The stereotype that gaming is for loners couldn’t be further from the truth. These are the upcoming co-op games we can’t wait to play in 2023.
The stereotypical vision of video game fans paints them as antisocial weirdos spending their time in poorly lit basements, surrounded by discarded food packaging and unwashed clothes. Those stereotypes, while persistent, couldn’t be further from the truth. As reported by Tech Jury, the average gamer in the United States is in their mid-30s, has kids, and owns a home. Moreover, the vast majority of people who play video games play with family and friends, as opposed to alone.
According to Unity’s 2022 Multiplayer Report, 77% of gamers play multiplayer games with family, friends, or strangers, and a significant portion utilize in-game chat options to coordinate multiplayer gameplay over the internet. While you can absolutely play video games on your own if that’s how you prefer to play, the video game landscape is increasingly a team sport.
It harkens back to the medium’s roots, when kids spent their days slinging quarters at the arcade or huddled in front of the NES after school. To many, that’s the way video games are meant to be played. There’s something irreplaceable about playing together with your friends which is central to the video game experience. Whether you’re a fan of online multiplayer or rubbing elbows with couch co-op, these are the games we’re most looking forward to beating together in 2023.
Moving out can be one of the most stressful things we’re asked to do throughout our adult lives. Packing up everything you own, stacking it all in a truck, and painstakingly transporting it across town, or across the world is a challenge even if everything goes perfectly right. We all know that things rarely go perfectly right, especially when you’re moving. In the „Moving Out“ franchise, developed by DevM Games and SMG Studio, things go horribly wrong in all the best ways.
One look at „Moving Out“ and players will know exactly what they’re in for. The art style and gameplay mechanics will be familiar to fans of other cooperative multiplayer games like „Overcooked.“ In terms of gameplay, it’s exactly what the title suggests. You and your friends are tasked with moving all of your belongings over an evolving obstacle course on the way to your new home.
You’ll move through various environments, working together to solve puzzles and complete challenges. The first entry in the „Moving Out“ series offered couch co-op but had no online option. „Moving Out 2“ will resolve that oversight and allow players to join forces with their friends whether they are in the same room or not (via Game Rant). „Moving Out 2“ will be available on all major consoles and PC, and is expected to drop sometime in 2023.
Based on the famed and beloved H.G. Wells novel of the same name, „War of the Worlds“ drops players into an alternate reality in which humanity is engaged in an all-out war for survival against a towering alien invader. You play as an ordinary civilian; not a member of the invading army or even of Earth’s defense forces, just a simple human trying to make it in an increasingly dangerous universe.
The primary story mode is largely a survival game in which you must gather and craft resources while managing hunger, hydration, and more. Along the way, you’ll become increasingly involved in the effort to eradicate the alien scourge for good. The co-op mode has you join with other players and take the fight straight to the aliens as you try to survive for seven days (via GamingBolt).
You’ll also have an opportunity to play as an alien attempting to locate and destroy any remaining human survivors. By all accounts, „War of the Worlds“ will allow you to explore the ravages of interplanetary conquest from every conceivable angle.
„War of the Worlds“ is currently available via early access on Steam and is expected to have a full release sometime in 2023.
Developed by Framebreak, „Lightyear Frontier“ promises to take the cozy gameplay of farm simulators to the final frontier. You and up to three friends will travel to an alien planet at the edge of space and be tasked with setting up a homestead there. You’ll have to establish crops and build infrastructure in collaboration with your friends on an uncharted world.
You’d be forgiven if that doesn’t sound like the most relaxing scenario you’ve ever heard of. But „Lightyear Frontier“ dispenses with the more frightening aspects of space exploration and focuses on the relaxing parts of it. You will be asked to grow plants and build buildings, but you won’t be asked to fight aliens or make sure you don’t run out of air. According to Games Radar, there aren’t any combat mechanics and you won’t be asked to manage health or stamina.
