1. Chained Together: When You Weave Your Own Noose
Steam Sale Status: 30% OFF (Approx. $3.50)
If you haven't lived under a rock during 2024 and 2025, you've definitely heard of Chained Together. The concept is simple: You and up to 3 friends are chained together and must climb out of the depths of hell. That's it.
Why it Ruins Friendships:
The problem is the unforgiving physics. If three of you make a perfect jump, but that "one" friend slips, their weight drags all of you down into the lava. This is where the screaming starts.
In this game, democracy does not exist. You must jump together, move together, and suffer together. All it takes is one person deciding to "troll" and jump off a ledge on purpose, and your entire hour of progress is gone in 3 seconds.
Stress Level: 10/10 (High risk of throwing the controller at the monitor)
2. Overcooked! All You Can Eat: The Kitchen That Smells Like Blood
Steam Sale Status: 60% OFF (Approx. $12.00)
The Look: Cute characters, raccoon chefs, cartoon tomatoes.
The Reality: Pure anxiety, crisis management, and endless yelling.
Why it Ruins Friendships:
In Overcooked, you have limited time to serve orders. But these aren't normal kitchens; sometimes you are cooking on two moving trucks, sometimes inside a volcano. The crisis begins when tasks aren't delegated properly.
"WHO IS WASHING THE PLATES?!"
"Why did you burn the tomato, you idiot?!"
"FIRE! The kitchen is on fire, where is the extinguisher?!"
This game strangely reveals your friends' true personalities. Who is the leader? Who crumbles under pressure? And who just spins in circles while everything burns?
Stress Level: 8/10 (Risk of losing your voice from screaming)
3. Helldivers 2: Democracy, Liberty, and "Accidental" Friendly Fire
Steam Sale Status: 40% OFF (Approx. $24.00)
You might ask, why is Helldivers 2, an action shooter, on this list? The answer is two words: Friendly Fire.
Why it Ruins Friendships:
In this game, your bullets and bombs hurt your friends just as much as they hurt the enemies. There is nothing more painful than being in the middle of an epic fight with space bugs, only for the screen to go black because your friend "accidentally" dropped a 500kg bomb right on your head.
Or when they deploy a Sentry Turret, and that blind machine decides to shoot through you to get to the enemy. The developers say these are "acceptable casualties for democracy," but your friend who just died for the 10th time might disagree!
Stress Level: 7/10 (Accompanied by nervous laughter)
4. Pico Park 2: The Ultimate Test of Coordination (and Betrayal)
Steam Sale Status: 20% OFF (Approx. $5.00)
The sequel to the minimalist platformer dropped this year, continuing the successful (and infuriating) formula. You are small cubic cats who must reach the exit door.
Why it Ruins Friendships:
The levels are designed so that if one person fails, everyone dies. There is no escape. Some levels require 8 people to press the jump button at the exact same millisecond.
If you have one person in your group with high ping or poor platforming skills, they become public enemy number one. The game emphasizes "perfect sync" so much that after losing 20 times, you start to wonder: are your friends sabotaging you on purpose, or can they really not press a single button?
Stress Level: 9/10 (Risk of awkward silence in Discord)
5. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes: Bomb Defusal or Brain Explosion?
Steam Sale Status: 50% OFF (Approx. $7.00)
This is the most unique entry. One person (The Defuser) sees the bomb but has no instructions. The other people (The Experts) have the manual (PDF) but cannot see the bomb. You must talk to defuse it.
Why it Ruins Friendships:
Everything relies on verbal communication.
"Cut the third wire!"
"What color is the third wire?"
"I don't know, it's blue but has a red stripe!"
"The manual says if it has a red stripe, DO NOT CUT IT!"
"Too late, I cut it..."
BOOM!
This game is pure stress. The timer ticks down faster, the background music gets intense, and your friends start stuttering. If you want to test how calm your partner or best friend is in a life-or-death situation, this is the ultimate test.
Stress Level: 9/10 (Real heart palpitations)
6. Verdict: Which One Should You Buy?
If you want physical comedy and laughs, Chained Together is the best budget pick of the year. If you want to challenge your strategy and management skills, Overcooked is the king of the genre. And if you want some action and explosions, do not miss Helldivers 2.
Just remember: It's only a game... (At least try to tell yourself that when your friend throws you off a cliff!).