Summer movie season may be in full swing, but you don’t have to drop $15 whenever you and your friends want a few hours of entertainment. So-called “Friendslop” games, low-budget multiplayer games that tend to be very easy to pick up, are an excellent way to burn an afternoon. Similarly, many amazing stories, puzzles, and designs are hidden just behind $6 price tags on Steam.
We’ve put together a list of multiplayer games you can play with your friends anywhere in the world (including one that doesn’t require an internet connection at all!), all under the price of a standard movie ticket.
1
An Eggstremely Hard Game
Where to play: Windows PC
If you ever had to carry around an egg for a whole week, pretending it was a baby for extra credit in health class, you’ve basically played the tutorial for An Eggstremely Hard Game. Released just last week, An Eggstremely Hard Game has players take on the roles of “highly qualified goose parents,” who are trying to bring their egg home. Dropping the egg or bumping into obstacles cracks it, making it even harder to control. Those get increasingly perilous, going from a rock you have to walk around to a series of swinging wrecking balls you and your partner must fly through. If you and your friend don’t work completely in sync, the game’s purposefully clumsy controls and unpredictable physics may leave your precious cargo sunny-side-up on the sidewalk. An Eggstremely Hard Game is only $5, and supports either two or four players.
2
Lethal Company
Where to play: Windows PC
After entering early access in October 2023, Lethal Company took the internet by storm with its combination of irreverent humor and survival horror gameplay. You and your friends work for “The Company,” which sends you to abandoned moons to collect scrap. You and up to three friends can bond over your shared fear of Snare Fleas — giant, fleshy centipedes that dive at you from the ceiling — as you explore procedurally generated rooms. True to the game’s title, “The Company” has little regard for your life: it’ll leave you behind if you fail to make it to your ship on time, and straight-up eject you into space if you don’t meet your scrap quotas. Lethal Company is $9.99, and supports up to four players.
3
Strikers Club
Where to play: Windows PC
If the conclusion of the World Cup already has you missing soccer, look no further than Strikers Club, a multiplayer soccer simulation game that entered free early access last week. Rather than controlling your whole squad, every player on the pitch — including yourself — is a real person. It follows all the rules and conventions of a real match, adding specific gameplay mechanics for each position you choose to play. While it’s still in Early Access — and therefore still working through some issues — you can play it right now for free. Strikers Club supports online PvP and co-op gameplay, with matches ranging from 5v5 to 11v11.
4
Tick Tock: A Tale for Two
Where to play: Android devices, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC
Tick Tock: A Tale for Two is an aptly-named two-player puzzle game set in a mysterious clockwork world. Trapped there by a mysterious clockmaker, you and your friend solve increasingly difficult puzzles by sharing the clues on your separate screens. The story and hand-drawn environments are inspired by Scandinavian fairy tales, creating an eerie, mysterious atmosphere. Tick Tock only takes a few hours to beat, and doesn’t require any internet connection — you just need to be able to talk to whoever you’re playing with. So, you and your friend don’t have to play on the same platform. Tick Tock: A Tale for Two requires two players and costs $5.99
5
Shift at Midnight
Where to play: Windows PC
Shift at Midnight perfectly encapsulates the experience of managing a gas station: restocking shelves, mopping up pools of blood, selling products, trying not to get killed by hideous monsters, et cetera. The cooperative detective horror game, which launched last week, has you and your friends balance running your gas station with protecting yourself from the inhuman doppelgangers who patronize your gas station. As you ring customers up, you check their IDs for any suspicious details, hoping to execute any doppelgangers before they leave and transform into monsters. If you’re not proactive, you and your friends may find yourselves barricading your store, hunkering down, and hoping for the best. Shift at Midnight costs $9.99 and supports up to three players.
6
BOKURA
Where to play: Nintendo Switch (requires Nintendo Switch Online), Windows PC
BOKURA is an atmospheric side-scrolling puzzle game requiring exactly two players and two devices. You and your friend play as brothers who run away from home. After seeing a dead deer, both of you faint and wake up to see wildly different worlds. One of you navigates a world of animals, while the other navigates a world of machines. Like Tick Tock, you and your friend need to be able to talk to one another, either over voice chat or in person, to decode what the other is seeing and solve puzzles as a team. BOKURA requires two players, each with their own device to play it on (i.e., no split-screen co-op), and costs $5.49.
7
Meccha Chameleon
Where to play: Windows PC
Meccha Chameleon is a hide-and-seek game that replaces traditional stealth gameplay with creative mimicry. Your group splits into “chameleons,” who paint themselves to blend into their surroundings, and “hunters,” who try to find hidden chameleons. If you’re artistically inclined, you can camouflage yourself with a level of detail that would make Peeta Mellark proud. Meccha Chameleon went mega-viral this summer, selling 2 million copies less than a week after launching. That said, you may want to be careful with community maps for a bit. Meccha Chameleon is $5.99 and supports 2 to 24 players (though the developer recommends capping your group at 10).
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