While cooperative marriage counseling platformer It Takes Two was the game that got developer Hazelight the most recognition when it won Game of the Year at the 2021 Game Awards, before that, the team released A Way Out. This cooperative action game has to be played with a friend, and you only have to buy it once if you’re playing online, as you can join a friend’s session without owning a copy of the game. It stars two criminals who break out of prison, and the roller coaster ride of cooperative antics doesn’t end there. A Way Out is the kind of co-op game that requires you to communicate, coordinate, and move in a synchronized fashion. Whether it’s climbing back to back through a small space, or one person moving around the world while another talks to an NPC, or playing a game of Connect Four, A Way Out is all about two players working like two arms on one unit, and it makes for a really compelling, sometimes meaningfully frustrating experience to play with a friend. It’s currently $5.99 as part of the Summer Sale.
