Multiplayer Games for the Holidays

It's the holiday season once again, and for many people, that means getting together with friends and family to celebrate. If you are like me, you are surrounded by people who like games, so some fun multiplayer action will be had. Here's a list of some great titles that came out this year that will be perfect to play and are family-friendly with no foul language or questionable content. This way, you don't have to worry about offending your grandparents or other family members. 

 

Shredder’s Revenge

Jump into this beautiful pixel art game as one of the Ninja Turtles and smash your way through Shredder’s Foot Clan. Try to stop Bebop and Rocksteady as they steal devices to carry out Krang and Shredder's plans to reconstruct Krang's cyborg body. The game features Arcade and Story modes and supports up to six players simultaneously — if you have enough controllers for everyone. With extra characters like April O'Neil and Splinter to play as, allowing everyone to be a unique personality. Play long enough and unlock Casey Jones. This 16-bit side-scrolling beat 'em up is a perfect love letter to the TMNT games I grew up with, and it's a ton of fun to play! 

If you are a big fan of the Ninja Turtles, I’d also recommend checking out The Cowabunga Collection. It contains a massive selection of classic TMNT games that have come out over the years that supports two players.

Pac-Man Museum+

Everyone knows Pac-Man, and if they don't, this is a great way to introduce them to the pellet-eating hero. This collection has a variety of games that can be played with up to four players. Go head to head in Pac-Man Vs. where you try to eat more pellets and ghosts than your opponents or even them if you get a power pellet and grow huge. If you want a game where you are required to work together, Pac-Man 256 is like Crossy Road but has you running away from the glitch bugs that are coming to get you from the bottom of the screen. Work together to revive each other, taking out the enemies blocking your way. Survive as long as possible to get a high score.

Capcom Fighting Collection

Capcom is known for all their fighting games; sure this is only for two players at a time, but who doesn't want to have a tournament with their family and friends to see who the ultimate fighter is in Hyper Street Fighter II? Or if you want to switch it up, you could always battle it out in Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo. With a large selection of titles to select from, including games we haven't seen before, like Red Earth, this collection will keep fighting game fans entertained for hours!

Ship of Fools

This game was just released in December of 2022, and it is a great title to play with another player. Work together to save your home from the coming Aquapocalypse and eradicate the sea monsters surrounding the island. Hop aboard the Stormstrider, and work together blasting your cannons to take out the attacking enemies before they sink your ship and get to the island. If your boat sinks, you start over on the beach, having to start your journey at The Forgotten Waters again. Each run will be different, with tons of adorable characters to unlock and items to collect to upgrade your boat. Ship of Fools has a great sense of humour, and allows you to do ridiculous things like put seagulls and crabs into the cannon to fire at your enemies for a powerful attack. Even if you aren't the person currently playing, it is an entertaining game to watch!

These are just a few fun multiplayer titles I have had the chance to check out during the year that I will be playing this holiday season. If there are any games I missed which you happened to check out, let me know in the comments below because you can never have too many suggestions of great titles to play!