Best Join/Leave Anytime Games

Terraria looks like a 2D, lesser version of Minecraft.

Terraria looks like a 2D, lesser version of Minecraft. However, this is a game every bit as complex and creative as the better-known block-building game.

Halo is the longstanding sci-fi shooting video game series that started when Halo: Combat Evolved launched alongside the Xbox in 2001.

Halo is the longstanding sci-fi shooting video game series that started when Halo: Combat Evolved launched alongside the Xbox in 2001. The franchise has featured on every Xbox platform since then, with Halo 5: Guardians serving as the latest entry in the series on Xbox One.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is the latest in a series of Star Wars-themed games where you run, jump, break and build worlds made of Lego.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is the latest in a series of Star Wars-themed games where you run, jump, break and build worlds made of Lego. You work your way through all nine of the Star Wars films unlocking new locations and characters as you go.

Apico is a simulation game where you play a beekeeper and conservationist.

Apico is a simulation game where you play a beekeeper and conservationist. You explore environments, breed rare bees and release them into the wild while growing your business.

Cuphead is a running, jumping and shooting game that looks like an old Mickey Mouse cartoon.

Cuphead is a running, jumping and shooting game that looks like an old Mickey Mouse cartoon. You play on your own or with someone else and work across the screen, jumping gaps, shooting enemies and avoiding projectiles.

Chicory: A Colorful Tale is an adventure where you play an everyday dog thrust into the role of wielding a magic brush.

Chicory: A Colorful Tale is an adventure where you play an everyday dog thrust into the role of wielding a magic brush. The world starts black and white but you colour it in with your paintbrush to solve puzzles and help your animal friends.

Lego City: Undercover offers an open world to explore.

Lego City: Undercover offers an open world to explore. While most Lego games have an open-world element in at least some areas, this one keeps play open throughout so that children can enjoy exploring at their own pace.

Skylanders uses toy figures to unlock characters and save progress.

Skylanders uses toy figures to unlock characters and save progress. It is no longer manufactured but can be found second-hand quite cheaply and is a lot of fun for young players, particularly when played in cooperative two-player mode.

Starlink: Battle for Atlas is a space exploration and battle game.

Sea of Stars is an adventure role-play game about two children of the solstice.

Sea of Stars is an adventure role-play game about two children of the solstice. It combines turn-based combat, storytelling, exploration and interactions with the environment all in a pixel art style.

Palworld is a role-play game where you befriend and collect creatures in a vast open world.

Palworld is a role-play game where you befriend and collect creatures in a vast open world. It takes the Pokemon formula in an open-world survival (and gun-touting) direction.

Affordable Space Adventures is a communication shooting game where you work to pilot a diminutive spacecraft through a hostile environment.

Affordable Space Adventures is a communication shooting game where you work to pilot a diminutive spacecraft through a hostile environment. One player uses the Wii U game tablet to control engines, power and shields.

Wobbly Life is a lively open-world game where you explore an island with your friends to find quests, mini-games and earn money.

Wobbly Life is a lively open-world game where you explore an island with your friends to find quests, mini-games and earn money. Play involves finding jobs to do, earning money and buying lots of everyday things - but the real play is around the edges of all this.

Big Walk is a traversal game where you head into a wide-open world with online friends.

Big Walk is a traversal game where you head into a wide-open world with online friends. You decide where to go together by following your nose while taking on challenges, puzzles and making discoveries.

Young Souls is a side-on fighting game about two drop-out teenagers whose mentor disappears.

Young Souls is a side-on fighting game about two drop-out teenagers whose mentor disappears. Gameplay is divided into two distinct worlds: the modern human world and a dark, twisted world of goblins and monsters.

Cassette Beasts is a turn-based collecting and battling game where you use retro cassette tapes to transform your character into different creatures.

Cassette Beasts is a turn-based collecting and battling game where you use retro cassette tapes to transform your character into different creatures. It's similar to Pokemon.

Minecraft is an open-world adventure where you collect, craft and construct structures and items.

Minecraft is an open-world adventure where you collect, craft and construct structures and items. Play involves exploring the world to find resources and good locations to build.

Pile Up is a running and jumping game where up to four of your play as boxes.

Pile Up is a running and jumping game where up to four of your play as boxes. You run (slide) and jump around the level and need to jump gaps, open doors and solve puzzles to progress.

LittleBigPlanet 3 is part of a series of action platform games starring the Sackboy character.

