First released in June 2025, the unique co-op shooter came to Switch in December, bringing an unlikely mix of combat and match-3 puzzles together for one of the best multiplayer games of the year. At first glance, you could mistake Popucom for Splatoon, another great game that turns typical shooter tropes on their head. Where Splatoon is a competitive battle for control of its stages, Popucom is cooperative, with up to four players working together across a series of extremely clever platforming stages. It’s been a good year for multiplayer games in 2025, with intriguing newcomers like Peak finding popularity alongside more popular mainstays. Popucom deserves to be recognized among the best multiplayer games around, with its original combination of genres making it the most surprising co-op game I’ve played all year.