Elden Ring Nightreign

Elden Ring Nightreign takes Soulslike combat and turns it into a three-player run structure, and the difficulty here isn't the kind I chase much these days. That's a personal bias, not a knock. Runs are built for repeat attempts, so wiping to a boss with your squad isn't the end of a session, it's the setup for the next try with better gear. If your group already loves Souls combat, this scratches an itch nothing else on this list touches. It's online only, and matchmaking with strangers is rougher than the queue times for other missions here. For groups who want difficulty as the whole point, it earns its spot. Gentler entries sit above it for everyone else.

FromSoftware making a game designed from the start for co-op was something I did not expect to work as well as it does. Nightreign runs on a three-day expedition structure where each run takes around forty minutes, which is a smarter session length than any previous Soulsborne title. Three players online, each bringing different character classes, and the revive mechanics mean co-op coordination is not just helpful but required to survive later Nightlords. The difficulty is exactly what you expect from this studio. If someone in your group struggled with base Elden Ring, that person is going to have a hard time here. No crossplay and no couch support. For the right trio, though, this is some of the most satisfying co-op on the platform.