Several indie co-op RPGs, including Children of Morta, Moon Hunters, Outward, and the upcoming Bound By Blades, offer players a chance to immerse themselves in engaging stories of fantasy adventure through local and online multiplayer. These games’ generally lower-than-AAA prices also make them more accessible – ideal for friends who want to try something new together.
Multiplayer RPGs frequently straddle the line between epic single-player video game RPGs and tabletop roleplaying games (particularly in the case of Larian Studios’ Divinity: Original Sin 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3). Without needing a game master, players of these co-op RPGs can work with each other to overcome challenges, experience epic stories, and explore fascinating landscapes.
That said, it can be tricky to implement local or online co-op into roleplaying video game, especially if it has a turn-based combat system. Computer RPGs with an emphasis on collecting new loot and gear can also be tricky to reconcile with multiplayer modes, since each player will want to get their fair share of the rewards. The following indie co-op RPGs each innovate their own solutions to these challenges, and those solutions frequently lead to new, interesting paradigms of gameplay.
C0-Op RPGs – Children of Morta
The story of roguelike action RPG Children of Morta is centered around the Bergson family, a clan of heroes devoted to watching over Mount Morta and keeping the Corruption on its slopes from spreading. In the game’s campaign and procedurally generated maps, one to two players choose a members of the family to play as, each with their own unique abilities, narratives, and upgrades. The co-op system for Children of Morta is currently local only, though an online mode is in the works. In the meantime, the local co-op mode can be played online using certain platforms’ remote play features.
C0-Op RPGs – Moon Hunters
In the world of Moon Hunters, a fantasy setting inspired by Mesopotamian mythology, a group of heroic characters sets out from their hometown to search for the the recently vanished moon, all while the armies of a Sun Cult muster for war. The gameplay of this roguelite action RPG revolves around players venturing between different areas in a hex-based map, fighting off hordes of enemies with the abilities of their selected characters, purchasing randomized ability upgrades from vendors, and doing chores around the campfire as the days elapse. The roughly one-hour duration of a Moon Hunters session meshes well with the RPG’s online and local co-op modes, while the mythical narrative that emerges over the course of several playthroughs extends its replayability with friends.
C0-Op RPGs – Bound By Blades
The premise of upcoming action RPG Bound By Blades comes across as a mix of The Legend Of Zelda with Monster Hunter: World – specifically, an alternate version of Monster Hunter: World where the anthropomorphic cat sidekicks do the monster slaying themselves. In the world of Ashmyr, overrun with feral, bloodthirsty beasts, Bound By Blades players take on the role of feline heroes scavenging gear, gathering potion ingredients, crafting weapons, and acquiring skills in order to confront fearsome creatures. The combat system appears to be a blend of turn-based battles, real-time combat, and bullet-hell shooters, with teams of players dashing between four points in a square while a monster in the center fires off special attacks and projectiles.
C0-Op RPGs – Outward
Open-world RPG Outward has strong survival and crafting elements, presenting the player character as an ordinary, un-chosen individual who takes up the wandering fantasy adventurer lifestyle. Accordingly, many of Outward‘s gameplay mechanics focus on wilderness survival details that most other fantasy RPGs gloss over: scavenging for and cooking food and water, wearing the right clothing to avoid suffering from the local weather, sleeping regularly to avoid fatigue, and picking the right backpack to carry stuff in. Outward supports both local and online co-op, letting other players bring their characters into a friend’s world or create new characters from scratch that spawn with just their underclothes – a tough start in harsh, winter environs.
