Essential buyer’s guide

Great couch multiplayer PS4 games to enjoy with friends and family

Get your hands on a massive variety of cooperative or competitive games that don’t need an online connection to play.

Sports games

Hit the pitch, the park or the field with a reliable wing-man or a friendly rival.

EA Sports FIFA 22

Co-op and competitive, 2-4 players

How quick is a game session? Around five minutes.

Experience the power of cutting edge HyperMotion gameplay technology in the latest season of EA SPORTS’ world-renowned series. Squad up and show off your skill moves on the street, or take it to the stadium with over 17,000 of the world’s best players and the chance to lift the iconic UEFA Champions League trophy.

Best played with: Anyone obsessed with the sport, especially your fantasy football rivals…

Rocket League

Competitive, 1-4 players

How quick is a game session? Each match is five minutes of mayhem.

Welcome to the high-powered hybrid of arcade-style soccer and vehicular mayhem. Customize your car, hit the field and compete in one of the most critically acclaimed sports games of all time.

Best played with: Your most reliable teammates and your greatest rivals.

Tony Hawks Pro Skater 1 + 2

Competitive, 2 players

How quick is a game session? Sessions should be no more than a few minutes.

Drop back in with the most iconic skateboarding games ever made, now fully remastered for PS4. Join the Birdman and a roster bursting with pro skaters and go head to head with a friend to pull off the biggest tricks and claim the highest scores.

Best played with: someone who can sing along with the iconic soundtrack.

Madden NFL 22

Co-op and competitive, 2-4 players

How quick is a game session? Around five minutes.

A new generation is leaving its mark in the NFL. Will you rise to the occasion? Change the game and take control of your own legacy. Madden NFL 22 delivers new features and modes and couch multiplayer for up to four players.

Best played with: That group of friends who always talk a good game...

Everybody’s Golf

Competitive, 1-4 players

How quick is a game session? 10-20 minutes depending on course length.

Prepare to pitch and putt your way through this cute and colourful golf simulator with accessible gameplay that anyone can pick up. Customise your golfer and explore free-roaming courses, play a few games with your buddies, or drive around in a golf cart. This game is fun even when you’re not golfing!

Best played with: People who prefer a relaxing game session.

Family-friendly action games

Get together with kids, friends, partners and grand parents in exciting adventures suitable for all ages. 

It Takes Two

Co-op, 2 players only

How quick is a game session? Put aside at least an hour.

From the creative minds behind Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons comes an adventure absolutely dedicated to teamwork. Play as one half of a struggling married couple transported to a world both extraordinary and familiar and fight your way through a gameplay experience that's as expansive and unique as it is charming.

Best played with: Someone who gets you.

Minecraft Dungeons

Co-op, 2-4 players

How quick is a game session? Set aside at least half an hour to conquer a dungeon.

Fight your way through an action-adventure inspired by classic dungeon crawlers and set in the Minecraft universe! Team up with up to three friends and battle together through action-packed, treasure-stuffed, wildly varied levels – all in an epic quest to save the villagers and take down the evil Arch-Illager!

Best played with: friends, family and younger siblings.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure

Co-op, 2-4 players

How quick is a game session? An average level is about 20 minutes

The Knitted Knight returns to take on the dastardly machinations of Vex and his warped aspirations for Craftworld. Many hands make light work in this charming adventure, so rope in a couple of friends and stitch up Vex good and proper.

 Best played with: A few family and friends

Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville

Cooperative, 2 players

How quick is a game session? Around 20-30 minutes for a single round

Join the newest bloom in the age-old battle between plants and zombies with 20 fully customizable classes at launch, including a Team Play class for each faction. Bring the unique abilities of each character class to six PvP modes, including the new Battle Arena with two-player split screen across all game modes.

Best played with: Someone with the penchant for horticultural warfare

Knack 2

Co-op, 2 player

How quick is a game session? 10 minutes.

The action continues as Knack returns to clobber a new mechanised foe - and with player two joining for drop-in-drop-out co-op fun, you'll form an unstoppable wrecking crew.

Best played with: Young players with a taste for action.

Racing and driving games

Get into gear as you, your friends and family go head to head to see who is best behind the wheel.

Gran Turismo 7

Competitive, 2 player

How quick is a game session? A quick whizz around the track will take you about five minutes.

Go head to head as the Real Driving Simulator returns in its most complete incarnation to date. Get behind the wheel of over 400 cars and edge out a lead in 37 global destinations.

Best played with: That petrolhead with hundreds of car magazines in their garage.

Crash™ Team Racing Nitro-Fueled

Co-op and competitive, 2-4 players

How quick is a game session? Around three minutes per race.

