievements.

Not long ago, Berzerk Studio and The Arcade Crew surprised us all by announcing that Infernax, the gorey, retro-style Metroidvania would be getting a new 2 player local co-op mode. Infernax launched as a single-player game - an amazingly solid one. Now the game is even better because the "Deux or Die" update has arrived. Two players can now team up to thwart or conquer the forces of evil in this challenging action platformer!

In today's high-tech, social media-infused world, older gamers don't just miss classic arcade games. We miss the arcades themselves. That nostalgia has resulted in last year's Arcade Paradise from Wired Productions, and now Super Villain Games (developer of Doug Hates His Job) is getting in on the action with King of the Arcade. This one features numerous clones of classic arcade games, several of which support 2-player local co-op.

The Cotton series of cute ‘em ups has always largely consisted of single-player games, starting with the 1991 arcade original and including the latest entry, Cotton Fantasy (AKA Cotton Rock/n/Roll). However, during a brief, shining period in the 1990s, two co-op entries came along. The first such game, Cotton 2: Magical Night Dreams was ...