The Best Split Screen PC Games to play in 2024

Vampire Survivors

Vampire Survivors, the incredibly time-consuming bullet heaven developed by Poncle, has a lot going for it.

It pokes good-natured and loving fun at Castlevania, has dozens of characters to unlock, tons of weapons with unique traits and progression, and enough deep system to keep minmaxers happy. It also, surprisingly, has local multiplayer for up to four people.

Image credit: Poncle

If you played VS, you know how nuts this idea is and are probably already excited. If you haven’t played it yet: in this game you’re controlling a character who, as the sessions progresses, typically becomes surrounded by more and more projectiles, beams of energy, and other effects, all making short work of enemies swarming you. Now imagine this with up to 4 people. Absurd and delightful.

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Moving Out

Moving houses on your own is always a lot of work unless you’re willing to abandon your stuff altogether.

You could hire a crews to do it for you, but you better make sure it’s not like the one from Moving Out, because there could be some damage. Thankfully, the game isn’t a serious simulator, more of a humorous, light-hearted physics-based puzzle for up to four players.

Image credit: Devm Games

Every object in the game’s many levels requires a different approach. Some might require two or more people to lift. Others might be fragile and not suitable for tossing it on the pile the way you treat other things. You’re also ranked on your speed, so there might be some doors that need smashing if they make your job harder. Thanks to its physics model and co-op focus, Moving Out is a ton of good fun.

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Untitled Goose Game

Looking at the Untitled Goose Game, you’d think it’s not one that would have a co-op mode, after all it’s a stealth/puzzle game and two players might cause too much mischief than the game can manage.

And yet, you can team up with a friend to become twice the biggest menace the cozy English town has even known. Now nobody will be safe, the geese are out to cause chaos.

Image credit: House House

And cause chaos you will, because UGG has a few checklists of mildly disruptive and very annoying things for you to do, including stealing people’s stuff, scaring a child, and making some people question their reality. Now that there’s two of you, the difficulty of some actions might drop, but the comedic value will go through the roof!

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Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is a delightful game, which has managed to outgrow even its own inspiration, Harvest Moon.

A game about managing a farm near a town full of friendly, helpful NPCs resonated with people, and over time the game grew considerably, becoming even better. One such improvement was the addition of co-op, which makes the game’s theme of working with a local community even stronger.

Image credit: ConcernedApe

Given that days on SDV pass by very quickly and there’s rarely enough time to do everything on your own, getting help from several friends is invaluable. There’s even a special farm layout option designed to make multiplayer even more seamless. With a cozy pixelated aesthetic, easy to intuit mechanics, and friendly atmosphere, Stardew Valley is a wonderful game to relax with solo and with friends alike.

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Outward

Outward is a pretty tough game at the best of times.

It begins with a tight deadline to earn enough money to keep your house. After that the world opens up, dangers and challenges start piling up, and you have to fight for every scrap of influence and power. Wouldn’t it be nice if somebody could help you? Thankfully, it’s possible: one other player can join you either online or in split-screen.

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Despite the help, the game still won’t be a walk in the park, because the enemies get a bit of a boost to compensate, but not big enough to make two-player adventuring futile. In fact, it’s a lot of fun, and can make the already quite dynamic world even more immersive and responsive. Certain systems might also work well in tandem, such as the ritualistic spellcasting. It’s easier to set things up together!

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Baldur's Gate 3

The runaway hit of 2023, Baldur’s Gate 3, much like the previous game by Larian Studios, features local multiplayer for up to two people.

But it also welcomes combos, so two more people can join online for a full, 4-character party. The game can be explosive and dynamic even when you’re alone, but in co-op the game becomes something truly spectacular and impressive.

Image credit: Larian Studios

BG3 is an epic adventure with a ticking bomb in your head in the form of a tadpole threatening to turn you into a merciless monster. There’s also a mysterious, powerful cult, and plenty of companions with tough relationships with higher powers. It’s one of the best games in the RPG genre, and absolute blast, as long as you don’t mind the fact that it features complex turn-based combat.

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Spelunky

Spelunky is an exciting, challenging rogue-like platformer about exploring a randomized cave system filled with enemies, treasures, and an occasional short-tempered shopkeeper.

It can also support up to four players in local split-screen, and you’re not even expected to work together, if you want to you might compete and annoy the hell out of each other for fun and (perhaps) profit.

Image credit: Mossmouth

There are plenty of Spelunkers to pick as your avatars, once you unlock them. Despite their cute designs, they are very vulnerable to the game’s many dangers. Despite death being a common occurrence, Spelunky is a delightful, if rather difficult, game, and playing it with friends, be it co-operatively or competitively is a great way to breathe even more life and chaos into it.

