One of my fondest gaming memories goes back to a month when a friend was crashing at my place. We decided, almost on a whim, to play through XCOM 2 together. It’s not a co‑op game. It’s not even pretending to be one. But we made it co‑op anyway.
We played on an actual Xbox, passing the controller back and forth. He had “his” soldiers, I had mine. Every mission deploys four units, so he’d take two and I’d take two. And somehow, that simple arrangement created one of the richest gaming experiences of my life. We still remember the final mission vividly — the tension, the triumph, the way we posed for photos with our characters like they were real comrades we’d fought alongside.
That month set the gold standard for how I experience turn‑based tactics games.
A Genre That’s Quietly Booming
According to Wikipedia, these games fall under the “turn‑based tactics” umbrella — and in the last few years, the genre has quietly exploded. Gears Tactics brought the Gears of War universe into this format. And just recently, I saw Kotaku announce a new Star Wars entry called Star Wars: Zero Company, which looks like it’s following the same formula.
This is exactly the direction I love to see. These games are perfect for co‑op, even when they aren’t designed for it. They’re slow, thoughtful, strategic — the kind of experience where you can sit with a friend, talk through every move, debate tactics, and celebrate (or mourn) the consequences together.
My Dream Weekend
I keep a personal database of turn‑based tactics games. Whenever I know a friend is visiting — ideally for a weekend, or even better, a week — I start planning. These games often support up to four players, so my ideal scenario is three friends visiting, all of us sitting together, eating, watching movies, talking, and sinking into a long campaign.
There’s something magical about that rhythm: real life and game life blending together, conversations flowing between strategy and everything else happening in our lives.
Why These Games Should Embrace Online Co‑op
As much as I love couch co‑op, the reality is that many of my friends live far away. And most turn‑based tactics games simply aren’t built for online multiplayer. They’re single‑player by design, and that’s a shame, because the genre is perfect for asynchronous online play.
Turn‑based games are basically modern chess — except richer, more cinematic, and more emotionally engaging. They’re ideal for players in different time zones. You log in, take your turn, think through your strategy, send a message to your friend, and they take their turn when they wake up. A campaign could last weeks or months, and that’s part of the charm.
I hope future games embrace this. The potential is enormous.
A Rare Example Done Right
One game that did get online co‑op right was Divinity: Original Sin 2. I played it with a friend over the course of maybe a month, and it was one of the best co‑op experiences I’ve ever had. It proved that deep, tactical, story‑driven games can absolutely thrive in an online co‑op format.
It’s the model I wish more studios would follow.
Looking Ahead
I’m thrilled that more turn‑based tactics games are being announced. Every new title feels like another opportunity to recreate that XCOM 2 magic — the shared tension, the laughter, the debates, the stories that stay with you long after the credits roll.
Whether it’s on a couch with a shared controller or online across continents, this is the way I love to play games: slowly, thoughtfully, collaboratively, with friends who are just as invested in the story as I am.