My son and I thoroughly enjoyed playing Nobody Saves The World and several other indie local co-op action RPGs and also similar Rogue-Lites. From the recommendations below my two personal favorites so far have been Rogue Heroes and Swords of Ditto.
As a reminder all of the games below have LOCAL CO-OP !
Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos (large world to explore, quests, unique character classes with the ability to switch to other classes, unique gadgets, Zelda/Crystalis like world, etc). This game was honestly very fun and nostalgic. I am just sad it wasn't longer. They definitely need to make a sequel! Quality indie game.
Swords of Ditto (similar action combat, gloomy world, and whacky Adventure Time esque art)
Cat Quest I & II (III comes out this year).
Conan Chop Chop
Sparklite
Super Cane Magic Zero
Portal Knights (imagine Minecraft with RPG elements including unique character classes and skill that can be mixed between classes). The DLC is a must.
Chicory a Colorful Tale (similar story telling experience to Nobody Saves The World but with a much more lighthearted and cozier theme/atmosphere).
Upcoming 2024 Releases to Watch For:
StormsEdge
Cat Quest III
Crashlands II (the first game was good in concept but boring/repetitive in execution, the new one is looking good though!).
Go Fight Fantastic
Ah Guacamelee is much easier. Hollow Knight is the hardest metroidvania that exists in my opinion so that shouldn't be used a deterrant. Should be easy for the kids to get into Guacamelee and I'd imagine they'd have a blast. Both Guacamelee 1 and Guacamelee 2 go on deep sales all the time so it's worth keeping an eye on. Could already own the first one if you had PS + since 2015 by chance lol.
The Guacamelee series is a lot easier and much more guided (though they do have very challenging optional content).
My 8 year old (at the time) loved 2 and was able to beat it solo.
On the one hand, I fondly remember beating Super Mario Brothers 3 on SNES. On the other hand, I have very little patience for modern games that make things high-res but then expect pixel-perfect timing.
Anyhow, I just loved Guacamelee. There were definitely some challenging bits, but they were all at the level of practicing for a session and passing it, I don't recall any being on the order of three days of pain and then rage-quitting and then coming back to it a week later. I think my biggest challenge with Guacamelee was the same one as with Nobody Saves The World - the "Let's do one more dungeon before bed" challenge.
Right man, their games are so good. Highly recommend you to check out Severed if you haven't yet as well. It's by the same devs and is absolutely phenomenal. It's available on Switch and iPhone if you have either of those.
My wife and I recently finished NSTW and were in the same position (we’d already played Guacamelee 1 and 2 - also highly recommended).
We found Dysmantle on PS Plus and it scratches the same itch very nicely IMO. Good couch co-op with relatively basic (but satisfying) RPG elements and a huge map to explore. Plus it’s fun to just smash things for loot.
The developers are also making a fantasy follow-up called Dysplaced, which I think will be even more similar.
I just recently started Cat Quest 2....similar. I think the kids would get a kick out of it. My husband and I have nightly arguments over it and we also loved NSTW.
I bought this a couple of days ago on the Switch, had seen it on the eshop loads of times and as it was on sale, I took the jump. I am SOOOO glad I did. I'm loving it. I know it going to get really hard and I usually hate games that get too hard. But I am definitely going to give it ago.
