Echoes of Mystralia Co-Op Guide: How to Play Multiplayer with Friends

Echoes of Mystralia is the kind of game that almost makes you wish it had co-op. I mean that as a compliment. The spellcrafting system is so flexible, the combat moves so quickly, and the build possibilities can get so ridiculous that having a friend sitting beside you and shouting ideas at the screen feels like it should be part of the package.

Developed by Borealys Games, Echoes of Mystralia builds on the magical foundations established by Mages of Mystralia while shifting the experience toward a faster, more replayable action-RPG and roguelite structure. You take control of Mazarim, a powerful Watcher whose job is tied to the Cycle of Memories and the fight against the Threats of Oblivion. Runs take you through dangerous areas, including the Ash Forest, while the game’s memory-based spell system gives you plenty of room to experiment.

There is just one problem for anyone hoping to bring a friend along: Echoes of Mystralia is designed as a single-player game.

That does not mean you have to play completely alone socially, though. After spending time looking at the game’s current multiplayer situation and the ways PC players can share their runs, there are a few surprisingly entertaining alternatives. They are not substitutes for proper two-player support, and I would not pretend otherwise, but they can make the game much more fun as a shared experience.

Does Echoes of Mystralia Have Official Co-Op?

Let’s get the most important question out of the way first. No, Echoes of Mystralia does not currently offer native online or local co-op. There is no traditional multiplayer lobby where you invite a friend, create a party, and enter the same run together.

The game is built around a solo experience, and its current Early Access structure does not include a second playable character that another person can control. That distinction matters because some players understandably assume that an action RPG with customizable spells and roguelite mechanics must eventually support multiplayer.

At the moment, that is not how Echoes of Mystralia works. You cannot simply open the multiplayer menu, because there isn’t one.

Personally, I think this is one of those situations where the lack of co-op feels more disappointing because of how naturally the mechanics lend themselves to it. The spell system practically begs for someone to sit beside you and say, “Wait, what happens if you combine those two memories?” Unfortunately, the underlying game remains a single-player experience.

So, How Can You Play Echoes of Mystralia With Friends?

If by “play together” you mean two people controlling separate characters inside the same game world, there is currently no legitimate built-in method for doing that. I would not waste time looking for a secret multiplayer button or an obscure Steam setting that suddenly turns the game into a four-player ARPG.

But PC gaming gives you a few alternatives. The most interesting ones revolve around screen sharing, remote input, Discord streams, and synchronized runs.

These methods do not magically add co-op to the game. Instead, they turn Echoes of Mystralia into a shared gaming experience. And honestly, for a spellcrafting-heavy roguelite, that can work better than you might expect.

Method 1: Use Parsec for a Shared Gaming Session

Parsec is probably the closest thing to a couch-co-op workaround if your goal is to actually sit down with a friend and experience the game together.

The basic idea is simple. One player runs Echoes of Mystralia on their PC while the other connects remotely through Parsec. The host streams the desktop to the second player, and depending on the permissions and setup, the guest can interact with the host computer.

Obviously, there is an important limitation here: your friend does not become a second Mazarim. Echoes of Mystralia still thinks there is only one player.

That sounds like a major drawback, and it is, but there is another way to look at it. Instead of traditional co-op, you can treat the session like a digital couch-co-op experiment.

How to Set Up a Parsec Session

1. Install Parsec on the host and guest PCs and create the required accounts.
2. Launch Parsec on the computer running Echoes of Mystralia.
3. Enable the appropriate hosting and sharing permissions.
4. Add your friend or invite them to the session.
5. Start Echoes of Mystralia on the host PC.
6. Share the game screen and configure input permissions if you want your friend to interact with the computer.

The real fun starts once the game is running. One person can handle Mazarim’s movement and combat while the other focuses on the parts of the game that reward careful thinking.

For example, your friend could become the unofficial spell engineer. You clear a room, return to the customization screen, and start discussing what the next combination should be. One person handles the action while the other studies the available memories and suggests modifications.