Jump into the driving seat as the most famous bandicoot in the world, in a vibrant remake of the wacky PlayStation classic. Staying true to its roots, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled delivers a high-speed, four-player split screen option in its single races, cups, time trials, and battle modes.

Best played with: Friends who love their kart racing fast, fun and colourful.

Can't Drive This

Co-op and competitive, 2-4 players

How quick is a game session? Anything from 10 seconds to 15 minutes - depends how good you are.

A unique asymmetical multiplayer driving experience, in Can't Drive This you'll need to get behind the wheel while your friends are still building the road. But here's the catch: drive too slow and the truck explodes. Work with your friend to keep the truck moving and the road expanding.

Best played with: People you can trust!

WipEout Omega Collection

Competitive, 2 players

How quick is a game session? Five minutes or so for a race.

Roar around futuristic racetracks in rocket-like ships, using skill and well-aimed weaponry to beat your opponents to the finishing line.

Best played with: The sci-fi fan who is impatiently waiting to experience the future.

Team Sonic Racing

Competitive, 1-4 players

How quick is a game session? A single race shouldn't last more than 10 minutes.

Join the Sonic and his friends in the fast lane for a colorful kart-racing experience set in the world of Sega's best-known platforming franchise. With support for up to four players on a single system you can get a real showdown across the dozens of tracks and available rides.

Best played with: a naturally competitive group of friends

Fighting games

Get ready to tussle as you enter the arena and trades punches to prove your worth.

Mortal Kombat 11

Competitive, 2 players

How quick is a game session? A three-round fight can be played in under five minutes.

There are few beat ‘em ups in gaming history that can hang with the iconic NeatherRealm Studios series, delivering some of the most brutal competitive fighting available on PlayStation.

Best played with: Old school action movie fans who need to unwind after a frustrating day at work.

Street Fighter® V

Competitive, 2 player

How quick is a game session? Under five minutes.

Capcom's illustrious fighting franchise is at the top of its game with the feature and character-filled Arcade version. There's a fighter and style to fit everyone's taste, while the game's colourful visuals will entertain curious onlookers. 

Best played with: The martial arts master who needs to sharpen their Shoryuken.

Guilty Gear -Strive-

Competitive, 2 players

How quick is a game session? A single match should take no more than five minutes. 

The latest entry in the long-running fighting game franchise delivers a diverse roster of characters featuring old favourites and new contenders. If you and a friend love going head-to-head in the arena, then look no further, with a range of abilities and moves that make play easy to grasp but difficult to master.

Best played with: Your most competitive friends.

Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown

Competitive, 2 player

How quick is a game session? A single match should only take a few minutes

Return to SEGA's iconic fighting franchise in a modern recreation of Virtua Fighter 5, featuring pristine new visuals and range of additional modes. Revisit old grudges as you go head to head with classic characters and vie for the crown of the Virtua Fighter legend.

Best played with: The old arcade crew from back way back when.

Action and adventure games

Keep the team alive in high-intensity action packed adventures brimming with cinematic flare.

Borderlands 3

Co-op, 2 players

How quick is a game session? Stay sharp and you could be battling for over an hour. 

Gearbox Software’s raucous sci-fi looter shooter lets you team up with a friend for split screen destruction across a variety of new planets. Not only that, but Borderlands 3 also introduces several options that make working with a pal more harmonious, including item and weapon drops unique to each player. 

Best played with: Those who like their shooters with a dash of tongue-in-cheek madness. 

Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War

Co-oeprative and competitve, 2 players 

How quick is a game session? Multiplayer will last as long as the round lasts, but Zombies mode will usually require a longer session.

Keeping up with the series' long tradition of split-screen multiplayer options, Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War allows you and a friend to fight it out in online multiplayer or go up against droves of the undead in Zombies mode, together.

Best played with: The trigger-happy tactician who's always got your back.

A Way Out

Cooperative, 2 players

How quick is a game session? Settle in for a good long story.

Design exclusively for cooperative play, A Way Out, puts you and one other player in charge of Leo and Vincent as they embark on a daring prison break. Work together to overcome security systems, prison wardens and more in a bid for freedom.

Best played with: the kind of friend you trust to have your back.

Streets of Rage 4

Co-op, 2-4 players

How quick is a game session? Put aside an hour for a good session.

Reconnect with gaming's retro roots and experience the modern continuation of a franchise that was synonymous with co-op multiplayer in the 90s. Clean up the streets of a crime ridden city in a classic side-scrolling beat 'em up brought to life with modern hand-drawn visuals.

Best played with: Someone you knew back then.

Role-playing / RPG games

Set off on a bold journey of adventure into sprawling worlds filled with magic, stories and quests.

Diablo III: Eternal Collection

Co-op, 4 players

How quick is a game session? Drop in and out of the adventure whenever you like.

