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Have you ever spent a casual afternoon in stitches because one of your friends kept setting off all the traps? If yes, you know how much fun co-op gaming can be. Alas, Android games that aren’t PvP games are hard to come by, so I’ve curated a list of games that are an absolute blast to play with friends.
1Otherworld Legends
Otherworld Legendsis my favorite roguelite Android game of all time. It’s great to play alone or with up to three other players. The game features several procedurally-generated dungeons with a boss fight at the end of each level, and in the end, you get to the main boss. Like in other similar games, the enemies' health and damage scales with the number of players.
When you die or defeat the final boss, you’re taken back to the main hub called the “Living Room,” where a rich cast of playable characters and NPCs greets you. Each hero has multiple spells that completely change your playstyle, allowing you and your friends to come up with unique builds and hero combos.
2Minecraft
Minecraftis probably the most versatile game you can play with friends, as it’s a sandbox where only your creativity is the limit. It features both online and offline multiplayer; you can even play it cross-platform, as long as it’s theBedrockand not theJava Edition. While offline is fine if you play it with a family member, I strongly recommend finding orhosting your own serverso that your friends and you can play independently as well. It also has a default high player limit of 20, which can be increased in server settings.
3Gunfire Reborn
I first playedGunfire Rebornon PC and absolutely loved it, so I was ecstatic to hear that the game is out on Android, too (though it only supports cross-platform between Android and iOS). It’s a fun roguelite first-person shooter with low-poly, cel-shaded graphics reminiscent of theBorderlandsfranchise. You and up to three other friends work together to kill enemies (including bosses), collect loot, and unlock talents.
4PewPew Live
PewPew Liveis a chaotic top-down shooter with support for LAN co-op and five different game modes. Its twin-joystick controls and colorful vector graphics make the game look deceptively simple; it requires a fast reaction time, as you have to dodge spheres and projectiles while destroying these spheres simultaneously.
5Sky: Children of the Light
Sky: Children of the Lightis the most relaxing multiplayer puzzle adventure game you’ve ever seen. It’s one of the few games with 100% cross-platform co-op, meaning you can play it with friends on PC or consoles as well. You spend a lot of time just exploring the world, so it’s a perfect game to play while discussing unrelated topics with your friends.
6Soul Knight
Soul Knightis another roguelite game made by the same developer, ChillyRoom, as Otherworld Legends. Although these two games have the same pixel art style and share the same core mechanics, they’re still distinct games with different feelings, gameplay, characters, enemies, and spells. There’s also theSoul Knight Prequelonce you’re done with the original game. Just like Otherworlds Legends, you can play co-op with up to three other players.
7Bloons TD 6
Bloons TD 6is one of the best tower defense games on Android, so it’s great that it supports 4-player co-op. The goal of any tower defense game is to build towers that shoot down enemy waves that are trying to go past your defenses to destroy your base. The charm of Bloons is that the towers are monkeys, and the enemies are balloons, so it’s a perfect game to play with your kids.
8The Past Within
If you want a serious co-op game, maybe it’s best to get a co-op-only game, which is what we have here withThe Past Within. The game is a two-player cross-platform co-op game that requires constant communication with your teammate. You’re in the same environment, but one of you is in the future, and the other in the past, and you have to work together to solve puzzles in both 2D and 3D. The puzzles aren’t too challenging, so it’s the perfect type of game to play withsomeone who isn’t into games.
9Keep Talking & Nobody Explodes
Keep Talking & Nobody Explodesis a bonafide in-person-only party game where you have to defuse a bomb before the timer goes off. The catch is that your friends are the ones with the manual, which is purposefully complicated to navigate. The bomb contains up to 11 modules that you have to disarm. The only downside is the relatively steep price tag, but you only need one copy, as the defusal manual is in PDF format andavailable onlinefor free.
10Pepelo
Pepelois a 3D puzzle platformer that you may play alone or with friends. The puzzles are fairly straightforward, as they mostly involve moving around objects to progress. I find that the charm hides in the different environments that you explore, so the game is perfect for couples. This delightful little game has 50 different levels, the first ten being free.