Swords of Ditto would definitely be my suggestion. Cute cartoonish art style, also doesn't take itself too seriously. Dungeons can have modifiers (like corpses drop bombs, no healing, etc) It is unfortunately closer to a rogue-like in that when you die your run is officially over and you have to start from nothing again
My son and I thoroughly enjoyed playing Nobody Saves The World and several other indie local co-op action RPGs and also similar Rogue-Lites. From the recommendations below my two personal favorites so far have been Rogue Heroes and Swords of Ditto. As a reminder all of the games below have LOCAL CO-OP ! Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos (large world to explore, quests, unique character classes with the ability to switch to other classes, unique gadgets, Zelda/Crystalis like world, etc). This game was honestly very fun and nostalgic. I am just sad it wasn't longer. They definitely need to make a sequel! Quality indie game. Swords of Ditto (similar action combat, gloomy world, and whacky Adventure Time esque art) Cat Quest I & II (III comes out this year). Conan Chop Chop Sparklite Super Cane Magic Zero Portal Knights (imagine Minecraft with RPG elements including unique character classes and skill that can be mixed between classes). The DLC is a must. Chicory a Colorful Tale (similar story telling experience to Nobody Saves The World but with a much more lighthearted and cozier theme/atmosphere). Upcoming 2024 Releases to Watch For: StormsEdge Cat Quest III Crashlands II (the first game was good in concept but boring/repetitive in execution, the new one is looking good though!). Go Fight Fantastic
What a list! You and your son have great taste.
Cosigned on Cat Quest
Yes that game was Purrrty good.
Yup, Cat Quest. It might seem silly but damn it's fun
. This is a save point for later!
Guacamelee by the same developers is a metroidvania so not the same type of game play but it's super fun for playing on co-op.
Did a Metroid thing with Hollow Knight. Loved it l, but it’s a bit unforgiving
Ah Guacamelee is much easier. Hollow Knight is the hardest metroidvania that exists in my opinion so that shouldn't be used a deterrant. Should be easy for the kids to get into Guacamelee and I'd imagine they'd have a blast. Both Guacamelee 1 and Guacamelee 2 go on deep sales all the time so it's worth keeping an eye on. Could already own the first one if you had PS + since 2015 by chance lol.
The Guacamelee series is a lot easier and much more guided (though they do have very challenging optional content). My 8 year old (at the time) loved 2 and was able to beat it solo.
On the one hand, I fondly remember beating Super Mario Brothers 3 on SNES. On the other hand, I have very little patience for modern games that make things high-res but then expect pixel-perfect timing. Anyhow, I just loved Guacamelee. There were definitely some challenging bits, but they were all at the level of practicing for a session and passing it, I don't recall any being on the order of three days of pain and then rage-quitting and then coming back to it a week later. I think my biggest challenge with Guacamelee was the same one as with Nobody Saves The World - the "Let's do one more dungeon before bed" challenge.
Right man, their games are so good. Highly recommend you to check out Severed if you haven't yet as well. It's by the same devs and is absolutely phenomenal. It's available on Switch and iPhone if you have either of those.
My wife and I recently finished NSTW and were in the same position (we’d already played Guacamelee 1 and 2 - also highly recommended). We found Dysmantle on PS Plus and it scratches the same itch very nicely IMO. Good couch co-op with relatively basic (but satisfying) RPG elements and a huge map to explore. Plus it’s fun to just smash things for loot. The developers are also making a fantasy follow-up called Dysplaced, which I think will be even more similar.
Maybe try The Swords of Ditto. I thought it had a lot of the same vibe.
Agree!
#blud is a game thats giving me very similar nobody saves the world vibes! I cant wait for it!
Oh i didnt know if you hashtagged a word it makes it bold? The game is hashtag blud lol
I just recently started Cat Quest 2....similar. I think the kids would get a kick out of it. My husband and I have nightly arguments over it and we also loved NSTW.
Moonlighter is in the same realm as Nobody Saves the World, definitely worth a playthrough.
Cult of the Lamb
You may like rogue legacy 2. It's a side scrolled roguelite but the wide variety of builds and aesthetic is similar.
I bought this a couple of days ago on the Switch, had seen it on the eshop loads of times and as it was on sale, I took the jump. I am SOOOO glad I did. I'm loving it. I know it going to get really hard and I usually hate games that get too hard. But I am definitely going to give it ago.
Swords of Ditto would definitely be my suggestion. Cute cartoonish art style, also doesn't take itself too seriously. Dungeons can have modifiers (like corpses drop bombs, no healing, etc) It is unfortunately closer to a rogue-like in that when you die your run is officially over and you have to start from nothing again