Last year's explosion of 'friendslop' games inspired by Peak's phenomenal success may be a recession indicator, but I'm still here for it: I love seeing indie developers focusing on small, cheap, creative games built around the idea of hanging with the pals. But the game industry's tendency to pile onto a promising trend does mean that if you go looking for a new co-op game on Steam, the selection is likely to be dominated by what's been most successful in the last couple years. Lo-fi 3D games riffing on Peak; survival crafting; roguelike mechanics slapped onto anything from gambling to cowboys to Dark Souls.
I've got nothing against those games, but they don't get me gassed up the way finding a purer—and if I'm being totally honest, more old-fashioned—form of Discord hangout game does: the linear, 7/10 co-op first-person shooter.
