9 Games That Have Unusual Multiplayer Modes

Playing with or against other people has always been at the very core of gaming. Given that some of the very first games ever made were Tennis for Two and Pong, it’s no surprise that since then the industry has been greatly expanding on the multiplayer frontier.

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From straightforward Player vs Player to multiple coop titles, to something as simple as comparing highscores, players have been engaging in a sea of different group activities across the years. Many trends and baselines have been set since then, yet there is still plenty of space for creative implementations of multiplayer, engaging players in new ways all over the world.

9 Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

One player tries to defuse the bomb, while the other is flipping through an actual manual.

Most games require both players to play on the same or separate computers or consoles, but this one goes in a very different direction. Only one player is required to even look at a screen, as the second player does their best to navigate them through the tricky process of diffusing a bomb.

Simple, almost cartoony graphics and a silly premise are all fun and games until the timer starts to run out and the pressure ramps up. Frantically flipping through pages of a manual has never been this stressful or fun, at least in video games.

8 Elden Ring

Is the new warrior friend, or foe?

Elden Ring uses mostly the same formula for multiplayer as the Dark Souls series, allowing players to summon each other to help, invade, and try to defeat the host and leave cryptic and (sometimes) helpful messages to each other.

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“Treasure ahead, try jumping.” Veterans of the genre will undoubtedly recognize the seemingly helpful advice, and the game is riddled with such player messages. The PvP aspect of the game has its own large following, with players testing different builds and styles against each other. The co-op scene has actually produced such legendary players as “LetMeSoloHer,” a hero that specializes in dueling Malenia, wearing barely anything at all.

7 Overwatch 2

Overwatch 2 might not represent the peak of the franchise’s popularity at the moment, but that takes nothing away from the impressive collection of custom games and lobbies. The library is full of creative ideas, from unique PvP modes and even perspectives, such as a side-view fighting game.

Over the years, the developers have also added interesting game modes, from co-op missions to other activities, such as Lúcioball. Overall, there are quite a few options to unwind and try something different in Overwatch 2.

6 Left For Dead 2

Players hunt down survivors as zombies.

Left For Dead 2 has quite a lot of good things going for it, and many fans still hold at least some hope for a future sequel. Aside from the beloved co-op zombie grinding, the game has a few interesting game modes, and among them is the PvP “Versus.”

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In the mode, two teams of players take turns playing as survivors and trying to clear the level, while the opponents play as the various Special Infected, doing their best to stop the players, hunting them down one by one.

5 Rocket League

Cars are great at many different sports.

Rocket League had a fairly unusual premise from the very start: various race cars playing football, using boosts and jumps to their advantage. As the game’s popularity rose, many new game modes were added, involving new powerups, balls, or even entirely new sports.

From hockey to basketball, players have seen quite a few variations on the familiar formula. With the addition of Custom Games, players can now mix and match their favorite aspects, creating their own unique games.

4 Star Wars Battlefront 2

From intense dogfights to Ewok hunts.

Star Wars Battlefront 2 tried to capture the magic of the original game and did quite a lot of things well when it came to gameplay. The gunplay felt great on different classes, and the special characters felt significantly more powerful and capable, as they should.

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The game came with a few game modes, often focusing on completely different aspects, such as the space battles, ground skirmishes, or the light-hearted Ewok Hunts. Players had plenty of unique choices to pick from, each of them different in their own way.

3 The Jackbox Party Pack

Great collection of games to test everyone’s creativity.

The Jackbox Party Pack pits a group of players against each other in a collection of unusual minigames. As the name implies, it is a great party activity for a bunch of friends, pushing everyone’s creativity to the maximum, and creating fun and memorable memories for everyone involved.

At this point, the series has 10 different packs to choose from, each pack containing its own unique bundle of minigames, that range from light-hearted wordplay, to animated drawings, to entire makeshift rap battles, and so much more.

2 Beyond: Two Souls

A truly different co-op experience.

Beyond: Two Souls tells an incredibly interesting story full of mystery, colorful characters, and a unique co-op mechanic. One of the players controls the protagonist, Jodie Holmes, while the other controls a spirit that can either be helpful, or really unaccommodating.

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The gameplay is nothing like other co-op games, given that players might not even be after the same goal, and each character plays completely differently. Jodie is the actual hero of the game, moving around and making all the important choices, while the spirit can influence objects around them, helping Jodie along the way, or throwing obstacles at every opportunity.

1 Grand Theft Auto 5

An immense collection of games and possibilities.

The Grand Theft Auto series always had a myriad of activities for its players, even before ever setting foot in multiplayer. From various mini-games to shootouts, to street races, there is always something fun to do.

In turn, the multiplayer hosts all of that, and so much more. From different PvP modes to co-op missions to entire heists, there are hours upon hours of fun content. On top of all that, GTA Online‘s custom games allow for near-endless creativity with the game’s assets, permitting players all over the world to entertain each other with new unique pastimes.

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