Diablo IV

I never finished Diablo IV playing solo. The loot loop is fine, but on your own the campaign drags, and I stopped somewhere in Act 4. Hand a second controller to a friend, though, and the whole thing changes shape. One of you clears trash while the other handles elites, and the couch co-op on Xbox is drop-in, drop-out, no lobby faff. Seasons keep adding fresh builds, so there's always a reason to load back in after a break. It's not as tightly authored as It Takes Two or Split Fiction, this is loot grinding first, story second. For two people who want an hour of killing things after the kids are asleep, it does that job better than almost anything else here.

I have played every Diablo game, and for me this series has always been a multiplayer one first. Back in university a friend in my building and I hacked through Diablo III most weekends, usually with a couple of beers involved. That habit carried into Diablo IV. I did not finish the campaign solo. I bounced off it around Act 3 and only went back once a friend asked to run it together, and the story suddenly clicked with someone else there to share it. Five classes give every player something to compare after a session, and seasons keep giving you a reason to log back in. It runs cleanly on PS5 and never fights the controller.

I started Diablo IV solo and quietly dropped it somewhere in Act 3. The grind felt like a chore with nobody to share it with. Then I picked it back up with three friends on a Friday night. It clicked, hard. The same old hack-and-slash rhythm that made the earlier games addictive, except now somebody's shouting about a legendary drop over the headset every twenty minutes. Four classes, a real loot chase, and seasonal content that resets the build conversation every few months. It's still online-only, so a bad connection night means nobody plays, not even solo.

I started Diablo IV solo, got through a couple of acts, and never went back, which tells you something about how it held my attention alone. Playing it with a friend is a different game entirely: the loot chase and buildcrafting turn into a reason to keep logging in together, season after season. Where it gets shaky for this list is the open world claim itself, Sanctuary is large but the critical path through it feels closer to a linear campaign with open zones bolted on than a true sandbox. That's why it's here, not the top ten. Hack-and-slash co-op with a friend is still genuinely fun, just don't expect Sea of Thieves levels of freedom.

I never finished Diablo IV solo. The campaign is fine, but grinding through Nightmare dungeons by yourself starts to feel like a second job somewhere around World Tier 3. Playing it with friends fixes that completely. Crossplay across Xbox, PlayStation, and PC means my group can drop into the same seasonal ladder no matter who bought the game where, and the loot grind that bores me alone turns into something worth logging in for when someone else is calling out a legendary drop in voice chat. It is still a grind. Co-op just makes the grind social instead of lonely, which for a live-service ARPG is most of the job done.

I started Diablo IV solo and didn't finish it. The campaign alone never quite pulled me back for a second sitting. Split-screen with a second player changed that completely: the camera shares one view while you're close together and splits into two distinct feeds the moment you wander apart, chasing separate loot drops on separate parts of the map. It requires a constant online connection even for local play, which is a strange requirement for two people sitting on the same couch, but once you're in, the build-crafting and loot chase are exactly as addictive as everyone says. It's more grind than Baldur's Gate 3's story-first pace, and that's by design. Worth it, especially if it's already sitting unfinished in your library.

Diablo IV closes out this list partly out of loyalty. I have been playing Diablo since long before this genre had a name for itself, and these days I only have the patience for it in co-op. Solo, the loot grind wears on me fast. With three friends, the same grind turns into a genuinely fun evening of hack-and-slash chaos, and the class identity is strong enough that everyone builds differently by the second session. The always-online requirement is the real problem for a LAN-focused list like this one. You are tied to Blizzard's servers even when everyone at the table is three feet apart on the same network. It is worth having in the rotation. Just don't build your whole LAN night around it.

Diablo co-op has a specific energy that is hard to describe until you have experienced it. My best memory of the series is staying up until 3am with a university friend, running Diablo III dungeons on our laptops while splitting a case of beer. Diablo IV carries that same pull, and cross-platform grouping means the person you want to play with does not need to own the same console. The seasonal structure keeps there being a reason to log back in every few months. It is not a drop-in-for-twenty-minutes game. Sessions run long, the build planning spills into the hours between sessions, and if your co-op partner is not invested, the whole thing loses something. Bring the right person.

