A Way Out is a thrilling cooperative action adventure game in which two players have the task of escaping prison and surviving while on the run. The game, released in 2018, is played from a third-person PoV and has a split screen mode that shows both players’ perspectives at all times.
Games Like A Way Out has uber-realistic graphics and gameplay that relies heavily on teamwork. In addition to the main game, Games Like A Way Out offers some interesting minigames.
This cross-platform action adventure game was an instant hit — but if you liked it, you’ll eventually get bored and want to explore brand new worlds. What games like Games Like A Way Out might catch your attention?
A Way Out Game Features
 Release Date: | March 23, 2018 |
 Developer: | Hazelight Studios |
 Publisher: | Electronic Arts |
 Platforms: | Microsoft Windows PlayStation 4 Xbox One |
 Genre: | Action-adventure |
 Setting: | Real World |
 Game Modes: | Multiplayer |
1. Grand Theft Auto V
Grand Theft Auto V won’t have escaped your attention, even if you’ve never played this famous open-world action adventure game. Played from either a third- or first-person PoV, the game’s singleplayer mode follows three protagonists on their crime-ridden adventures.
Grand Theft Auto V is a blast when you’re playing solo, but if you’re looking for cooperative games like A Way Out, GTA5’s cooperative multiplayer mode will scratch your itch. Just like A Way Out, Grand Theft Auto V offers cool activities that are basically minigames, and you’ll have lots of missions to choose from as you explore the massive open world on foot and in a variety of vehicles and battle countless foes with guns and melee attacks.
Have you still not checked Grand Theft Auto V out after all these years? Now’s the perfect time!
- Developer: Rockstar North
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
- Release Date: September 2013
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, 4, & 5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S
2. Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine
Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine is a stealth game played from a top-down perspective. Although there’s a singleplayer mode, gamers looking for cooperative games like A Way Out will be able to enjoy this game, which has you committing heists and robberies, in parties of up to four players.
Each of the eight playable characters has a unique skill set, with distinctive pros and cons, to allow every player to choose the play style that works best for them. After you select your character, you and your team are invited to complete the game’s four main campaigns. Team work isn’t optional, and if one of your teammates dies, you’ll have to do what it takes to revive them.
Although Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine has a very different vibe than A Way Out, you definitely won’t have any trouble getting excited about the mission and the mechanics.
- Developer: Pocketwatch Games
- Publisher: Pocketwatch Games
- Release Date: April 2013
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch
3. Portal 2
A Way Out players who really enjoyed the puzzle elements of the game can dive straight into Portal 2. Released in 2011, this now classic game is still going strong. You’ll have to solve puzzles, create portals, and advance through the map as you get to the bottom of the game’s well-developed narrative.
You can play Portal 2 solo, but if you’re after a coop experience, Portal 2 has a split screen mode you can play locally or online. If you go this route, you’ll each control a different character. Although your portals have different colors, both players can use all of the portals. Portal 2’s coop mode offers a real challenge that you’ll want to take on over and over again.
- Developer: Valve
- Publisher: Valve
- Release Date: April 2011
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3
4. The Escapists 2
The Escapists 2 is a strategy-based role-playing game that calls on players to escape increasingly challenging prisons. You’ll have to gather the right materials and plot your escape without catching the guards’ attention — and once you get the hang of the game, you can try to get an A+ criminal record by breaking out of every single prison in all possible ways.
You can play The Escapists 2 in singleplayer, or compete against others, but some escapes rely on multiple inmates to escape together as well.
The Escapists 2 has simple graphics and a top-down perspective — enough to put some A Way Out players off, but if you’re hungry for another prison escape game, it’ll be right up your alley.
- Developer: Mouldy Toof Studios, Team17
- Publisher: Team17
- Release Date: August 2017
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, iOS, Android
5. As Dusk Falls
If you’re up for something a little different, try As Dusk Falls — an exciting narrative adventure game that centers around the Walker family and the Holt brothers. You’re in a car crash, and things take a strange turn from there.
As Dusk Falls is an unusual game, and if you’re an action junkie, you won’t enjoy it much. The game’s multiplayer mode will take you on a wild ride as every decision players make impact the outcome of the story, though, and you’ll have to agree on the next steps to take.
As Dusk Falls was just released in 2022, and will give you something interesting to play around with if you’ve tried nearly all of the older games on this list.
- Developer: Interior Night
- Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
- Release Date: July 2022
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox X/S
6. Outward: Definitive Edition
Outward is an action adventure RPG in which the player character is shipwrecked — stopping them from paying an ancient blood debt that the rest of their family will now be saddled with. Players have to keep a very close eye on all of their stats — hunger, health, warmth, and fatigue, among others — because Outward has an autosave feature that prevents players from rolling the game back if something goes wrong.
