The Halo: Campaign Evolved announcement landed with a footnote that turned into the entire conversation: local co-op on PlayStation 5 requires both players to have an active PS Plus subscription. Local. On a couch. Two players in the same room. The blowback was instant, and the wider point landed with it: the local couch co-op golden era ended somewhere around the Xbox 360, and most platforms have been quietly walling it off since. The PC has the opposite story. The Steam back catalogue is the largest reservoir of local co-op games on any platform in 2026, and modern hardware finally makes split-screen on a single display worth playing.
We tested 8 of the best apps for local co-op games on desktop in 2026, covering Windows, macOS, and Linux. The benchmark was specific: two controllers plugged in, two players on one screen, and a session that survives past the tutorial. The 8 below all passed.
What to look for in a local co-op game
A handful of criteria separate the games worth keeping in the rotation from the ones that play badly with a second person on the couch:
- True split-screen or shared-screen design. Many “co-op” games on PC are online co-op only. The list below requires playable couch co-op on a single PC.
- Controller support out of the box. Two Xbox or DualSense controllers, plug-and-play, no Steam Input wizardry.
- A session length that matches a real evening. Some games want a six-hour campaign run, others want fifteen-minute round trips. Both are fine; the wrong pick wastes the evening.
- Difficulty that scales for mixed-skill pairs. A platformer aimed at the speedrunning audience is a fight when one player hasn’t held a controller in two years.
- Local-only modes still work offline. Trust matters: a game that demands an account to start a couch session has decided couch sessions aren’t its business.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Players | Free trial | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| It Takes Two | Couples and roommates | 2, mandatory co-op | Friend’s Pass | $39.99 |
| Overcooked! 2 | Quick chaotic sessions | 1-4 | Demo | $24.99 |
| Cuphead | Boss-rush co-op | 1-2 | None | $19.99 |
| Streets of Rage 4 | Beat-em-up nostalgia | 1-4 | None | $24.99 |
| Stardew Valley | Calm long-form sessions | 1-4 split-screen | None | $14.99 |
| Don’t Starve Together | Survival with friends | 1-6 (split-screen 1-2) | None | $14.99 |
| Risk of Rain 2 | Replayable shooter co-op | 1-4 | None | $24.99 |
| Castle Crashers | Couch-co-op brawler classic | 1-4 | None | $14.99 |
The 8 best apps for local co-op games on desktop
1. It Takes Two, best for couples and roommates
It Takes Two is the Hazelight follow-up that won Game of the Year in 2021 and remains the best mandatory two-player game made. Every mechanic is built around two players in the same room: one carries the nail, the other carries the hammer. Friend’s Pass lets one buyer invite a second player without a second purchase. The 12-15 hour campaign runs on Steam, Origin, and via the Steam Deck. Split-screen on a single PC is the default mode.
Where it falls short: Mandatory co-op means you can’t pick it up alone on an off night. The story is the highlight; the controls occasionally fight the camera in the trickier set pieces.
Pricing:
- Free: Friend’s Pass, only one player buys
- Paid: $39.99 base price, frequently $19.99 on sale
- Platforms: Windows, macOS
Bottom line: The single best local co-op pick on PC in 2026, and the right answer for a couple’s first co-op night.
2. Overcooked! 2, best for quick chaotic sessions
Overcooked! 2 is the kitchen-management party game that defined the “I love you but I will yell at you about onions” genre. Sessions are 5-15 minutes per level, the difficulty curve forgives mistakes early and gets brutal later, and the seasonal DLC keeps adding levels. Up to 4 players on a single PC, controllers required. Overcooked! 2 for local co-op in 2026 is the fastest way to test whether two people are going to be friends after the session.
Where it falls short: It can break friendships. Single-player still works but is fiddly with two characters under one controller.
Pricing:
- Free: Demo
- Paid: $24.99 base, $39.99 Gourmet Edition with all DLC
- Platforms: Windows, macOS
Bottom line: The party-game default for any couch with two-to-four controllers and an evening to fill.
3. Cuphead, best for boss-rush co-op
Cuphead is the hand-drawn run-and-gun designed around boss fights and tight platforming. Two-player local co-op transforms the difficulty curve: the second player can revive the first by parrying their ghost, and the boss patterns are reworked for two characters on screen. The 2022 Delicious Last Course DLC adds another full chapter and a third playable character. Cuphead for local co-op in 2026 is the answer for a couple that wants something more demanding than party games but shorter than It Takes Two.
Where it falls short: Cuphead is unforgiving by design. Mixed-skill pairs will hit a wall on the late-game bosses. Two parries in a row isn’t always enough to save a run.
Pricing:
- Free: None
- Paid: $19.99, with The Delicious Last Course DLC at $7.99
- Platforms: Windows, macOS
Bottom line: Pick this when both players want something hard and beautiful.
4. Streets of Rage 4, best for beat-em-up nostalgia
Streets of Rage 4 is the 2020 revival of the Sega Genesis brawler series, made by Dotemu, Lizardcube, and Guard Crush. Local co-op runs four players on one screen with controllers, and the hand-drawn art style makes the older eyes in the room agree this is what they remember the Genesis looking like. The Mr. X Nightmare DLC adds an extra survival mode and three more characters. Streets of Rage 4 for local co-op in 2026 is the right answer when the couch session needs to clear in under 90 minutes.
Where it falls short: Short campaign (under three hours on a first run). Long-term replay value lives in score chasing, which not every group cares about.
