Co-Op Open-World Game Masterpieces

There are a lot of co-op options in open-world games, but just because the option is there, it doesn’t automatically mean the co-op experience makes the overall game better. For example, Donkey Kong Bananza is a 10/10 game, but the co-op option is not a 10/10 experience since the second player cannot do much, but it is a nice option to have.

For an open-world game to have good co-op gameplay, there needs to be a better balance. Every player has to come away from the experience gaining something. The following games, including Saints Row: The Third and Elden Ring, do just that. They will be ranked considering the base game and how well co-op is implemented.

Elden Ring

Explore The Lands Between With A Trio

• Co-Op Options: Three Online

Elden Ring’s open-world design lends itself well to the co-op format. FromSoftware has always offered co-op support in their Soulslike games, but Elden Ring was an upgrade. Players could summon two of their friends to join wherever they wanted in the world and then fully explore together. They could attack mobs of enemies, look for secrets, or try to defeat one of Elden Ring’s many bosses.

Once a boss was defeated, the party would disband, but players could always reassemble their friends afterward. It’s a weird setup for co-op, admittedly, but once players have it figured out, they won’t want to explore the world without companions, as it just makes things easier, including when online raiders show up. Elden Ring Nightreign, the roguelike side story, also only offered three-player co-op, so those who like the main game will probably enjoy the spinoff too.

Tom Clancy's The Division 2

Save D.C. With Your Squad

• Co-Op Options: Four To Eight Online (Co-Op Missions Vs Raids)

Tom Clancy's The Division 2 took the fight from New York City to Washington, D.C., where the virus spread. Players could squad up with up to three other players online to explore and hunt for loot, shoot random enemies, or tackle specific missions. Even though this is an RPG shooter, it’s also heavily reliant on tactics, and a well-rounded team can make all the difference. In other words, running and gunning just won’t cut it.

There are different classes in the game called Specializations, which dictate some skills and specials. Sharpshooter will be good at long-ranged attacks, while a Demolitionist will be good at dealing with crowds. Working with a team behind cover, or faking out enemies and then flanking them, are always smart moves. There is also a Raid-style mode that supports eight-player co-op for even more intense action, but that’s for end-game builds primarily. Overall, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that a Tom Clancy game would have great co-op.

Grand Theft Auto Online

Pull Off Amazing Heists Or RP

• Co-Op Options: Two-Eight Online (Depends On The Mission)

Grand Theft Auto 5 launched in 2013, and while there have been different versions and updates, most of the content has remained unchanged for decades. That is not the case with its multiplayer mode, Grand Theft Auto Online, which has received several big missions since 2013. At any time, when players jump into a game, they will be able to come across twenty-nine others, all doing their thing in the city. They could technically join up to create chaos, but there are specific missions designed around a rotating party limit, too.

Player count can range from two to eight players. For example, “Truck Together” can split up two teams of four who have to work together to steal trucks and protect them on the road, which takes a smart crew to pull off since the game sends a lot of response units. “No Hay Bronca” is an evolving mission involving everything from trying to get a package to blowing up vehicles, and that only offers four-player co-op. Overall, there are dozens of great heists to pull off with friends in Grand Theft Auto Online, or if they just want to wreak a little havoc in the city, that’s an option too.

Minecraft

Building Your Dream World

• Co-Op Options: Four Local/Eight Online

Minecraft is the perfect middle ground for anyone who wants to play a game with a friend but does not have to worry about intense action, even though there is some combat. That is part of the reason why Minecraft has worked for decades as the perfect chill game for all ages. Players can team up with four others locally on consoles like the PS5, while online co-op offers a broader eight-player option. Depending on whether players set up their own server or not, things can get even stranger, but the more players there are, the more chaotic things can get.

Like a single-player game, players will load into a randomized world and then are given absolutely no goals on what to do. They can dig in the earth until they hit lava, they can find materials and just keep crafting, or they can try to build a little village home together. Whatever the case may be, Minecraft has been a multiplayer experience that keeps on giving.

Saints Row: The Third

Creative Havoc With A Homie

• Co-Op Options: Two Online

Saints Row: The Third has the lowest player count among all of these games, just two, but that is fine. The entire campaign could be experienced with a friend, and that alone was enough because any more players would be too chaotic for an already stacked game filled with strange encounters. There are wrestling matches, VR simulators that turn players into gun-toting toilets, and even very adult-themed dungeons.

Having someone there along for the ride could ensure that the laughs would never stop, even at the most inappropriate times. The co-op option worked in the remastered version of the game as well. For anyone who has never experienced the game before, Saints Row: The Third can be likened to a Grand Theft Auto clone, but it is so much more than that. In many ways, it surpassed Grand Theft Auto years ago, at least in its absurd nature, even if it doesn’t have fancy online heists, but that’s a debate for another day.

Halo Infinite

Master Chief Multiplied

• Co-Op Options: Four Online

One thing fans look forward to at the launch of a new Halo game is experiencing it with a buddy or several. The latest game, Halo Infinite, was released in 2021 and would not get its four-player supported co-op until almost a year later. More so than the other Halo games, this one benefited the most from co-op because it was the first one set in a full open world. That meant bases were more heavily guarded, and even for Master Chief, it could be impenetrable alone.

So, for those patient enough to play the game almost a year later, they were treated to a better experience. Four players could experience the full campaign together, including exploring the world according to side content as well. The shooting was inaccurate as always, and the grappling hook added a nice hook to combat and movement. It may not be the best co-op Halo campaign of all time, but it is the best one in an open-world setting.