NPC quests can have unpredictable outcomes, making the game all the more interesting, especially if it’s not your first run. If you’re after a fun multiplayer experience, Outward: Definitive Edition will keep you busy in a gorgeous world with realistic graphics.
- Developer: Nine Dots
- Publisher: Deep Silver
- Release Date: March 2019
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, Stadia
7. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands is a first-person shooter in which you explore a massive and responsive open world with a party of up to three players.
Set in an increasingly turbulent version of modern-day Bolivia, have to survive the brutally hot landscape as well as all the foes that are trying to take you down. As a member of an elite special operations force, you’ll have to level your skills and equipment up to stay alive long enough to complete your mission.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands does have a solo version, but AIs take the place of real-life teammates in this case — it’s obvious that this game was designed to be played together. If you and your mates get bored of the game’s cooperative mode, you can always battle each other, because Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands also offers a competitive mode.
- Developer: Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft Milan
- Publisher: Ubisoft
- Release Date: March 2017
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Stadia
8. Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is a 2015 space shooter game that you can enjoy solo or with up to four teammates. If you go for the game’s coop mode, each gamer will control a different part of the spaceship. As you fight your enemies, you can collect loot to upgrade your ship. Each phase of the game culminates in a challenging boss fight, and you’ll have to work together to win.
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is a great game to play if you’re fed up with ultra-realistic gore and real-world scenarios. The game’s popping graphics are easy on the game, and although Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is simple to play, it offers a nice challenge.
- Developer: Asteroid Base
- Publisher: Asteroid Base
- Release Date: October 2017
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
9. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is an adventure game in which two brothers set off on a dangerous journey to rescue their mother. It’s a singleplayer game, but it’s like A Way Out in that you have to control both of the characters indvidually, making use of each one’s unique strengths.
The gameplay relies on problem-solving, so puzzle lovers will be in for a treat. In addition to completing your main mission, you’ll have to guide the brothers as they help NPCs they meet along their journey.
Fail, and you’ll be sent right back to your previous checkpoint. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is the perfect game for A Way Out fans who are looking for something to do without any friends around, as you still get a coop feel from the game mechanics.
- Developer: Starbreeze Studios
- Publisher: 505 Games
- Release Date: August 2013
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
10. Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed
Are you looking for a brand new open-world action adventure game that can be singleplayer or multiplayer? Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed might be just what you’re after. This fun game, with equally entertaining graphics, is set in the 1960s. It’s the height of the Cold War, and some creepy aliens are furious with the KGB. What happens next is up to you, so long as you manage to level your stats, gear, and vehicles up.
Players can choose between stealth mode and open battle, and if you play Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed in cooperative mode, you and your teammate will be able to follow each other’s actions through the split-screen system already familiar to you from A Way Out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl8fokvSrTw
- Developer: Black Forest Games
- Publisher: THQ Nordic
- Release Date: August 2022
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S
11. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
If surviving on the run is what you love most about A Way Out, and you wouldn’t mind branching out to play with more gamers, you might enjoy Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This famous first-person shooter game features a total of nine challenging game modes. Competitive mode is the go-to, and this mode has two teams of five fight to the death.
Should you have what it takes to make it to the next round, you’ll be rewarded with currency that allows you to upgrade your equipment and weapons. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is addictive — once you start, you’ll want to work to get better.
- Developer: Valve, Hidden Path Entertainment
- Publisher: Valve
- Release Date: September 2014
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Linux, PlayStation 3
12. Unravel Two
Unravel Two is a shockingly cute puzzle platform adventure game that you can play in singleplayer, or in local coop mode with a friend. You’ll be playing as a Yarny lost at sea. When you unexpectedly meet a buddy Yarny, you connect and set off on an epic journey.
You can expect a ton of adventure and challenging quests in a beautiful world with amazing artwork. This game features a bunch of interesting minigames and trials, and it’s perfect for any gamer who wants to play a challenging game in a whimsical setting.
- Developer: Coldwood Interactive
- Publisher: Electronic Arts
- Release Date: June 2018
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
13. We Were Here
We Were Here is a series of four cooperative adventure games played from a first-person perspective. Jump into any of them if you’re done with A Way Out and you’d love another cooperative game to play with a friend. Whether you pick We Were Here, We Were Here Too, We Were Here Together, or We Were Here Forever (just released in 2022), you’ll heavily have to rely on teamwork as you try to solve the puzzles the game as in store for you.
You and your friend will be separated into different rooms, forced to communicate with walkie-talkies to get to the bottom of each mystery. The We Were Here series has beautiful artwork and a wonderfully atmospheric soundtrack, too.
