What does Friendslop mean? The meme genre explained

The gaming community online seems to always be cooking up new subcategories and niches to place their favorite games in. One of the best examples of this in the past couple of years is the term “friendslop” or “friendlike,” often applied to games like R.E.P.O. or Lethal Company.

But what is friendslop at its core? It’s often used in a derogatory manner by gamers turning their nose up at particular titles, but the titles in question can be of great quality. Here’s a breakdown of what friendslop and friendlikes actually are, and where these odd terms came from.

What is Friendslop?

The best friendslop definition is a light-hearted, co-op game that focuses on people playing with their friends instead of focusing on core mechanics or narrative appeal. These games are often somewhat goofy, with features like proximity chat or strange physics engines. More often than not, they’re indie games.

Peak friendslop can be found heavily in the co-op horror genre, with extraction or collection-based gameplay. These games require players to work together to achieve a shared goal – mostly while battling against some kind of enemy that wants to hinder their progress.

The term friendslop is an internet-originated term, often used in a derogatory manner to dismiss games that are centered around having fun. You’ll see the friendslop meaning debate pop up in gaming showcase livestreams, with scores of players rushing to stick the label on any game that fits the general vibe.

Popular friendslop games

Some of the best titles that you’ll see pop up in a friendslop games list include Lethal Company, PEAK, and Content Warning.

Lethal Company and Content Warning fall into the casual, co-op horror vibe – another great example is R.E.P.O. – while PEAK is a co-op climbing game that tasks players with working together to get to the top of a mountain.

Other good friendslop games include Backrooms: Escape Together, Totally Reliable Delivery Service, and, arguably, Among Us. Don’t let the meme genre name put you off – these games can be a blast when picked up with friends, especially with voice chat.

Friendslop vs friendlike games

Another term has risen up in the friendslop debate online – friendlikes. It’s hard to pinpoint where exactly this term came from, although one of the earliest examples of it popping up is this post in June 2025.

Friendlike games are thought to focus more heavily on game quality and/or mechanics, instead of player interaction being the key focus, as is the case with friendslop games. Popular friendlike examples include Garry’s Mod and Chained Together.

PEAK and Among Us could arguably be considered more friendlikes than friendslop, based on their gameplay loop. It’s worth reiterating that these genres are inherently silly, though, so it’s best to take these categorisations with a pinch of salt.

Who coined the term Friendslop?

Friendslop originated online, seemingly in late 2024, through a meme post online. While it doesn’t appear as if the original poster was being serious about defining the friendslop game meaning, the genre has picked up steam in the time since.

The term friendslop has been used plenty of times since 2024, popping up as a frequent comment in livestreams for events like Gamescom whenever co-op indie games make an appearance.

Friendslop and friendlike are both meme genres – it’s best not to take them too seriously. The games that fall into these definitions can provide hours of fun with friends, despite not being narrative powerhouses. If you’re a fan of light-hearted gaming sessions with pals, PEAK, Lethal Company, and Content Warning can be great fun.

References

1. Sebm в X (X)
2. Friendslop | Know Your Meme (Know Your Meme)