Ramp up the horror
THIS week sees the release of the first Evil Dead game in 17 years, and it couldn’t be on a more apt date – Friday the 13th.
The new outing sees Ash Williams and Co fighting to seal the breach between our world, and that of the Deadites. And following in the proud tradition of horror, the developers have upped the fear by increasing the number of players that can take part.
Play in co-op to support each other through the terrifying levels, or go it alone and play against others who would happily sacrifice your skin to save themselves.
To celebrate the release of Evil Dead: The Game, we take a look at five other groovy games that are scarily good to play with friends.
Dying Light 2: Stay Human (PEGI 18) PS4, PS5, XBOX ONE, XBOX X/S, PC
This open world survival horror is set 22 years after the fateful events of the first game. Unfortunately you can’t jump straight into co-op as it initially forces you to play alone.
Once unlocked, you can share the fun with up to three friends, and you’re all free (within reason) to explore Haran as you see fit.
Playing in co-op feels like a different game, and you can have lots of fun parkouring across the map, dropping bandits off rooftops and uniting to slay zombie hordes.
If you don’t have many gaming friends, you can dip your toes into the co-op waters and allow the game to pair you up with a random player.
One thing that does get fractious in multiplayer is when it comes to decision making. Some story missions and side quests throw up dialogue choices, some which just lead to more info, but some which affect what future missions are available for you to play.
In that case it’s not just the hosting gamer that gets their say, all players have the ability to vote – which can lead to some very interesting debates.
Dead by Daylight (PEGI 18) PS4, PS5, XBOX ONE, XBOX X/S, PC, Switch
This multiplayer-only ‘asymmetric’ death match sees one side play the hunted, while the other plays the hunter.
The four players who take on the role of survivors have no way to fight back, there’s no stumbling over heavy pipes or last minute firing up of chainsaws to get you out of a pickle, all you have are your wits and your hide-and-seek abilities.
The player taking on the role of ‘The Entity’, meanwhile, is terrifyingly powerful – and I really mean terrifying. You find yourself in one of several maps, each scarier and more bone chilling than the last.
To escape, the survivors must repair five generators scattered around the procedurally generated arena. If they succeed, two exit doors – which also need repairing – appear and then you can get out of there.
They are assisted by playing in the third-person view which helps immeasurably in evading the advances of the psychotic killer.
Players taking on the role of the killer have all the fun. There are several baddies to choose from, each with their own ‘special skills’, and you are hampered only in that you play with a first-person viewpoint.
What plays out is a genuinely terrifying encounter, with the odds feeling very much stacked in favour of the killer who’s massively overpowered compared to the survivors.
Resident Evil 5 (PEGI 18) PS3, PS4, XBOX 360, XBOX ONE, PC, Switch
I can see you rolling your eyes at this choice, but hear me out. Yes, it was arguably the weakest of the Resident Evil games, but when it comes to multiplayer, it truly shines.
The first in the series to offer co-op gameplay, it allowed players to experience the game in a whole new way. Playing as either Chris Redfield or Sheva Alomar, you run through story mode together.
But if you really want to up the ante, jump into Versus mode. Here you could pick from “Slayers”, a point-based game that challenges players to kill Majini, or “Survivors”, where players hunt each other while dodging and attacking Majini.
Arguably some of the most fun you can have on a couch together.
Left 4 Dead 2 (PEGI 18) XBOX 360, PC
And finally, no list of multiplayer horrors would be complete without Left 4 Dead 2.
After years of being able to stroll away from approaching zombies in video games, it was an absolute shock to have hordes of the creatures tearing after you at breakneck speeds.
In two-player co-op, it’s oodles of fun with your main objective simply being to get from one side of the map to the other with all your brains intact.
But if you’re looking for something really special, then online competitive mode is for you.
In this mode a team of four survivors take on a team of four infected, with the roles flipping between rounds.
Survivors set out to reach the safe room as normal, battling swathes of the undead as they go. But where it gets really fun is when the team of four infected enter the map as ‘Special Infected’.
Instead of the game’s AI baddies tracking you, you have living, breathing players determined to stop you.
Every bit as much fun now as when it was launched 13 years ago.