That might sound strange compared with traditional co-op, but I actually think it suits Echoes of Mystralia surprisingly well. The combat can become hectic, while the spellcrafting system rewards experimentation. Having a second person watching your build can lead to combinations you might not have considered on your own.

Why Spellcrafting Makes This Work

This is the part of Echoes of Mystralia that makes the whole workaround worthwhile. If the game were simply another straightforward top-down action RPG, watching someone else play would get boring pretty quickly.

Instead, the memory system gives both players something to talk about.

You are not just collecting a fixed list of abilities and upgrading them through a conventional skill tree. The game’s magic system revolves around modifying spells and changing their behavior with different memory components. That means the same basic spell can feel completely different depending on how you configure it.

• Projectile Modifiers: Basic attacks can be altered to split, bounce, change direction, or interact with targets in different ways.
• Elemental Combinations: Combining different effects can create powerful crowd-control options and defensive tools.
• Risk-Reward Relics: Some bonuses can increase offensive power while introducing serious disadvantages elsewhere in your build.
• Build Experimentation: Different memories can completely change how you approach a room, enemy group, or boss encounter.

This is where having another person becomes genuinely useful. You might see a memory and think it looks mediocre. Your friend might immediately spot a combination that turns it into the centerpiece of your next build.

That kind of back-and-forth is one of the best parts of experimenting with games like this.

Method 2: Play Parallel Runs With Discord

If remote-control streaming feels awkward, there is a much cleaner alternative: play your own copies of Echoes of Mystralia at the same time and stream them through Discord.

This is not co-op in the technical sense. You are not sharing a world, enemies, progression, or loot. But socially, it can feel surprisingly close to playing together.

Think of it as a friendly challenge where everyone runs through their own version of the game while discussing builds and decisions in real time.

How to Set Up a Shared Discord Session

1. Create a private Discord server or group voice channel.
2. Have everyone launch their own copy of Echoes of Mystralia.
3. Use Discord’s game streaming feature to share the gameplay window.
4. Keep voice chat open while everyone plays.
5. Compare spell combinations, routes, rewards, and boss strategies during the run.
6. Turn the session into a friendly competition by comparing how far everyone gets.

The randomized nature of the roguelite structure makes this especially entertaining. Even if everyone starts at roughly the same point, the actual experience can branch out quickly.

One player might discover an absurdly strong fire-based combination. Another might build around freezing effects. Someone else may find a relic that completely changes how aggressively they can play.

Instead of asking, “Why can’t I join your game?” you end up asking, “How did you make that spell do that?”

For me, that is where this workaround becomes much more interesting than it sounds on paper.

Turn Your Runs Into a Friendly Competition

There is also a competitive angle here that works surprisingly well. Since everyone is playing their own run, you can establish simple rules before starting.

• Who can reach the deepest zone first?
• Who can create the strongest spell combination?
• Who can survive the longest without taking unnecessary damage?
• Who can defeat a difficult encounter using the strangest build?
• Who can discover the most useful memory combination?

You can even choose a theme for the session. Everyone builds around frost, everyone avoids a particular type of relic, or everyone has to use an intentionally weird spell setup.

It obviously is not the same thing as running through a dungeon side by side, but it gives the single-player structure a social layer that the base game currently lacks.

Understanding the Memory System Before You Play Together

If you are going to make Echoes of Mystralia into a shared tactical experience, it helps to understand what makes the spell system tick.

The important thing is to stop thinking about spells as finished abilities. Treat them as building blocks.

A basic projectile might initially seem straightforward, but adding the right modifiers can alter its trajectory, number of projectiles, behavior after impact, or interaction with enemies. Suddenly, something that looked like a simple attack becomes a tool for controlling an entire room.

The same philosophy applies to defensive magic and environmental effects. Combining elements can create barriers, zones of control, or attacks that cover much more space than the original spell suggests.

This is another reason I like the idea of playing alongside a friend, even without true multiplayer. One person can concentrate on what is happening on screen while the other can think several steps ahead and look for better combinations.

