Co-operative multiplayer was rife in 2015. From the simple lunacy of Zombie Army Trilogy to the bombastic nonsense of Black Ops III, there have been some absolute crackers to team up with friends with this year. Dying Light was a whole different game in co-op as you and your pals ran amok in a zombie-infested Harran, seeing who could drop kick a zombie off a roof the furthest, Destiny’s The Taken King expansion continued to provide a real sense of teamwork and community while Divinity: Original Sin let you settle your squabbles over an objective with Rock, Paper, Scissors. Only one game however, let you accidently kill your friend by dropping a turret on their head. Helldivers. The space military shooter with a nice side in satire and hardcore co-op gameplay.
Winner – Helldivers
Helldivers may not have had the advertising grunt of its nearest rivals, but what it does have is the year’s most rewarding co-op experience. The game is designed to ensure players either work together, or die together, there is no wiggle room to be a superstar MVP in Helldivers, you work as a well-oiled machine or get eaten/blasted/crushed/burned/eviscerated or worse, leaving your squad in an even more difficult situation than before. It’s never about luck, always about incompetence.
Helldivers gets away with being brutally tough on you because it always remains fair. If you ‘accidentally’ throw a grenade at your team mate, then it is entirely your fault for allowing them to be in your field of view (okay, also a little bit their fault for ignoring orders). Few games are so well suited to headset chat than Helldivers, it practically demands it. The game is on all three PlayStation formats, though I’d suggest PS4 for ease of communication. Those playing it now are well drilled in this madness already, but for those interested who have yet to try, your training is all ahead of you.
Runner-up – Destiny: The Taken King
Soaring immediately to number one spot in the charts, Destiny: The Taken King offered a compelling expansion to a shooter that has been keeping the masses busy since its launch in 2014. Such was its impact, Destiny was a game that helped sell PS4 consoles, and The Taken King offered a new campaign, new Strike missions and seven new Crucible maps.