Steam Features Every Gamer Should Know (Co-op & Cheap)

Steam is stuffed with tools most people scroll right past. Some of them save real money, some unlock free co-op, and a few decide whether a game runs on your handheld at all. Below are the Steam features every gamer should know, paired with the actual games that show each one off, so you can see the feature working instead of just reading about it.

Last updated: June 7, 2026. Prices checked: June 2026. Sources: Steam, Epic, publisher pages and partner stores. We refresh prices and sale notes regularly.

Best picks at a glance

• Best free feature flex: Human: Fall Flat via Remote Play Together (one owner, friends join free).
• Best cheap pick: Resident Evil 4 (2005), often under £4 and Steam Deck friendly.
• Best premium feature showcase: Planet Zoo, a Workshop deep enough to download for hours.
• Best for 2 players: Tekken 7 over Remote Play Together when only one of you owns it.
• Best for big groups: Rust, community servers and Workshop skins built for crowds.
• Best couch (local + Remote Play): Human: Fall Flat, shared screen or streamed to friends.
• Best cross-platform: Dead by Daylight, full crossplay across PC and consoles.
• Best co-op crossplay: Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, PC and Xbox in the same squad.

Quick list

Remote Play Together: the free co-op feature

This is the single most underused tool on Steam. Remote Play Together lets one person own a local or couch game and stream it to friends who join for free, controllers and all. It works for games that never shipped online netcode.

Human: Fall Flat is the poster child. One person buys it, up to a full lobby joins from anywhere, and you wobble through physics puzzles together. Player count sits at 1-8 online, and the host carries the cost.

Fighting fans get value here too. Tekken 7 and the cheaper TEKKEN 7 Originals Edition both stream cleanly to a second player, so two people can run a fight night with one library. Connection quality depends on the host's upload speed, so a wired connection helps.

Steam Workshop: free content that ages a game upward

The Workshop is built-in mod and content hosting. Subscribe to an item and it downloads automatically, no file shuffling required. For some games this is the whole reason they stay popular years after launch.

• Rust leans on the Workshop for skins and pairs it with thousands of community servers, so a 2026 session feels nothing like a 2018 one. It scales from solo grinding to 200-plus player wipes.
• Planet Zoo has one of the richest creative Workshops on Steam. Players upload entire habitats, buildings and scenery sets you can drop straight into a save. It is single player, so this lives here rather than any co-op section.

If builder and survival sandboxes are your thing, browse more in our simulation and indie picks and the full catalog.

Crossplay and co-op: play with everyone

Crossplay is the feature that decides whether your console friends can join your PC lobby. Steam exposes this clearly on store pages now, and several standout titles support it.

Crossplay-friendly

• Dead by Daylight runs full crossplay across PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch. The Stranger Things edition bundles licensed characters, and the 1v4 format (five players total) is the same wherever everyone logs in. For more scares, see our horror hub.
• Age of Empires IV connects PC and Xbox players in skirmishes and ranked, with matches up to 1-8.

Pure co-op (PvE)

• Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is 1-4 horde co-op with PC and Xbox crossplay, ideal for drop-in sessions when your group size is unpredictable.
• Killing Floor 2 holds up as a 1-6 wave shooter that goes on sale constantly, often under £9.
• Ready or Not is a tense tactical shooter for 1-5 players who like slow, deliberate breaches over run-and-gun.

Big-group multiplayer: community servers and self-hosting

Some Steam features only matter once your friend list grows. Community server browsers and dedicated hosting let large groups carve out their own space with custom rules.

• DayZ supports 1-60+ players per server and a thriving custom server scene, from hardcore PvP to roleplay. It runs on PC, PlayStation and Xbox.
• SCUM offers similar survival depth on PC with up to 64 players and plenty of rented servers to join or run.
• MORDHAU throws crowds into medieval melee, with large modes that thrive on full lobbies and a low entry cost when discounted.

