Best Co-op horror games

Horror is way more fun when faced in a group because you gain extra resilience against minor threats and get even more scared when the fear and paranoia seep into and destroy your party.

Sadly, most studios don’t risk going for AAA co-op horror experiences, but they should, as they provide some of the most thrilling experiences you can get out of a game. Let’s look at the best co-op horror experiences out there.

Lethal Company

A true horror creator’s only fear is to have their creation ridiculed. No one wants to pour their soul into making what they think is the scariest monster of all time and then have audiences laugh their asses off at it. The best example in gaming is the ghost baby from Layers Of Fear, who runs into a wall and falls down in an unintentionally hilarious manner. It’s a perfect “what were they thinking” moment capable of tainting your every memory from that game.

Lethal Company is miraculously immune to that problem, as it’s known for getting players to laugh hysterically at their predicaments while also pissing their pants in fear. Aside from capitalism itself, the other enemies we face in Lethal Company are ridiculous in one way or another, but they still manage to get the job done.

Resident Evil 5

Most of the complaints aimed at Resident Evil 5 focused on the co-op NPC’s AI. I’d add that the other aspect preventing RE5 from being an all-timer among Resident Evil fans was that it came out after Resident Evil 4, and pretty much any RE game would be a step down after that. Still, and I challenge you to take me up on that, I’d argue that a RE5 playthrough with a real human co-op partner is just as fun as RE4 at its best. Punching boulders is great, even more so when your partner is screaming “COME ON!” as they wait for rescue.

Definitely nothing to read into regarding AI vs real people in this entry.

Phasmophobia

You know what sucks about Reality tv shows about ghost hunting? They suck for many reasons, I’m sure, but the main one is that they’re all fake. Whether you like those or not, Phasmophobia is a great option because you get to experience actual contact — and likely death — by ghost.

These ghosts aren’t really real, I think — and hope — but they are in the context of the game, and it works so well. Phasmophobia would’ve worked as a single-player game, but it’s elevated to such greater heights by allowing players to create their own team of ghostbusters.

Killing Floor 2

Most great horror games of recent times follow Silent Hill’s rule of putting players in the shoes of a mostly defenseless or at least untrained character in a nightmare scenario. I love that, but I also love Killing Floor 2 for taking us back to a time when we got weaponry to match the monstrosities we’re up against. Though it never reaches the heights of Left 4 Dead 2, Killing Floor 2 is a hell of a lot of fun because of its completely bonkers setting and the plethora of monsters we have to get rid of.

Deceit 2

Deceit 2 is a co-op game with a masterful twist. You see, you must co-operate with all but two of your friends, you just don’t know which ones. A real-time take on Werewolf, Deceit has you and your team work together to find out who’s the impostor, and though it features a formulaic “escape map-type” gameplay seen in games like Dead By Daylight, it manages to feel fresh for much longer because the true horror here comes from your uneasy team dynamics. Try this one out if you want to have a lot of fun harmlessly testing your group’s bonds and ability for betrayal.

Escape the backrooms

The backrooms are the Slenderman of our time. An Internet-born myth about an inescapable liminal place that’s as mundane-looking as it is dangerous. The meme has spawned a fantastic YouTube video series, but it’s even more interesting as a co-op title. One of the scariest elements about the backrooms mythos is that you’d have to traverse this place in solitude. The game allows you to face this place with the help of a group, and, guess what, it doesn’t get any better.

Left 4 Dead 2

Well, you know this one would come. Valve has a long history of excellent multiplayer games, but those tend to put you against other people. The Left 4 Dead series was the company’s first foray into the competitive shooter scene, and it remains one of the best in the genre even over ten years after its original release. The rules are simple: four people have to go from point A to point B and face off against fantastically large numbers of zombies. There is no lack of cool setpieces or enemy variety, to the point that going back and playing the old campaigns remains as fun nowadays as it did so long ago. It also helps that you can get Left 4 Dead 2 at deep discounts multiple times per year.

With all that, only one question remains: when are we getting Left 4 Dead 3?

SCP: 5K

Another game born from Internet creepypasta, the SCP games have you working as an agent in the field of paranormal entity containment. You find yourself and your friends in a facility meant to imprison all sorts of possibly demonic entities, but something has gone very wrong and you now have to do your best to deal with them and hopefully come out alive. 5K is especially great if you’re looking for a fresh perspective on co-op horror.

Returnal

Returnal was originally a single-player-only modern bullet hell affair, but the developers quickly realized it was too good not to be shared. An update introduced the option to share the experience with a buddy, and it’s an absolute blast. Instead of running away from monsters, Returnal has you running away and dodging their projectiles, but I assure you it’s just as fun.

Also, this is one of the few times when a co-op horror experience features AAA production values, so there’s no reason not to give it a shot if you’re looking for a truly excellent experience in surviving hell together.

Call Of Duty Zombies

Zombies began as a fun novelty game mode but it quickly grew into something bigger than most non-Call of Duty games out there. Using CoD’s mechanics to face off against the undead horde is incredibly fun, even more so when most iterations add even more perks to make this mode stand out even more.

Now, you just have to find which Call Of Duty has the best-suited Zombies mode for you. If you’re into straight-up gruesome horror, I’d go with Call Of Duty WWII. If you want the most fun out of the mode, however, I’d recommend Black Ops 3. Feel free to check out this list we created to let you know about the Zombies experience that best fits you.

Devour

Cultists are the bad guys in whatever intellectual property they show up in, but not in Devour. Here, they’re just dumbasses. They’re also who you play as. Devour has you not trying to unleash an evil deity via some dark ritual but rather having you stop it after the it has already gone bad. The concept is pretty fun, and Devour sure has gameplay and looks to match.

Labyrinthine

When it comes to horror, you either get survival, psychological, or a mix of both. You rarely get actual cerebral horror, but Labyrinthine has that in spades. On top of a creepy atmosphere, Labyrinthine is the rare game that invites you and your team not merely to shoot the monsters until they die but also to get your brains in tune to solve a bunch of cool puzzles.

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