Cooperative gameplay is a beloved part of many titles. Whether it’s passing controllers around while playing classicSuper Mariotitles or challenging aHalocampaign with friends, co-op is deeply ingrained into gaming culture.Couch co-op has diminishedover the years, but online play has risen to replace it. Some games, likeIt Takes Two, are built entirely around the concept and push it in interesting new directions.
However, even though co-op is a nice feature to have, there are different degrees of co-op quality. Drop-in co-op from retro games is becoming rare, and loading into a lobby just to take part in asingleplayer experience with two-to-four peoplecan be a hassle. It gets even more awkward when the limits of a game’s co-op are found, and players have to exit and re-enter to keep playing together. Amid many co-op experiences, Volition’sSaints Rowfranchise has proven particularly impressive in how it handles its co-op.
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How Saints Row Brings Co-op to the Next Level
From its very first game,Saints Rowseparated itself fromGrand Theft Autovia multiplayer. Initially, it only used a primitive form that supported special missions, butSaints Row 2and onward allowed for full co-op campaigns. That is impressive on its own, and the work that went into refining it is even more so. In addition to many minigames and side modes supporting multiplayer, certain missions were given unique multiplayer forms.Saints Row 2may have the best instances of this, with the hospital rescue mission “Visiting Hours” requiring players to split up and perform two different missions that will result in a clean getaway.
Saints Row 1’s nonlinear storyis not able to be experienced with a partner, but later games do their best to make up for it. Players are not tethered to each other in the open world, though they teleport when one engages in a mission or minigame. The commitment to ensuring the entireSaints Row 4campaign, barring its prologue, is playable in co-op is great considering the game’s varying set pieces. Each player controls their custom character, and in a revolutionary move for co-op games, keeps all of their progress when switching between single-player and multiplayer. That includes mission completion, upgrades, and collectibles. The upcomingSaints Rowwill even allow for players to skip later solo missions they have experienced in multiplayer.
Other Co-op Games Need to Catch Up to Saints Row
It’s not a stretch to say thatSaints Rowsupports some of the best campaign co-op in modern video games. Unfortunately, while this meansSaints Rowfans can regularly find boundary-pushing multiplayer experiences, other gamers aren’t so lucky. Co-op is still not a ubiquitous mechanic, and the ability to instantly drop in and out is usually reserved for offline play. Nintendo got better with this through theSwitch port ofSuper Mario 3D World, but most of its multiplayer extras still only use offline co-op.
Allowing for progress to be kept and for multiplayer to continue uninterrupted are other common issues.Dark SoulsandElden Ringforce playersto return to their home worlds after defeating a boss, and the boss is only considered beaten by the host.Elden Ringallows players to explore its open world together without Torrent, but will eventually put up a fog wall to keep sessions locked to certain areas. These limitations are more aggravating when one considers that item drops are rolled per-player, so a partner can make meaningful progress building their character without clearing the game’s content. More games should look at whatSaints Rowhas been doing with its co-op multiplayer, but until then, at least co-op fans have this series to fulfill their cooperative needs.
Saints Rowreleases on July 05, 2025, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
