TOP Nintendo Switch Local Multiplayer Games

10. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

Mario & Sonic team up once again run, jump, swim and ride their way to the top of the podium. Featuring a veritable smorgasbord of minigames, the 6th entry in the series now includes a Tokyo 64 mode (1964 being the last time Tokyo hosted the Olympics), in which characters and maps are transported back to their 8/16 bit roots. It’s a nice, retro-themed addition that helps make this a must buy ahead of the Summer games next year!

9. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order

If you’ve played any of the earlier entries in this series, The Black Order will feel very familiar, except this time all the action is team-based as you form a squad of four heroes to play in either solo or multiplayer combat. Now, there isn’t much in the way of a grand, arching narrative like we’ve seen through the MCU, rather a loose plot that allows for some awesome, mindless battles. But where it lacks in plot, it more than makes up for it with its character roster.

8. Crash Team Racing Nitro Fuelled

This remaster of the cult classic kart racer has managed to retain all of the charm and fun of the original CTR, making it a great game for local co-op or tearing up the leaderboards online. But this isn’t just cheap nostalgia bait, and developers Beenox has added more than a graphical update. Brand new unlockable kart parts, character skins and customisation items mean there’s even more incentive to be the fastest on the track.

7. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

This remake of the underrated Wii U title sees the titular ape at his side-scrolling best, with gorgeous animation coupled with satisfying if at times a little punishing gameplay. However, if you’re a fan of a more casual experience or just a bit crap, the brand new Funky mode lets you play as Donkey’s totally rad uncle Funky Kong, an experience which offers you more lives and greater resistance to damage. Proof that a surfboard can cure all of life’s ailments.

6. Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions

Based on the classic manga series, Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions looks to blend football with roleplaying and quintessential anime madness. It combines a solid sporting experience with enough charm and heart to really set itself apart from it’s more simulation-based counterparts. With local multiplayer for up to 4 players supported too, you can all share the over the top frivolity! Whether you’re a fan of the source material, or just discovering it for the first time, you’re sure to have a blast lacing up your vibrant, anime boots.

5. Overcooked 2

The original Overcooked was one of the first games to truly show off the multiplayer capabilities of the Switch, as you team up with friends to play as chefs scrambling to get orders out of the kitchen. Overcooked 2 is equally as entertaining, and fixes some of the kinks of its predecessor. Sure it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but when it comes from such a widely celebrated series, it really doesn’t need to. The ideal MO of a good sequel is ‘more but better’, and Overcooked 2 fulfils this with aplomb.

4. Diablo III: Eternal Collection

The standard when it comes to horror-themed dungeon crawlers, Diablo III should absolutely be on your radar. Although the package offers very little brand new aside from a Ganondorf armour set, it is objectively the most polished version of the game to date, making it well worth a pick up for old and new fans alike. A full local co-op mode accompanies the single-player experience, looking good in 720p and playing oh so buttery smooth. 

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. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

The king of the kart racers, nothing comes close to Mario Kart on the Switch. With the near-perfect balance between pick-up-and-playability and challenge, MK8D truly does cater for everyone. Whether entertaining your grandparents or duking it out with the best online, you’ll find a satisfying experience no matter what you’re looking for.

1. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Nintendo has been perfecting their Smash Bros series for the past 2 decades, an effort that culminates with the near-obnoxiously good Super Smash Bros Ultimate. The fighting/party game boasts one of the best rosters of characters found in any game ever, ranging from Pikachu to Solid Snake to Sonic and even the Wii Fit Trainer (because why not?), and each character feels unique, with a deep move set and individual play style.

Top PS4 Sports Games

10. Riders Republic

If you’re bored of the beautiful realism of elite racing simulation games, Riders Republic is the ultimate palette cleanser. You explore an enormous open world via extreme sports events like biking, snowboarding, wingsuiting and more. Grabbing a jetpack to the top of a mountain and switching to your bike on the fly to white-knuckle your way down the cliff face? It just can’t be beaten!

9. NBA 2K22

The most popular basketball sim series on the market by a mile, NBA 2K22 has overhauled the mechanics of offence and defence in a way that makes the players feel more responsive than ever. Career modes, management modes and the chance to create your own perfect player make this the most varied 2K game in years - and the thriving online multiplayer mode makes conquering friends and strangers alike as satisfying as ever.

8. NHL 22

If you know someone who loves ice hockey, NHL is the game for them. New to this year’s edition is a visual and mechanical overhaul thanks to the introduction of the Frostbite engine, which makes the transition to this year’s edition feel like a much more pronounced evolution. NHL 22 also introduces Superstar X-Factors, which give the franchise’s most famous players spectacular abilities in their areas of expertise.

7. EA Sports UFC 4

UFC 4 is definitely a case of evolution, rather than revolution. It adds some welcome features and tweaks some of the weaker areas of its predecessor, but broadly speaking, it’s more of the same. That’s not a bad thing, as a thriving online scene and narrative-driven career mode makes it a tempting prospect. If you enjoy mixed martial arts and the previous entries in the series, you’re certain to enjoy this. 

6. WWE 2K Battlegrounds

What’s better than sport? Sports entertainment! After the hot mess that was WWE 2K20, the developers have decided to offer a palette cleanser in the form of 2K Battlegrounds. A much more over the top affair, with arcade-style grappling, cartoony graphics and outlandish weapons, it’s a tonne of fun seeing these larger than life characters looking a little larger than life. Plus you can throw your opponent into the mouth of a waiting crocodile - what more could you want?

5. Madden NFL 22

The world’s most popular American football game, the Madden series has been a staple on the sports fan’s game shelf for over 20 years. Alongside a host of graphical and mechanical upgrades, more detailed staff management and improved skill tree progression systems, Madden 22 introduces a ‘home field advantage’ system, which gives teams playing in their home stadium a chance to earn unique powers that will give them advantages over their opponents.

4. PGA Tour 2K21

A hardcore experience for hardcore players, if you’re a fan of golf you simply have to play PGA Tour 2K21. The precision it offers means it’s incredibly satisfying when you hit that perfect shot, and a thriving online community gives you every chance to earn bragging rights over your fellow putters. The graphics are also photorealistic, with some of the world’s most popular courses recreated in exquisite detail. And it taught us the difference between an ‘Albatross’ and a ‘Bogey’. Who knew?

3. Gran Turismo Sport

Having always been one of the more serious racing franchises, Gran Turismo more than makes up for a lack of silly fun in simple perfectionism. The graphics are beautiful and the controls are responsive and tight. The online features are fantastic, bringing a new dimension to the series, and a new place to show off your mastery behind the wheel. Truly one of the most polished racing games available. 

2. Fifa 22

FIFA fans know what to expect from the newest instalment of the world’s most popular sports game. Improved graphics for sure, but what’s important is the development in how the gameplay feels - the new HyperMotion motion capture technology employed in FIFA 22 means the game feels more shockingly realistic than it ever has before. The multiplayer mode is as fun as ever, so expect to lose plenty of evenings to playing with your mates online.

1. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2

You never forget your first. After a few years in the wilderness, the Tony Hawk franchise is back with a full remake of the first two games in the series. With the same ‘easy to learn, hard to master gameplay, online multiplayer and those iconic soundtracks, it’s just as fun as it was two decades ago. An Indy 900 of a game.

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.