Heidi Kemps (she/her)
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You ever get one of those awkward phone calls from your cousin that he and his family are in town and want to drop in for an unexpected house visit? Or your buddy texts you about arguing with their roommate, and they need to come over and cool down. Or, perhaps, the most dread-inducing — your coworker’s kid-sitter canceled, and they need an emergency backup. Suddenly, you’ve got guests over, and you need to keep them entertained for a while. Fortunately for you, you’ve got a PlayStation Plus membership and extra controllers, which means one thing: it’s local multiplayer time.
But even if you’re not in an urgent need to keep a surprise audience entertained, getting a group of players together on the couch to have a good time is one of the best uses of your PlayStation. There are plenty of amazing PS4 and PS5 games you can always boot up whenever you need a good serving of multiplayer mayhem. Here are some of our favorites available with PlayStation Plus.*
Nobody Saves The World
- Drinkbox Studios
- PS4/PS5
- 2 players
Everyone’s a hero in this chaotic transformation-focused action/RPG. With the aid of a magic wand, your bland amorphous humanoid character assumes myriad different forms, each with a unique playstyle–and, with a friend in tow, you can take on forms that cover for each other’s weaknesses or double up on your strengths. With hundreds of combinations of forms and abilities to explore and blast through foes, you’ll have hours of fun with bodily modification.*
*Available as a PlayStation Plus January 2024 Monthly game.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
- Gearbox Studios
- PS4/PS5
- Up to 4 players on PS5, 2 players on PS4
The weirdness and humor of the beloved Borderlands series continues in this tabletop fantasy-themed spinoff. You and three of your friends/frenemies can play together in a weird and wild fantasy loot-driven FPS with your own customizable characters in classes like Stabbomancer and Brr-zerker. Use melee weapons, spells, and (of course) lots and lots of crazy guns to eradicate enemies and get all the sweet, sweet rewards. Play in either normal co-op mode or coopetition mode, where you’ll need to squabble to decide who gets what loot.*
*Included in the Game Catalog with PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium memberships.
Street Fighter: 30th Anniversary Collection
- Capcom
- PS4
- 2 player competitive
We all know and love Street Fighter. Even if your play partner’s never thrown a Hadoken in their life, it’ll only take a couple of minutes to learn, and then you’ve got even more fun and strategy to dig into. With 12 different Street Fighter games in one package, you can stick with the classic Street Fighter II titles, or dig deep into the later Alpha and III series. You don’t have to be able to do the Daigo Parry to have hours of fun digging into the storied history of Street Fighter with a friend–but once you’ve had fun playing competitively, you may want to take your skills to the next level.*
*Included in the Classics Catalog with PlayStation Plus Premium memberships.
Dragon’s Crown Pro
- VanillaWare/Atlus USA
- PS4
- Up to 4 players
Don’t have your dice and Dungeon Master gear on hand for your tabletop roleplaying session? Boot up Dragon’s Crown Pro and take your gang of adventurers on a gorgeous side-scrolling journey through realms of treasure and fantasy. Play as one of six classes and travel into dungeons as a band of up to four players, felling fearsome foes in fierce action gameplay and returning to the tavern with tales of bravado and plenty of sweet loot. Customize your warrior with skill trees to create your dream fantasy fighter. Will you discover the legendary Dragon’s Crown?*
*Included in the Classics Catalog with PlayStation Plus Premium memberships.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
- Tribute Games/Dotemu
- PS4/PS5
- 6 players on/offline
Take a trip back to the days of multiplayer Turtle beat-em-up action at the local arcade, but with brand-new visuals, super special moves, loads of secrets, and no need to worry if some kid before you spilled orange soda on the player-three joystick. Run through the single-session arcade mode with up to six players or, if you’re spending a while together, play through Story Mode co-op to build custom character loadouts and aim to conquer special challenges. Add the DLC expansion Dimension Shellshock for a new Survival mode and even more playable characters.*
*Included in the Game Catalog with PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium memberships.
Sackboy: A Big Adventure
- Sumo Digital/Sony Computer Entertainment
- PS4/PS5
- Up to 4 players
LittleBigPlanet’s star sets out with some friends on an incredible family-friendly journey through a beautiful 3D world. The very fabric of Craftworld is abundant with stretchy, bouncy, tactile joy that allows you to use Sackboy’s robust movement skills in delightfully enjoyable and creative ways. But to get the most out of this Big Adventure, you’ll want to visit with friends (up to three more), as some stages and challenges require cooperation to conquer.*
*Included in the Game Catalog with PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium memberships.
The Ascent
- Neon Giant/Curve Games
- PS4/PS5
- Up to 4 players
Well, it looks like the megacorporation that you and your buddies were employed (read: enslaved) by in the cyberpunk world of Veles suddenly collapsed. Now, everything in your neighborhood’s going to hell. It’s time to get the guns out and solve problems. Explore neon-lit, dilapidated environments in an open world from an isometric viewpoint while blasting through foes and hazards with twin-stick shooter action. Augment yourself with upgrades and hack into forbidden areas as you acquire new skills, strengths, and loot. And don’t neglect to take cover when you have to. It’s better than becoming a bullet-ridden shell.*
*Included in the Game Catalog with PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium memberships.
*Titles available with PlayStation Plus memberships at the time of article publish.