LittleBigPlanet 3 is part of a series of action platform games starring the Sackboy character. They offer a multiplayer running and jumping adventure but also enable players to substantially edit their character and eventually make their own levels.

Lego, a popular film franchise and a video game is a rich recipe for gaming fun.

Lego, a popular film franchise and a video game is a rich recipe for gaming fun. The series of Lego games has been developed since the first release on Nintendo DS.

Ark: Survival Evolved is an adventure simulation game that offers hunting-and-harvesting gameplay in a primal setting.

Ark: Survival Evolved is an adventure simulation game that offers hunting-and-harvesting gameplay in a primal setting. Although not as polished or streamlined as a game like Horizon Zero Dawn, this is a more ambitiously open world where you can choose your own way to survive.

PAW Patrol Mighty Pups Save Adventure Bay is a running, jumping and exploration game.

PAW Patrol Mighty Pups Save Adventure Bay is a running, jumping and exploration game. It expands this platforming action towards a full 3D world while keeping accessibility focused on younger players.

Astroneer is an open-world space adventure where you colonize planets by creating habitable structures, farming and mining resources.

Astroneer is an open-world space adventure where you colonize planets by creating habitable structures, farming and mining resources. There is no specific story, although the challenges of each planet give rise to struggles of achievement to placate the wild landscape.

Trollhunters: Defenders of Arcadia is a running and jumping game in the world of Trollhunters.

Trollhunters: Defenders of Arcadia is a running and jumping game in the world of Trollhunters. You play Jim Lake Jr.

Human Fall Flat is a movement platform game with rag-doll characters.

Human Fall Flat is a movement platform game with rag-doll characters. You run, jump and solve puzzles with your elastic character, either on your own or with another player.

Ben 10: Power Trip is an open-world action game where you run, jump and explore to save the day.

Ben 10: Power Trip is an open-world action game where you run, jump and explore to save the day. It's simple platforming and brawling that you can play alone or in split-screen more with another player as Kevin Levin.

Super Mario Galaxy is a running, jumping and exploration game that takes Mario to hundreds of different planet-shaped levels as you race to save Princess Peach from Bowser's claws.

Super Mario Galaxy is a running, jumping and exploration game that takes Mario to hundreds of different planet-shaped levels as you race to save Princess Peach from Bowser's claws. It stands out for the way the mind-bending physics and ever-changing gravity add a new twist to the classic platforming play.

Moonglow Bay is a role play game where you play a rookie angler.

Moonglow Bay is a role play game where you play a rookie angler. Unlike other slice-of-life games, fishing isn't tucked away as a side quest here, it's front and centre.

Viva Pinata is a strategy garden simulation where you tend and care for 60 different piñata animals.

Viva Pinata is a strategy garden simulation where you tend and care for 60 different piñata animals. Play involves interacting with the Pinata themselves, but also creating the right environment to attract new creatures and helping them thrive.

Super Mario 3D World (known as Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury on the Switch) is a platform game you can play with up to 4-players in the same place.

Super Mario 3D World (known as Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury on the Switch) is a platform game you can play with up to 4-players in the same place. While all Mario games are good for families, this cooperative and competitive play makes it great for families and friends to play together.

Totally Reliable Delivery Service is a package delivery game, where you use different means to get parcels to their rightful owners within the time limit.

Totally Reliable Delivery Service is a package delivery game, where you use different means to get parcels to their rightful owners within the time limit. The characters and game world simulates (and exaggerates) real physics, that you have to work with to get around, pick up things and use the variety of vehicles on offer.

Starbound is an action-adventure game from the developer of Terraria about the exploration of space.

Starbound is an action-adventure game from the developer of Terraria about the exploration of space. It's a world viewed from side-on, with simple visuals that enable it to offer complex systems and hundreds of items for players to discover their own adventures.

Wildmender is a world-building game where you unearth the past in the desert.

Wildmender is a world-building game where you unearth the past in the desert. Play involves exploring to discover what has gone before, so you can restore the environment for your future.

The Smurfs Mission Vileaf is an exploration running, jumping and shooting game.

The Smurfs Mission Vileaf is an exploration running, jumping and shooting game. You battle the wizard Gargamel to free imprisoned Smurfs and return the sarsaparilla fields to health.

Crashlands is a world-building game where you fight monsters, craft resources, and build a base on an alien planet.

Crashlands is a world-building game where you fight monsters, craft resources, and build a base on an alien planet. As you explore, either on your own or with a friend, you encounter locals, complete quests and missions, and meet strange new enemies.