Games to Play With Friends on Steam: The Best Co-op Video Games and the Steam Tools That Help
The best games to play with friends on Steam are co-op video games where the group wins together, such as Portal 2 for two puzzle partners, Overcooked! 2 for kitchen chaos, Deep Rock Galactic for a squad of four, PEAK for a climbing crew and R.E.P.O. for a spooky night with up to six. Steam also gives you the tools to make those nights easy: built-in voice chat with your friends list, and Remote Play Together, which lets you "Share your local co-op games online with friends," according to Valve's Remote Play page. Below you will find what makes a Steam game great with friends, the best picks by group style, how to read a store page so you never pick the wrong game for your group, and how to set up voice and Remote Play.
What makes a good game to play with friends on Steam?
A good game to play with friends on Steam has a shared goal, a player count that fits your group and the right co-op features listed on its store page. Those three checks will save more game nights than any top-ten list.
The shared goal is the part research backs most clearly. In a study by Ansgar Depping and Regan Mandryk, summarized by Tampere University's PlayLab magazine, "both cooperating and interdependence individually increase the relatedness the players experienced during the game, game enjoyment, and interpersonal trust." Games that make you rely on each other, with different roles or abilities, tend to bring friends closer than games where everyone plays alone in the same lobby.
Playing together is also how most people play now. The ESA 2026 Essential Facts report found that 70% of U.S. players age 8+ have played video games with others, and 62% of those play online with friends they know in person.
What are the best games to play with friends on Steam?
The best games to play with friends on Steam depend on your group size and mood, so here are proven co-op picks sorted by the kind of night you want. Every detail below comes from the game's official Steam store page.
- **Portal 2, for two puzzle partners.** Valve's classic has a "two-player cooperative mode" that "features its own entirely separate campaign." The store page sums up the challenge: "Success will require them to not just act cooperatively, but to think cooperatively." Perfect for two friends who like to talk through problems.
- **Overcooked! 2, for loud, funny chaos.** You run a kitchen together in "classic couch co-op or online play for up to four players," and the store page lists Remote Play Together, so even couch sessions can go online.
- **Deep Rock Galactic, for a squad of four.** A co-op shooter about dwarven space miners, where "Award-winning co-op gameplay puts 1-4 players together" to dig through caves, mine minerals and fight alien hordes. Each player picks a class, so the team genuinely needs everyone.
- **PEAK, for climbing crews.** A co-op climbing game where "You'll need to rely on your friends to have any hope of scaling the mountain, which changes every single day." Helping each other up ledges is the whole point.
- **R.E.P.O., for spooky, silly nights.** It is "an online co-op horror game featuring physics, proximity voice chat and scary monsters," where "You and up to 5 friends" haul fragile loot through haunted places.
What are fun games to play with friends on Steam when you just want to laugh?
Fun games to play with friends on Steam for pure laughs are the ones with physics, tight timing and a bit of friendly sabotage. Overcooked! 2 turns dinner service into shouting, R.E.P.O. turns carrying a piano into a comedy routine, and PEAK turns a missed jump into the story of the night.
Look for these signs on a store page when you want a funny game:
- Physics in the description. When objects and players can fall, bounce and collide, accidents become jokes.
- Short rounds. Quick matches let the group reset after a disaster and try again right away.
- Proximity voice chat. Hearing friends get quieter as they walk away, or louder as they panic, adds a lot of comedy.
- Light competition inside co-op. Races and small rivalries keep it lively without breaking the team.
What are good games to play with friends on Steam for longer sessions?
Good games to play with friends on Steam for longer sessions have a campaign or progression that carries across nights. Deep Rock Galactic gives you missions and classes to master, and Portal 2's co-op campaign has its own story from start to finish. Pick one long game and one quick party game, and you will always have the right option for the night.
How do you check if a Steam game supports co-op with friends?
You check the "features" list on the right side of the game's store page before anyone installs it. Steam labels games with tags such as Online Co-op, Shared/Split Screen Co-op and Remote Play Together. Valve's Remote Play FAQ confirms that support "will be listed on the game's Steam store page, in the game details on the right side of the page."
Here is what each label means for your group:
- Online Co-op. Everyone plays from their own PC over the internet, the classic setup for friends in different houses.
- Shared/Split Screen Co-op. Built for one screen, which you can take online with Remote Play Together.
- Remote Play Together. One PC runs the game and friends join through a stream.
Also check the player count in the description, and read whether a game is built for two or for bigger groups.
How does Steam Remote Play Together work?
Steam Remote Play Together works by running the game on one host PC and streaming it to your friends, who play with their own controllers. Valve's Remote Play FAQ says that "you can invite your Steam Friends to join your local co-op sessions remotely." On the Remote Play page, Valve explains that "Using Remote Play Together, you'll stream video, audio, and voice between players while using your own controllers," and that up to four players, or more with fast connections, can join.
