What are the best split-screen PC games?

Genre:Sports / Racing / Soccer

Platforms:PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Windows, macOS, Linux

Each game has a time limit of 5 minutes, paused only when one team scores and the ball is reset to mid-field. By keeping each session short, the game works well for people that want to play a quick game without getting drawn in to a longer objective. See More

Top Pro

Great for quick play sessions

Top Con

Match making can be slow at times

Especially if you're a higher tier player it can take a while to find a suitable opponent. See More

Top Pro

Customization of cars is creative and fun

There are quite a few cars to choose from, including DLC cars such as the Delorean from Back to the Future. After picking a car, you can customize it with countless possibilities. You can change the paint scheme, color, paint type (gloss/flat, etc.), wheels, boost color, hat, and antenna toppers. This allows you to create a car that truly matches your style. See More

Top Pro

Simple controls

Whether you use a controller or keyboard and mouse, the controls are fairly simple. You are driving a car pushing a ball around, with forward, reverse, boost, power-slide and jump as your only real abilities to learn. The difficulty comes in learning to use these abilities to perform in air and off the wall maneuvers that will make for breath-taking replays and make the unexpected play. See More

Top Pro

Creative and fun customization of cars

With DLC there are quite a few cars to choose from, including the Delorean from Back to the Future. The player can create a customized car with countless possibilities, ranging from choice of paint scheme, color, paint type (gloss/flat, etc.), wheels, boost color, hat, and antenna toppers. See More

Top Pro

Clear objectives keep the focus on the gameplay

Get the ball in the net, soccer at it's simplest. This game is physics driven, using different cars as players, making it a fast-paced and exciting game with a basic underlying objective. Being easy to understand, just about anyone can get the hang of the game after a single play session. See More

Each level in the game has its own look and design which can keep the gameplay varied thanks to creating a need to explore. The levels range from deserts to ice filler terrain, and no two levels look alike. See More

Castle Crashers

Top Pro

Varied level designs keep the game fresh

Top Con

Bugs that appeared in the original XBox title were not fixed for the PC port

There are still bugs and glitches in the game that were in the original XBox version. Even though there were simple fixes for some of these the dev nor publisher bothered to address them. See More

Specs

Co-Op:4 Player Online / 4 Player Couch

Genre:Action / Adventure / Beat 'em Up

There are several jokes and silly moments throughout the game. All done without speaking any word. This keeps the game lighthearted and amusing thanks to the humor of the creators and how they infused it into the game itself. See More

Top Pro

Pleasant sense of humour

Top Con

Fair amount of grinding

There is a good amount of grinding that will need to take place for players to be able to advance past certain bosses. See More

The game can be played cooperatively with each player taking control of one of the three characters - thief, wizard and warrior. See More

Trine 2

Top Pro

Versatile multiplayer with its built in 3-player local and online co-op

Top Con

Somewhat simplistic puzzles

The game includes mostly physics based puzzles, but they're not particularly challenging. See More

Specs

Co-Op:Local / Online

Genre:Puzzle / Adventure / Platformer

Top Pro

Gorgeous art style that is very detailed

Trine has a very fairytale-esque art style that has a level of detail often not found in an indie game. Each environment has rich visuals with stunning lighting. See More

Top Pro

Great soundtrack

Since the main gameplay mechanic of casting spells is skill based on how quickly you execute a certain key combination, there's a high chance of misclicking or mistargeting and accidentally attacking your ally. There’s nothing quite like thunderbolting or summoning death on your friends. See More

Magicka

Top Pro

Chaotic gameplay that results in amusing friendly fire

Top Con

Optimization could be better

At certain times during competitive play, the game can lag or slow down (not rare for an online game), which may mess up the timing of skill shots in the game. Being that timing is highly important to the gameplay, having a poor netcode that fluctuates during play can be upsetting, especially if it results in a loss. See More

