Chained Beasts local co op allows one to four players to enter the gladiatorial arena tethered together on the same screen. Developed and published by Australian-New Zealand studio Featherweight Games, the top-down action roguelike forces teammates to coordinate their physical movement while slashing foes, hurling arena debris, and pleasing a bloodthirsty Roman crowd.
Whether playing the Steam demo or jumping into the full release, local play turns basic movement into a high-stakes balancing act between teamwork and chaotic slapstick.
Local Co-op Hardware Requirements and Setup
Before launching a local session, ensure your system meets the official hardware prerequisites. According to the game's official Steam store specifications, same-screen co-op has a strict controller rule.
- Controller Requirement: At least one gamepad is required to enable same-screen co-op. The developer officially recommends playing with controllers, with native support listed for Xbox, PlayStation DualShock, and DualSense gamepads.
- Lobby Setup: Players can choose their gladiator persona and mask color right from the start before heading through the tutorial camp.
- Team Scaling: The game supports one to four players locally.
| Player Count | Local Co-op Dynamic | Primary Challenge |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Player | Strategic and deliberate | Managing the drag of a heavy shackle ball solo |
| 2 Players | Direct communication and agility | Timing directional pulls and sharing limited weapons |
| 3 Players | Broad crowd control | Avoiding chain snags on arena corners and pillars |
| 4 Players | Maximum spectacle and chaos | Preventing team pile-ups, friendly fire, and split focus |
How the Chain Mechanic Works in Combat
The central mechanic of Chained Beasts is the physical tether binding your gladiators. The chain is not merely visual; it has full collision and physics interactions with enemies and the colosseum environment.
Tripping Enemies
While the chain restricts how far you can wander from your partner, it doubles as an offensive weapon. When two players sweep their chain across an approaching enemy or charging foot soldier, the chain trips them to the ground. Tripped opponents are vulnerable to bonus damage, critical strikes, and backstabs. Perks like concussive strength or specific weapon traits reward teams that systematically clothesline foes.
Avoiding Scenery Snags
The colosseum arenas feature stone pillars, grates, spike walls, and snake pits. If your group splits around opposite sides of a stone pillar, the chain wraps tightly around the obstacle, halting movement and leaving the entire squad pinned in place. Escaping requires unraveling in reverse before gladiators or charging beasts capitalize on your immobility.
Shifting Tether Formations
Gameplay footage demonstrates that tether conditions can shift between rounds. In some stages, all four gladiators are linked in a single line. In other rounds, teams are divided into tethered pairs, or individual fighters find themselves chained to stationary arena anchors or heavy rolling weights.
Friendly Fire and Arena Combat
In Chained Beasts local co op, friendly fire is enabled by default. Swinging large weapons or hurling items carelessly can interrupt, stagger, or directly injure your allies.
- Melee Discipline: Wide-cleaving weapons like the flail or great axes cover large arcs. If a teammate is standing too close, your swing will knock them back or disrupt their attack animations.
- Weapon Throwing: Holding the throw button displays an aiming arc to launch your current weapon at distant targets. A wayward throw will hit your teammate squarely in the back, embedding weapons or dealing heavy friendly damage unless your team secures damage-mitigating items from the merchant.
- Environmental Weapons: The arena floor is littered with urns, barrels, and fallen equipment. Throwing green urns unleashes poisonous snakes that attack both gladiators and enemies alike.
- Reviving Downed Partners: When a gladiator runs out of health, they drop to their knees and leave a blood trail as they crawl across the sand. While down, they cannot move far due to the chain, dragging their partner down with them until the round concludes or allies clear the immediate threat.
Pleasing the Arena Crowd for Gold
Gladiators are performers first and survivors second. At the bottom of the screen, an audience excitement meter tracks the crowd's mood through distinct color stages, with purple representing peak frenzy. If the crowd becomes bored or angry, they will pelt fighters with rocks.
At the end of each round, the game tallies team performance across three distinct scoring categories:
- Variety: Earned by rotating between light swings, charged special attacks, weapon throws, unarmed punches, and environmental tosses.
- Tempo: Earned by sustaining constant pressure and fast-paced eliminations without stalling.
- Carnage: Earned by racking up total kills and executing wounded enemies.
High crowd performance translates directly into larger gold payouts. The top-performing player in a round receives the title of Crowd Favorite, which can trigger specific perk bonuses or crowd-thrown gifts.
The Intermission Loop: Potions, Afflictions, and Shops
Between arena bouts, local squads must make collaborative choices regarding survival, character builds, and team economy.
Healing and Permanent Afflictions
Healing in Chained Beasts involves a strict trade-off. A healer offers a selection of potions, but drinking one permanently afflicts your character for the remainder of the run. Severity is ranked by skull tiers:
- Tier 1 (Minor): Includes conditions like a broken finger (throws consistently veer to the left) or a mild limp.
- Tier 2 (Moderate): Can cause a fighter to sprint uncontrollably away from enemy corpses due to a guilty conscience, or periodically trip during dodge rolls.
- Tier 3 (Severe): Severely blurs peripheral vision, causes combat hallucinations of phantom enemies, or ignites your character when the crowd goes wild.
Potions sit in a shared selection pool during local co-op. Because each specific potion can only be consumed once per visit, teammates must discuss who needs raw health the most and who can absorb the accompanying physical or mental defect without compromising their weapon loadout.
Trainer Perks and Loadouts
After visiting the healer, players visit a trainer to select new abilities. Each gladiator receives a random perk offer, while an additional perk sits on the training table. Teammates can swap options between each other to synergize builds—for instance, pairing a player who grants fury on hit with an ally who deals amplified critical damage to tripped targets.
The Arena Merchant
Every few stages, an exotic merchant opens shop. Gold is pooled across the team, requiring joint decisions on how to invest:
- Equipment: Items such as quilted armor, spiked shields, or protective amulets that provide passive damage reduction or nullify friendly fire.
- Arena Gear: Purchases like obsidian spears or fire-imbued swords that permanently spawn into the arena floor across subsequent battles.
- Team Remedies: Instant communal health restores that heal all gladiators without inflicting new afflictions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you play Chained Beasts local co-op with one keyboard and one mouse?
No. Official Steam specifications state that at least one gamepad is required for same-screen co-op play. Connecting controllers before starting your session ensures that player slots register properly.
Does Chained Beasts support both local and online multiplayer?
Yes. Featherweight Games confirmed support for single-player, same-screen local co-op, and online co-op for up to four players, along with cross-platform multiplayer across supported platforms.
Can you turn off friendly fire in local co-op?
Friendly fire is standard in base combat. However, teams can acquire specific merchant items or perks during a run that reduce or completely negate damage dealt to tethered allies.
What platforms is Chained Beasts releasing on?
According to official announcements, the game launches on October 15, 2026, for PC (Steam and Mac), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Game Pass. A free playable demo is available on Steam.