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Spiritfarer

Spiritfarer is a lovely management sim about helping lingering souls move on to their proper afterlife.

As Stella, a temporary manager of Charon’s boat, you’ll need to maintain resource rooms, talk to NPCs, and expand your boat. It’s not a hugely tiresome or lonesome experience, but it is still improved if you invite somebody over to join you in co-op. Arguably, they get the better part of the deal this way.

Image credit: Thunder Lotus

That’s because they get to play as Daffodil, Stella’s cat who’s usually controlled by the computer, but in co-op the furry critter is in the supporting player’s hands. Daffodil can do most things Stella can, except for talking to NPCs, so you get a bit of relief from some busywork and valuable help during platforming sections. It’s also essential to mention that Daffodil’s animation is incredibly charming.

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Hyper Light Drifter

Hyper Light Drifter is a game about venturing into a ruined world in search of artifacts and a cure for the titular Drifter’s illness.

It mixes combat and exploration very well, and its isometric camera, wonderful pixel art, and expressive soundtrack set an unmistakable atmosphere. It’s generally a lonesome journey, but HLD does feature local co-op which might lessen some of the challenges.

Image credit: Heart Machine

Player 2 is limited pretty much to assisting in combat. They can’t interact with other elements of the world, and upgrades are a mirror of the Player 1 progress, but this little bit of companionship can be a nice addition to the game. And it’s not like it’ll make the game a total cakewalk, since bosses get a major health boost to compensate for being confronted by two characters.

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Road Redemption

Have you heard about Road Redemption?

It’s possible that you haven’t, because it’s in an odd niche, but it’s actually a really fun game for fans of motorcycles, vehicular combat, and Mad Max. If this sounds exciting to you, strap in and get ready to join a biker gang. Road Redemption is full of high-speed highway action, with satisfying progression and a complex combat system.

Image credit: Dark Seas Interactive

As a half-racing, half-fighting game, Road Redemption also features local split-screen multiplayer for up to four players at a time. You can, indeed, become a biker gang in more than just name, driving wild and kicking ass. There’s even a story to go with all that over-the-top action, but it’s just an excuse to ride around with your buddies and cause grievous harm on enemy bikers.

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Risk of Rain Returns

While Risk of Rain 2 is doing quite well for itself, the original game shouldn’t be forgotten, especially since it received a very good remake in 2023.

Risk of Rain Returns is a roguelike platform game about trying to survive against hordes of enemies trying to eat your spaceship crash survivor. Or, as the case might be, survivors, because RoRR handles co-op for up to four players locally or online.

Image credit: Hopoo Games

The gameplay is as good as it’s ever been, revolving around pushing your luck and picking up power-ups to keep pushing your luck even harder against increasingly lethal encounters. RoRR’s 2D, side-scrolling presentation works extremely well with its gameplay, and the designs of bosses, rendered in the game’s pixel-art style look great, and loom over lesser enemies and your chosen characters alike.

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Risk of Rain Returns

Bred & Fred is a two-player (or one player and a rock. Don’t ask) co-op game about two small penguins on a big, platforming adventure.

They consider themselves climbers and are trying to reach the peak of a mountain, but it’s a difficult journey, requiring precision, reflexes, and co-operation. Most of these words don’t really apply to penguins on land, do they?

Image credit: Hopoo Games

Bred and Fred are linked by a short rope, letting them swing around ledges and perform slight acrobatics, but the likelihood of you and your co-op partner falling on their faces to a surface below is very high. Thankfully, the game’s cute art style, simple controls, and low stakes make failure funny, instead of frustrating, even if you might consider strangling Player 2at some point.

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Streets of Rage 4

A timeless classic reborn, Streets of Rage 4 updates on the original trilogy of one of the best beat ’em up games ever in every respect.

Phenomenal gameplay? Check. Fantastic soundtrack that just screams the 90s? Check. Painstakingly crafted handmade visuals? Check.

Image credit: DotEmu

SoR 4 marks the return of Axel, Adam and Blaze, ready to whoop them butts of a new criminal organization that – of course! – needs to be stopped. You can do that as a team of up to four players (though the single-player mode is also available), which is a first for the series (the limit before this game was two players only). You can even fight against each other in the Battle Mode.

Ultimately, Streets of Rage 4 is a very competent return of a classic game trilogy. If you’re looking for a good beat ’em up, this one seems like a very good pick.

