Gaming is a fantastic way to bring people together. A lot of the best Xbox Series X games tend to focus on multiplayer experiences, such as FPS games or co-op games. While online play and cross-platform games make it easier than ever to play with people across the world, only certain games are built to let you and a partner play together on the same console.
Split-screen games only require you to have a spare controller to both join in on the fun side-by-side. These can be cooperative adventures, creative sandboxes, shooters, and everything in between. The only trouble is figuring out which games actually have split-screen support, and which of those are the best ones to get. We’ll be your player 2 and suggest the best split-screen games for Xbox Series X.
Don’t forget that there are also upcoming Xbox Series X games that will have split-screen support as well.
It Takes Two
Hazelight found its niche by making games that don’t just allow for split-screen play, but demand it. It Takes Two tells you everything you need to know from the title. No part of this co-op adventure is possible without both players working together to complement one another’s unique abilities. And those abilities change every few hours so you never get too comfortable or bored with what you’re doing.
The story, which features a married couple magically transformed into their daughter’s toys, is interesting but not perfect. Thankfully, the gameplay and visuals are all top-notch. Even those who don’t play a ton of games will be able to pick this one up and have fun.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection
The Halo games have gotten a huge reputation for their online play, but all the early games were some of the best co-op games of their time. Halo: The Master Chief Collection bundles all those titles together with improved graphics and performance for the definitive way to experience them on your Xbox Series X.
You can Master Cheif’s entire saga in one continuous co-op marathon, plus side stories like Reach and ODST, with a teammate by your side. While the recent games haven’t been received as well, Halo: The Master Chief Collection has become more popular and even preferred by fans of the series.
The gunplay is tight, the campaigns tightly designed, and opportunities for co-op antics are high.
Cuphead
It’s difficult to say whether playing Cuphead in co-op makes the game easier or harder. This is a brutal game despite its classic cartoon aesthetic that has stumped many gamers.
It isn’t fully a boss rush, but the majority of the game is focused on learning complex attack patterns from bosses with multiple phases. Bringing a friend along doubles your damage and lets you each use different shots and abilities, but bosses also get twice as much HP so you both need to be able to dodge and parry attacks consistently.
Cuphead will push you and your partner, but the joy of overcoming its toughest bosses is exactly what split-screen games were made for.
Overcooked! All You Can Eat
While Cuphead will test your friendship because of how difficult the game is, Overcooked! All You Can Eat will test your friendship based on how well you can coordinate with your teammates.
This cooking game isn’t hard to understand or pick up, but the devil is in the details. You play in a group of up to four chefs in a kitchen preparing and serving orders as fast as you can. The only issue is the layout of the kitchen forces you to divide duties and constantly trade responsibilities to get things done in time.
Every level has a different gimmick, such as cooking on two floating platforms that will move apart so you need to throw items from one side to the other, or have single-file lanes so two players can’t pass each other if they are going in opposite directions. It’s chaotic fun that often leads to hilarious breakdowns.
Minecraft
When you can’t decide what kind of split-screen game you want to play, Minecraft offers a little bit of everything. If you want to chill out and build a farm together, you can do that. If you want to go on an adventure across an endless world, no problem.
Feel like taking on some challenging bosses? You’re covered there, too. Minecraft is an endless canvas of a game that supports anything your creativity can come up with and only gets more fun when you bring a second player along to help build your unique experience.
After over a decade of updates and new content added with no end in sight, it’s easy to see why this is still one of the most popular games out there and an easy recommendation for split-screen players.
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
There’s no substitute for Mario Kart, but sadly that franchise will always be locked on Nintendo hardware. Instead, us Xbox players have Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled, which might secretly be as good or better than Nintendo’s flagship kart racer.
This remaster of the PS1 game has been lovingly updated for modern consoles and features a cast of Crash Bandicoot characters rather than Nintendo mascots. While these types of copycat games typically fall short, this game is the exception. The controls are tight and offer a ton of depth to learning the tricks of the courses and how to properly drift and boost effectively.
Power-ups are satisfying and there’s no obnoxious rubberbanding or overpowered Blue Shell items to frustrate you. Any kart racing fan young or old will have a blast with this mascot racer.
Borderlands 3
Since the very first game, Borderlands has been a game designed to be played with friends. Ideally, friends in the same room which Borderlands 3 still supports. If you haven’t played this entry and are looking forward to Borderlands 4, now is the best time to grab a friend and run through this looter shooter.
The story in this one is a bit poor compared to the other entries, but the gameplay loop and individual missions are still a blast. If you have a friend with you through the entire thing, you can just ignore the story and make your own fun together.
Since the game has distinct classes, it also offers fun synergies between all the characters and their special powers. If you include all the DLC, there’s easily enough content here for two FPS fans to feast on.
Baldur’s Gate 3
Baldur’s Gate 3 had a few bumps in the road finally making it onto Xbox Series X, but it is here now and easily the best split-screen RPG on this or any platform. Whether you’re a lifelong D&D fan or have always been curious but never tried it, this game is a magical experience.
Not only is it impressive to see the lengths the game will go to adapt to any and all choices and actions a single player makes, but somehow does even more when two players are acting simultaneously.
Plenty of games claim to let you create your own story, but Baldur’s Gate 3 is the only one that can actually back up that claim. If you and a friend want the most in-depth role-playing experience out there, there’s no other option.