Remote Play Together is the reason a group party can cost a single copy. For dedicated online games, everyone needs the game, so watch for sales (more on that below).

Single-player features: Cloud saves, refunds and Steam Deck

Not every Steam feature is about playing together. A few quietly protect your money and your progress.

• Steam Cloud syncs your saves so you can swap machines without losing anything. Slime Rancher and GTA IV both back up to the cloud, handy if you move between a desktop and a laptop.
• The refund policy is genuinely generous: under two hours played and owned for under 14 days, and you can request your money back. Treat a cheap Resident Evil 4 (2005) purchase as a low-risk way to test how a 2005 classic feels on modern hardware.
• Steam Deck Verified ratings tell you at a glance whether a game runs well on a handheld. Older, lighter titles like Resident Evil 4 (2005) tend to be excellent picks. Check the dedicated Steam Deck compatible list before you buy for a portable.

Best cross-platform picks

If your group is split across hardware, prioritise titles with real crossplay rather than ones that only share a brand. The safe bets above are Dead by Daylight (PC and all consoles), Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (PC and Xbox) and Age of Empires IV (PC and Xbox). Each keeps lobbies full because it is not locked to one platform's player base.

Honourable / adjacent picks

• GTA IV: single player only on Steam these days, so it sits here rather than in any co-op section. It earns a mention as proof that Steam keeps older releases playable with Cloud saves and ongoing compatibility patches.
• Slime Rancher: a relaxing solo farm-sim that shows off Cloud sync and Deck-friendly performance, but it is not a group game, so it stays adjacent to the multiplayer lists.
• Resident Evil 4 (2005): a single-player horror classic included to demonstrate cheap entry and great handheld support, not as a co-op pick.

FAQ

What is the most useful Steam feature most players ignore? Remote Play Together. It lets friends join a local or couch-only game online without buying their own copy, which turns titles like Human: Fall Flat and Tekken 7 into shared sessions for the price of one.

Do all players need to own the game for Remote Play Together? No. Only the host needs to own it. Everyone else streams the host's session for free, which is the whole point. For standard online multiplayer like Rust or Darktide, every player needs their own copy.

How does Steam Family Sharing work in 2026? Steam Families let you share your eligible library with other accounts in your household, with limits on simultaneous play of the same title. It is great for siblings or partners sharing single-player games, but it does not replace owning a copy for online co-op where you both want to play at once.

Can I get a refund if I do not like a game? Usually yes if you played under two hours and bought it under 14 days ago directly on Steam. Keys bought from partner stores follow that store's refund policy, so check it before buying. This makes a cheap test purchase like Resident Evil 4 (2005) very low risk.

Which games are best for crossplay between PC and console? Dead by Daylight (PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch), Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (PC, Xbox) and Age of Empires IV (PC, Xbox) all support real cross-platform play, so mixed-hardware groups can stay together.

Does the Steam Workshop cost anything? Most Workshop content is free to subscribe and downloads automatically. Games like Planet Zoo and Rust rely on it for community creations, which extends their lifespan well past launch at no extra cost.

How do I know if a game runs on Steam Deck? Look for the Steam Deck Verified or Playable badge on the store page. Lighter and older titles such as Resident Evil 4 (2005) tend to run beautifully. Our Steam Deck list tracks strong picks.

Where do I find the cheapest version of these games? Compare Steam against partner stores like Eneba, Kinguin, Epic and GOG. Prices swing a lot during sales, so check our deals page and the Steam sale tracker before you commit.

The bottom line

Learn the features and the games get cheaper and better at the same time. Remote Play Together cuts group costs to a single copy, crossplay keeps lobbies full, the Workshop adds free content for years, and Cloud saves plus the refund window protect you when you experiment. Pick the feature that fits how you play, then grab the matching game at its lowest price.

Browse the full price-comparison catalog to line up Steam against Eneba, Kinguin, Epic and GOG, and check current deals and our free giveaways before you buy. The feature is free. The smart price is up to you.

Alex, Scout Team