PS4, XBox One, & Nintendo Switch Games Video Game Newbies Can Use To Connect With Friends

So, you've decided to spend some of your social distancing time playing video games with friends, but you were never really a Fortnite fan? Well, these PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch games might be the cure for gamers of all experience levels. They'll help you connect with your gamer friends amid the coronavirus pandemic, thanks to co-op gameplay, which allows you to team up. All you and your pals need are one of these game systems and an internet connection. It's the safest form of social distancing and possibly, the most fun.

The list includes Minecraft, a few different Marios, and the new Animal Crossing game that is all over your Twitter timeline. (Brie Larson is a fan.) Not to mention more than one game that will let you laze away tilling your farm, sailing the seven seas, or riding horseback. Sounds kind of nice right now, doesn't it? So grab your controller and check out these 11 video games that are even better when played with friends.

Play it on: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One

The most popular game of the past decade is like digital Legos. Up to eight players can collaborate on a fantasy building project whether it's creating your own boxy world or making a to-scale version of real life sites that you can't visit right now like the Eiffel Tower or the Taj Mahal. You can also play mini-games together like Maze Escape and Minecraft's take on paintball. Just as exhilarating, way less painful.

Play it on: Nintendo Switch (there is also a phone app, but it's not nearly as robust)

If you know eight people with access to a Switch (two people can share the same console, FYI), you can go for the gold on that Rainbow Road. Pro tip: keep an eye on that friend who keeps leaving banana peels around every turn.

Play it on: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One

Try and outrun Jason Voorhees in this video game based on the slasher classic. The twist here is, you or one of your friends (up to seven) plays as the hockey mask-wearing killer himself. Hopefully, you really will be right back after playing this one.

Play it on: Nintendo Switch

In the latest installment of the video simulation game, you sail to a deserted island where you can start building a home for yourself, complete with anthropomorphic animals. Choose online play and up to eight people can fly to your island or you can catch a flight to theirs.

Play it on: Xbox One

If the pirate's life is the life for you and three of your friends, then get ready to set sail on search for treasure. Just watch out for other pirates trying to steal your booty.

Play it on: PS4, Xbox One

Don't have your sea legs? Form a posse with up to four to seven people and live your realest Lil Nas X fantasies in this Old West-set video game. Take that horse and complete a mission or roam the wide open spaces and clear your head.

Play it on: PS4, Xbox One

Sure, the title of this four-player survival game is pretty grim, but the game itself, which looks as if it was drawn by Edward Gorey, is actually a sweet take on what happens when we work together. In this case, it's trying to survive in a hostile world where it's better if everyone isn't just out for themselves.

Play it on: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One

For fans of the "Restaurant Wars" episodes of Top Chef, this game lets you play line cook with up to four other cooks who are figuring out how to get orders out on time. If you can't stand the heat, you might want to stay out of this kitchen.

You and up to TK friends can play OG level after level with Mario and his friends. It's an old school Super Mario party to save the Mushroom Kingdom.

Play it on: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One

Up to four players can defend a neon galaxy that has been described as "a Lisa Frank-style explosion of pink and cute animals flying through space," by Digital Trends. Sounds adorable.

Spend your days on the farm that you inherited from your grandfather in, you guessed it, Stardew Valley. In this simulation game, you can host your friends or go help your fellow farmer restore greatness to the valley. Sounds rather meditative, doesn't it?