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Metroidvania games rarely offer co-op options, which is part of the reason why Guacamelee 2 stands out from the pack so much. Letting players experience the exploration and platforming elements associated with Metroidvanias in a co-op space is a lot of fun, though it helps that Guacamelee 2 is a fantastic game at its core, too. Guacamelee 2 's unique brand of humor, appealing art style, and non-stop action will keep players glued to the screen for the long haul, making it one of the best local co-op options on Game P   When I say this game aspires to be Paper Mario , I'm not talking about a few little touches here and there. From the second you load up Bug Fables, you will know that this is a Paper Mario game in practically every way except the name. Each character is a flat 2D model with big fat Dc Black Label outlines walking around a 3D world. The art style looks simplistic, as if it was drawn by a crayon-wielding kindergarten class, yet it's bursting with life and personality. Even the music evokes the soundtracks of Nintendo's games, with songs that reminded me of Final Fantasy games, Donkey Kong Country , Earthbound , and of course, the Paper Mario ser   Bug Fables is weaponized nostalgia. Moonsprout Games set out to make a game that would bring you back to the mid-90s and early-2000s, and if you played RPGs back on the SNES or N64, then this is going to unleash all the tingly feelings of your childhood stored at the back of your br   As for the party management portion of the game, Bug Fables is pretty light when it comes to managing equipment and skills. Instead of individual levels, your entire team levels up as one unit. When you gain enough XP, you can then choose to upgrade your health, your Team Points (which is your MP), or give yourself more Medal Points so you can equip more medals. Medals are your main pieces of equipment as there's no armor or weapons to worry about. These can give you buffs, status ailment resistances, or in some cases, even allow you to use new moves. The RPG mechanics aren't very complex, but it leads to a streamlined experience that still forces you to strategize, as you can only equip a limited number of medals and carry a limited number of healing itUnfortunately, Lionhead closed down, taking many hearts along with it. However, prior to the culmination of business, the cancellation of the asymmetrical multiplayer title Fable Legends saw to the loss of popularity to some degree. Last year, rumors of Forza devs Playground Games taking over surfaced, possibly leading to the loss of lots of sleep ahead of E3.   After the success of P.T. inspired psychological thriller Layers of Fear in 2016, horror game extraordinaire Bloober Team followed it up with the cyberpunk-themed psychological thriller, Observer for PC, PS4, Xbox One , and Nintendo Switch earlier this year. It's next game, Observer: System Redux is effectively a next-generation port, taking the original game and updating it with enhanced visuals and gameplay, as well as brand new story content . Observer: System Redux is coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X in the fourth quarter of 2   Thematically, Devil May Cry has little in common with the Yakuza series. However, where the original Yakuza fighting system is like a throwback to classic Japanese 80s and 90s beat-em-ups, DMCV harks back to the hack-and-slash classics like Golden Axe in a single-player for   With no prior announcement, Microsoft surprise-launched the beat 'em up Streets of Rage 4 on Xbox Game Pass. While some may have been concerned that Streets of Rage 4 wouldn't live up to the legacy of its predecessors, the game has proven any doubters wrong. Streets of Rage 4 reviews have been mostly positive, with fans praising the game's retro-style local co-op action. Streets of Rage 4 's main story may be a little on the short side, but the game otherwise has a lot of content for fans of the genre to sink their teeth i   Developed by Ebb Software and heavily inspired by the works of H. R. Giger, the original designer of the Xenomorph from Alien , Scorn is a first-person horror game that was first announced all the way back in 2014. After ongoing issues with funding, Scorn is back and in development for Xbox Series X and PC. Set in a nightmarish universe, Ebb Software has designed the game around the idea of players being thrown into an unsettling environment that makes them question what they see. Each location contains its own theme, and players will need to acquire skills, unlock weapons, and complete puzzles to make it out al   When it comes to local co-op, it's hard to beat Halo: The Master Chief Collection . Once players manage to get this massive game downloaded, they can play through the first four Halo games, plus Reach and ODST , entirely in split-screen co-op. Few games are as iconic as the Halo series, and while there are certain aspects of Halo 1 's campaign that haven't aged all that well, the games are still some of the absolute best first-person shooters on the mar