Useful details:
- Start the game, then invite. Launch a game that supports Remote Play Together and invite a friend from your Friends List.
- Share keyboard and mouse if needed. Valve notes that "You can even share the keyboard and mouse."
- Your desktop stays private. Only the game is shown to friends.
- Phones can join. Friends can accept your invite in the Steam Chat mobile app and play through the Steam Link app.
- A fast connection helps. Valve says the stream runs "within milliseconds using a fast internet connection," so the host should use the best connection in the group.
One limit to know: Valve states that "Remote Play Together is not supported for VR."
How do you voice chat with friends on Steam?
You voice chat with friends on Steam from the Friends & Chat window, without any extra app. According to Steam Support, "Starting a voice chat with a friend is as simple as right-clicking their name in your friends list and selecting 'Start Voice Chat'." For a whole group, you open the group chat and create a channel by clicking 'Add Voice Channel'; the channel stays saved for future sessions.
Voice is how most groups play. The ESA 2026 report found that 72% of online players age 8+ have used communication tools like in-game text and voice chat, and platform or in-game voice chat is the most preferred option, at 36%. Many games, like R.E.P.O., also have their own built-in voice chat, so check whether you need Steam voice at all before you start.
Where does Coins Catcher: Co-op Lands fit?
Coins Catcher: Co-op Lands is a Steam pick for groups that want a platformer instead of a shooter: an online co-op 3D platformer for up to 8 players, with voice chat for everyone, in Early Access on Steam and open to suggestions from the community. PC (Steam), mobile and VR players play together in the same match, so friends without a gaming PC can still join from a phone or a VR headset. It is not on PlayStation, Xbox or Switch.
You are 10 cm (about 4 inches) tall. The group meets in The Ale, a sacred forest with giant mushrooms and glowing butterflies, then travels through magic portals into giant dioramas of seven real historical eras, from Italy 1956 to Alexandria 300 BC. Everyone collects themed coins and spends them in the game on talents such as jump height, run speed and ability power, and on unlocking the next eras. Each era has enemies and a giant beast to defeat, from a wolf in Italy to a giant spider in Alexandria, and when the group gathers 100 coins the era's tower opens and a race to the top begins; the first one up takes the Magic Gem that opens the next era. Fire, ice, oil and bubble spells bring the friendly chaos (you can hit friends with fire and steal their coins). In VR, the camera floats behind your character in third person, so you get full immersion without a first-person camera.
The game is made by Alehundred (Alejandro Friant, a solo developer) in Unreal Engine 5.
FAQ
What are the best games to play with friends on Steam?
Strong picks include Portal 2 for two players, Overcooked! 2 for up to four, Deep Rock Galactic for squads of one to four, PEAK for climbing crews, and R.E.P.O. for groups of up to six. Choose by your group size first, then by mood.
What are fun games to play with friends on Steam?
Fun picks are games with physics and short rounds, such as Overcooked! 2, R.E.P.O. and PEAK, where mistakes turn into jokes and the group can retry right away.
What are good games to play with friends on Steam for a long campaign?
Games with progression or a story, such as Deep Rock Galactic and Portal 2's co-op campaign, keep a group coming back across many nights.
What is Steam Remote Play Together?
It is a Steam feature that runs a game on one PC and streams it to friends, so you can play local co-op games online. Up to four players can join, or more with fast connections, and friends can even join from a phone.
How do I voice chat with friends on Steam?
Right-click a friend's name in your Steam friends list and select "Start Voice Chat." For groups, open the group chat and add a voice channel.
Sources
- Valve Corporation. Steam Remote Play. Steam, 2026.
- Valve Corporation. Steam Remote Play FAQ. Steam Support, 2026.
- Valve Corporation. Steam Friends & Chat. Steam Support, 2026.
- Entertainment Software Association. 2026 Essential Facts About the U.S. Video Game Industry. ESA, 2026.
- Drobna B. How to Design Games That Promote Social Closeness Between Players? PlayLab! Magazine, Tampere University, 2021 (summary of Depping and Mandryk, CHI PLAY 2017).
- Valve. Portal 2 on Steam. Steam store page, 2026.
- Ghost Town Games, Team17. Overcooked! 2 on Steam. Steam store page, 2026.
- Ghost Ship Games, Coffee Stain Publishing. Deep Rock Galactic on Steam. Steam store page, 2026.
- Team PEAK, Aggro Crab, Landfall. PEAK on Steam. Steam store page, 2026.
- semiwork. R.E.P.O. on Steam. Steam store page, 2026.