Co-Op games that feel different depending on who you play with

What makes co-op games and co-op modes so much fun is the human element of chaos. Even if you're following a set story or working towards a common goal with your friends, depending on their personalities and humor, a game won't always go the way you expect. There are surprises along the way, some of them good, as a friend might figure out a puzzle or help you out of a jam, and some bad, if they leave you behind to die instead or choose to troll you.

Some games out there are particularly prone to being influenced by the personalities of the people you play with. These are the games you'll come back to again and again with different friends, because you'll never know exactly what kind of experience you're going to get. Maybe you will succeed, because your whole group is full of veteran players who love to try and get serious? Or maybe you're just a fun group of friends who love to just have a good laugh and don't care about the end, but rather the journey. Be that as it may, these are definitely some co-op games to consider for variety, depending on who is on your team.

Chained together

Be a well-oiled machine, or a hilarious failure

The starting point for Chained together is quite simple: you are all prisoners, tasked with climbing up and escaping the hellish prison you have been sentenced to. There's just one crucial catch: you're all chained together at the waist, and the way up is anything but easy. You have to jump, walk and climb in perfect synchronization, because one person who misses a jump will be the bane of the rest of the group.

Depending on who you play with, this will either be a chaotic experience with failure after failure, and some light-hearted blaming and gaslighting between friends, or it will be full focus mode, as a highly competitive group tries to work with each other without trolling. Either way, it will be rewarding depending on the type of friends you choose to hang out with.

A way out

Choose between Leo's and Vincent's approach

A way out is a two-player co-op game focused on two doomed gentlemen who must plan their escape and get back to the man who got them in their position in the first place. As you might expect, both can be difficult personalities to deal with. Leo is hot-headed and believes that the end justifies the means, while Vincent is more calculating and calm. At various points in the game you have to find balance and compromise and choose whose plan you want to go with: loud or cunning.

The game plays out like a movie, so depending on the choices you make, the levels will play out differently, and depending on what kind of partner you experience it with. Of course, there's also the endgame, which will force both characters to make some pretty tough choices as details are revealed, but I won't spoil the details, because the twist hits harder when you experience it yourself.

Minecraft

Rush to the dragon or become a temporary farmer

Minecraft is one of those games where you can do whatever you want, so there will always be very different playstyles depending on who you start a new world with. You might be playing with a hardcore group that decides to rush to get an enchantment table so they can get access to the best enchanted gear in the game, and then deal with the Ender Dragon as soon as possible. Some even believe that the game really begins when the dragon falls.

Or, on the other end of the spectrum, you might find yourself with friends who only care about building big cities in the overworld while you fly around in creative mode. Another group might also prefer to explore or start a farm and live out their days crafting all sorts of fancy redstone gear. So it goes without saying that there are a hundred different styles of play, and even between players who are very similar to each other, there can sometimes be huge differences. Personally, I tend to be in the first group, because having an Elytra as soon as possible just opens up exploration, giving you access to more resources and building bigger structures.

Deadly business

No workers left…right?

Deadly business is one of those games where, no matter what, chaos is almost guaranteed in the first few sessions. As you and your friends get used to the various threats, you can evolve into a well-oiled machine that quickly collects valuables, retrieves them, and even uses walkie-talkies to communicate danger and remotely open sealed doors. With challenging levels, this is especially rewarding.

At the other end of the spectrum, you can have players sabotaging and trolling each other by baiting monsters in, killing someone with a shovel, or even leaving them behind by launching from the ship. It's games like these that will eventually reveal the true nature of your friendship, so be ready for everything from strained focus to insufferable pranks.

GTFO

Your teammates can be the banes of your existence

Like someone who loves GTFO and think it's a very underrated game, I could totally understand why some people would argue that there's only one way to play this game, because it's kind of true. If you want to go further GTFO and clear all the walkthroughs, you need to be focused and respect the rules of the game. A team needs to be in sync at all times, working together to share resources and ensure everyone brings a tool that complements the overall party setup.

That said, there is still a lot of room for trolling in this game, especially at lower levels. You can close doors on your teammates and trap them with C-foam, only to be chased by a horde of enemies. There is also friendly fire; a tradition in my particular group was to always kill someone when extracting, which could sometimes lead to horrible failures where no one was alive, even though we cleared the level. This is just to say, despite its serious, hardcore appearances, this game can be hilariously outrageous or very serious and focused, depending on the type of people you play with.

Stardew Valley

The farm must grow, together or separate

Another game where the style of play matters is Stardew Valley. There are so many paths to creating a farm and making money that starting a co-op will look very different each time. It may be that players choose to work together and end up making the most developed, well-shaped farmland by focusing on the same goal. Or, alternatively, you can also play further into the four corner yard where everyone just manages their own plot and nothing is shared between the players.

Some may choose to focus on fish ponds and make tons of money selling fish eggs, while others just want to have as many animals as possible. There may even be one player who is eager to romance all the bachelors in town, while the rest of you toil tirelessly on the farm. And finally, there's always that one player who loves to sabotage everyone else and use their bombs to grief. Needless to say, the best way is probably for everyone to cooperate, as this will allow you to unlock some of the quality of life features faster, but as always, people's whims will dictate what they do in this game.

Baldur's Gate 3

Evil or good, the party decides

The ultimate co-op RPG experience is without a doubt Baldur's Gate 3where each character's class, dialogue choices, and actions will massively affect the quests and NPCs. One wrong choice could doom everyone to a party-wipe, if one of your friends suddenly decides to attitude Vlaakith, for example, or pisses off the entire troll camp, or gets caught doing something they shouldn't.

Murder hobo players mixed with more cunning and slow players is always the funnest combination: one moment you're in dialogue with someone, and the next you're fighting half the Druid Grove because one of your friends who was busy looting everything accidentally stole something and decided to refuse responsibility. There's so much room for fun shenanigans and outright errors in the game that will also seriously affect the ultimate ending, that it's no wonder many people run the game multiple times with a different group of people, just to see how different it feels.