Steam sales are dangerous. I’ve known this for a while, but I learn it again every time. When a videogame you want is twenty percent off, that’s pretty sweet. But when a game you’ve never heard of before but one of your friends has played for 1 hour and says it’s pretty fun, it’s cooperative, and it’s ninety percent off for only two dollars, it would be criminal not to buy it.

As my friends and I continue to live our lives since graduating from Calvin, sometimes it’s been hard to stay in touch, but I’ve found gaming together to be one of the best ways to stay in each other’s lives. Why do just a phone call when you can do a call while plotting an invasion of Japan because they keep converting your cities, or descending into skull caverns with an inventory full of cheese and bombs? We’ve staked out Thursday nights as game nights, and they are consistently one of the best parts of my week. Whether we are spreading democracy across the galaxy or managing a busy tavern, it’s always a good time.

Recently, some people have started to refer to some of these co-op games as “friendslop” in an effort to discredit them. People say they are unfinished and unpolished. I think that misses the point. Not every game has hundreds of staff and millions of dollars backing it. Many of these games are from solo developers, and I think there are more important things to consider. Did I have fun? Yes. Was it worth ten dollars? Absolutely. Does it have great graphics? Maybe not. Does it have more heart and soul than the most recent big budget flop? Yes. These creators have capitalized on the realization that the people are what make playing games with friends amazing. Give us a minigame, some funny hats, and proximity chat and we’re off to the races.

So, I thought I would make a case for some of my favorite friendslop.

Peak

Climb to the top of the mountain and always bring Bing Bong. That is a pretty straightforward goal, but Peak makes it anything but easy. Weather effects slow your ascent as your food supply dwindles. Combining your stamina, your health, and negative debuffs in one bar is honestly brilliant game design. It’s harder to climb when you’re hurt, hungry, and freezing. Emotes and proximity chat are everything you need to yell at your friend when they throw a coconut at you. The combination of comedy and a challenging puzzle is spot on. A game that doesn’t take itself very seriously yet delivers a great product is very refreshing. In a recent post, developers of Peak defended their game after being accused of using AI, saying, “We might be slop, but we’re human-made locally-sourced artisanal slop.” They know what’s up.

R.E.P.O.

A little spooky, a little silly, and a little chaotic. Survive as long as you can gathering valuable materials and avoiding monsters. Collect your friends’ robot heads when they die to respawn them at the next point. REPO’s upgrade system creates a perfect transition from running away as a useless robot to standing and fighting the monsters that used to bully you around. Watching the one surviving player dodge death and bring everyone back is so much fun. Being the one surviving player on the other hand…The “play until you lose” style of REPO might surprise some people, as of right now you can’t win, but I think it’s perfect. If everyone needs to head to bed, no worries, find the nearest monster, die, and you get a fun minigame! No progress is lost because no progress is saved. Maybe next time you’ll make it farther. The point is to have fun. And to hear your friends screaming from the other room as you gently put a vase in the cart. You should probably hide. You will never have a boring time.

Years later, I will probably remember these unspectacular games better than the “good” story-rich single player games because of the shared experiences they’ve helped create. And I don’t mind trying a new one every now and then. You’re telling me I can spend maybe ten dollars on Sledding Game when it comes out and chill with my friends as a frog with a cool hat and sunglasses and do sick tricks? Maybe we only play it once; maybe we play twenty times. Either way, an evening of laughing with my friends sounds like a good deal to me.

Nathan Hilbrands

Nathan Hilbrands (’21) graduated with degrees in geography and environmental health and conservation. He is currently working for the Allegan Conservation District as a watershed technician. He enjoys collecting National Geographic issues that he rarely looks at again, playing disc golf a lot without improving, and trying new board games.