Online play made distance irrelevant, but it also removed a kind of immediacy: the glance before a risky move, the celebration that shakes the couch, and the friendly argument that resolves before the next round.
Modern local multiplayer succeeds when it respects the room. Fast onboarding, readable split screens, flexible difficulty, and short restart loops let players with different experience levels share the same session.
Couch co-op is not nostalgia. It is a design choice that turns the television back into a gathering place—and reminds us that multiplayer can connect people who are already together.