Co-op Mobile Games

Badland

Badland, screenshot from its App Store listing
Badland, HypeHype Oy. Image from the game's App Store listing.

Can two people play Badland on one screen?

Yes. Up to 4 players can play Badland co-op on one iPad: same screen or two controllers.

A side-scrolling flyer through a dark forest full of saws and traps. Up to four share one screen, and in co-op you nurse a swarm of clones through together.

How you play together

  • Shared touchscreen
  • Two controllers
  • Controller and touch

Shared touch, controllers, or a mix of both.

How to start co-op in Badland

  1. Choose co-op in the main menu.
  2. No controllers needed: one player taps the left side of the screen, the other the right side.
  3. Controllers work too, one per player.

The details

Same screen, both at once
Yes
Split screen
No
Pass the device, taking turns
No
Two controllers on one device
Yes
Same mode on Android
Yes
Online, a device each
No
Players together
2 to 4
Controllers
Full controller support

Worth knowing

Badland 2 does not have the same mode. Its listing only mentions online events. Last updated in 2022.

Our review

We love Badland. It is easy to get into, intuitive yet fun, and not an expensive game. It is something we can easily come back to.

The graphics are absolutely beautiful. And even though it seems so simple at first sight, just looking at the preview images, it is incredibly fun.

In co-op you more or less have to keep the same speed. So it works best when both players have a similar level of experience and skill. Otherwise one player ends up dying a lot more than the other.

That said, the constant cloning also lets you bring the other player back to life. There are plenty of chances to revive each other, so it feels collaborative all the time.

Co-op is quite straightforward: you pick it in the main menu. And the interesting part is that you do not need controllers at all. One player taps the left side of the screen, the other the right side. Really cool.

Another neat feature if you play with someone less experienced: you can skip some of the difficult parts.

Badland co-op: a swarm of fluffy clones from two players crowds under a swinging spiked log in a golden forest
Two players flying their clones past giant spinning blades in Badland, one swarm with yellow eyes, the other orange
1 / 2

Screenshots taken by us while playing. Badland, developed and published by Frogmind, now HypeHype.

Where this comes from

We played it ourselves.

  • Publisher stated
    Local multiplayer for up to four players on the same device
    a highly original local multiplayer mode for up to four players on the same deviceapps.apple.com
  • Publisher stated
    Up to four on one device, with touch or controllers
    Supports up to four players playing with the same device either with touches or controllersapps.apple.com
  • Publisher stated
    Versus for up to four on one device
    VERSUS mode for up to four players on the same device in 30+ levelsitunes.apple.com
  • Publisher stated
    Co-op for up to four
    COOPERATIVE mode for up to four playersitunes.apple.com
  • Community reported
    Corner controls
    Each player is given their own corner of the screen to control creatures of a certain color.pocketgamer.com

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