As the next few years of games are shaping up, the main thing the Wii U has going for it over the PS4 and Xbox One is its focus on fun local multiplayer experiences. While nothing truly noteworthy has really made an appearance at the other two systems’ launch, a year of Wii U releases has resulted in a nice batch of games well suited for three to five players. Here’s the best of the bunch, at least to this point!
Local multiplayer games are inherently cooperative experiences. Even the competitive ones! I like saying that everything’s better with friends, but that just isn’t universally true. A lot of it depends on just who those friends are and how much they’re on board with having a good time over all else. I happen to have some particularly great ones, and I’m thankful. Now I’d like to tell you why.
I’ve been playing the just-released Wii Party U this week. It’s home to some objectively-atrocious game design at times, and it features arguably the most obnoxious character in the history of games. Still, Wii Party U can be very fun, when it knows to be a party game first and foremost. READ MORE
This year has already been a bountiful one for fans of local multiplayer games. From heavy hitters like Diablo III and Rayman Legends to scrappy indies like Legend of Dungeon and BombSquad, there’s been a lot to enjoy. But the year’s not over yet! Here are the titles that should be on your radar for party play this holiday season. READ MORE
The Xbox’s local multiplayer lineup was anchored by Halo, which took much of the spotlight and generally crowded out most other contenders. That said, it had the horsepower advantage over its peers and a very PC-like architecture, so it thrived by hosting the best version of most of the era’s multiplatform games. READ MORE