Pricing:
- Free: None
- Paid: $24.99, Mr. X Nightmare DLC at $7.99
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
Bottom line: The pick for a one-evening brawler with controllers in hand.
5. Stardew Valley, best for calm long-form sessions
Stardew Valley added split-screen multiplayer in the 1.5 update and has only sharpened it since. Two-to-four players on a single PC, each with their own character and inventory, sharing a farm. Sessions are open-ended; you can play 20 minutes or six hours and the game shrugs either way. The 1.6 update added new festivals, NPCs, and farm types. Stardew Valley for local co-op in 2026 is the right pick when the second player wants to chat as much as play.
Where it falls short: Split-screen on a 1080p monitor is cramped. A 1440p or 4K display, or two side-by-side monitors with a software trick, fixes it. Some pairs end up wanting separate farms after a few sessions.
Pricing:
- Free: None
- Paid: $14.99
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
Bottom line: Pick this when the couch session is more about hanging out than winning.
6. Don’t Starve Together, best for survival with friends
Don’t Starve Together is Klei’s multiplayer take on Don’t Starve, where two players against the wilderness either thrive or starve together. Up to six players online, two players split-screen on the PC version. The 2024 “Return of Them” arc added underwater biomes and turbine-powered bases. Don’t Starve Together for local co-op in 2026 is the right pick when the couch session wants a co-op survival rhythm rather than a campaign.
Where it falls short: Brutal early-game learning curve. Local split-screen is two players only, invite a third and you’re back to online.
Pricing:
- Free: None
- Paid: $14.99, Mega Pack with all DLC at $34.99
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
Bottom line: Pick this when the pair wants something the campaign games don’t offer: a world they share and slowly bend.
7. Risk of Rain 2, best for replayable shooter co-op
Risk of Rain 2 is the third-person roguelike shooter where the difficulty climbs on a timer. Local co-op runs through Steam Remote Play Together or split-screen via a community-maintained mod (R2API). Up to 4 players in either mode. Risk of Rain 2 for local co-op in 2026 is the right pick for a pair that wants a 30-minute run that escalates into chaos.
Where it falls short: True split-screen needs a community mod; the official local mode is via Remote Play Together, which sends one player’s input over the network even when both players are in the same room.
Pricing:
- Free: None
- Paid: $24.99 base, Survivors of the Void DLC $14.99, Seekers of the Storm DLC $14.99
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
Bottom line: Pick this when the session needs to be a half-hour run with controllers and the gun feel of a third-person shooter.
8. Castle Crashers, best couch-co-op brawler classic
Castle Crashers is The Behemoth’s 2008 beat-em-up that’s been on PC since 2012 and remastered since 2019. Four players, one screen, controllers required. The art and humour have aged better than most games from that era and the pixel-pure remaster runs well on modern hardware. Castle Crashers for local co-op in 2026 is the right answer when a group of four wants the simplest possible “everyone hit the goblin” couch night.
Where it falls short: Old-school beat-em-up combat that some players find shallow on the second run. Four-player chaos can become unreadable on a small screen.
Pricing:
- Free: None
- Paid: $14.99 (regular sales drop to $4.99)
- Platforms: Windows
Bottom line: Pick this when four people are in the room and nobody wants to read a tutorial.
How to pick the right one
- If you want the simplest “first co-op night” option: It Takes Two with Friend’s Pass.
- If you want a 30-minute chaotic session that ends in laughter: Overcooked! 2.
- If both players want hard and beautiful: Cuphead.
- If the session needs to clear by bedtime: Streets of Rage 4.
- If the session is more about hanging out than competing: Stardew Valley.
- If the pair wants something to build over weeks: Don’t Starve Together.
- If the session is a 30-minute roguelike run: Risk of Rain 2.
- If four people are in the room with controllers and zero patience for tutorials: Castle Crashers.
FAQ
What is the best local co-op game on PC right now?
It Takes Two by a wide margin. It’s designed from the ground up for two players in the same room, and the Friend’s Pass means only one buyer needs to pay. Hazelight’s 2025 follow-up Split Fiction continues the design pattern for groups that have finished It Takes Two.
Are there good free local co-op games on PC?
The closest things to “free” are Friend’s Pass titles (It Takes Two, A Way Out, Split Fiction) where only one player buys. Truly free local co-op picks are thin on Steam, the genre’s economic model doesn’t reward free distribution. Roblox runs free local co-op for younger players, though the experience differs sharply.
Can two players use a single keyboard for local co-op?
It depends on the game. Stardew Valley split-screen supports one controller plus keyboard. Streets of Rage 4 supports two players on one keyboard for short sessions. The cleaner setup is two controllers; a pair of cheap Xbox or DualSense pads runs about $40 used.
Does Steam Remote Play Together count as local co-op?
It counts for picking up the controller in another room, but not for the couch-session use case. Remote Play Together streams the second player’s input over the network from a separate device. Both players need their own computer or phone running the Steam client.
Why is local co-op harder to find on consoles than on PC?
The pattern across publishers since the Xbox 360 era has been to monetise online play and shrink the local-co-op feature surface to cut development cost. PC games tend to keep local co-op because the genres that demand it (rogue-likes, party games, brawlers, farming sims) have stayed productive on PC. Console exclusives have shifted toward solo or online-only modes.
What is the best local co-op game for kids?
Stardew Valley, Overcooked! 2, and Castle Crashers all work well for younger players with adult co-op. Castle Crashers has mild cartoon violence; Stardew Valley and Overcooked! 2 are family-safe. Skip Cuphead for younger kids, the difficulty is sharp and the visual style demands fast reactions.