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It Takes Two

Much like Hazelight Studios’ previous outing, A Way Out, It Takes Two doesn’t even bother trying to have anything short of a single-player mode, period. It takes two to tango and that’s final.

Speaking of which, the duo we play as in the game is a married couple, Cody and May, who are planning on getting a divorce. Once they share the ill news with their daughter, Rose, she makes two dolls that represent her old folks in order to help them make amends. Guess what happens next: the actual parents get trapped inside these dolls and need to embark on a true adventure towards healing and repairing their strained marriage.

It Takes Two is a mixture of various gameplay mechanics and tons of mini-games that shake things up a lot from level to level. Both characters have their unique abilities and both are required to move further, so good cooperation is a must. Ultimately, It Takes Two works well as a metaphor of marriage therapy, is full of fun ideas and delivers a heartwarming message. Definitely a good game to put on this list.

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LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

We’ve written about Traveller’s Tales’ most ambitious project to date a couple times already, so here we’ll focus on the split-screen mode in the game.

As you know, it takes two to have fun in them LEGO games and this one is probably no exception. Solving puzzles and taking on enemies together was always more fun with a friend playing with you.

Just like LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Skywalker Saga’s split-screen mode allows each player to sort of go their separate ways and explore various corners of a particular level. It’s a drop-in drop-out system, meaning a companion can join or leave anytime they wish.

Aside from that, the game is obviously a familiar experience, although there are some changes and new ideas that make things here feel fresh. All in all, there hasn’t been a better video game adaptation of the entire saga yet. Pick it up if you love Star Wars, you shouldn’t be disappointed.

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Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime

It’s a delightfully intense and upbeat co-op game for up to four players (though solo play is still possible, with AI helping you out).

Your task is to fly a spherical spaceship through an indeed dangerous space-time continuum and run from one place on the vessel to another to shoot turrets, pilot the ship, deploy shields, etc. Good cooperation is a must here.

Image credit: Asteroid Base

You can upgrade your ship with gems that unlock new abilities and options. The maps you traverse are randomized, so your team needs to respond to unexpected enemy attacks and make quick decisions.

As a side note, the visuals are strikingly vibrant and with so much going on, there’s lots of stuff to look at.

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Guacamelee! 2

Juan Aguacate, an extraordinary luchador, returns from a brief retirement, equipped with new bone-crushing moves. Oh, and the transformation into a chicken – you can now fight in this form and it’s way more effective than you think.

There’s also plenty of new bosses and challenges to overcome, so it’s good that you can play Guacamelee 2! with up to three friends.

Image credit: DrinkBox Studios

The game is a metroidvania set in the Mexiverse, a world inspired by Mexican legends and traditions. And no, it doesn’t take itself seriously at all, so it’s very cartoony and full of bright colors. Plus it works really well in the co-op mode. Each player (up to four are supported) can pick a different character, some of which need to be unlocked first.

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A Way Out

This one’s an ambitious, cinematic experience that you need to play in a duo. Yup, you can’t go solo here.

A Way Out puts both players in the shoes of Vincent Moretti and Leonard Caruso, two inmates who want to help each other escape. What results from that is a story that would be perfect for a TV show. The only exception here is that you get to make the decisions.

A Way Out puts both split and shared screen mechanics to an excellent use in creating dramatic tension. Sometimes, one character has to distract someone while the other sabotages or steals stuff. Sitting on the same couch really helps here when it comes to communication and deciding who does what.

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Cuphead

Cuphead’s most defining characteristic is its art style that harkens back to the good old days of rubber hose animation, popular in the 1920s.

There’s also the facts that you play as two lads with cups for heads that lost a game with the devil and need to erase their debt somehow. A lot of jumping and shooting ensues as a result.

Image credit: Studio MDHR

Unlike most other games on this list, Cuphead is difficult and unforgiving. The bosses are super tough to beat and you’ll need to dispose of tons of enemies and avoid plenty of obstacles before you reach them, which is a demanding task.

Playing with a friend at least lets you bring back your companion back to life if they happen to perish. Plus, additional firepower is always good.

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Left 4 Dead 2

Left 4 Dead 2 is a major improvement over its predecessor in pretty much every aspect and the infamous AI Director is probably at its most diabolical here.

That’s right: victory won’t come easy. You need to master the art of teamwork in order to complete a mission successfully and move on to the next one in one piece. But that’s what makes this game so rewarding!

Image credit: Valve

The game itself is a co-operative first-person shooter where a team of four survivors with various weapon preferences needs to mow down rampaging zombie hordes and complete certain objectives along the way.

