I’m nearing the end of my gloriously long, and frankly hilarious co-op run of Baldur’s Gate 3. While a solo player can enjoy the amazing RPG’s fantasy writing, character designs, intricate turn-based combat, and dozens hours of content, Baldur’s Gate 3 also supports co-op play for maximum zaniness and tactical collaboration.

I’ve sunk nearly 90 hours into a full, four player co-op campaign of Baldur’s Gate 3 with friends, and the results have been nearly as hilariously memorable as a typical Dungeons & Dragons campaign (Selfish plug alert: my entire Baldur’s Gate 3 co-op playthrough is available on YouTube).

Now the real problem begins – what’s next?

Baldur’s Gate 3 is an amazing, Game of the Year-winning RPG that somehow fully supports the entire campaign in cooperative play. Most every other co-op game pales in comparison, let alone the rare RPG that supports full co-op campaigns.

There are a few games worthy of your group’s attention, however, which we’ve highlighted below. While some of these games lean on pure dungeon crawling more than others, all are fantasy RPGs that feature fully cooperative campaigns, and satisfying tactical combat.

Divinity: Original Sin 2

The obvious choice is Larian Studio’s amazing RPG that preceded Baldur’s Gate 3. Divinity: Original Sin 2 plays very similarly to Baldur’s Gate 3, with each player creating and controlling their own custom fantasy hero (or one of the excellent pre-written party members). As long as players stay within the same Act (which are enormous zones), they can freely split up to tackle quests, engage in turn-based battles, and gather treasure.

BG3 fans should feel right at home with plenty of dialogue and quests, challenging combat, and a huge amount of content. The combat system isn’t based on D&D, but instead uses a cooldown system more reminiscent of an MMO (but still turn-based). Furthermore, characters can freely mix and match class masteries without being beholden to a single class or archetype. D:OS2 also includes a GM mode for custom games, but we suggest playing through the gigantic 100-hour campaign.

Gloomhaven

Based on the 2017 legacy board game, Gloomhaven is a pure tactical dungeon crawler. Up to four players select from a list of diverse fantasy classes and journey through a campaign of tactical missions. Players take turns playing cards to activate their moves, attacks, and special features. Between scenarios, players make choices and select which storylines to progress, and complete their personal quests. Unlike most fantasy RPGs, players shouldn’t get too attached to their characters. One of the game’s interesting quirks is unlocking new, interesting characters to play, level up, and retire.

What it lacks in exploration, quests, and character interaction, Gloomhaven makes up for in pure tactical dungeon crawling goodness and clever character builds.

Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition

For more adventuring in the Forgotten Realms, check out the brand new remaster of Neverwinter Nights 2 (releases July 15). The Neverwinter Nights series was the successor to Baldur’s Gate in the early and mid 2000s. The first game (developed by BioWare) focused on a single adventuring hero, while the sequel, developed by RPG-darlings Obsidian Entertainment, introduced the classic full-party approach, with fully realized party members and a much improved story.

The Enhanced Edition includes all official expansion packs, but the NWN’s series was impactful for its incredible modding scene, gamemaster tools, and module creator. It was truly ahead of its time, which means it should hold up just fine today!

Solasta: Crown of the Magister

If you want to stick closer to the Dungeons & Dragons ruleset, look no further than Solasta, the underrated RPG from indie studio, Tactical Adventures. Word of warning: Solasta is a bit of a downgrade from BG3 in just about every way: ugly character models, non-super star voice acting, and an unimpressive story. Solasta doesn’t use the official D&D IP (such as the Forgotten Realms), but it does adhere impressively close to the D&D Fifth Edition ruleset. In fact, it’s easily the most faithful adaptation I’ve ever seen.

Despite the downgrades, Solasta is still a lot of fun to play. D&D’s turn-based combat really shines with a nice variety of enemies and monsters. Including full voice acting and generated personalities for custom-built characters is a delightfully novel approach. Plus, in a nod to NWN, Solasta includes a dungeon maker editor, as well as Steam Workshop integration to download and share custom modules. A full sequel, Solasta 2, has also been announced!

Stolen Realm

Stolen Realm is a low-poly, tactical RPG with a campaign filled with procedurally generated battles and events. Like Divinity, players can freely mix and match different skill trees to create their own custom playstyles. Skills are also based on cooldown and action points, instead of mana or spell slots. Stolen Realm supports up to six (!) players, and uses a spiffy simultaneous turn system to speed up turn-based combat. Between battles players will encounter events, make choices, and roll skill checks.

Stolen Realm also includes a roguelike mode that features pre-generated characters and unlockable difficulty levels.

Sunderfolk

Special mention to Sunderfolk, a Gloomhaven-like tactical-RPG designed for local co-op. Like Gloomhaven, players select a class with their own set of cards to activate moves, attacks, and other abilities. Unlike just about every other game you’ve played, Sunderfolk uses a free companion app for each player, transforming everyone’s phones into their personalized controller. By using the phone app, each player can select their cards, manage their inventory, and chat with townsfolk between missions.

The phone app works perfectly, but it does functionally limit Sunderfolk to local couch co-op, though intrepid online players could work around some kind of screen-sharing system.

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader

I’m not terribly familiar with the Warhammer universe. I know it’s melodramatically grimdark, fantastically sci-fi, highly M-rated, and appears in a variety of game genres. Rogue Trader, developed by the designers of the excellent (but single player-only) Pathfinder video games, feels like a mix of Baldur’s Gate and XCOM. And yeah, it’s one of those rare 100+ RPGs you can play fully cooperatively!

In Rogue Trader, you and your team of serious badasses travel through the mostly uncharted Koronus Expanse. It’s a combat-heavy RPG in a genre that doesn’t exactly shy away from fighting, and isn’t afraid to get super deep into some extensive Warhammer lore. That being said, even if you don’t know your Skaven from your Tyranids, it’s worth checking out Rogue Trader.

Wildermyth

wildermyth consoleGroups who love choices and consequences should check out Wilderymyth, a lovely indie RPG with a striking papercraft art style. The cute, 2D-animted art style comes alive during the tactical combat encounters, which uses an action point system. Wildermyth features multiple campaigns with overarching stories, but the real treat comes from the emergent, procedurally generated events, choices, and permanent consequences sprinkled throughout each adventure.

Player characters can form rivalries, fall in love, or even have children that grow up to join the next campaign. Death can be permanent (or permanently maiming) and heroes lucky enough to grow old can retire. While other RPGs look more like D&D, Wildermyth fundamentally understands that a great RPG focuses on the players and their characters as the stars.


Did we miss any great co-op RPGs? Would your group rather just play through Baldur’s Gate 3 again? Let us know in our social media channels, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter!


This article was written by

Eric has been writing for over nine years with bylines at Dicebreaker, Pixelkin, Polygon, PC Gamer, Tabletop Gaming magazine, and more covering movies, TV shows, video games, tabletop games, and tech. He reviews and live streams D&D adventures every week on his YouTube channel. He also makes a mean tuna quesadilla.