Best Co-op Indie Games of 2023

What are the best co-op indie games of 2023? Find out here, including 30XX, Sunkenland, Barotrauma, Ember Knights, and more!

Got a buddy? Grab a buddy! Our list of the best co-op indie games of 2023 will direct you to the best experiences from this year that you can play with a friend, without being at each others’ throats.

We pick games across all consoles, be they available on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, or Switch. While our current picks are available on PC and Switch only, keep checking back regularly here to find new entries among the best co-op indie games of 2023!

If there’s a co-op game that you think deserves to make the cut on this list, let us know pronto!

Sunkenland

Platforms: PC (Early Access)
Co-op Type: Online only

Best Co-op Indie Games of 2023

In survival game Sunkenland, water has covered most of Earth, and your survival in this post-apocalyptic world depends on exploring sunken cities, scavenging what remains, building your own base, and fighting off anyone trying to mess with you.

The game’s sandbox nature means that you can build your base as you see fit with extensive crafting, trading, and fighting systems.

Ember Knights

Platforms: PC, Switch
Co-op Type: Online & Local

Best Indie Co-op Games of 2023

The mad sorcerer Praxis has left an army of fiends across the Prime Worlds, and it’s up to the legendary Ember Knights to end his corruption. Ember Knights is a rogue-lite action game that lets 1-4 players team up to perform powerful combos and synergies with which to decimate Praxis’ corrupt forces.

You and your friends will have to experiment with a variety of builds as you upgrade the Ember Tree and defeat grand bosses – all while trying again and again, in true roguelike fashion.

HumanitZ

Platforms: PC (Early Access)
Co-op type: Online only

Best Co-op Indie Games of 2023

In case the name didn’t tip you off, HumanitZ is a survival game set in a world that’s effectively been ended by a zombie outbreak. The game has a focus on co-op and is presented as an open-world, isometric title, where as a human survivor, you’ll have to make risky decisions to survive.

With robust character customization, crafting, and building mechanics, the game challenges you to use your tools and your buddies to the best effect possible in fending off the nasty “zeeks”.

Sun Haven

Platforms: PC
Co-op Type: Online only

Best Indie Co-op Games of 2023

Sun Haven is a farming sim and fantasy RPG, in which you and up to 8 friends can share in building a farm.

Apart from the farm itself, you can extensively customize your character, making you stand out amongst your friends. You’ll farm, fish, bake, craft, and also explore the world and fight monsters. If you’re looking for a Stardew Valley-like with more of a fantasy flair, that you can play with friends, Sun Haven will fit the bill.

Demonologist

Platforms: PC (Early Access)
Co-op Type: Online only

Best Indie Co-op Games of 2023

Demonologist is a horror game you can play in 1-4 player co-op, where you and your team explore cursed and haunted areas to find evil spirits, and then exorcise them with your… demonology equipment.

Every run of Demonologist features randomized events and spirits, so you never know what’s going to happen ahead. A particularly unique feature here is that you must also watch your words, as using certain words can affect the environment as well.

Roots of Pacha

Platforms: PC
Co-op Type: Online only

Best Indie Co-op Games of 2023

Roots of Pacha takes you all the way back to the stone age and has you and your friends explore a vibrant world and enrich your village.

You can domesticate crops, make discoveries, and grow closer to your fellow villagers, all with your friends on board. When playing with friends, you can live together, ride animals together, and have fun at festivals, amongst other activities.

Barotrauma

Platforms: PC
Co-op Type: Online only

Best Indie Co-op Games of 2023

If you’ve got a sinking feeling, then Barotrauma is going to help make it worse, because this one’s a co-op submarine simulator where you and friends man a submarine in the spooky depths of Jupiter’s moon Europa.

Barotrauma lets you play with 16 players on one submarine, and you will have to decide if it’s better to work with the crew or against them, all in the pursuit of survival against the horrors that lurk in the deep.

30XX

Platforms: PC, Switch
Co-op Type: Online & Local

Best Co-op Indie Games of 2023

30XX is an action roguelike taking decent inspiration from Mega Man X, and set a thousand years after the events of its predecessor 20XX. The game’s precise controls and intense action require some finesse, but you can smooth things along (or complicate them) by adding a buddy to the mix.

As you try to free the world over and over again, you’ll find new level combinations, items, and powers every time you play. Plus, either of the game’s playable characters have their own playstyles – plenty of reason to fight over your favorites.

Labyrinthine

Platforms: PC
Co-op Type: Online only

Best Co-op Indie Games of 2023

Labyrinthine is a 1-4 player co-op horror game with both a story mode and a procedurally generated ‘case files’ mode. In Story mode, you’ll follow the footsteps of a certain Joan into an abandoned hedge maze. In the case files, however, you will encounter difficult, procedurally generated challenges where you must solve puzzles and collect essential items to survive.

As you play the game (and get spooked out of your wits with your friends), you’ll find that the leveling system unlocks new maps and monsters, as well as new cosmetics to adorn your character.

Patch Quest

Platforms: PC
Co-op Type: Local only

Best Indie Co-op Games of 2023

Patch Quest is a roguelite action game that takes you to Patchlantis, a legendary labyrinth where you’ll find that you can capture and tame any monster you see. Your captured monsters will also open up new opportunities for you, both in exploration and combat.

Don’t be fooled, though – Patch Quest also happens to be a brutal bullet hell challenge, where the only way to get good is to keep exploring Patchlantis.

Patch Quest can be played either solo or in local co-op with one friend.


Thanks for reading our article on the Best Co-op Indie Games of 2023! You can find other interesting articles on the indie games industry linked below!

This Article was written by: Rahul Shirke