Gaming has never been more expensive. We’re here to investigate why, and help you play more while spending less. Welcome to GameSpot Cheap Week.
Fewer and fewer games emphasize couch co-op these days, as we’ve moved to an increasingly online world that often assumes if you’re playing video games with your friend, you’re doing it in two different locations over the internet. That’s all well and good, but it also means that in most cases, you and your friend both need to own a copy of a game in order to play it together. Yes, most of the time this is true, but a number of games have released over the last several years that support cooperative play without everyone needing to own a copy. This is usually accomplished via a digital item called a Friend’s Pass, which lets someone without the game access it as long as they’re playing with someone who does own the game.
Inflation and the cost of living are soaring, and it can be very difficult to justify a video game purchase just because your friend wants to play through it with you. As such, for Cheap Week, we’ve rounded up some of the best games you can enjoy with friends, even if only one of you owns a copy. These range from mandatory co-op experiences to games that are just a lot more fun with more people, and there’s a very good chance you’ll find something up your alley on this list.
FBC: Firebreak
It failed to attract much of an audience, but Remedy’s Control spin-off FBC: Firebreak is still worth checking out for fans of the studio’s brand of Lynchian weirdness, and you don’t need to own multiple copies to play it with a friend. The game features a Friend’s Pass that can be accessed across PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Because the game is so focused on cooperative action, this should make it much easier for you to find someone to play with (though it’s meant for three players, so cross your fingers that someone else also bought the game).
Lords of the Fallen
Lords of the Fallen is a souls-like, meaning it’s fully playable as a single-player experience, but if you want to experience it cooperatively with a friend, the game supports a Friend’s Pass. Even better, it supports full cross-play with the Friend’s Pass, so your co-op partner can download it on console while you’re playing on PC, or vice versa. Lords of the Fallen is an especially good choice for a Friend’s Pass, as souls-likes can be notoriously frustrating and another player can make that experience a little less stressful. Or you’ll just both get upset.
Midnight Murder Club
Not only does Midnight Murder Club only cost $10 if you’re purchasing it outright–it also supports one of the most generous passes of any game on this list. The Guest Pass gives up to five other players access to Midnight Murder Club alongside the person who owns the game, and since it’s a six-player multiplayer party game, that makes it very easy to convince your friends to play with you. It also supports cross-play, so some players can be on PS5 while others play on PC.
Reanimal
Reanimal may not seem like the type of game that would come with a Friend’s Pass, but the horror-adventure allows you to bring along another player completely free to experience the entire campaign online. The feature works across PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5, with one player installing the full game while the other installs the Friend’s Pass. The one exception is on Nintendo Switch 2, where it makes use of the system’s GameShare feature, and this requires you to have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, as well.
A Way Out
The first Hazelight game on this list, A Way Out is only playable in two-person co-op mode. As such, the studio smartly includes a Friend Pass so only one player needs to own the game. A Way Out’s gameplay relies entirely on cooperation, with a split-screen perspective showing one player what the other one is doing at all times as they attempt to escape from prison by any means necessary. It’s a departure from the more colorful, whimsical adventures the studio is known for, but it’s no less effective, and it’s a very creative use of the medium.
It Takes Two
One of the best games from Hazelight to date–it won the top prize at The Game Awards in 2021–It Takes Two sees a couple on the brink of divorce working together to solve puzzles and, hopefully, mend their relationship. As with A Way Out, it features a Friend’s Pass, so only one person has to own the game. Also like A Way Out, the game is only playable in co-op and there are plenty of creative multiplayer-focused gameplay features that you’ll discover during the adventure. It Takes Two was, as the name would suggest, clearly designed from the beginning for the co-op experience, and it works incredibly well.
Split Fiction
You’re never going to believe this, but for the follow-up to It Takes Two, Hazelight decided to make … a game with mandatory two-player co-op. Split Fiction’s approach to the concept is very different than It Takes Two or A Way Out, however, splitting the action between fantasy and science-fiction based on the preferences of the two main characters. The Friend’s Pass allows you to bring a friend along for the entire adventure, and it supports cross-play across PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC.
Little Nightmares 3
The spooooky adventures of Little Nightmares 3 might be a little less intense if you’re playing them with a friend, and Bandai Namco offers a Friend’s Pass for the game to make that a little bit easier. You can invite someone who doesn’t own the game and play with them from beginning to end in co-op, but there are a few caveats here. The first is that if you start the game in co-op, you have to finish it in co-op, and you cannot go from a solo game to a co-op game without restarting. The second is that cross-play is not supported, so make sure your friend has the platform you plan to buy the game for.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint
It’s not the best Ghost Recon game, that’s for sure, but Ghost Recon Breakpoint is certainly more fun when you have a friend joining you for its open-world chaos. In fact, you can have up to three friends join you, so they can take on the toughest challenges Aurora has to offer. In order to participate, players will need to have either PlayStation Plus or Xbox Game Pass Console as well as the game’s Free Trial version. And when your friends ask, “Is that skateboarding legend Rodney Mullen as the tech-magnate character?” you can tell them that indeed it is. We’re still not sure why.
Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nintendo released a game that seemed a little unusual for a first-party release. Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics is a collection of some of the best-known tabletop and card games, as well as some unexpected bonuses like slot cars and bowling. Many of these are playable on the go using a single Switch system, letting both players control the action on the touchscreen, for instance, but you can also play with two Switch systems via the Clubhouse Games Guest Pass. Any games that support local play will work as long as one of the players has the full title, and it’s a great time-killer to cycle through the many different games.
Lego Voyagers
Lego Voyagers is an exploration-focused adventure specifically meant for two-player co-op, and as such, the game includes a Friend’s Pass. All you have to do to play the game in co-op is have one player who owns the full game and another who has downloaded the Friend’s Pass Edition. Once the latter is invited into an online session, they can then play the entire brick-filled adventure together from beginning to end. If you’ve been looking for something a little less outright silly than some of the other Lego games, and you want to bring a friend along, this is a great option.
Wolfenstein Youngblood (Deluxe Edition)
Not all versions of the game support this feature, but if you specifically have the Deluxe Edition of the co-op game Wolfenstein Youngblood, you get access to the Buddy Pass. This works like any other Friend’s Pass, giving the other person access to the full experience alongside you for free. We do highly recommend playing Youngblood with another person, as well, because while the game does support single-player for its campaign, the action was clearly designed for two players working together.
