The world phenomenon sandbox game hardly requires introduction, but this list would not be complete without its presence. Terraria is available on Windows PC, Linux, and Max via Steam and GOG, and on PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS. Terraria can have a challenging learning curve for beginners, so the multiplayer mode is a helpful way of having a guide. (Developer Re-Logic first released the game on PC in 2011 it has been ported to its fair share of platforms since.) The Nintendo Switch version also supports two-player couch co-op. Online multiplayer supports up to eight players, with some older console editions offering four-player split-screen co-op. Build your base, seek upgrades, and fight bosses to advance the game’s story. It has everything: exploration in an absolutely massive procedurally generated map, crafting and base-building, and so, so many bats. You could easily burn hundreds of hours simply exploring and building, even without explicitly attempting to fight the game’s numerous enemies. Terraria is the 2D sandbox survival game to end all 2D sandbox survival games. First, some classics Terraria Image: Re-Logic Even if your favorite doesn’t make an appearance, many popular colony management sims (like Rimworld, for example) have multiplayer mods. This list focuses on official, developer-backed multiplayer modes. What they share in common is a particular game loop, with resource gathering and crafting complementary to other goals - from exploration and fighting to growing a city to managing a successful amusement park or farm. This list broadly covers base-building, automation, survival, and certain types of crafting games. So we’ve created a list of some of our favorites that support cooperative play mostly online multiplayer with a few entries that support couch co-op.

But these games are often more fun with others, letting you create abominations together or ruthlessly mess with each other’s work. There’s that perfect gameplay loop that comes from doing menial tasks and then, later, building systems to help automate those chores.

Base-building and management simulator games scratch a particular itch.

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