Great Nintendo Switch Games That Support Local & Online Co-Op

Co-op games have become a major part of gaming, especially in the modern tech age where nearly everyone has access to the internet and devices that can connect. Gaming companies have taken full advantage of this new online age, allowing many games to connect to the internet to allow players to enjoy games with friends from all over the globe.

This is often done to the detriment of local gaming, as many gamers now don’t partake in the old ritual of ‘couch play.’ But that is not to say it is not seen anymore. In fact, there are some Nintendo Switch titles that allow for both online and local co-op.

Updated January 12th, 2024, by Mara Cowley: Co-op games remain ever popular in the modern day and age where internet connection is readily available to most people, bringing gamers from all corners of the world together. The Switch console doesn’t only support online co-op; it also offers the retro ‘couch co-op’ that saw players gathering around one console and one screen to enjoy a game together, with multiple titles supporting various multiplayer modes. As such, this article has been updated to include more dual online co-op and local co-op Switch titles and now details how many players these games support.

11 Diablo 3

Up to 4 Players

Before taking on the challenge of Diablo 4 and Lilith, it is worth checking out the excellent Diablo 3, which is available on Switch and offers both online and local co-op, allowing gamers to team up with 1 to 3 friends.

Players can choose one of the predetermined classes and hack and slash their way through the enemies overrunning the world as they find themselves at the crux of a war between angels and demons that has spilled over to the mortal realm. The stakes are high, so it is better that players recruit some friends if they hope to survive.

10 Mario Party Superstars

Up to 4 Players

Another Nintendo console calls for another Mario Party game, a Mario-themed board game in video game format that sees players competing in mini-games to earn coins and see who can come out on top. These games are undeniably fun and can be frustrating for those on the losing side.

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Of course, these games would not be as fun to play alone, which is why Nintendo has allowed up to 4 players to play locally or online, so friends near and far can enjoy the chaos together.

9 Mario Kart 8

Up to 12 Players

Mario Kart is one of Nintendo’s longest-running and most popular franchises that sees the characters of the platforming franchise battling it out on racetracks, which Nintendo fans will recognize as various locations from other games. Items players can collect across the track can help even the odds, and none are more feared than the dreaded blue shell.

Mario Kart 8 is just one of the Mario Kart games available on Switch that includes other characters such as Link from the Zelda franchise and introduces new mechanics for long-time fans to master. It’s among the best Nintendo racing games to date, and players can share the fun with a maximum of 11 other players.

8 Overcooked 2

Up to 4 Players

This frantic and chaotic cooking game made its way to Switch, challenging players to the trials and tribulations of running a restaurant and working in a fast-paced kitchen, having to produce dishes and serve customers before they run out of patience and leave. Players don’t have to go it alone, though; they can invite their friends to help them out and disperse the workload.

As a modern game, Overcooked 2 allows players to set up an online lobby to play with long-distance friends or local co-op for close friends who can hop on their couch and join in on the mayhem. If players choose to team up, they’re in for a fun yet frantic time.

7 Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Up to 8 Players

Animal Crossing is one of the most zen games on the market, allowing players to escape chaotic modern-day life to enjoy the simplistic pleasures of island life, such as planting flowers and trees, digging up buried treasures, swimming, fishing, and, of course, hanging out with the other islanders.

Besides neighbors, players can also travel to their friends’ islands or host friends on theirs to show off the hard work they put into making an aesthetically pleasing island. They can do this via online or local co-op so that they can share their beautiful island with friends both near and far.

6 Luigi’s Mansion 3

Up to 8 Players

This spooky third installment of Luigi’s Mansion arrived on the Nintendo Switch with a new haunted adventure that saw Luigi’s vacation interrupted as the hotel he arrived at was full of ghosts. Luigi, once again, has to arm himself with a Hoover and suck up the pesky ghosts that ruined his vacation.

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Players don’t have to brave the game alone, however. After obtaining the Gooigi from Professor E. Gadd, they will unlock the option to play through the Story Mode with the help of a friend. This mode is only available with local co-op, but there are other game modes that players can enjoy online, such as the Scarescraper game, in which up to eight players can team up to climb up the skyscraper together.

5 Splatoon 2

Up to 10 Players

The second installment of Splatoon arrived with a splash on Nintendo Switch, taking place two years after the final Splatfest of the original Splatoon game, in which Marie came out as the victor against her cousin Callie. The two drift apart, which has Marie worrying about Callie. But when she goes to visit Callie to speak to her about the Splatfest, she finds her and the city’s power source missing.

Splatoon 2 features a Hero Mode that sees the player taking up the quest to save the Zapfish while fighting off Octarians, or they can set up a local or online multiplayer to team up or compete against friends, offering high-octane third-person shooter gameplay to more players.

4 Nine Parchments

Up to 4 Players

An explosion at a place called the Astral Academy unleashes nine of the parchment spells upon the world, which the Academy apprentices must go scouring to find and retrieve. This is the premise of Nine Parchments, a fantasy RPG perfect for playing with friends.

Though the game has a single-player game mode, it is definitely designed for playing with friends. There are nine total playable characters to choose from, ensuring that there is one to appeal to every friend in the group. There is an adventure mode that will see players playing through the main storyline, defeating waves of enemies and bosses as they hunt down the parchments, and an arena mode in which players try their best to survive against increasing waves of enemies.

3 Arms

Up to 4 Players

An intuitive fighting game, Arms places the focus on arms, with each fighter starting with three unique Arms they can use to throw extended punches and jabs against their opponent. It is a fun fighting game, and it’s made even more enjoyable when played with friends.

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As expected, Arms supports both local and online multiplayer, allowing players to bring the fight to their friends regardless of how far apart they are. Players can take on each other in the Versus mode, but there are other game modes, such as Grand Prix, in which they team up together to take on computer-controlled fighters.

2 Super Mario Maker 2

Up to 4 Players

If gamers have ever played a Mario game and wished they were given the tools and the means to craft their own course, Super Mario Maker is the game for them. This sequel allows a player’s creativity to flourish even further. Players can also download the creations of others and test their gaming skills against their course creation abilities.

As such, Super Mario Maker 2 definitely supports online play, and the online portion is what the game mostly focuses on. After players download courses, they can invite friends and family to join them for a good old-fashioned couch co-op session.

1 Super Bomberman R

Up to 8 Players

The evil Emperor Buggler has resurrected five robots, known as the Five Dastardly Bombers, to be his new henchman, before boldly declaring his plans to conquer the universe. A bomber known as White sees the broadcast and forces his siblings to join him on the quest to stop Buggler and his army, which is then where the player comes in. It is up to them to stop Buggler’s machinations, but it’s not a task they need to do alone.

Super Bomberman R is another installment in the long-running Bomberman franchise, supporting both local and online co-op, so players can drag along their friends just as White drags along his siblings to save the fictional universe. Two players can team up for a cooperative campaign or more for game modes such as Grand Prix, where teams of three will battle against each other for supremacy.

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