Hardware Requirements for Streaming Echoes of Mystralia

If you want to use Parsec, Discord streaming, or another screen-sharing solution, remember that you are asking your PC to do more than simply run the game.

You need enough performance headroom for the game itself as well as video encoding, voice chat, browser windows, and potentially other background applications.

16 GB of RAM is particularly useful if you plan to keep Discord, a browser, and streaming software open alongside the game. An SSD is also a sensible choice because it can reduce loading delays and make the overall experience feel much smoother.

Of course, your actual streaming performance will depend on more than the GPU. Internet upload speed, network stability, encoding settings, resolution, and bitrate can all make a difference. If your friend is watching a blurry stream with constant frame drops, the experience is going to feel much less impressive regardless of how good your spell build is.

What About Steam Remote Play?

Steam’s remote features are worth checking when experimenting with shared play, but they should not be confused with official multiplayer support.

If a game is not designed around multiple players, remote access does not automatically create a second character, separate progression, or multiplayer logic. At best, these tools allow another person to view or interact with the host’s session in ways the game itself permits.

So if your goal is a true two-character Echoes of Mystralia adventure, Steam’s built-in features are not a magic solution. The limitation comes from the game itself.

Will Echoes of Mystralia Get Native Multiplayer?

This is the question I would personally love to have a more exciting answer for.

Right now, players should treat native multiplayer as unconfirmed rather than something guaranteed for a future update. The game’s Early Access status means the developers can continue evaluating feedback and adjusting the project, but players should not assume that co-op is secretly around the corner.

Adding multiplayer to a single-player action RPG is not a small feature request. It can affect enemy behavior, progression, balance, loot distribution, networking, save systems, UI design, difficulty scaling, and practically every part of combat.

That said, if the community strongly wants co-op, making that feedback visible is still useful. Constructive discussion on the game’s Steam community pages and feedback channels is a much better approach than simply assuming developers will know what players want.

And honestly, Echoes of Mystralia is one of those games where I can understand why people keep asking for it. The spell system feels made for experimentation with friends.

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Is the Co-Op Workaround Actually Worth It?

If you expect real multiplayer, no. You will probably be disappointed.

If you approach it as a shared gaming experiment, however, the answer changes.

Parsec can work well when you want a friend directly involved in the same session. Discord is better when both players want to maintain their own progression while talking through builds and comparing runs. Neither option replaces proper multiplayer, but both can give the game a social dimension.

I especially like the Discord approach because it does not interfere with the game’s design. Everyone gets their own run, their own choices, and their own discoveries. You simply have someone there to react to the ridiculous spell you just created.

And with a game this focused on experimentation, that reaction is half the fun.

Final Verdict: Can You Play Echoes of Mystralia With Friends?

Echoes of Mystralia does not currently have official online or local co-op. You cannot invite a friend into your world and have them control another character alongside Mazarim.

However, PC players have a few ways to turn the solo game into a shared experience. Parsec can provide a remote couch-co-op style session where one player controls the game while another helps with decisions and spellcrafting. Discord streaming offers an even more flexible alternative, allowing friends to run their own games simultaneously and compare builds, routes, spells, and results.

Neither method is perfect. There is no pretending otherwise. But I would still recommend trying it if you have a friend who enjoys theorycrafting and roguelite experimentation.

The real star here is the spellcrafting system. Echoes of Mystralia gives you enough room to experiment that a second pair of eyes can genuinely change how you approach a run. One player sees a mediocre memory; the other sees the missing piece of an absurd build. One person is fighting through a chaotic room; the other is already thinking about what the next spell should become.

That is not traditional co-op, but it can still be a lot of fun.

For now, the safest way to describe Echoes of Mystralia is simple: play it as a solo ARPG, use streaming tools if you want company, and keep an eye on future developer announcements if you are hoping for true multiplayer.

And if Borealys Games ever decides to give Mazarim a proper co-op partner, I will be first in line to see what happens when two players start breaking the spell system together. Because if the single-player combinations are already this wild, two people experimenting at the same time could get completely ridiculous.

EVERYTHING You Need to Know Before You Buy Echoes of Mystralia