It is the most common disappointment in gaming and the easiest to avoid. A game that advertises co-op or multiplayer frequently needs a populated community to be enjoyable, and that is a very different proposition from a game with a solo mode you can dip into.
The tell-tale signs
Some signals in the marketing copy predict whether you will find other people.
- No dedicated server option listed. A game without server support locks you to whatever population happens to exist when you play.
- Matchmaking described as the primary mode with no mention of playing with friends you know.
- A player count requirement or a stated minimum population. Some games display a warning when the server is thin, which is a sign the developers know.
- No offline or single-player mode mentioned anywhere.
The population question
Where a game has dedicated servers, its health is a matter of public record. Steam Charts and SteamDB both track player numbers over time and are public and free. A game that peaked at 80,000 and holds 800 is a different experience from one that peaked at 3,000 and holds 2,000, and both may have been marketed as a big deal.
For games on other platforms, player counts are harder to find, which is itself information. A studio that does not publish population figures for a game it is actively selling is not confident in the answer.
Games that do hold up solo
Anything with a strong PvE structure designed to be played with AI companions holds up best. Single-player RPGs, most strategy games, most roguelikes, and most Metroidvanias are fine because the design assumed one player and the community was never load-bearing.
If a game has a co-op mode and you want to play alone, check whether the co-op is an addition to a complete single-player game or the whole product. That distinction is usually stated in the reviews and rarely in the store copy.