The Remote Play Together Fest is on for one week and Heli-Cats is part of it, meaning it is on sale.
However, I would like to use this opportunity to highlight this functionality of Steam that many don't know about. Remote Play Together is essentially game streaming / game sharing a local co-op game from another computer over the Internet.
The official Steam explanation can be found here https://store.steampowered.com/remoteplay?snr=1_remoteplaytogether_4__1601#together
After testing it, I was actually surprised by how playable it was, even for a fast paced genre such as the shoot'em up. Granted the physical distance between the players for my tests were within the same city with all players having good connections, but when it works, it was as good as playing local co-op. And only the host has to own the game. In the case of the demo, players can simply try this functionality out without even buying the full version!
Here are some things that might be helpful in setting up a session (which was quite confusing at first).
- Ideally, all players should have game controllers. Remote Play Together allows for only one keyboard, but the host can pass the keyboard to the guest via the Remote settings.
- If both players own the game, the host should be the one with the better computer to allow for the extra CPU load to output a good stream AND run the game. Heli-Cats is not an intensive game by any means, but streaming does take up a lot more resources.
- The guest, apparently, does not even need to have Steam or even a computer. Remote Play Together can work with a mobile phone or tablet using a Steam Link app. Although, I would not recommend playing this game with anything but a proper controller (or a physical keyboard at worst).
- It is possible to reduce the resolution of the stream down to 720p in the settings to improve the latency if the distance between host and guest is proving too far. Heli-Cats looks fine at the lower resolution and you definitely want a high 60fps.
- I highly recommend using some external communications method because fiddling within Steam is somewhat hit and miss and can possible end the connection.
Give it a try and let me and other players know if you find settings that help make the process easier to connect!