10 Video Games That Broke All The Rules

9. A Way Out

Josef Fares categorically does not give one single f***. This is the man who famously got on stage at the Game Awards and proclaimed "f*** the Oscars", so it's no surprise that same renegade spirit is all over the games he's made. The critically-acclaimed Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons broke formal conventions by forcing two players to use the same controller, but it's A Way Out that was even more ambitious when it came to tearing up the rulebook.

Again, it's important to understand the context the title released in, as the gaming industry as a whole has been moving away from local multiplayer over the past decade. Couch co-op and split screen features have become incredibly rare, even in franchises where they once flourished, as the world has moved towards making online connectivity the de facto multiplayer experience.

A Way Out said stuff this, and even if you're playing online with someone else, the entire game is still presented in a split screen mode. It isn't just a gimmick either; everything from the gameplay to the narrative is centred around this presentation style, and it functions as a vital ingredient in making the title's climax so resonant.