There are also special undead, like the infamous Witch who wreaks real havoc if startled. Left 4 Dead 2 is fast, tense and best played with friends (though there’s a single-player mode here as well).

Left 4 Dead 2

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Enter the Gungeon

This one’s an example of the rogue-lite genre that’s been very popular some time ago, as well as the pixelated art style that’s become sort of a must for such games.

In Enter the Gungeon you become one of the Gungeoneers, each equipped with different weapons and items. Your task is to survive a real bullet hell to reach the ultimate goal: the past-killing gun.

Image credit: Dodge Roll

The co-op mode in the game supports two players and is fully drop-in, drop-out, which means you can be joined by someone at any given point and then continue alone if your partner needs to leave.

With tons of guns to explore and an endless supply of challenges, this is a perfect title if you want to experience some fun shootouts.

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Viscera Cleanup Detail

Doomguy and other shooter heroes are known to leave a trail of gore and destruction once they’re done with ripping and tearing. Who will clean up all this mess? Viscera Cleanup Detail answers this question.

As part of a special team tasked with mopping up whatever’s left of the enemies that once occupied space stations and the like, you get to wield your weapon of choice – your trusty mop – with pride.

Image credit: RuneStorm

Viscera Cleanup Detail is a remarkable game not only because of its mop physics. It’s simply a fun idea that’s been competently executed.

Up to four players can join you locally and up to thirty two players can play together online. The game even provides stats that you can shove in the faces of your incompetent buddies to prove that you’ve been the one to do all the heavy lifting.

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Castle Crashers

Team up with up to three friends, pick the color of your knight and embark on a quest to save a princess.

Thanks to cartoonish visuals all the on-screen carnage looks a lot less gruesome and a lot more amusing.

Image credit: The Behemoth

You have twenty five characters to choose from, dozens of different weapons and an accessible combo system which lets you unleash powerful attacks with ease.

You can even improve your character’s stats and be joined by a cute companion pet, so the game isn’t just besieging castles and slaughtering enemies. By the way, if you’re tired of working together, you can totally duke it out on the arena and see who’s boss!

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Broforce

This one’s a fantastic tribute to Contra and the classic action movies and heroes of the 80s and the 90s.

Broforce is literally littered with references and hilarious parodies of the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sly Stallone, Robocop and so on. Heck, there are even she-bros (such as Ellen Ripbro), because why not?

Image credit: Free Lives Games

The game boasts that it has Fully Destroyable Everything, so you’re free to unleash carnage and wreck everything in your path, including obliterating entire levels with guns, artillery strikes and explosive barrels in the most convenient places.

Up to four players can play on a single PC in the split-screen mode and you can even buy a four-pack for your bros if you want some online play instead.

Broforce

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4. Overcooked 1 & 2

It seems adorable on the outside, but it will quickly make you want to strangle your family and friends to death.

Overcooked’s premise is rather simple: up to four cooks have to prepare a meal. But things get complicated. Stuff must be done in order, utensils and plates must be cleaned, etc. You get the idea.

Image credit: Ghost Town Games

Every second of delay means you won’t serve as many meals, meaning less points. Overcooked is chaos unleashed, especially if someone wants to establish order without others cooperating, but this makes the game so fun.

Overcooked 1 offers only local-based shared screen multiplayer, but the sequel has online capabilities, which offers new opportunities.

Rivals of Aether

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Rocket League

Rocket League does everything its predecessor, Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars, did, but it does all that so much better.

It’s like football, but the teams are way smaller and consist of cars whose task is to send a huge ball flying into the opponents’ goalpost.

We have to admit: this game is really tough to master. Still, the best players can pull of some really amazing tricks that seem almost unreal and impossible to perform. Rocket League took the gaming world by storm. It even features a split-screen mode for up to four players. It works really well despite the fact that the game requires great amounts of spatial awareness.

One more thing: you better grab a gamepad for this game, playing Rocket League using a keyboard is much more difficult.

Rocket League is free to play game on Epic Games.

Rocket League (Steam)

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Divinity: Original Sin II

This one is amazing when you play it alone, but it’s all the more incredible if you get someone to play it with you.

Up to four friends can join you online, but there’s also a split-screen mode for two people.

But the most impressive feature here is pretty much the Game Master Mode, hands down. Find up to five people in total, decide who’s the storyteller and who are the participants and unleash your creativity in a fantastic editor that lets you build new adventures from scratch.

It’s basically a tabletop RPG experience, but in a video game.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 | Definitive Edition

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