Welcome back to  Co-op Classics, the column in which we look at unique cooperative games from yesteryear....

Things have been great for cooperative beat ‘em ups lately, with games like TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge, River City Girls 2, Final Vendetta, and Kung Fury: Street Rage – Ultimate Edition all entertaining audiences with their unique approaches to the genre. Jitsu Squad from Tanuki Creative Studio and ININ Games has its own distinct st...

What would a Roguelike version of Borderlands be like? Chinese developer Duoyi Games have answered that question with Gunfire Reborn, a first-person shooter Roguelike that challenges players to team up and progress through increasingly tough levels, strengthening their characters with each run and unlocking new features along the way. Gunfire Rebor...

Back in 2021, Pewter Games Studio released a cooperative game called Filthy Animals: Halloween Heist for Steam. Now Pewter has teamed up with Green Man Gaming to publish Filthy Animals: Heist Simulator, a sequel that will first arrive on Steam and Epic before coming to Xbox and PlayStation "soon after." Up to four local or online players will get to team up for animal-fueled heists on April 4.

We love when a new developer comes out swinging, and that's just what New Zealand-based Space Rock Games is doing. Composed of industry veterans who have worked on the Fable series, Path of Exile, and Chivalry 2, Space Rock Games is going all in on co-op. Their first game, Criminals Within, is a medieval fantasy action game with 2-player split-screen and online co-op, and it's coming to both PC and consoles.

Retro properties are decently hot stuff nowadays, with lots of classic shows and movies coming back in one way or another. Last year, we got a Garbage Pail Kids game from Retrotainment, for instance, complete with NES-style graphics but missing co-op. This year, a new Toxic Crusaders game is coming to modern consoles and PC courtesy of Retroware (not to be confused with Retrotainment), and it will feature 4-player local co-op to boot! I never expected to write that, but I'm not complaining.

Way back in 2015, a man named David Sandberg produced and starred in a short martial arts comedy called Kung Fury. You can watch it free on YouTube and Steam!  Swedish developer Hello There Games quickly released Kung Fury: Street Rage on PC, a simple beat 'em up based on the movie. The game received a handful of DLCs over the years before its developer temporarily removed it from Steam (much like SWORDS of GARGANTUA). Now it's back on Steam AND consoles as as Kung Fury: Street Rage - Ultimate Edition, complete with 2-player local co-op!

It's no exaggeration to say that River City Girls 2 was my most-anticipated beat 'em up of 2022. The first game is an all-time favorite, and the second offers an increase in scale and numerous improvements. However, when RCG2 launched in December, hardcore fans quickly noticed that the game's frame rate was off. Whereas RCG1 r...

Dotemu is pretty much the king of the beat 'em up hill nowadays. The French publisher has released two of the most beloved beat 'em ups of all time in recent years: TMNT: Shredder's Revenge and Streets of Rage 4. Both games have received numerous updates since their launches, with a new update for Streets of Rage 4 arriving within the last week. This patch consists of mostly balance adjustments for numerous characters and enemies, but it also adds co-op moves and custom options for Survival Mode.