Specs

Co-Op:4 Player Online / 4 Player Couch / 4 Player LAN

Genre:Action RPG

Magicka has a unique spell-casting system based on adding elements such as fire, water, and stone to an action queue. There are eight basic elements (each assigned to a key), of which up to five can be queued at a time. Some elements can be combined in the queuing process (such as fire and water to create steam). The effect of the spell changes to match the elements you add to the queue. Additionally, there are four casting methods: beam (right-click), area (shift+right-click), self-cast (middle-click), and imbue weapon (shift+click). See More

Top Pro

Huge variety of spells that can be accessed in any given situation

Top Con

A bit of a learning curve

With the number of spells you have at your command comes the challenge of discovering and remembering them all. But once you know them, you'll be able to counter anything that's thrown at you. See More

The whole game can be played in local or online co-op with up to three other players. Each stage is procedurally generated and feature certain objectives that need completed. Of course, the objectives need executed while hordes of enemies swarm you. This is what makes for the intense action as there are so many enemies to be found coming at you at all times, add in extra players and the action becomes quite turbulent thanks to the friendly fire mechanic. There is no way to turn off friendly fire which means everyone who is going in guns blazing may upset the other players meaning everyone will need to keep a close eye on all of the action taking place in order to succeed. See More

HELLDIVERS

Top Pro

Intense co-op play

Top Con

Joining co-op can be a pain

There is no way for everyone to just jump into a game, one player needs to host and then the others can be invited, but of course they already need to be on the players friend list, which may not always be the case which means more work to get everything together. A more seamless experience would be nice to see but sadly that is not how the co-op was designed. See More

Specs

The main story of the game plays out a lot like the theme in Starship Troopers, where the world is united in exterminating an alien race on other planets. The humor found in the movie as well as the action are to be found in this game as well, which is all a bit over the top but all in fun, of which the game is. So for all of those that are fans of Starship Troopers, this game should offer a bit of nostalgia for them. See More

Top Pro

Heavily influenced by the film Starship Troopers

Top Con

Things can get a bit repetitive

After a while of playing the game, it can all seem a bit "samey" in that really all you are doing is the same tasks over and over again. the repetitiveness of the game can get frustrating after a while leading to the game being ignored. See More

Top Pro

Requires more tactics over other twin stick shooters

Ammo is limited in the game, meaning the player needs to make each shot count. On top of this, where an enemy is hit matters as well, so center mass is the best place to shoot them, of course this is not always easy. Due to the fact that ammo is limited and placement of shots matter it is up to the player to try and figure out the best methods for not running out of ammo and shooting each creature. This requires patience and planning, something that is often missing from run of the mill twin stick shooters. See More

Top Con

Game gets difficult

There are 12 different classifications of difficulty in the game, as you progress the game gets a lot more difficult going all the way up to the twelfth difficulty. For some this may be too difficult and will end in frustration, so for those not looking for a challenge, this game may not be for them. See More

Top Pro

Enemies go all out during extractions

At the end of each stage the player/players must order an extraction vehicle. Once called the players must ward off an onslaught of enemies for 90 seconds. Only one player needs to get on the extraction vehicle, which means all out mayhem as each player can just start unleashing their most devastating weapons. This is quite a fun part of the game as each player can just go all out. See More

Top Pro

The scoring system greatly encourages teamwork

When playing co-op, once a level is completed there will be a score rewarded to the players. Luckily this score is not based off of kills, which means players can focus more on objectives instead of going lone wolf for kills. the scoring allows for more teamwork to happen, which is great as that is what co-op should be geared more towards, cooperation. See More

Dungeon Defenders shines in its multiplayer mode, but playing alone is just boring. See More

Dungeon Defenders

Top Con

Single player is boring

Top Pro

Fun mix of tower defense, FPS, and RPG mechanics

Dungeon Defenders is a mix of many genres, resulting in game that feels original (although it leans most heavily on the tower defense model). This originality creates a situation where the game still feels familiar enough to grasp the gameplay, while still keeping things fresh enough for those familiar with the genres combined in the game. See More

