Recommend a PC game to play with brother across country?
July 27, 2023 4:21 PM Subscribe
My brother and I live far apart but we have gotten into playing PC games to keep in touch. We need a new game! Recommendations? Specifics inside.
We had been playing Don't Starve Together but got tired of that. Things about the game we are looking for:
- Has to be a PC game.
- We don't want any "shooter" games or real time war strategy games.
- We don't want a game where decisions must be made super fast.
- We would prefer a game that has a "win" state, but not a hard and fast rule.
- We would prefer a co-op game instead of an "against each other game" but also not hard and fast rule.
- No horror games.
So, with all that, any recommendations?? Thanks!
We had been playing Don't Starve Together but got tired of that. Things about the game we are looking for:
- Has to be a PC game.
- We don't want any "shooter" games or real time war strategy games.
- We don't want a game where decisions must be made super fast.
- We would prefer a game that has a "win" state, but not a hard and fast rule.
- We would prefer a co-op game instead of an "against each other game" but also not hard and fast rule.
- No horror games.
So, with all that, any recommendations?? Thanks!
Have you played Portal and/or Portal 2?
posted by cozenedindigo at 4:42 PM on July 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by cozenedindigo at 4:42 PM on July 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Yes we have both played Portal. I liked it ok, but not a huge puzzle game fan.
posted by Saucywench at 4:56 PM on July 27, 2023
posted by Saucywench at 4:56 PM on July 27, 2023
Not co-op but Europa Universalis 4 fits the bill otherwise.
posted by conifer at 5:09 PM on July 27, 2023
posted by conifer at 5:09 PM on July 27, 2023
It takes two? Valheim? Keep talking and nobody explodes?
posted by kschang at 5:14 PM on July 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by kschang at 5:14 PM on July 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
It Takes Two is a lot of fun, I've played through it a couple of times with my co-op partner. If you like that style of game there are a few others along similar lines (maybe A Way Out, by the same team).
A lot of these asymmetric co-op games are puzzle-centric (the We Were Here series, Operation Tango, &c) which might not work for you, though the asymmetry can lead to some pretty entertaining scenarios that really test your ability to communicate and cooperate well. At one point in one of the We Were Here games, one of us was hearing whale-like noises and needed to relay those sounds to the other, which led to several minutes of confusion and hilarity, e.g., did you say ooOOOOoooEEEoo? or oooOOOoooOOOeee? In general there's something more satisfying about puzzle solving when the key is communicating well and working closely with your co-op buddy. Just a thought.
Sea of Thieves is a ton of fun with a friend or two, though there's no win state exactly. It's more about spending a couple of hours splashing around, exploring the islands, maybe fighting off a ship of pirates or skeletons or a giant shark. There are some piratey puzzles, like, follow the treasure map to the buried treasure sort of thing, though you can largely avoid that and just sail around fighting and exploring if you're not into it.
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 5:16 PM on July 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
A lot of these asymmetric co-op games are puzzle-centric (the We Were Here series, Operation Tango, &c) which might not work for you, though the asymmetry can lead to some pretty entertaining scenarios that really test your ability to communicate and cooperate well. At one point in one of the We Were Here games, one of us was hearing whale-like noises and needed to relay those sounds to the other, which led to several minutes of confusion and hilarity, e.g., did you say ooOOOOoooEEEoo? or oooOOOoooOOOeee? In general there's something more satisfying about puzzle solving when the key is communicating well and working closely with your co-op buddy. Just a thought.
Sea of Thieves is a ton of fun with a friend or two, though there's no win state exactly. It's more about spending a couple of hours splashing around, exploring the islands, maybe fighting off a ship of pirates or skeletons or a giant shark. There are some piratey puzzles, like, follow the treasure map to the buried treasure sort of thing, though you can largely avoid that and just sail around fighting and exploring if you're not into it.
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 5:16 PM on July 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Minecraft. The answer is always Minecraft. One day you can explore beautiful landscapes, the next you can build whatever you imagine, next armor up and fight monsters. The game can provide whatever you crave, esp if you crave right angles.
posted by moonmoth at 5:17 PM on July 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by moonmoth at 5:17 PM on July 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Valheim. Like DST some aspects can be challenging and require coordination to overcome but are made much easier with forethought and planning ahead. If one of you sets up a dedicated server, you don't even have to be on at the same time to build cool stuff the other can explore later, like a cozy fishing village or an outpost in a new biome. There are lots of small maintenance tasks like farming crops or gathering minerals that can be done in short bursts if you don't have long stretches to play at a go.
I've been playing Valheim with a friend and it's been fun to build bases together and voice chat. As long as you build a moat you are safe to AFK from almost all the raids. The update coming sometime soon (Hildir's Quest) will allow you to turn off raids if they are too much of a bother as well.
