Summary
For many gamers who grew up playing the PlayStation 3, having games around for that console that could be played locally with friends and engaging in cooperative or competitive styles across a variety of games made for some of the most exciting moments in one’s childhood.
There were all kinds of games being released at the time that either provided a great battling or party atmosphere for players getting together on the same sofa with their friends. From famous franchise entries to forgotten one-offs, thebest local coop and split-screen games of the PlayStation 3will be remembered fondly by many gamers today.
Updated on June 04, 2025, by Chris Harkin:The PS3 may be an older console by this point, but nothing can stop gamers from revisiting consoles such as this, which they might have grown up with, particularly as a wave of nostalgia has been sweeping across the gaming industry. It is magnificent to see how much retro gaming has soared in popularity, and players who are constantly looking for more hidden gems from eras such as this are not struggling to find more great co-operative classics from this final era when local co-op play was still a popular aspect of video game culture.
ThoughPuppeteerisn’t a traditional co-op game, the multiplayer mode allows a second player to take control of Kutaro’s companion in this surprisingly dark platformer. Kutaro is a young boy who gets transformed into a puppet and is immediately decapitated, leading to him picking up various new heads as he journeys through a platform world that can be navigated in 2D or 3D.
Kutaro has to acquire the four champions of the moon, giving him further abilities as he progresses, and a second player helping can provide a lot of use by hunting out collectibles as well as new heads and other useful items. Additionally,the second player gets to play as a ghostly cat, making for a fun, exciting adventure across a variety of levels, made far better by the split-screen, cozy couch vibe.
There are some incredible EA experiences that involve music, a market that they had cornered at the height of its popularity, and bringing an entire band into the mix gave groups of friends the chance to jam out in the same room, at the same time, collaborating to bring some amazing songs to life.
Rock Band 3can be an amazing experience, one of the true classic experiences that helped to define an entire generation of gaming. Gathering together a group of friends to join in on a virtual band experience was a true joy, and if players still have enough of the controllers, they can even regain access to this sort of incredible experience today.
Originally an arcade game but later ported successfully to the PlayStation 3,Time Crisis 4is part of a franchise that many players will have experienced in arcade format at one time or another. The rail shooter style isn’t as popular as it once was, butTime Crisis 4remains a very fun entry to try out when firing up the old PlayStation 3, and this, like many rail shooter games, is even better with company.
With a wild plot about biological, insect-like weaponry and three agents who are attempting to stop nukes going off,Time Crisis 4was always unlikely to win many awards. However, this hasn’t stopped it from being fondly remembered by many fans of the PlayStation 3 as one of the most enjoyable arcade shooters, which usedan FPS style for the PlayStation port, making for a fun, action-filled ride to revisit anytime.
There aremany beloved beat ‘em up games, particularly side-scrolling ones, that have made their mark throughout gaming history, and the PS3 era was no different.Castle Crashersis a very fun, simplistic sort of side-scrolling beat-em-up that features cooperative gameplay for up to four players, making it a hugely fun experience locally with several friends.
Castle Crashersincorporates a number of extra RPG elements, allowing players to customize their warrior to some degree, and it was fully remastered more recently, too, so players will find it much easier if they’re looking to revisit this particular experience from the PS3 era.
There aren’t many games like those of theLEGOfranchise. With a wealth of different Marvel Comics characters and varied levels with a story involving Doctor Doom and Loki teaming up, it is unsurprising thatLEGO Marvel Superheroesremains the best-sellingLEGOgame ever.
While there are more and more superhero games coming out nowadays, many of them fail to hit the high notes and often are unable to encapsulate the comic book feel of their characters and stories.LEGOis custom-made to bring new life to any pop culture icons, and it has done so more successfully here than with most. Players can easily join together and swing, fly, orsmash their way through all sorts of great adventuresin this incredibly relaxed atmosphere, which remains one of the verybest co-op games for the PlayStation 3.
This long-running gaming franchise has seen a recent resurgence in popularity due to the success of theResident Evil 2&3remakes as well as the release ofResident Evil Village. However, during the PS3 era,Resident Evil 6changed the game by taking theResident Evilfranchise slightly away from its roots.
While the moreaction-based style was divisive among many players, there was no doubt thatResident Evil 6made for some great gameplay, particularly when it came to local co-op, as more players could get involved in a split-screen style than ever before in the franchise.
The first game in theSpelunkyfranchise provided a wonderful local cooperative experience, which worked similarly tosome of the 2DMariogamesfor systems like the Nintendo Wii.Spelunkyallowed up to four players to explore the randomized level system that the game offered.
While some players were frustrated by the lack of split-screen,Spelunky’s system worked well, allowing players to survive as long as they stayed close enough to the number one player who held the white flag.Spelunkyprovided a very different style of cooperative local play that not many PS3 games managed as successfully.
TheCall of Dutyfranchise provided an endless number of games for the PS3; however, one of the prime candidates that made great strides in local co-op wasWorld at War. This early entry inthe franchise added the zombies mode, which could be played across four different maps online or locally, and the campaign could mostly be played in that fashion, too.
The split-screen options worked particularly well, showcasing what the franchise could achieve, and the zombies mode, in particular, became an infamous couch-play mode for players alongside their friends.World at Waris filled with an endless number of hours that can be spent alone, online, or locally with friends.
Diablo 3remains one of the greatest RPGs for cooperative local play. Normally, large RPGs such as this will only feature cooperation through online multiplayer, butDiablo 3changed things dramatically by allowing up to four players to play on one PS3 system together.
While the style of an RPG of this length and scale is already difficult to create, the makers ofDiablo 3weren’t scared to attempt the creation of a local cooperative style that could have changed the game for what constituted a great party title. However, with online multiplayer continuing to drive the idea of players playing together, not many RPGs have attempted to add these kinds of features since. Though it lacks a split-screen feature, fans ofDiabloare sure to enjoy the co-op experience being offered through this title.
Games likeFar Cryhave always been popular for players working together or against each other. The level of destruction available and the mayhem that can be created, particularly inFar Cry 3, made for a beautifully open-ended game to join in on together when playing in the split-screen cooperative mode, as well asmaking it slightly easier with friends.
Players could join together locally to engage in a variety of missions that were designed for cooperative play in a separate mode from the regular single-player campaign.Far Cry 3was one of the last large-scale games to feature such a format, but it remains a great one that gamers love to revisit even today, with characters like Pagan Min even making a recent return to the franchise.
