Top PS4 Local Multiplayer Games

10. Overcooked 2

Few games in recent memory are more delightful to play with friends Overcooked, and the sequel is even better. You and up to three friends control small chibi characters as they run back and forth cooking increasingly tricky recipes in increasingly wacky kitchens. You all work on the same screen, so it’s ideal for local multiplayer and getting in each other’s way is bound to cause some rifts in the room!

9. Worms W.M.D

Worms is quintessential local multiplayer. Taking turn-based control of little worms with big weapons tasked with blowing each other to smithereens, W.M.D gives a fresh lick of paint to the traditional Worms gameplay we all know and love. There’s a good reason that this series has stuck around since 1995 - the core gameplay is simple and fun. There are so many weapons and gadgets that throwing your friends’ worms around the map never gets tiring. 

8. Team Sonic Racing

Team Sonic Racing is a kart racing game featuring the characters of Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog series, and it’s a ball to play with your mates. It supports up to four players in local split-screen multiplayer, and things get chaotic fast. The gameplay feels speedy like you’d expect a Sonic game to feel, and the level/zone designs and usable items all make reference to things you might remember from the main series games. 

7. Borderlands: The Handsome Collection

The Handsome Collection has both Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-sequel and all of their expansions, with souped-up 4K graphics to boot. The best part? It’s all split-screen compatible, meaning you and your friends can develop and level your own characters from right on the sofa. This series is well known for comedy, looting, and insane over the top FPS fun - and this remastered collection is going to please fans and newcomers alike.

6. Minecraft

Minecraft’s limitless creativity was made for collaboration, and up to 4 player split-screen means that you and your friends can collaborate together in person. If you’re not familiar with the game (where have you been) Minecraft is a building game with a survival mode based around resource collecting and crafting. Beneath the blocky simplistic graphics, this game offers delicate and engaging gameplay centred around the reward of creativity and hard work.

5. Shovel Knight

A legendary Indie born from a successful Kickstarter campaign, Shovel Knight is a love letter to the 8-bit platformers of old. Up to two friends can play together on local multiplayer, each controlling a knight as they work together to survive the platforming mayhem. The retro gameplay and visuals harken back to a day where finishing a level meant playing over and over again on a Saturday morning until you finally cracked it - and that’s all part of the charm.

4. Little Big Planet 3

Simply one of the most pleasant platforming series out there, LittleBigPlanet is a masterwork of game design. Adventure Mode offers plenty of satisfying gameplay, but the 4 player local multiplayer and creation modes are where this game really comes alive. You’ll get in each other’s way just as much as you’ll help each other out, and the chaos of the busy screen makes this help/hindrance balance oh so fun to play with.

3. Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection

For those joystick junkies who were let down by the slightly lukewarm Street Fighter 2: The Final Challengers, this is the perfect remedy. Comprising of 12 classic releases from the flawed masterpiece that was the first Street Fighter to 1999’s Street Fighter 3: Third Strike, this is an absolutely essential purchase and is sure to even bring a smile to M. Bison’s face. 

2. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

You know what to expect from a Call of Duty game - remarkably tight and responsive controls, beautiful graphics and visual design, and of course, zombies. Up to four people can play local multiplayer Zombies together, working together to defeat round after round of the undead in a variety of creative maps/arenas. If you fancy it, you can even venture into online multiplayer alongside a friend in 2 player split-screen. 

1. A Way Out

A way out is built from the ground up with multiplayer in mind, and thankfully without setting aside traditional split-screen co-op. Together you take on the roles of Leo and Vincent, two prisoners who have decided to break free. Each character has their own idea of how this should happen, but it’s up to you to choose how to escape together and cooperate to execute the plan. For truly immersive local multiplayer story experience, it’s among the best of the best.

TOP PS4 Kids Games

10. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl

A game that instantly broke the internet when it launched, if the idea of making Spongebob, Aang from The Last Airbender, Danny Phantom and Catdog knock the stuffing out of each other sounds like exactly your kind of nonsense, then welcome home. The clearly Smash Bros inspired fighting mechanics make it easy to pick up and hard to put down - it’s the perfect game to pull out when your friends come over,

9. Minecraft Dungeons: Hero Edition

The tried and tested formula of working your way through dungeons while slaying fantastical beasts has been around almost as long as gaming itself. Now younger players can join in the fun with Minecraft Dungeons: Hero Edition, which takes the concept into the family-friendly block world of Minecraft. The Hero Edition comes with all cosmetic add-ons and available DLC, meaning you can hack and slash to your heart’s content. 

8. SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated

A complete remake of the original 2003 game, SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated is a welcome return of a beloved franchise, and a worthy remake of the best Spongebob game ever made. THQ Nordic have done a great job in making some of the most vibrant, beautiful levels ever found in a platformer, and there’s enough variety to keep you from ever getting bored. It’s dripping with all the charm that made the show iconic, and that alone makes it worth playing for gamers of any age.

7. Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time

If you’re buying games for your kids, there’s a good chance you’re familiar with Crash Bandicoot yourself. These classic Playstation blockbusters have been remastered and released together - and it’s just as silly, loud and zany as ever. With three crazy games in one, there’s a lot of bang for your buck. It’s still easy to pick up, but hard to master. Your kids will love it as much as you did. 

6. Transformers: Battlegrounds

Transformers: Battlegrounds serves as a great introduction for younger players looking to get into more strategy minded games. It teaches all the basic mechanics that will serve them well as they go on to more advanced titles later down the line. Set in the same universe as the Transformers: Cyberverse animated TV show, it’s dripping with colour, charm and comedy and will delight players of all ages.

5. Spyro: Reignited Trilogy

Remasters continue to be fantastic games to buy your kids because they love them for all the same reasons we loved them when we were growing up. Spyro is console platforming at it’s finest, and this remaster has improved every jump, every glide and every charge while keeping that signature Spyro attitude. Spyro: Reignited is, of course, also three games in one - meaning it’s got hours and hours of engrossing single-player fun to enjoy. 

4. Overcooked 2

Few games in recent memory are more delightful to play than Overcooked, and the sequel is even better. This cutesy cooking game has you control small chibi characters as they run back and forth cooking increasingly tricky recipes in increasingly wacky kitchens. Local co-op is the ideal way to play, and bumping into each other is bound to cause some rifts in the room. With timed missions, the busy kitchen quickly gets chaotic - and hilarious. 

3. Ratchet & Clank

It might follow the same story as the original, but Ratchet and Clank for PS4 is a totally different game. With silly jokes that wink and nod to all ages, a large roster of insane weapons to clear levels with and some tricky puzzle platforming thrown in, this game truly is the apex of all the games in this series that came before it. One of the best and most accessible games on the console. 

2. Sackboy: A Big Adventure

Who doesn’t love Sackboy? The icon of the LittleBigPlanet series finally gets his own game, in which you have to guide the adorable little ruffian through a challenging platforming adventure. Tasked with saving the Craftverse, you’ll have to jump, stop baddies and solve puzzles in order to succeed, all against the backdrop of a charming, handmade world. With plenty of variety and bonus levels on offer, Sackboy offers something for younger and more experienced players alike.

1. Minecraft

Minecraft is the biggest kids phenomenon since Pokémon. Beneath the blocky simplistic graphics, Minecraft offers engaging gameplay centred around the reward of creativity and hard work. In Adventure, there’s a focus on combat, and you’ll craft defences and fortresses to protect your creations from monsters. Multiplayer encourages you to build and survive together and makes the world more vibrant and alive. If you’re looking for a project you can play together, look no further.