10 Best Co-op Games That Have Ruined Friendships


A game is best enjoyed with friends. That way you can have fun together completing quests, finding precious items and defeating enemies. But as sweet as you will find the victory when you succeed together, the bitterness of defeat will prove to be tenfold. Because even the strongest friendships have to suffer when you fail to cast the right spell to kill an enemy or when you accidentally lead your team into an ambush. For all of those times when you and your friends swore never to talk to each other after a Co-Op game ended, we made a list with the most quarrelsome gaming titles that could split up even the strongest friendship bonds.

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Magicka 2
magicka 2
You know how in Magicka you feel like a real wizard, inventing new spells and combinations that will help you defeat even the toughest enemies? Well, in the co-op version of the game, all these magic tricks can also be applied on your friends, out of free will or by accident. Squash them with boulders while trying to actually heal them or electrocute the whole party at the same time with the hoard of foes that’s following you, these are just some of the situations that lead to friends not talking to each other after playing the game. But besides these aspects, Magicka 2 is a nice little game that really deserves to be tried in pairs.

Evolve
evolve game
Imagine a group of five friends: one of them controls the Monster, he has to evade and constantly be one step ahead of his pursuers, the other four are the uniquely skilled Hunters who need to cooperate and catch it. You’ll soon see that it’s often impossible to get along so well and communicate so efficiently with your party in order to organize and execute the perfect strategy, especially when you’re playing Evolve for the first time. From here on, the gameplay simply gives you the right moments to fail both as a Hunter and as a member of your friend’s group, since everyone we’ll be mad at you for dragging down the team.

Left 4 Dead 2
left 4 dead 2In a full blown Zombie apocalypse it’s better to stay united; that’s why you’ll need your friends to play the co-op mode in Left 4 Dead 2. The gameplay scenario adjusts as the players progress through the story so you can be sure that every Infected wave has its unique traits that’ll make you run for your life. Also, some new melee weapons are included to give you and your fellow survivor some new ways of smashing in some Zombie heads. In the heat of the moment, it’s practically impossible not to get mad at your teammates for accidentally leaving you behind to deal with a group of infected all by yourself. This is survival of the fittest at its best.

Borderlands 2
Besides being insanely fun to play and having an iconic visual design, Borderlands 2 is also one of the ideal games to be played with someone else. In this case as with others on our list the gameplay involves shooting enemies and helping your teammates, there is always someone that lacks concentration and makes the whole team lose. That special person is the one who slays that one enemy that could offer you the chance to get the second wind after killing it. You could have been saved from dying, but alas your friend values his own killing spree more than your collective struggle to win the game.

BattleBlock Theater
Team up with a friend, work together to solve the puzzles laid down by Hatty Hattington and find your way out of the prison. BattleBlock Theater offers you the unique chance to help your teammate reach tall obstacles by standing on your head, throwing them across gaps and help each other up ledges. Of course by lacking verbal communication it is extremely easy to ruin any plan that you might have had end up falling in pits and dying since this game is definitely a good opportunity to prove your friendship as it offers players the perfect way to sabotage it.

Payday 2
Nothing can be more exciting than planning and carrying out a heist together with your group of friends. Each of you has a unique task, but as the clock is ticking someone will definitely make the wrong move, raise the alarm and ultimately get the Police alerted. There are seven levels of difficulty so in terms of gameplay variety, Payday 2 offers plenty of it. If you feel that your team is skilled enough you can be bold and operate on the hardest of them, but as the success will be ever so sweet so will the defeat make you feel like punching that one friend who blew it.

Portal 2
Portal 2 brings double trouble by letting you play together with a friend on the off chance that two minds are better than one and the puzzles become easier to solve. Instead of a single portal gun that opens paths through walls and floors now you have two of them and the amount of combinations becomes even more interesting. As much fun as Portal 2 is, it can easily turn into a game that can upset one or two friends who are not so humorous themselves. The simple fact of throwing your partner in an eternal loop between two portals might prove to be a funny yet not so tasteful joke.

Dota 2
As with every multiplayer online battle arena, Dota 2 is a game that requires the full commitment of a well-built team. And as per usual there are no perfect teams, the final results may vary accordingly to how well you and your teammates worked together. Failing to use your abilities at the right moment might mean not only losing an online game but actually releasing the wrath of your friends, who tried so hard to rank higher, upon you. Not only is Dota 2 known to offer such blunt reality checks, but you can also expect similar behavior from teammates in League of Legends or Heroes of the Storm. It seems that all MOBAs have the power to ruin friendships.

Overcooked
Who would have thought that a game as innocent as Overcooked could have the power to change relationships between friends? In an attempt to complete many courses within a limited amount of time, the aspiring chefs must work together in perfect tandem. If one of them hesitates to take action, the whole round can be lost. The kitchen space where you have to cook has all kinds of obstacles, for example a pedestrian crosswalk where people can interfere with your cooking. So if you think you have a strong friendship, then it’s time you test it by trying a round of Overcooked. Just don’t be the one that starts a fire in the whole kitchen.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
The success of the missions depend entirely on how well you can communicate with people. If you and your friend truly know each other to the point of finishing each other’s sentences, it means you’ll totally win Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. But, as you might have guessed, this is easier said than done. In the first few round you’ll probably be able to avoid triggering the bomb without a sweat, but as the levels progress, the puzzles become even more intricate and words seem to get less and less efficient as you struggle to not have a heart attack while explaining to your friend how many wires you see, what their color is and their position. The devil is in the smallest of details in this heart stopping game that really has the power to tear friendships apart.