- Developer: Total Mayhem Games
- Publisher: Total Mayhem Games
- Release Date: February 2017
- Platform: Steam OS, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S
14. It Takes Two
Released in 2021, It Takes Two is a beautiful action adventure platform game that’s just right for you if you were after another split-screen cooperative game. It Takes Two features platform elements. Players take on the roles of May and Cody, a couple whose daughter doesn’t want them to get divorced. After becoming trapped in the child’s dolls, they have to work together to find their way back to their bodies and their daughter.
In addition to the game’s main plot, which leaves players with no choice but to work together to succeed, It Takes Two has a great selection of minigames that will keep you entertained.
- Developer: Hazelight Studios
- Publisher: Electronic Arts
- Release Date: March 2021
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, Nintendo Switch
15. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is another fun cross-platform cooperative game that needs to be played with at least two players. You and your friends are trapped in a room with a ticking time bomb. You’ll have to work fast to defuse it — but to be successful, you’ll need backup.
One player will be disarming the bomb, while the rest of the team act as experts who offer instructions. Don’t think you’ll get off that easy, because once you’re done with one bomb, there’s a whole series waiting for you!
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes relies on quick wits and demands cooperation — because unless you keep talking, the bomb will go off!
- Developer: Steel Crate Games
- Publisher: Steel Crate Games
- Release Date: July 2015
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Oculus Quest
16. Borderlands 3
A Way Out players who are hungry for more action are bound to enjoy Borderlands 3, an action RPG and first-person shooter that you can play in parties of up to four. The game is set on an alien planet once home to a mysterious civilization — and of course, you’ll be finding out what treasures they left behind.
Take on exciting NPC quests to gain experience and loot, and gradually level up your skill tree. Players choose their class at the start of a run, and will be able to pick up new weapons from the loot chests randomly distributed across the map.
- Developer: Gearbox Software
- Publisher: 2K
- Release Date: September 2019
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, MacOS, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, Nintendo Switch, Stadia
17. Labyrinthine
Labyrinthine is a gorgeous coop horror game currently in early access. Play this game, which has plenty of mystery and puzzle elements, in a party of up to four (if you dare). Gather the resources you need to advance and get to the bottom of the mystery of the maze, and try to escape the horrific monsters you’ll encounter along the way.
- Developer: Valko Game Studios
- Publisher: Valko Games Studios
- Release Date: October 2020
- Platform: Microsoft Windows
18. Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Are you up for some more action in a world reminiscent of A Way Out? Try Halo: The Master Chief Collection to get yourself all of the Halo titles, and go for the split-screen coop mode to beat all four campaigns with your friends, locally or online.
The best thing? When your friends aren’t around, Halo offers a satisfying singleplayer experience as well, and you’ll be able to boost your skills for your next run with your mates.
- Developer: 343 Industries
- Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
- Release Date: November 2014
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox X/S
19. Sea of Thieves
Sea of Thieves is an action adventure multiplayer game inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean. Raid ships, scout the massive open world, and battle your foes with a crew of friends as you upgrade your ship — but be careful, because enemies are never far away, and they’re out for blood!
- Developer: Rare
- Publisher: Microsoft Studios
- Release Date: March 2018
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox X/S
20. Payday 2
Payday 2 is an action-packed cooperative first-person shooter game in which you and your friends are about to go on a grand heisting spree. Choose which missions you want to accept, and then go on a killing spree or try to get the job done in stealth mode instead to avoid triggering the alarm.
Each heist results in a handsome payday, and you’ll use the loot to upgrade your weapons and gear so the next heist will be even more successful.
All in all, Payday 2 is a fun game to play with your friends, and if you loved the action elements in A Way Out, you’ll enjoy this one, too.
- Developer: Overkill Software
- Publisher: 505 Games
- Release Date: August 2013
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, Linux, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
21. Hunt: Showdown
Hunt: Showdown is a cooperative multiplayer first-person shooter set in a beautifully-designed apocalyptic world dominated by infected foes.
You and your friends are bounty hunters with the job of tracking down and capturing the game’s terrifying bosses, with the game supporting parties of up to 12. Will you stick together or spread out to cover more ground? It’s all up to you.
If you don’t have time to play all afternoon, try the battle royale mode, which only takes 15 minutes.
- Developer: Crytek
- Publisher: Crytek, Koch Media
- Release Date: August 2019
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, Linux, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, PlayStation 4 & 5, Nintendo Switch
Games Like A Way Out: The Verdict
It’s hard to find games that have all the elements that make A Way Out so special, so you’ll have to settle for games with similar vibes. Fortunately, there are plenty of exciting and adventurous cooperative games.
Friend groups who are ready for another prison escape adventure should check The Escapists 2 out, while puzzle enthusiasts can’t go wrong with Portal 2. If you’re ready for a wide open world, go for Grand Theft Auto V.
Are you playing with just one other person? It Takes Two is a unique game that gets better with every run. If you’re flying solo, but still want that cooperative experience, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is perfect for you.