Tech tree is gated by bosses, for example you kill a giant heavy metal deer and gain the ability to mine minerals with a pickaxe made from its antlers, which makes it satisfying to overcome the challenges you'd likely team up to face together. Even after you beat the final boss you can just keep playing and building if that's what you prefer.
posted by Feyala at 5:17 PM on July 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
I've been playing Valheim with a friend and it's been fun to build bases together and voice chat. As long as you build a moat you are safe to AFK from almost all the raids. The update coming sometime soon (Hildir's Quest) will allow you to turn off raids if they are too much of a bother as well.
Tech tree is gated by bosses, for example you kill a giant heavy metal deer and gain the ability to mine minerals with a pickaxe made from its antlers, which makes it satisfying to overcome the challenges you'd likely team up to face together. Even after you beat the final boss you can just keep playing and building if that's what you prefer.
posted by Feyala at 5:17 PM on July 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
One of the Civ games, but really be ready to dedicate like hoooours to it. It's really engrossing, but is really engrossing.
Minecraft as suggested above is great. If you use use the official server to host your game, you can also play asynchronously which is nice. E.g. you finish building this chicken coop, I'll go mine for diamonds.
posted by ellerhodes at 5:31 PM on July 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Minecraft as suggested above is great. If you use use the official server to host your game, you can also play asynchronously which is nice. E.g. you finish building this chicken coop, I'll go mine for diamonds.
posted by ellerhodes at 5:31 PM on July 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Have you tried Fall Guys? I think of it as Wipeout: the video game. You play against 40-60 other people online. You and your brother can play as a team or against each other (there's various modes). The games can be quick. I dont win 99% of the time, but still enjoy playing.
posted by LizBoBiz at 5:58 PM on July 27, 2023
posted by LizBoBiz at 5:58 PM on July 27, 2023
Across the Obelisk is a deckbuilding rogue-like RPG that I’ve really enjoyed.
Terraria and Factorio have solid co-op options.
posted by itesser at 6:02 PM on July 27, 2023
Terraria and Factorio have solid co-op options.
posted by itesser at 6:02 PM on July 27, 2023
I also say Valheim. I find the basic advancement loop pretty satisfying, but then I like building infrastructure.
I basically build a series of increasingly sophisticated bases as I move through the tech tree, scattered across the various biomes. Some of those bases end up being pretty fricking cool (eg: atop a huge stone spire in the grasslands, on a frozen mountain, cantilevered off a small rock in the middle of the ocean, buried below an ancient sacrificial altar, etc.
It’s a lot of fun with someone else.
posted by aramaic at 6:39 PM on July 27, 2023
I basically build a series of increasingly sophisticated bases as I move through the tech tree, scattered across the various biomes. Some of those bases end up being pretty fricking cool (eg: atop a huge stone spire in the grasslands, on a frozen mountain, cantilevered off a small rock in the middle of the ocean, buried below an ancient sacrificial altar, etc.
It’s a lot of fun with someone else.
posted by aramaic at 6:39 PM on July 27, 2023
If you're into factory sims at all, Satisfactory is a very good one that supports co-op play. There are some first person shooter aspects but you can disable creature aggression which would make interacting with those mechanics unnecessary. It's currently Early Access, and the end-game isn't exactly finished, but if you count completing all the in-game objectives as winning, it has a win-state.
PowerWash Simulator has a co-op mode, and it's extremely low-stakes. Again, win-state is mostly just completion.
posted by Aleyn at 6:52 PM on July 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
PowerWash Simulator has a co-op mode, and it's extremely low-stakes. Again, win-state is mostly just completion.
posted by Aleyn at 6:52 PM on July 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
If you both like American football and D and D style monsters and stuff, BloodBowl can be played head to head, or you can invite a few friends and have your own league! Fantasy violence, corny jokes, and orcs orcs orcs.
posted by vrakatar at 7:57 PM on July 27, 2023
posted by vrakatar at 7:57 PM on July 27, 2023
Drat! That link goes to the old, tabletop miniture battle game...here is a link to the game on steam, they will card you.
posted by vrakatar at 8:09 PM on July 27, 2023
posted by vrakatar at 8:09 PM on July 27, 2023
Maybe Plate Up? I've been watching videos of it, like this one, and it looks like fun. You take orders and make food in a restaurant, and it gets steadily more complex.
posted by zompist at 8:26 PM on July 27, 2023
posted by zompist at 8:26 PM on July 27, 2023
This sounds pretty similar to the constraints that some friends and I have for co-op games. We've enjoyed Raft (fight off a shark, build an awesome raft, has a campaign with a win state, making it slightly different than most survival games), Valheim (discussed above), Astroneer (some factory/automation, but lots of exploration), Grounded ("honey I shrunk the kids" the survival game - lots of bugs [not the computer kind], does have a main story you can complete), V Rising (vampires, base-building, fair amount of combat focus), and Sea of Thieves.
