OCTOBER COUCH CO-OP NEWS

Today we're talking about all of the couch co-op news and releases coming out in October.

GAMES I MISSED IN SEPTEMBER

Fallosophy: This is a pinball game where you're just trying to climb up as high as you can. I'm not exactly sure how the co-op actually works here, but I did just buy this. It was on sale for only $8.99 when I recorded this, so I'll definitely try this out soon.
Starless Umbra: Just got a new demo. This is a 16-bit style action RPG which definitely looks inspired by Secret of Mana. I love the art style here and I will definitely be playing the full release when it comes out.
Toziuha Night: Nosferatu's Curse: Also got a demo. This is a Castlevania clone, and this is another one I'm really looking forward to the full release.
Drown World: Was just released. I just bought this one as well. The introductory sale was $6.39 when I recorded this. There's also a demo available if you want to just try it out.
Chop Chop Together: Added local co-op in an update. This one's kind of like a party-type game that's similar to Overcooked or something like that.
Moss: The Forgotten Relic: This game was originally a VR game. A couple of months ago, there was a new version that didn't have VR, and now in September they added local co-op. I'm not really sure how that works. It seems kind of like an assist mode.
Monowave: Came out and it has a really cool art style. It seems to be a puzzle platformer.
Tandem Together: The demo just came out. This is another physics-based, lighthearted, comedy-ish type of game where you have to team up with your friend and try to ride this bike together.
SMS Returns: Just came out on September 27th. This is a new horror game based on Slender Man, and this one actually has local split-screen co-op.

BIGGEST SEPTEMBER CO-OP RELEASES

Orbitals: I bought this game on day one. It's probably my most anticipated game of the year and I beat it in a couple of sittings. Obviously, if you like It Takes Two and Split Fiction, this game is clearly inspired by those. It's not nearly as big as those games, but I don't think that's a bad thing. The gameplay genre doesn't change around as much as the other games. It still has plenty of variety, but I kind of felt like this was more of a cohesive experience because the gameplay style feels a little bit more focused on your specific abilities. I love this game. Definitely one of the best co-op games of the year. If you haven't played it, this is the main reason to get a Switch 2 right now.
WheelMates: This is another game that's built from the ground up to be co-op. There's no single-player mode whatsoever. I played through the demo of this game and I really enjoyed it. However, the controls definitely needed some work, but I've heard that they improved that. I haven't played the full release yet, but I will get around to it.
Minecraft Dungeons 2: Just came out. I'll probably play this at some time, but it's basically like Diablo that you can play with your kids.

WHAT I'VE BEEN PLAYING

N2O: Nitrous Oxide: On the PS1, I would recommend N2O. This is a tunnel shooter that you can play in two-player co-op. The visuals are very psychedelic and it's just a very unique shooter. It's a hidden gem that no one talks about.
Purikura Daisakusen: For the Sega Saturn, I would recommend Purikura Daisakusen. This game only came out in Japan, and it's basically a run-and-gun shooter from an isometric view. This is another one that I'd probably call a hidden gem. I don't hear too many people talk about it, and that's probably because it only came out in Japan. I played this with my daughter and we had a lot of fun, but it is pretty difficult.
Sin and Punishment: Star Successor: For the Nintendo Wii, my favorite co-op game is probably Sin and Punishment: Star Successor. It's basically an on-rails shooter, but there's just so much going on, a lot of action. The character movement is great. You can move around, you can jump, you can fly, and while you're doing all that, you can move the cursor around to shoot enemies. The second player only takes control of a cursor, but it's actually very helpful to double up your firepower. One of the things that I really like about this game is that it actually lets you choose your control scheme. You're not just stuck using the Wii Remote if you don't want to. You can use a Classic Controller, or the Nunchuk and Wii Remote. This one's made by Treasure, and it's one of my favorite co-op Wii games ever made.

RETRO CO-OP NEWS

Metal Slug Ultimate Collection: This is going to be on modern platforms and it's going to include Metal Slug 1 through 7 and Metal Slug X. All these games are co-op. They're all some of the best run-and-gun shooters ever made. If you haven't played Metal Slug, now's your chance.
Gley Lancer Overdrive: This is a new shoot 'em up, and it's coming out on the Neo Geo as well as modern platforms. I'm not exactly sure if it has co-op. It just says expanded multiplayer, so maybe that is a competitive mode. I'm not sure, but hopefully it's co-op because this looks cool.
Sonic Mania: We have some homebrew developers working on a Sonic Mania port on the Sega Saturn and the 32X. That's awesome because this actually feels like a game that should have been on the Sega Saturn.
Aero the Acro-Bat Legacy + Sunsoft Lost Games: The Aero the Acro-Bat games don't have co-op, but those two Sunsoft games do. These are two Super Famicom games: Feudal Bros. and Justice Ninja Casey. They're known by their Japanese names, but those are the localized names that I'm going to list because I don't want to try pronouncing them.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Another really cool homebrew project is getting ported to the Sega Master System. This has been in the works for years, but we recently just got an update and supposedly there's going to be a demo available soon. This looks really great, and just graphically, it looks totally different from the NES version.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade (Sega Master System homebrew)