I started Diablo IV and did not finish it solo. In co-op it is a different story. Running dungeons with a friend who has a complementary build, especially in the seasonal content where there is always something new to chase, gives the loot loop the momentum it loses when you are playing alone. The honest reason it is not in the top ten is the live-service structure. Seasons add pressure to play on a schedule, and the endgame repetition becomes more visible when the novelty wears off. If you and a co-op partner are into the ARPG grind and plan to play regularly, this is absolutely worth your time. If you want something you can revisit casually over months, the top ten fits better.

I started Diablo IV solo and did not finish it. What I did not try at the time was bringing a friend in, and that changes the loop considerably. The seasonal structure gives returning groups a reason to come back every few months, which is a different kind of value than a game with a fixed campaign. Crossplay partying through Battle.net is clean and fast, and the game does not ask much setup before you are running dungeons together. It sits at nine rather than higher because the co-op does not fundamentally transform the experience the way it does in games like Darktide or Monster Hunter. It is a game you can play co-op, not a game built because of co-op.

I started Diablo IV, got deep into a seasonal character, and then stopped. Not because the game failed me, but because I ran out of evenings. That is actually the honest shape of how Diablo IV works for time-limited players: the seasonal structure means you can always return to a new chapter, but it asks for real investment before the build depth pays off. For a cross-platform list, though, the implementation is genuinely good. Party play across PC and console works well, drop-in co-op is smooth, and the shared-world elements mean you run into other players even in solo sessions. If your group enjoys ARPG loot loops and has the time to sink into a seasonal grind together, this is one of the better-implemented crossplay options in the genre.

I started Diablo IV solo and bounced off it after a few weeks. Then a friend suggested we run a season together, picking complementary builds from the start, and the game transformed. Running Nightmare Dungeons with someone whose class covers your weaknesses, passing through a shared world where other players occasionally appear, checking in each week to see what the season has added, this is a different rhythm than most co-op games on this list. It rewards consistent return sessions rather than single long nights. If your group can commit to a seasonal run together, the build variety and loot loop will carry you well past the campaign. Just do not come expecting the chaos of a shooter or the spontaneity of Sea of Thieves.

I started Diablo IV solo and did not finish it. Started it again with a friend and we were four hours in before either of us noticed the time. That gap tells you most of what you need to know. The classes are distinct enough that two people building differently creates real session-to-session variety, and the loot loop feeds directly into co-op because drops feel meaningful when someone is there to react to them. Seasonal content keeps bringing the group back, and the onboarding is the smoothest on this list. It runs beautifully on PS5. The campaign writing will not win awards, but the co-op loop absolutely earns its number two spot.

Diablo IV is the most polished game on this entire list from a PS5 technical standpoint, and I say that having played it on a Samsung QD-OLED where the lighting engine genuinely impresses. I started a seasonal character with a friend and enjoyed the first twenty hours considerably. The reason it sits in honorable mentions rather than the main list is that the world serves the loot loop rather than the other way around. You are not exploring Sanctuary because the world pulls you forward. You are running routes because that is how the ARPG works. Great game, just not quite the open-world multiplayer experience this list is built around.

I started Diablo IV and didn't finish it solo. What I didn't try was couch co-op, which is apparently a much better way to play. The loot loop and build customisation are genuinely engaging in short sessions, and having a partner to discuss builds with between dungeons adds something that solo play lacks. It sits in the honorable mentions rather than the main list because the game's live-service structure and broader multiplayer ecosystem aren't specifically shaped around two players. It works for two people. It's just not meaningfully designed for two people the way the ranked entries are.

I started Diablo IV solo and did not finish it. Played it in local co-op with a friend for a few sessions and it clicked in a way the solo run never did. Shared-screen co-op on PS5 works well, the two of you carving through demon hordes together feels satisfying in a way that is hard to replicate. The catches: it requires an internet connection even for local play, which is an annoying design choice, and the onboarding is slower than anything else on this list. If you and a regular co-op partner are looking for something to build into over multiple sessions rather than something for a casual game night, it belongs in the conversation.

I started Diablo IV solo and did not finish it. I went back with a friend and we did not stop for four hours. The difference between playing it alone and playing it in co-op is genuinely significant. Build synergies between classes make the shared-world setup feel purposeful rather than incidental, and the seasonal structure means there is usually something active to work toward when you return after a break. It is controller-friendly in a way that makes it feel like it was designed for PS5 first, which sounds like a low bar but is noticeable compared to some PC-first games that were ported over. The main caveat is that endgame content becomes increasingly demanding of time investment, which is worth knowing before you sink forty hours into a build.