Hell itself has broken loose, threatening to plunge Sanctuary into an era of darkness and demonic rule. Take up arms against the hordes of Hell, bringing up to three trusted friends into the fray with you. Conquer gruelling dungeon and, grotesque bosses while discovering legendary loot as one of seven playable classes - teleporting back to safety whenever you need to take a break.

Best played with: A hardened group of gaming buddies.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition

Cooperative, 1-4 players

How quick is a game session? About an hour or two.

Team up with a friend and explore a living, breathing RPG world filled with dangerous creatures, dastardly enemies and chests of glorious loot.

Best played with: A close friend or partner with a hint of magic about them... 

Outward

Co-op, 2 players

How quick is a game session? As long as you'd like - Outward is a vast adventure, but co-op play is drop-in, drop-out.

Set out into an immense, sprawling wilderness and battle raiders, monsters, brutal weather conditions and even hunger and disease as you carve your own legend in the land of Aurai. Friends can drop in at any time with their own character to help conquer dungeons, haul back loot or simply wander the world.

Best played with: Someone who's close by - Outward is an adventure worth sharing.

Party games

Unleash chaos on the couch with a wild selection of party experiences that blur the line between cooperation and competition.

Overcooked! All You Can Eat Edition

Co-op and competitive, 2-4 players

How quick is a game session? Five minutes.

Work with (or against) your friends as you try to cook in a chaotic kitchen that constantly moves around you. Fight off the Unbread, save the Onion Kingdom... and likely shout at your loved ones while doing it.

Best played with: Anyone who doesn’t mind a messy kitchen.

Moving Out

Co-op, 2-4 players

How quick is a game session? Around 10 minutes.

Putting the literal couch into 'couch co-op', Moving Out is a ridiculous, physics-based moving simulator for up to four friends. As a conscientious band of furniture removal specialists you and your team will have to coordinate your efforts to relocate folks around the town of Packmore with the minimum level of mayhem!

Best played with: The biggest trouble causers you know.

Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum Session!

Competitive, 1-2 players

How quick is a game session? Songs last between two and four minutes, play as many or as few as you like!

The ultimate battle of the beats; grab your 'don' and keep time with some of Japan's most memorable music from games, anime, pop culture, and more.

Best played with: That one friend or family member who's always drumming on the table.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

Co-op, the number of players is only limited by how many people can see the manual 

How quick is a game session? Each bomb timer is set to five minutes.

This ingenious ''asymmetrical' PS VR multiplayer game has one player using the headset to tackle a ticking bomb, while the others desperately use the supplied manual to search for clues on how to defuse it. Tense, original, and a perfect night in with friends.

Please review and follow all safety guidelines for use of PlayStation®VR. PlayStation®VR is not for use by children under age 12. PlayStation®4 system, PlayStation®VR and PlayStation®Camera are required to experience VR functionality.

Best played with: Only those with a steady hand and calm disposition need apply...

Indie games

Explore unique artful worlds, overcome immense challenges or just get lost in the moment.

Spelunky 2

Co-op and competitive, 2-4 players

How quick is a game session? Sub-two minute speedruns have been known... 

Grab ropes, bombs, eggplants and whatever else you need to make a perfect run through the caverns of Spelunky 2 with a fellow adventurer. You’ll definitely need nerves of steel and sharp reflexes though, as this addictive platformer is not for the faint-hearted.

Best played with: Someone who doesn't mind sharing their stash of bombs (and isn't going to upset the shopkeeper). 

Don't Starve Together: Console Edition

Co-op and competitive, 2 players

How quick is a game session? That depends entirely on your ability to survive.

If you're looking for a gaming experience that will bring out deeper bonds with another, look no further than the standalone multiplayer expansion of wilderness survival game, Don't Starve. Though it's not an experience for the faint of heart, Don't Starve is a tough but rewarding experince - and with a friend in tow, the adventure only gets more tense.

Best played with: someone who can stay calm under pressure.

Guacamelee! 2

Cooperative, 1-4 players

How quick is a game session? It's a big game to explore but players can drop-in and drop-out as desired.

The sequel to 2013's brilliant luchador-themed combat platformer lets you bring a chum along for the ride. Unlock abilities, grapple all manner of monsters and restore order to your homeland.

Best played with: Nimble-thumbed platformer enthusiasts and/or taco-loving pro wrestlers.

Knights and Bikes

Co-op, 1-2 players

How quick is a game session? Drop in and out whenever you like.

Play as Nessa & Demelza – the sole members of the Penfurzy Rebel Bicycle Club, along with their trusty pet goose, Captain Honkers - in this charming Goonies-inspired adventure full of friendship, legendary treasures, and ancient curses.

Best played with: A close friend with a quirky sense of humour and a taste for adventure.