Why Local and Online Co-Op Matter Equally For Gaming Today

I still fondly remember the good old days of arcade gaming. Saving up pocket money, coming home from school, and then going to the nearest arcade with a group of friends to beat the hell out of each other in Tekken 3. Single-player gaming is definitely fun without a doubt, but sometimes, you just love the company. When you’re laughing together and having fun, that particular get-together ends up being a lot more memorable than the game itself sometimes.

With the Internet a thing, a lot of restrictions on cooperative play don’t even exist now. You all had to gather at that one friend’s house who had all the good stuff, but today, just sit back on your comfy chair, put on headphones, boot up Marvel Rivals or Deadlock, and the whole circle’s back together. Still, as amazing as that sounds, I’m still an advocate for local and couch co-op’s survival. Online co-op is amazing, but I think both new and old can co-exist.

The Absolute Freedom Of Online Multiplayer

It goes without saying that the Internet has pretty much revolutionized cooperative gameplay. What used to be a strictly in-person gathering, and the constant fear of “someone’s gonna ditch,” is now replaced by a digital ditching. Jokes aside, it’s actually much easier to hold a co-op session now, and with simultaneous voice chat and streaming, it’s like you’re all sitting together. Of course, you should follow chat safety tips always when playing with strangers, but that’s all part of the learning experience.

Speaking of strangers, another massive advantage of online co-op is how the entire world is open to you. Every day is a new encounter, and possibly the start of a new friendship. With online co-op’s massive lobbies, you can meet and play against new people every session. At some point, you get used to someone’s quirks or habits that show up in their gameplay. But when you’ve got a new opponent every day, each gameplay session will be a unique experience.

May be an obvious question to some but – Why is multiplayer gaming with other humans so much more satisfying and engaging than with AIs, even "Hard" AIs? Does it make a difference if it's Online multiplayer vs local couch multiplayer?
byu/AnokataX intruegaming

I think this is where local co-op just can’t compete, the unending variation. I love games that surprise or challenge me in new ways every day, and playing against randoms is one surefire way to do this. Besides, with online co-op, your hardware is only running one instance of the game, and so you can even play high-end games in co-op. Local co-op, in comparison, has certain limitations, like fixed camera angles or gameplay limited by the hardware’s strength.

Couch Co-Op Still Holds Up

Regardless, even with all said and done, I still have a soft spot for local co-op, and firmly believe it shouldn’t be killed. There are some things you just can’t do in online co-op, no matter how impressive it is. For starters, playing a game with someone physically by your side just hits different. You see something out-of-this-world-level hilarious or shocking on your screen, but you don’t have anyone besides you to share it with. There’s only so much you can say to describe it over chat.

What if you want to play a family or party game with your siblings, spouse, or kids? Do you set up a second device for them, buy two copies of that game, and then play it together, sitting in the same room, looking at two different screens? This is exactly the kind of scenario where the absence of local co-op in a game really stings. You have to go out of your way to do all this complicated stuff just to enjoy one game together.

Please don't stop making games with local co-op
by ingamedev

But most of all, local co-op is a reminder of the good old days. A relic of simpler times, when you’d all come together to play a game on a tiny screen, taking turns in 2-player games to see who’s the best gamer of all. Sometimes, you want to relive that nostalgic feeling with someone close to you. Local co-op has a sense of personalization and teamwork you just can’t achieve over the internet. It’s a niche situation, I know, but if we started killing niches, gaming wouldn’t be the same anymore.