I started Diablo IV, put it down after about twelve hours, and came back two seasons later with a friend on PC. That second playthrough is a different game. Having someone to run dungeons with changes the pacing entirely, and the cross-platform party system is clean enough that getting the session started takes under a minute. Seasonal content means there is usually a reason to return. It is not a game that kept me hooked solo, which is honest and probably relevant to anyone considering it, but as a crossplay co-op recommendation for groups who enjoy loot-driven progression, it earns its place at the bottom of this list.

I started Diablo IV solo and did not finish it. Started it again with a friend online and we pushed through the campaign and into a season together. The loot loop does something different when two people are comparing drops and arguing over builds in voice chat. Two-player couch co-op works on a single screen, and the full crossplay with Xbox and PC is verified and functional, one of the very few games on this list where your platform choice genuinely does not matter for co-op. The co-op design is additive rather than essential, meaning neither of you will feel useless if you play separately, but the sessions are better together. Seasonal content cadence has been consistent enough that there is usually something new to run through.

Diablo IV is one of very few live-service games that supports two-player couch co-op on PS5, which makes it genuinely rare on this list. Sitting next to someone and running dungeons together hits differently than online-only. Online co-op extends that to four players with crossplay. The seasonal model resets progress on a regular cycle, which gives returning players something new to chase but can frustrate people who don't want to restart builds. The base game plus the Vessel of Hatred expansion is not cheap if you want the full experience. For loot-focused co-op groups, though, few games deliver this reliably.

Diablo IV earns its place at ten specifically for its couch co-op campaign on PS5. Sitting on a sofa and carving through the main story together is genuinely satisfying, and the level scaling means skill gaps between players don't wreck the experience. The story itself is serviceable dark fantasy with some well-directed cutscenes, not the reason you're here but not embarrassing either. The honest caveat is the one that matters most: both players need to be aligned on the same quest to advance together, and if one person is further ahead, the host's progress takes priority. Keep sessions coordinated and the campaign is finishable at around twenty to thirty hours.

Diablo IV delivers the kind of satisfying, low-friction loot loop that makes a 45-minute session feel worth it even when nothing dramatic happens. Individual loot drops mean no one's fighting over gear, and the world scales to the highest-level player so mixed-progression squads stay together. Full crossplay across PS5, Xbox, and PC helps real squads with platform diversity. The couch co-op option is two players only — online is your path for 3–4. Always-online is also required, even during local sessions, which is worth knowing before you're mid-session and the connection hiccups.

Diablo IV sits at the top because it gets the two things that matter most exactly right: full crossplay across PS5, Xbox, and PC for every piece of co-op content, and a loot loop that genuinely benefits from playing with other people. Dungeon runs feel tighter with a coordinated group, and seasonal content keeps the endgame rotating. The caveat is real — you need a Battle.net account to add cross-platform friends, and the base game plus the Vessel of Hatred expansion adds up. Not a cheap entry. But for ARPG fans who want a long-term crossplay co-op home with their PC and Xbox friends, nothing else on this list comes close.

Diablo IV as a duo is about build synergy — running complementary classes and watching the screen light up is one of gaming's reliable pleasures, and the loot loop keeps both players invested across dozens of hours. It supports local couch co-op and online play, with cross-play if you and your partner are on different platforms. The seasonal content means there's always something new pulling you back. One thing to flag clearly: Diablo IV requires an internet connection even when playing couch co-op on the same console, which catches people off guard. If your setup doesn't have reliable internet, that's a real friction point. Otherwise, the progression depth here is hard to beat.

Diablo IV sits in the middle of this list because the co-op works well without being exceptional. Dungeon runs with three friends, everyone playing a different class, chasing better loot drops—it's satisfying and the cross-play means your PC friends can join without drama. Where it stumbles is synergy: you're often playing alongside your friends more than genuinely with them, since the PvE encounters rarely demand real coordination. The seasonal character resets are also a genuine pain point for groups with inconsistent schedules. The Vessel of Hatred expansion adds meaningful endgame depth but it's an additional cost. Best for cross-platform friend groups who want a laid-back loot-chase they can dip in and out of.