Deadswitch 3 Fast 2D War, Your Way

The co-op here is the grab-a-friend kind: join up, pick a mode, jump straight into the action. In Operations you work through objective-based missions together, and the game leaves the plan to you. Go in loud with guns blazing, or have one of you sneak while the other causes a very loud distraction. Survival modes put you both against endless waves of terrorists, helicopters and zombies, and there is nothing quite like watching a horde close in while your partner is stuck reloading. Rounds are short and the pace is frantic, so a session fits wherever you can find half an hour together.

Customization is where this game goes deep. Characters are fully customizable, from sensible tactical gear to whatever look you feel like, and the arsenal runs to hundreds of weapons with attachments and equipment on top. Build a disciplined assault rifle with a tight setup, or stack attachments into something with recoil that fights back and a muzzle flash that fills the screen. Add custom classes, perks and killstreaks, and every loadout is a decision: do you play it steady, or build a walking problem for the other team?

Progression gives the shooting a spine. You earn XP by killing enemies, scoring objectives and completing challenges, then climb through the ranks to unlock new weapons, attachments, perks and killstreaks. Operations pay out Operation Stars and other rewards when you turn the difficulty up, and Survival runs feed worldwide leaderboards, so there is always a score to beat. Short sessions, constant unlocks and modes that play out differently each time make it easy to promise yourself one more round. Then another.