Multiplayer gaming is in an interesting place these days. With the incredible popularity of online gaming, you can instantly party up with players from Spain, Russia, and Brazil for a Monster Hunter quest, or find a Japanese opponent for a Pokémon battle in a trice. We wouldn’t have dreamed this would be possible just a few years ago. Not on this scale.
All of this connectivity comes at a cost, then: more and more, developers and publishers are seemingly forgetting about good ol’ fashioned couch co-op and split-screen play. Don’t worry, though, nostalgic Switch owners. The family-friendly funsters at Nintendo seem to be one of the last bastions of that sort of thing, which is why we’re taking a look at some of Nintendo Switch’s best local multiplayer and couch co-op options. From Cuphead to Super Mario Bros., from Snipperclips to Pokkén Tournament DX, there’s something for every age group (and combination of gamers and non-gamers) to enjoy together.
Updated January 26th, 2020 by Chris Littlechild: With so many more new and unique games available on the Nintendo Switch, it just makes sense to add more titles. After all, you can’t have too many couch co-op gaming parties, right?
15 ARMS
Nintendo Switch may be enjoying a lot of success right now and have a bright future ahead of it, but it wasn’t always that way. When the system launched in March 2017, it didn’t have any essential titles that had us throwing our money at the cashier like Fry’s Futurama in that silly meme. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was the biggest draw, but it had already been released on the Wii U, so the four people around the world who owned one of those were set.
One of the early Switch titles that deserves more love today is ARMS. This quirky fighting game sees players take each other on using odd extendable arms. Each has different weights and/or elemental properties, and combined with the unique abilities of each character, it’s a surprisingly deep fighter. The attention to detail lavished on every inch of the presentation is a plus too. It’s a riot in local multiplayer!
14 New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
The Switch has far eclipsed anything the poor old Wii U could ever hope to have accomplished. Even so, the hybrid handheld hasn’t been afraid to port over some of the quality games that the failed console did have.
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe arrived in January 2019. While it doesn’t do anything particularly ground-breaking with the New Super Mario Bros. series, it’s an excellent and expansive 2D Mario adventure. Players of all experience levels will have a lot of fun journeying through its varied worlds, which really come to life in multiplayer.
13 Mario Tennis Aces
The latest instalment in the beloved Mario Tennis franchise took things to a different level. New mechanics like racket HP (and the potential to break them), zone shots, trick shots and the time-tinkering zone speed allow for a lot of different defensive and offensive strategies to be employed.
Players can compete against each other, naturally, but Aces has also added some interesting events more recently. In these, players can join together to take on a challenge (defeating Boos to earn coins, for instance) and win prizes, which consist of different costumes for characters.
12 Snipperclips: Cut It Out, Together!
Ah, yes. Now this is the sort of family-friendly fun you’d expect to see on a Nintendo console. No heated competition, no rage, no co-operation in an adorable little colorful world.
In this Switch launch title, players must work together to solve a range of puzzles. This is done by manipulating the shapes of the two main characters, Snip and Clip. The concept of standing together and ‘snipping’ parts from their bodies to create different shapes is very unique, and will be a lot of fun for families and younger players who don’t want a game to take too seriously. It also has minigames and a party mode, and was expanded with new modes and levels with the release of Snipperclips Plus (standalone or as DLC) in November of 2017.
11 Cuphead
Generally speaking, couch co-op and multiplayer titles are built around the concept of jut having a little silly fun. No high stakes, no K/Ds to worry about, just accessible silliness. If you’re playing with fellow experienced gamers and want to dial things up a notch, Cuphead could be just the title for you.
This infamously difficult run and gun title was quite a coup for Nintendo Switch when it arrived in April 2019. It’s a fantastically-animated indie adventure which revolves around the idea of a boss gauntlet. The enemies will crush you again and again, but you’ll keep coming back for more, especially with a friend at your side (if only because you can revive each other).
10 Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Another Wii U port, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is one of the more unique spin-offs of the Mario series. It’s a puzzle/action game starring the eponymous little hero, who must avoid enemies and other pitfalls as he navigates a series of challenging stages to collect the star at the end.
If you’re familiar with the game, you’ll know that it was primarily a single-player experience. However, a February 2019 update added a co-operative mode, in which the second player takes the role of Toadette. If you know a Mario fan who wants to try something that’s a little different but still in their wheelhouse, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker comes highly recommended.