Specs

Co-Op:2 Player Online / 4 Player Couch / 4 Player LAN

Platform:Win / Mac / Linux

Top Con

Repetitive gameplay

Once you've played a few maps you'll have a taste of everything this game has to offer. See More

Top Pro

Tons of replayability thanks to numerous weapon loadouts and many character classes

Due to the wide assortment of classes and loadouts, replayability is pretty high. Each class has its own skills, each weapon will require different strategies. Mixing these together allows for numerous possibilities in gameplay. See More

There is split screen local multiplayer as well as online multiplayer. Both of these allow players to play with their friends whether they are in the same room or online somewhere else. This makes for convenience, which is always nice to see. See More

Trackmania Turbo

Top Pro

Local and online multiplayer

Top Con

No personal servers for PC

This means that online games will be dependent on the developers servers. There will be no way for users to create their own servers that can house their own rules or tracks. Earlier releases allowed for this and it does seem that the console release has held the game back in this regard as dedicated servers are how the consoles work as well. See More

Specs

Platforms:PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows

Co-Op:2 Player Local

Genre:Racing

Top Pro

Cars can be customized

While not necessary for the game and a bit limited, there are some painting customization for the available cars, which allow for a more individualistic look, though this only goes so far as most cars do look the same no matter the color. See More

Top Con

You can not bump other cars

Being able to bump other cars makes the game more intense and fun, but in Trackmania Turbo, you are not able to do so. See More

Top Pro

Simple in nature

The looks as well as the gameplay may bee seen as a bit simple, but this all plays into the core of the game as it is designed to do one thing and one thing well, race time trials. So while it does not feature over complex customization or graphical effects, its track design and overall fun of play is what makes the whole game stand out. The point of the game is easy to grasp that anyone will understand how to play, of course this does not mean the game is easy, the difficulty is quite challenging, which just adds to the charm and overall appeal. See More

Top Con

Tracks too short

The tracks are too short and there is only about 1 lap which is not fun when playing multiplayer locally. See More

Top Pro

Over the top gameplay

Cars dropped from helicopter to begin a race, tracks with numerous loops, jumps, twist and turns, this all lends itself to how over the top the gameplay is. Not based in reality at all but the game offers a bunch of arcade crazy action. See More

Top Con

Very difficult

This is a time trial game and it shows, players will need to reset after reset each course in order to learn the track to get the best times. One mistake and that record is gone. Only pure perfection succeeds here. Some may enjoy this type of challenge, other though will most likely get frustrated. See More

Top Pro

Robust track creator

The track creator in the game allows for creation of just about anything one can imagine. What is even better is that players can share these tracks online, which means unlimited replayability due to always having a plethora of new tracks to race on. See More

Top Con

Music is a bit "samey"

The music in the game is basically techno with thumping beats. The majority sounds pretty similar and it may become grating for those that spend a ton of time in the game. While not overly bad, it definitely gets old after a while. See More

Top Pro

Crisp and clean visuals

The graphics have a very arcade feel to them, but do stand out as well done. The colors are bright and the tracks each have their own look thanks to the locales they are placed in. The whole game will run easily at 60fps no matter the platform, which helps to keep things looking sharp thanks to no dips in the framerate. Overall this is a slick looking racer. See More

Top Con

Basic looking cars

There is not much to differentiate between cars, while not really the focus of the game, having a few more unique looking cars could not hurt. See More

Top Pro

Available for consoles and PC

Trackmania has historically been a PC game with only on release on console for the Wii U. Trackmania Turbo breaks this tradition as it will be available for PS4 and XBone. See More

You can play with or against other players in several different modes, either online or offline. You can team up with 3 of your friends for split-screen action, or play with up to 15 other people online. With every added player, the co-op games gets harder, which can lead to some seriously challenging, but awesome, gameplay. See More

Serious Sam 3: BFE

Top Pro

The multiplayer is incredibly fun

Top Con

Inconsistent performance

Serious Sam 3 has some serious issues when it comes to performance. Things can be perfectly fine, and then all of a sudden you'll hit ridiculous lag spikes for seemingly no reason at all. See More

