Summary
Deck buildingis one of the most fun yet criminally under-explored genres in gaming, at least when it comes toco-op gaming. There are plenty of options for players that want to play a single-player Roguelike deck-building game, but players who want to do so with friends have much more limited options, at least unless they want to download mods.
Fortunately, while the selection is a little slim, there are still some absolute masterpieces available for groups with that specific itch! These games take the classic deck-building mechanics fans of the genre love and throw in some co-op along with a few other twists; some familiar, like deck building, and others not-so-familiar, like managing a civilization.
5Hexarchy
4X Strategy With Deck Building
Hexarchywill feel very familiar to fans of theCivilizationseries when it comes to the overworld, gameplay, and overall themes. What makesHexarchysuch a great multiplayer game is that it can be played fairly quickly, especially when compared to games likeCivilization,which can span days for a single playthrough (at best.) Not everyone wants to play co-opgames that can be played basically forever. Players can pick upHexarchyand play a game in under an hour, while still experiencing all the strategy and mechanics a regular 4X strategy game would offer.
As a deck builder,Hexarchyis solid. The game feels very balanced overall, and it’s very easy to pick up and play without a tutorial (unlike many 4X games) while also offering enough depth and strategy to min-max a deck to death. Keep in mind, like many 4X games where CPU turns must be simulated,Hexarchyis nota co-op game made for low-end PCs.
4Azoove
Story Oriented Resource Management Roguelike
Azooveis a resource management game about expeditioning across a desert, and the difficulty of the gameplay definitely reflects such a daunting task.Azoovewas quite literally built for co-op, and it does a great job living up to that potential, incorporating many twists,not only on the best co-op games, but some of the best deck builders, roguelikes, anddungeon crawlers as well.Azoovedoes a fantastic job of blending every genre together.
Azooveis great for co-op groups that enjoy deck building but also want a tough strategy/survival/resource management game to go along with it. The story isn’t bad either, and the overall vibe and atmosphere inAzoovewas nailed perfectly by the developers. For example, there are points in the game where players can’t communicate with each other, but still have to make decisions that will affect the entire group. Little mechanics like this (along with classic roguelike/RPG-like encounters) makeAzoovean absolute must-play for co-op card game fans.
3Aeon’s End
Wizard Based Board Game Adaptation
Aeon’s Endis based off of a board game of the same name, and the gameplay has definitely been flawlessly translated one-to-one into a video game. What makesAeon’s Endsuch a great co-op game is simple: It takes a ton of teamwork and strategy for a run to be successful. Basically, players are pitted against a nameless nemesis and must protect their town. Defeating the nemesis takes a lot of strategy, which will be familiar to tabletop gamers and virtual deck-building gamers alike, since it’s a common themein all the best deck builders.
What makesAeon’s Enda unique deck builder among its peers is its use of randomization. Cards aren’t shuffled, they are simply redrawn in the order they were discarded. Additionally, the turn order is completely random, so no one knows whether they will move 8 times in a row before the nemesis gets a turn, or whether the nemesis will get to go twice and absolutely wreck the town. These twists make teamwork absolutely essential and force players to really think about every possible consequence of the moves they make.
2HELLCARD
Slay The Spire With Tactical RPG Mechanics
HELLCARDdoes an excellent job of scratching the itch thatSlay the Spireleft many fans with.HELLCARDhas been built for multiplayer and feels like many other co-op dungeon crawlers. Players choose their class and delve into a dungeon to loot and defeat floor after floor of enemies. Despite its name,HELLCARDis nota co-op horror game at all, it’s actually fantasy-based, and players will recognize all the classes from RPGs (rogue, warrior, mage).
Not only doesHELLCARDnot need a mod for multiplayer, unlikeSlay the Spire,but it doesn’t play exactly likeSlay the Spirebeyond being a deck-building roguelike. It adds tactical RPG mechanics where the positioning of enemies actually matters. Players can use cards that deal AoE damage, deal more damage to enemies further away, and more. This adds just another layer to the co-op gameplay, and is perfect for groups that enjoy games likeFor The King, just with added deck-building mechanics. There’s a huge variety of cards and each class feels unique to play.
Across the Obelisktakes a ton of inspiration from games likeSlay the Spire,but adds so much depth in every aspect of the genre, making itone of the best PvE deck builders ever, co-op or otherwise!Across The Obeliskhas players move through a map featuring different encounters, side quests, bosses, and more while gaining XP, buying and earning cards, and working together to defeat enemies in battle.Across the Obeliskis such a great deck builder because there are so many characters/classes to choose from, and every single one of them has unique and viable builds to experiment with.
Across the Obeliskis best enjoyed as a co-op game because, otherwise, a solo player will need to manage and build four different characters during a run, which would be overwhelming considering the depth that each build has.Across the Obelisk’s co-op is so good because players can not only synergize during battles — defeating enemies in the correct order, keeping each other alive, buffing each other, etc. — but they can work together outside of battle to build decks that synergize and play well off of each other as well!