9 Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
There was a time, not so very long ago, when the very idea of Crash Bandicoot (or any other PlayStation-associated characters) appearing on a rival console would be unthinkable. Still, we live in a wild time, where Mario and Sonic happily create minigame compilations together and Solid Snake and Cloud Strife feature in Super Smash Bros.
As such, it’s really not surprising that both the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled are available on the Switch now. The latter is a great remaster of 1999 PS1 classic Crash Team Racing, a worthy Mario Kart alternative with slightly more technical mechanics which is a blast to play with friends.
8 Pokkén Tournament DX
The Switch edition of Pokkén Tournament is crammed with a lot of extra content from the arcade edition, including all-new fighters like Empoleon and Scizor.
It’s a surprisingly technical fighter. That’s not to say that it’s overly complex, though, as anybody can hop onto the couch with you and enjoy the flashy Pokémon action. You can take it as seriously as you wish.
7 Overcooked/Overcooked 2
Now, Overcooked and its sequel aren’t exclusive to Nintendo Switch, of course. This madcap arcade cooking title is available on various platforms. It fits with Switch’s vibe of silly co-op fun perfectly, however.
As you surely know, the Overcooked games task the players with preparing a variety of dishes as quickly and efficiently as possible, under various ridiculous conditions (on the deck of a ship that’s rolling wildly in a storm, for instance). Its cute cartoon visuals, simple yet addictive gameplay and sheer hilarity make it a great choice for any local-multiplayer-minded Switch owner.
6 Castle Crashers Remastered
The success of the Switch has meant that Nintendo gamers have been able to enjoy all kinds of hit titles for the first time. Ports of some of the biggest titles, such as Overwatch, have made it to the system, alongside some smaller but no less important games. Another example is The Behemoth’s popular Castle Crashers, which was released for the system in September 2019 in the form of Castle Crashers Remastered.
Fans of classic beat em ups will want to make sure this one’s in their Switch library. A Medieval-themed scrolling brawler with a light sprinkling of RPG elements and lashings of The Behemoth’s trademark silliness, it’s a riot with a full party of four.
5 Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
When it comes to good old-fashioned local multiplayer, there’s something about simple pass-the-controller-around gameplay that feels particularly old school.
In this turn-based strategy title (another underappreciated gem of Switch’s early lineup), the lengthy single-player campaign is the star of the show. However, there are also some fiendishly difficult co-op missions that see the players take turns to control different members of the same team. The action all takes place on the one screen as a result, but that’s no bad thing.
4 Super Mario Party
As S Club 7 once sang, there ain’t no local multiplayer party like a Mario Party party, where everybody hates each other by the end of the game. Yes, we’re paraphrasing, but that was basically the gist of the song.
They were right on the money, too. Mario Party is one of those Nintendo franchises that looks all sweet and innocent at first, but soon brings out the competitiveness and/or seething rage in everybody. It’s at its best when all the players are gathered around the TV, plotting to steal that star at the last moment or sabotage their closest rival in the next mini game.Super Mario Party gives you just as many opportunities to be ruthless.
3 Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order
As anybody who’s played Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order will tell you, split-screen isn’t the way forward here. local play sees everybody sharing the same screen, which is exactly why the camera gets a little shonky at times and struggles to track everybody.
If the four of you can all keep track of where the heck you are, though, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 is a surprisingly deep co-op brawler that’s packed to the gills with content. Marvel fans will be sure to appreciate the fanservice that’s gone into this one.
2 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
No, Super Smash Bros. isn’t a series you’d typically associate with co-operation. It’s more about pummelling your buddies into sad, salty, squishy failure-flavored smoothies, before launching them off the stage and gloatingly claiming victory.
Through the magic of team battles and the new co-operative options on the Spirit Board in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, though, you can have a smashing time with your friends as well as against them. You can even hop online and challenge the world as a duo. Owing to the nature of the game’s presentation, though, split-screen isn’t offered here either.
1 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
As we’ve already warned, some Nintendo franchises are far more rage-worthy than they appear at first. Mario Party was one and Mario Kart is definitely another.
When you hit your opponent with the dreaded Spiny Shell on the last corner, blasting them so far away from first place they won’t find their dignity for 7-12 business days, you want them to be sitting right there beside you. It’s no fun to do that to online opponents. The Mario Kart franchise was built on local multiplayer, and the latest instalment is still at its very best when played in that time-honored fashion.
NEXT: Mario Kart: Every Game, Ranked (According To Metacritic)
