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However, an asymmetrical multiplayer game is one in which players have unique abilities, roles, or powers that will give them different overall experiences. Sometimes players will be working side-by-side, taking care of distinct jobs, or sometimes they will be in different areas of the map/stage and working independently of each other entirely. Sometimes players will be in pursuit of the same overall goal, and in other cases, players will be enemies, aiming to defeat their opponent. Here are some of the best asymmetrical multiplayer games everyone should give a try with their closest friends.
Updated on September 6, 2022, by Christine Mendoza: There will always be a need for great multiplayer games to play with friends. Internet culture is alive and well and gaming with a group of people remotely is a fantastic way of making new friends or bonding with current ones. With asymmetrical games getting increasingly popular as time goes on, it’s only natural that new great titles would pop up. To keep up-to-date with the popularity of these asymmetrical games, a few new key entries have been added to help any gamers looking for a fun new title to try out with a few good friends.
12 Among Us
Release Date : 2018 Genre : Party, Social Deduction
Mafia-type games have made a huge comeback recently, all thanks to the craze around Among Us. Among Us pits a player up against their friends by assigning them all different roles. The players that are given the role of impostor are to sabotage the ship and kill the innocent crewmates before having their true identities found out.
Meanwhile, the crewmates are to finish their tasks and report any dead bodies found, discussing who among the group is most suspicious and thus, voting them out. If all impostors are voted out correctly, the crewmates win. If the impostors are still alive with an equal number of living crewmates, the crewmates lose. Since the game’s initial release and rise in popularity, new cosmetics, maps, and roles have been added to keep the game fresh and feeling new.
11 Who’s Your Daddy
Release Year : (Microsoft Windows) 2016, (Remake) 2020 Genre : Simulation, Parody
Who’s Your Daddy is a hilarious parody-simulation game in which two players are put head to head in a heated battle; one playing the role of the daddy and one playing the baby. The player that takes the role of the baby is tasked with finding dangerous objects around the house to off themselves as fast as they can while the opposite player does their best to prevent them from doing such.
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As the dad, the player is responsible for the health of their baby, sabotaging any insane, dangerous shenanigans the baby gets up to. The dad character can place locks on doors or cabinets, place safety plugs in electrical sockets, and even give the baby medicine to heal them. Discovering new, hilarious ways to sabotage one another, Who’s Your Daddy makes for a hilarious asymmetrical one-on-one game for friends that is surprisingly more strategic than it first appears!
10 Secret Neighbor
Release Year : 2018 Genre : Horror, Adventure
The Secret Neighbor horror-adventure game is a spin-off of the Hello Neighbor horror-puzzle game and takes place in the same universe. The game takes place between Act 1 and Act 2 of the original game and revolves around six children all trying to work together in order to break into the Neighbor’s basement. The catch is that one of the six children is secretly the Neighbor in disguise.
The disguised Neighbor is to catch all the children before they finish their task of looking for a total of six keys to open the basement door. There are six different roles that the children can choose from that grant them unique abilities. The Neighbor also has many abilities as well as power-ups that can be obtained to even the playing ground.
The children will win if all players have entered the basement or if at least one player has entered the basement and the timer runs out. Meanwhile, the Neighbor wins if all children have gone missing or if the timer runs out before any children make it to the basement.
9 Goose Goose Duck
Release Year : 2021 Genre : Party, Social Deduction
Any Among Us fans should definitely think about checking out Goose Goose Duck. Goose Goose Duck is also a social deduction game, but instead of looking out for mafia members or impostors, players are to find out which players are treacherous ducks.
The rest of the players (the geese) need to complete their tasks while avoiding all the sneaky ducks. What makes Goose Goose Duck feel vastly different from other social deduction games is the wide variety of roles that come along with the game. The game also relies on the in-game voice chat in order to have the complete/full experience.
Among all the roles, the Dodo is definitely one of the most interesting and unique. The Dodo Bird is neither a duck nor a goose and is playing to earn a victory on its own. Their goal is to purposely be voted out as a duck. The Dodo bird must appear and sound guilty so that the rest of the players decide to vote them out, giving them their well-earned solo victory.
8 Friday The 13th: The Game
Release Year : 2017 Genre : Survival Horror
Any fans of the classic film series should definitely give Friday The 13th: The Game a go. This multiplayer game pits a single (usually randomized) player up against the rest, taking the role of Jason, while the rest of the group are helpless camp counselors at Camp Crystal Lake.