COUCH CO-OP GAMES COMING IN OCTOBER

Dynasty Warriors 3 Complete Edition: Comes out October 1st, and it's a full remake of Dynasty Warriors 3, which is actually my favorite Dynasty Warriors game. That's the one that got me really obsessed with the series when it first came out. I put a lot of time into it, and this looks great, so I will be playing it.
Gears of War: E-Day: One of the biggest co-op games of the year. This is finally coming out October 6th, and this might be the reason why I finally buy an Xbox Series X.
Tiny Bomber: Comes out October 12th. This is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up that has a cute art style, but it also mixes in some bullet-hell gameplay.
Toy Story 3: Comes out October 15th. This is a remake of a 3D platformer based on Toy Story 3. I never played the original. It came out on the 360 and PS3 and the Wii, but you can play it in local co-op, so I should probably try this out.
ChainBeasts: Comes out October 15th. I played the demo of this and I thought it was pretty fun.
Beyond the Dark Nightwatch: Comes out October 23rd. This is a Switch 2 exclusive and it doesn't have local co-op, but it does have GameShare. If you have an original Switch and a Switch 2, you only need one copy of the game and you can play it co-op locally. I think that's a great feature because it's cool to be able to have your own screen. This seems like an asymmetrical horror game where one player's in first person, going around these haunted areas, and the second player is looking at various screens. You have to work together. This is one that I'm looking forward to.
Dog Man: Bark in Action: Comes out October 27th. This looks like a pretty straightforward 2D platformer based on the Dog Man graphic novels.
Squomb: Comes out October 29th. This is a single-screen game that kind of looks like Bomberman. Visually, it's an homage to old-school home computers, specifically the ZX Spectrum.

NEW COUCH CO-OP ANNOUNCEMENTS

Rayman Legends Retold: That was supposed to come out in October, but now it's getting pushed back to December 3rd.
The Missing Tale: Was announced. This is a cute, cozy co-op game where you play as these two cats in split-screen.
Paddle Cats: Another cozy cat-themed game. You're in this little boat with these two cats, and you have to work together to paddle through various obstacles.
Akiwan: Relaxing Survival: This is an active Kickstarter right now. Co-op isn't guaranteed, but one of the stretch goals does include local co-op, so hopefully it gets to that as this looks pretty good. It's described as a chill, relaxing adventure survival game, which sounds good to me.
Cybernetic Attack: Final Mission: We're getting a remake of S.C.A.T., which came out on the NES. That was a horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up, and it's actually one of my favorite co-op NES games. The art style here looks great. This is the same team that did Wild Guns Reloaded, The Ninja Saviors, Pocky & Rocky Reshrined, and Shadow of the Ninja Reborn. All those are really amazing remakes, so I'm definitely excited for this one too.
Hela: Got a release date and a cinematic trailer. This one comes out December 1st. Definitely one of my most anticipated co-op games of the year, so I will be playing this day one.
Kirby in the World Beyond: Got announced for the Switch 2. This is an open-world Kirby game. There's no word as to if this will have local co-op yet, but all of the recent Kirby games have had local co-op, so I'm really hoping this one does too. Kirby and the Forgotten Land was one of my favorite Switch games. It'll be very disappointing if this does not have local co-op, especially in an open world. That actually sounds awesome.
Stage Fright: Finally got a gameplay trailer. This is coming out sometime in 2027. This is made by the same team that made Overcooked, and it's another game built for local co-op.
Emissary One: A trailer just came out. This is a sequel to Emissary Zero, which is kind of a lesser-known horror game. I love that game. It's one of my favorite games from last year, and this looks very similar. It's basically a first-person horror game that you can actually play in local co-op. It also has online co-op. Emissary Zero was one of the best local co-op horror games that I've played in recent years, so I bet this one will be good as well.
Exobrave: Got a brand-new gameplay trailer. This is pretty much a run-and-gun shooter with a 16-bit art style. Definitely looks like something that could have been on the Sega Genesis, but with some slightly updated visuals. Kind of looks like a mix between Contra and maybe Ninja Gaiden. No release date yet, but this is another one I'll be keeping an eye on.
Ruffed Up: The demo just got announced. This is a physics-based game that you can play with up to four players locally or online.
Geometry Rift: A bullet-hell shoot 'em up that comes out next year sometime.
Silk and Sorrow: Another game that was just announced. There's not even any gameplay footage of it online yet. It's a hand-drawn dark fantasy that's built for two-player co-op. Gameplay-wise, it looks like a run-and-gun shooter with some puzzle elements as well. I think this one looks really cool.
Twin Hooks: The demo for this is available right now. The developers say this game is built for two-player co-op. This is a fully 3D game which has some beat-'em-up-like gameplay. It's story-driven and there are supposed to be team-based attacks. All of that and the gameplay trailer definitely caught my attention.

FINAL THOUGHTS

So, there you go. Some games that came out in September, some retro co-op news, couch co-op games coming out in October, and all of the couch co-op news that I could find. What game are you most excited for?