Specs

Serious Sam 3 is all about you versus hordes of enemies. There's no cover systems, no camping spawn points, just you against them. See More

Top Pro

Super fast arcade-style action

The game can be played with up to 4 other people on the same computer or over the internet, making this a good game to play on a Steam Machine in the living room if you can. See More

Hammerwatch

Top Pro

Support for up to 4 player local and online co-op

Top Con

Can get very repetitive

There's not much variety in the game, and killing waves of enemies in the same way can get a bit boring after a while. This is especially true if you’re playing single-player. See More

Specs

Co-Op:4 Player Online / 4 Player Couch / 4 Player LAN

Controller Support:Partial

Platform:Win / Mac / Linux

Top Pro

Allows for different playstyles

There are 6 different classes to choose from: paladin, ranger, wizard, warlock, priest, and thief. Each offers a different way to play the game, giving you a fair amount of freedom in your play style. See More

Top Pro

Open-ended character builds

Players can upgrade their characters as they progress through the game. By choosing to upgrade certain moves instead of others, players can create different builds that have their own strengths and weaknesses. See More

Attacks in Guacamelee are done with combining lots of different attacks into one devastating and fun to execute combo. See More

Guacamelee

Top Pro

Fun fighting combo system

Top Con

Controls on the keyboard don't work that well

The game is clearly designed with a controller in mind. Specifically, a mechanic that allows throwing enemies and various objects uses the analog stick to aim. Aiming using the keyboard is limited to 8 directions and is not sufficiently precise. See More

Specs

Co-Op:2 Player Couch

Genre:Action / Platformer / Metroidvania

Pop-culture as well as other popular titles within the metroidvania and platformer genres are referenced throughout the game in various situations for comedic effect. And it's done in a very unobtrusive way as to not be annoying. See More

Top Pro

Well executed pop-culture references as well as references of other titles

Top Pro

Game progression through new moves

Areas in the game are unlocked by performing moves on obstructive blocks, which allows your move complexity to increase proportionally with game progression. See More

The game supports up to four-player local co-op. See More

Legend of Dungeon

Top Pro

Couch co-op

Top Con

Difficult to use inventory system

The inventory requires scrolling through a single line of items. That process can be tedious on its own, but becomes even more frustrating since that makes the inventory almost impossible to use during combat because the game doesn't pause while the inventory is browsed. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Mostly Positive

Top Pro

No VR sickness

Since the player is not controlling an avatar from the first person, but instead is detached from what is happening within the world, there is no risk of motion sickness. See More

Top Con

Simplistic combat mechanic

The combat consists of walking up to an enemy and pressing the attack button to swing whatever weapon is currently in hand or long-pressing it to charge up a cleave attack. That's it. See More

Top Pro

Randomised mayhem adds lots of replayability

As is par for the course in roguelikes, everything in the game is randomised. Items, weapons, buffs and enemies are different with each play through and levels are procedurally generated adding to the replayability of the game considerably. See More

Top Pro

Great sound design

Being that Spelunky is at its heart a roguelike the gameplay sessions can tend to be quick as the player will die quite often. This makes for something that can be played in quick bursts throughout the day. The convenient saving also lends to this as a game that is still ongoing can be quickly saved in order to be picked up at a later time. See More

Spelunky

Top Pro

Quick sessions so you can play in short bursts

Top Con

Co-op can be confusing

In co-op this game can be very confusing as it gives little instruction on how to play. See More

Specs

Co-Op:4 Player Couch

Genre:Platformer / Indie / Roguelike

Ranging from Mega Man to Metroid, there are a tone of great mods for Spelunky all of which make for a new experience in the game which vastly expands the replayability. See More

Top Pro

Expanded gameplay through mods

Top Con

Difficult to the point of frustration

Spelunky is pretty difficult and some could say abusive, but with practice and a desire for masochism the game can be mastered. See More