I will say that Sea of Thieves often does require some speedy decision-making/strategy because of the PVP aspects with other players. The others on the list can all be done PvE and can mostly be played at your own pace, although there are some threats that require faster reactions. If you're looking for something that almost always gives you more time, something like Stardew Valley is probably your best bet.
If time-based decision pressure is not your jam I would avoid Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes or Operation Tango.
posted by kserra at 11:14 PM on July 27, 2023 [4 favorites]
I will say that Sea of Thieves often does require some speedy decision-making/strategy because of the PVP aspects with other players. The others on the list can all be done PvE and can mostly be played at your own pace, although there are some threats that require faster reactions. If you're looking for something that almost always gives you more time, something like Stardew Valley is probably your best bet.
If time-based decision pressure is not your jam I would avoid Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes or Operation Tango.
posted by kserra at 11:14 PM on July 27, 2023 [4 favorites]
I play a lot of Spelunky 2 online with my daughter (from different rooms in the house, with voice chat, but could just as easily be across the world.) It ticks some of your boxes, but not others. It's very cooperative, not a shooter or RTS, not horror. Yes, you have to make quick decisions, but games are typically so short it's really low-stakes, you'd play dozens of games in a half-hour playtime. What the "win" state is is debatable, there is always a next level of accomplishment to strive for, whether it is reaching new levels, unlocking shortcuts, or new characters, and these accomplishments are very satisfying. (You could spend days or weeks getting to your next goal.)
The game is just insanely well designed. It's one of the poster examples of replayability and emergent gameplay. It has so much hidden depth that most players never see more than 10% of its content (but they still have fun).
posted by snarfois at 3:44 AM on July 28, 2023
The game is just insanely well designed. It's one of the poster examples of replayability and emergent gameplay. It has so much hidden depth that most players never see more than 10% of its content (but they still have fun).
posted by snarfois at 3:44 AM on July 28, 2023
And as another poster has mentioned, Terraria is a wonderful co-op experience. Often described as 2D Minecraft, it has enough content and play styles for 100s or 1000s of hours of play.
Personally, I have to play it on a computer, I can't play it using a game controller, if that's a factor for you.
And another vote for Stardew Valley. And Minecraft.
posted by snarfois at 3:47 AM on July 28, 2023
Personally, I have to play it on a computer, I can't play it using a game controller, if that's a factor for you.
And another vote for Stardew Valley. And Minecraft.
posted by snarfois at 3:47 AM on July 28, 2023
My friends and I started playing Gloomhaven in lockdown and have enjoyed it immensely. It is a turn based dungeon bash (based on the board game) that consists of up to four characters. Each mission takes between 30 minutes and 1 and a half hours.
It has two campaigns and about 20 classes/characters to choose from. It also looks quite pretty.
posted by antiwiggle at 5:55 AM on July 28, 2023
It has two campaigns and about 20 classes/characters to choose from. It also looks quite pretty.
posted by antiwiggle at 5:55 AM on July 28, 2023
Rimworld is a phenomenal sci-fi-ish colony sim / emergent story generator that has a multiplayer mod supported in the Steam workshop.
posted by FatherDagon at 6:51 AM on July 28, 2023
posted by FatherDagon at 6:51 AM on July 28, 2023
Another vote for Valheim, such a fun game.
and from the same studio that made Valhiem Satisfactory an open-world factory building game with a dash of exploration and combat. It has an overwhelmingly positive score on steam.
If you like exploration No mans sky is an exploration survival game in space. They have added so many new things to this game since I played it I'm not sure of what all you can do in this game. My husband and I spent hours playing it and had a lot of fun exploring and building bases.
posted by ljesse at 7:13 AM on July 28, 2023
and from the same studio that made Valhiem Satisfactory an open-world factory building game with a dash of exploration and combat. It has an overwhelmingly positive score on steam.
If you like exploration No mans sky is an exploration survival game in space. They have added so many new things to this game since I played it I'm not sure of what all you can do in this game. My husband and I spent hours playing it and had a lot of fun exploring and building bases.
posted by ljesse at 7:13 AM on July 28, 2023
Seconding It Takes Two. It's my favorite game I've played in the last several years and is a great co-op game.
posted by Betelgeuse at 7:59 AM on July 28, 2023
posted by Betelgeuse at 7:59 AM on July 28, 2023
Response by poster: Ok we're trying Stardew Valley. I've actually owned Valheim for a bit and should really try it apparently. Thanks all!
posted by Saucywench at 2:26 PM on July 28, 2023
posted by Saucywench at 2:26 PM on July 28, 2023
Previously: Games to play online remotely with friends?
posted by Phssthpok at 2:28 PM on July 28, 2023
posted by Phssthpok at 2:28 PM on July 28, 2023
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posted by Ted Maul at 4:25 PM on July 27, 2023 [4 favorites]