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Jason’s role is as simple as one would assume: hunt down all the camp counselors and kill as many of them before the time runs out. On the flip side, the counselors must scavenge the campgrounds for useful weapons to defend themselves, healing items to patch up after taking damage, and most importantly, key items to collect in order to successfully escape the campgrounds and flee to safety.
7 A Way Out
Release Year : 2018 Genre : Action-Adventure
Protagonists Leo and Vincent are the characters players must help in their endeavor to break out of prison in the third-person action-adventure game, A Way Out. Using either the local or online play, two players are meant to cooperate and coordinate with one another to find their way out of prison and flee from the authorities that are pursuing them. Along the way are the occasional mini-games where both players can take a break from the intense life of a convict on the run, to face off against their partner in crime.
The game presents puzzles or obstacles that must be solved by both players taking different roles. However, the game’s roles for Vincent and Leo are not fixed; so if players decide to switch roles/jobs they can do so if they so want to.
6 Propnight
Release Year : 2021 Genre : Survival Horror
Another great survival horror game that has 4 vs. 1 asymmetrical multiplayer gameplay, Propnight incorporates classic horror survival tropes and elements. One player will take the role of the killer and choose from the many characters that all have vastly different aesthetics and unique powers.
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Meanwhile, on the other side, the survivors must escape the hands of the killer, using their special ability to disguise themselves as items found around the map. They have to survive long enough to find and repair enough propmachines in order to open the doors to escape to freedom.
5 We Were Here
Release Year : 2017 Genre : First-Person Puzzle
For fans of puzzle games or escape rooms, the We Were Here series is definitely a must. Much like real-life escape rooms, We Were Here is best with a buddy to play with (in fact, it’s the only way to play). In this cooperative puzzle game, two players must communicate via walkie-talkies and help each other solve puzzles that require both parties to relay information back and forth between each other.
While many cooperative puzzle games involve both players working on the same exact puzzle at the same time, We Were Here changes things up and separates the players into different rooms, making communication the key to success.
4 Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes
Release Year : 2015 Genre : Party, Puzzle
For anyone that is on the lookout for a relaxing game to play with a good friend on a lazy afternoon, this game may not be the best pick. Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes is an intense co-op game that involves both parties working together to defuse a bomb before the timer runs out.
However, only one player gets direct access to the bomb and is allowed to interact with it physically to inspect all the modules that need to be solved. The other player has access to the bomb defusal manual with all the answers to each module’s puzzle. The tricky part of this asymmetrical co-op game is that neither player can see the other’s screen and can only successfully defuse the bomb by communicating the answers to one another.
3 Dead By Daylight
Release Year : 2016 Genre : Survival Horror
Another fantastic option for a 4 vs. 1 survival horror game is Dead By Daylight. Although initially released back in 2016, the game is still very active today. Dead By Daylight takes on the typical “killer vs. survivors” gameplay style, offering a wide variety of both unique survivors and killers to choose from.
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What kept the game relevant for so many years after is Behaviour Interactive’s continuous support; constantly releasing new maps, survivor characters, and killer characters. Since 2021, Behaviour Interactive has released a total of 26 different DLC packs, including many collaborations with other games, films, and television shows to create one big melting pot of horror.
2 It Takes Two
Release Year : 2021 Genre : Action-Adventure, Platforming
While both players are working together in the miniature world of It Takes Two, each person has unique powers and a specific role in each level of the game. It Takes Two is an adventure platforming two-player co-op game that allows each player to take on new exciting powers or weapons between each level that is unique to their own character.
The use of unique abilities allows the game to test each player separately and in different ways; whether it be testing someone’s timing or challenging their platforming abilities. In some events, the pair is expected to do the same job and clear a course or force the two to split up and use both technical skills and good communication in order to keep pushing through.
1 Spy Party
Release Year : 2018 Genre : Stealth, deduction
While many asymmetrical multiplayer games expect players to work together in order to win, Spy Party is the complete opposite. Spy Party has two separate roles that aren’t on a team, but instead act as direct enemies. One player takes the role of the spy and controls one of the many unsuspecting NPCs in the party that also serves as the game’s main stage. The spy must act as casually as possible and fly under the radar while completing all their tasks in order to win.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the opposing player takes the role of the sniper and must carefully observe all the members of the party, and successfully identify and shoot the character they suspect is the spy. If the spy completes all their tasks before the timer runs out or if the sniper shoots the wrong person (a civilian), then the spy is successful. However, if the sniper takes the shot and takes out the opposing player, then the sniper takes the win.
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