Awesomenauts works as watered-down style of a regular MOBA and is played on a 2d side scrolling plane. This has made it easier to be played on consoles as well as for first time MOBA players. The fact that it's such an easy game to get started with makes it very appealing for a lot of people. See More

Awesomenauts

Top Pro

Easy to learn for beginners

Top Con

Dead community

Compared to most, this game's community is mostly dead. If you want to play a match, you'll have to beg your steam friends to join a game. The game's creators even went so far as to give away thousands of copies of the base game away for free some months ago. But people have given up on this game. See More

Specs

Publisher:dtp entertainment

Available on Steam:Yes

Number of Heroes:17

Top Pro

Deceptively deep gameplay

Despite appearances, Awesomenauts is a very tactical game. While it may seem very easy and simple on the surface, it will take time to learn all of it's nuances and become a force to be reckoned with. See More

Top Con

Gameplay can get a little stale

Awesomenauts can get a little repetitive after awhile of playing. See More

As each lap is run the levels in game will transition and change, which makes learning and adapting to the tracks something each player needs to consider. See More

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

Top Pro

Levels change as laps progress

Top Con

Visuals can sometimes obstruct view

The game has bright levels with colorful visual effects that can sometimes get in the way of actually driving. See More

Specs

Vehicles change shape at various points in the race with each variant of the vehicle behaving slightly differently offering more variety in each race. See More

Top Pro

Vehicle transformations offer gameplay variety

Top Con

Some of the iconic SEGA characters didn't make it to the roster

Top Pro

Great selection of tracks

There's a ton of different tracks to race on, each with their own unique hazards and tricks to learn. See More

Up to 6 teams, each with up to 8 worms can be present in the game. See More

Worms Armageddon

Top Pro

Allows for large multiplayer battles

Top Con

Single player puzzles are frustrating

Many of the single player campaigns are difficult due to frustrating puzzles that can take many tries to complete. As much as it is nice to have a single player campaign the real meat of the game is meant to be in the multiplayer, which shows in the design of these single player missions. See More

Specs

Genre:Strategy / Turn-Based

Co-Op:Yes

Controller Support:No

Top Pro

Easily practice in single player

Upon Armageddons release this was the first Worms title to have a single player campaign. This allows for a great way to practice before going online to play, which can be difficult due to being matched with players with a higher skill level. See More

Top Pro

Easy to access multiplayer

Due to Worms Armageddons integrated Worms.net server the multiplayer is simple to join making for an intuitive online experience. See More

Dustforce has you, well, clean up dust. It's a platformer style game, so you're going to be doing a lot of running and jumping. You'll have to get into really hard to reach spots, and the game relies on split-second timing and reflexes, so it's going to get quite intense. In order to perfect a level there's going to be a lot of practice, and a lot of deaths. However, the feeling of mastering a level is totally worth it. Overall the game is a rush and very exciting, if a bit frustrating, to play. See More

Dustforce

Top Pro

Addictive gameplay

Top Con

Only local multiplayer

Sadly the multiplayer aspect of Dustforce is local only. For PC gaming to exclude online multiplayer (when there are multiplayer modes) is an odd choice as the platform lends itself better to online play more so than sharing a single monitor. See More

Specs

Dustforce has a very detailed tutorial that teaches the player all of the ins and outs of the gameplay. See More

Top Pro

Concise tutorial

An in-game mod editor and Steam Workshop compatibility mean that there’s loads of content available. See More

Cortex Command

Top Pro

Endless mods

Top Con

Expensive for what is on offer

While the game has endless community content, the in-game content is lacking and may not be worth the sticker price of $19.99. See More

Specs

Co-Op:4 Player Couch

Cortex Command is all about building your bunker and destroying the enemy's before they destroy yours. You can customize everything about your gameplay: the traps your bunker might have and all the twists and turns in it, where you want to drop off units to invade the enemy or protect yourself, and which weapons and armor you're going to use. All this customization really makes the game fun, and keeps it fresh and exciting. See More

Platform:Win / Mac

Top Pro

No matter how many times you play, it's never the same