What makes Chained Together work
Released by Anegar Games in June 2024, Chained Together puts up to four players on a chain and asks them to climb out of hell. It blew up on Steam and on streams for a simple reason: failure is shared. When you fall, it’s rarely only your fault, and it’s never only your problem.
So when we looked for "games like Chained Together" we used three tests, not just "it’s a platformer":
- Shared stakes: your mistakes affect your friends, not just you.
- Vertical progress that can be lost: height is the score, and a fall really costs you.
- Physics you can’t fully control: the comedy comes from the moments when it goes wrong.
Not every pick hits all three. We say which ones each game does, so you can pick for your group.
The list
PEAK
A co-op climbing game in which a group of lost scouts tries to climb a mountain together. Released on Steam in June 2025 and coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Switch 2. Multiplayer is friends-only with proximity chat, and there is an offline solo mode.
Why it's here: It’s the most direct "climb a mountain together" game out there. Your friends are your rope: you help each other up, share supplies and pay for each other’s mistakes.
Bread & Fred
Two penguins tied together by a rope climb a snowy mountain. You can swing on the rope, haul your partner up after you, or catch them when they fall. It came out on PC in 2023 and has since reached Switch, PlayStation and Xbox.
Why it's here: It’s the closest match for the "tied to your friend" mechanic, made for exactly two people. Reviewers found the solo mode much weaker, so bring a partner.
Drive UP: Together
A co-op climbing game built on a proper driving simulation. Up to eight friends drive the same route up a mountain of planks barely wider than your axles, near-vertical ramps and the insides of giant pipes. There are no checkpoints: fall off and you start again from the bottom.
Every car is solid, so the same controls let you be the bridge (park across a gap so a friend drives over you), the engine (push someone over a ledge no single car can clear) or the problem (tap a bumper one wheel from the summit).
Why it's here: It takes the Chained Together idea, shared stakes on a long vertical climb, and swaps the chain for car physics and solid bodies. Nobody is tied to you, but you can only get over many gaps by pushing, bridging or rescuing each other. And with eight players, there are more people to blame.
Pogostuck: Rage With Your Friends
A precision climber where you bounce up a vertical map on a pogo stick, with other players climbing the same mountain alongside you. Its "Tethered To Your Friends" mode links 2–16 players together with a rubber band.
Why it's here: The tethered mode is the nearest thing to a big-group Chained Together, and the base game is a serious "fall and lose everything" climb.
Human: Fall Flat
A physics puzzle-platformer about wobbly, floppy characters. Online lobbies have room for eight players, who can work through the levels together.
Why it's here: It’s less punishing than Chained Together, but it has the same "we’re all holding on to each other and it’s going badly" comedy, and it runs well with big groups.
Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy
A man in a pot climbs a mountain with a sledgehammer. Released in 2017, it’s still the reference for "one slip and you lose an hour of progress".
Why it's here: It isn’t co-op, but it’s the origin of the kind of punishment Chained Together uses. It works best as a "pass the controller and watch" game.
Jump King
A knight climbs a vertical tower with a charge-and-release jump. Released in 2019. Nexile’s sequel, Jump King Quest, adds online multiplayer.
Why it's here: It shares the precise, unforgiving vertical climb. It’s for the friend in your group who keeps saying "one more try".
Ultimate Chicken Horse
A party platformer in which players build the level as they go: each round you place a trap or platform, then everyone tries to reach the flag.
Why it's here: It isn’t a climb, but it has the same betray-or-help tension. You build a route your friends can almost finish.
Totally Reliable Delivery Service
A ragdoll physics sandbox about delivering packages with unreliable bodies and even less reliable vehicles.
Why it's here: It’s lighter and sillier, with the same physics chaos and friendship stress. Good for a night when your group isn’t ready for a punishing climb.
Quick comparison
| Game | Players | Shared stakes | Lose progress on a fall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chained Together | 1–4 | Chained | Yes |
| PEAK | Up to 4 | Team survival | Run-based |
| Bread & Fred | 2 | Roped | Yes |
| Drive UP: Together | 1–8 | Solid cars: push, bridge, betray | Yes, no checkpoints |
| Pogostuck | Online, up to 16 | Tethered mode | Yes |
| Human: Fall Flat | Up to 8 | Grab and carry | Mild |
| Getting Over It | 1 | No | Yes |
| Jump King | 1 | No | Yes |
How to pick
Two of you? Bread & Fred is built for exactly that. Three or four? PEAK is the obvious next step. Five to eight? Most games on this list cap out at four, which is a big reason we made Drive UP: Together for up to eight. If you want maximum pain with no co-op at all, Getting Over It and Jump King are the classics. For a full rundown of big-lobby games, see our 8-player co-op guide.
Bring the whole group
Drive UP: Together is on Steam for 1–8 players. The free demo is the quickest way to find out who in your group is the bridge and who is the problem.
FAQ
What is Chained Together?
Chained Together is a co-op platformer from Anegar Games, released on Steam on June 19, 2024. Up to four players are chained to each other and have to climb out of hell together, so one bad jump can pull the whole group down.
What is the closest game to Chained Together?
For the "tied to a friend" mechanic, Bread & Fred (two penguins on a rope) is the closest. For a group climb where falling costs a lot of progress, try PEAK (up to 4 players) or Drive UP: Together (up to 8 players, no checkpoints).
Are there games like Chained Together for more than 4 players?
Yes. Drive UP: Together supports 1–8 players online, Human: Fall Flat supports up to 8 online, and Pogostuck’s "Tethered To Your Friends" mode links 2–16 players with a rubber band.
Can I play games like Chained Together solo?
Most of these are built for groups but have a solo option: Chained Together lets you host with one player, PEAK has an offline single-player mode, and Drive UP: Together is playable solo. Getting Over It and Jump King are single-player by design.