Every month I try to round up all the couch co-op games worth knowing about, the ones I missed the month before, the best ones I actually played, and everything coming up next. September is no exception, and there’s a lot to get through: some games I missed in August, a few new favorites, some retro co-op news, and a big list of everything coming out this month.

CO-OP GAMES I MISSED IN AUGUST

Let’s start with a few games from August that I didn’t get a chance to cover last time. Quake: Dawn of the Machine is a new, free expansion for Quake, and it honestly feels like a whole new game. It keeps the original Quake visuals, but adds a new soundtrack, new weapons, and a ton of new levels. I played through it, and it’s really hard, but I loved every second of it.

The demo for Wild and Chill also came out, the sequel to Cast and Chill, and I haven’t had a chance to try it yet, but there’s no official release date for the full game either. John Fox, an old-school beat ‘em up where you play as two foxes punching your way through enemies, got a demo too. It’s a little basic, but if you’re a big fan of the genre, it’s not bad. Reanimal also got new story DLC called The Prisoner, Reanimal is easily one of my favorite co-op games of the year, so I’m excited to check that out even though I haven’t played it yet.

Projection looks like a lot of fun, it’s got a lot of humor and that arcadey feel, kind of like NBA Jam but for Australian rules football. And Dodonpachi Resurrection Reignite came out on August 26th, an expanded re-release of the 2008 arcade bullet hell classic. It’s getting mixed reviews on Steam, mostly because it’s a re-release of a re-release at this point, but the Dodonpachi series overall is considered one of the best bullet hell franchises ever made, so hopefully it holds up.

BEST CO-OP GAMES I PLAYED IN AUGUST

Now for some of the best co-op games I actually played in August. Agent 64 came out, and it’s exactly the GoldenEye and Perfect Dark spiritual successor we’ve all been waiting for. I loved everything about it. You can play through the story in up to four-player local co-op, there’s a deathmatch mode, and you can even play online. Visually, they absolutely nail the N64 style while still feeling modern. This is already shaping up to be one of my favorite games of the year.

Box Knight is another beat ‘em up, this time with roguelike elements and a lot of humor, it clearly takes inspiration from Castle Crashers. I found it really tough, and while I’m not sure it’s my favorite in the genre, I really like the art style. Wild Ice also impressed me, it’s made by a really small team but has a surprising amount of polish. It’s story-driven with genuinely good voice acting, and it mixes hockey with third-person shooting, tower defense, and hack-and-slash combat. I enjoyed what I played and definitely plan on going back for more.

WHAT I’VE BEEN PLAYING

Outside of new releases, I’ve been on a bit of an Xbox 360 kick lately, some Halo 3, Gears of War, and Left 4 Dead 2, all footage for an upcoming video. I also played through Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 in one sitting in splitscreen co-op, which was actually the first Call of Duty campaign I’ve ever played through, and I really enjoyed it. It’s a shame that ended up being the last Call of Duty game with splitscreen co-op in the campaign.

I’ve also been deep into PS2 co-op games lately, and the one I keep going back to is Contra: Shattered Soldier. I love everything about this game, it’s incredibly hard, but it’s an awesome time from start to finish.

RETRO CO-OP NEWS

There’s some fun retro co-op news this month too. The original Legend of Zelda on NES got a co-op ROM hack, and you can actually play it on original hardware if you throw it on a ROM cart. This is basically a dream come true for me, I have so much nostalgia for these games, and there aren’t many classic Zelda titles you can play in co-op, so this one is going straight to the top of my list. You can find the hack over at romhacking.net.

Ninja Baseball Batman is also getting an HD remake. If you’re not familiar, it’s a four-player arcade beat ‘em up from the ‘90s, similar to the TMNT and Simpsons arcade games. There’s not a lot of information out yet, but I’m happy to see it, since the original doesn’t get talked about nearly enough. Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara is getting a Sega Genesis homebrew port too, it obviously won’t have the exact same visuals on that hardware, but it looks like they’re doing a great job capturing the feel of the original. On top of that, the Alien Breed 35th Anniversary Collection is coming to modern platforms, bundling the series’ co-op entries. If you grew up on consoles like I did, you might not be familiar with this series since it lived primarily on home computers like the Amiga, but they’re genuine classics. And the NES version of Bubble Bobble just landed on Switch 2 and PS5 in honor of Bub and Bob’s birthday on August 26th.

COUCH CO-OP GAMES COMING IN SEPTEMBER

Now let’s get into everything coming out in September. Wheel Mates launches September 1st, I played the demo, and while the controls were rough at first, they’ve since patched a lot of that. People are calling it “It Takes Two, but with RC cars,” and honestly, that’s not too far off. Marsupilami 2, a 2D co-op platformer, comes out September 3rd, and that same day brings Orbitals, by far my most anticipated game of the year. It’s built from the ground up as a local or online co-op experience, it’s a Switch 2 exclusive, and it has a genuinely beautiful anime art style. We’ll absolutely be covering this one on the channel.

Also out September 3rd is Friendly Steps, which originally promised local co-op, though its current Steam listing only mentions online play, worth keeping an eye on in case that changes. Isle of Reveries arrives September 4th, an old-school Zelda-like with Game Boy-style visuals; based on its Steam description, co-op might be its own separate mode rather than the full campaign. Tiny Bomber, a fast-paced vertical bullet-hell roguelite with a cartoony art style, comes out September 22nd. Delvarium, a Stardew Valley-style farming sim with survival elements and up to four-player local co-op, lands September 21st, and Stella Supernova: The Astral Veil follows on September 23rd with support for up to eight local players, Smash Bros-style level design, and an emotional story. Blades and Battles doesn’t have a firm date yet beyond “sometime in September,” it’s a sidescrolling beat ‘em up with weapons that looks like it’s channeling Golden Axe, with a nice 2.5D art style and some 3D cutscenes mixed in. And if you don’t mind waiting a bit longer, Duo Quest, a co-op turn-based RPG with roguelike and deck-building elements, plus a fun trivia mechanic between partners, is set for December 16th.