The gaming landscape of 2025 was one of uncertainty. Uncertain if that big game from that big company would be as popular as it once was, uncertain job stability, uncertain if GTA would actually release to market, uncertain if I could actually afford a Switch 2... It's all quite worrying. What isn't uncertain is that some good games have released this year, and that I'll rank them into a (slightly belated) Top 10 list. Read on for my thoughts...
But before we get there, let's dive into those uncertainties. Perhaps it's the hipster in me but the biggest selling games never seem to interest me. The jingoistic gunplay of Call of Duty was never my thing, but it was usually a sure thing in sales. Typically, unless Rockstar got around to releasing a major title, Call of Duty was the best-selling game of the year. This has been going on since 2009 but this past year, it hasn't been the case. Hogwart's Legacy trounced them in 2023, but their war-themed rivals - Battlefield - finally trounced them in sales. The other notable cash cow that wasn't as big was Assassin's Creed: Shadows which, as a franchise, has seemed to really decline in relevance.
With the delay of GTA VI, it left a really big hole in AAA releases in the run up to Christmas. No other major title would dare to compete with such an anticipated behemoth, so when it was delayed there wasn't really much of a big-budget open-world alternative. The closest anyone would get was The Outer Worlds 2 in October. To be fair, by then there was already a backlog of great RPGs to a point where I haven't got around to either of Obsidian's two big games of 2025 (the other being Avowed), but they're both on my to-play list.
Going back to Rockstar, the company hasn't been getting the best of news of late. Their third-delayed tentpole release was marred with controversy over working conditions and some nefariously motivated layoffs. It's perhaps a microcosm of the western jobs market that favours short-term profits and control over fairness worker happiness. I've long thought that this is an outcome of publicly-traded companies where the wants of nameless shareholders drive everything. In this respect, I'm tentatively curious to see how EA's return to a private company effects their output. Even so, their $55 billion buyout seems to be less monetarily motivated than political. If the deal goes through, they will be the first gaming company owned by a state - Saudi Arabia - and it appears to be another expensive attempt to whitewash the atrocities of the country after their controversial comedy festival earlier in the year.
On a positive note, it appears that Konami's return to gaming after some tumultuous time in self-imposed Pachinko purgatory is a strong one. Last year, the outsourced Silent Hill 2 remake ranked highly on my list, and - not to give too much away - the in-house Silent Hill f looks to do the same. And with their remake of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, it looks like that series is in competent hands too. Time will tell if a Kojima-less Konami will be the same, but with the man continuing his role as an interactive auteur, they way it all played out may have been for the best.
On a positive note, it appears that Konami's return to gaming after some tumultuous time in self-imposed Pachinko purgatory is a strong one. Last year, the outsourced Silent Hill 2 remake ranked highly on my list, and - not to give too much away - the in-house Silent Hill f looks to do the same. And with their remake of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, it looks like that series is in competent hands too. Time will tell if a Kojima-less Konami will be the same, but with the man continuing his role as an interactive auteur, they way it all played out may have been for the best.
Enough talk about serious things. Let's talk about the games themselves - specifically my personal faves of the year (from those I've played at least). I didn't get around to as many as I did last year, but I got through a fair few. As always, click on the links within the review to purchase them. And with that, here's Top 10 Games of 2025, starting with...
10
I suspect that to many, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (★★★★☆) would rank higher up on their lists. The medieval open world RPG is an expertly polished experience with a story that’s just as brutal as the first. But that brutality extends to the gameplay too, and it is the reason why I haven't played more of it than I'd like. The opening hours promise a large and absorbing world that I cannot help but love, yet when you are given free reign with nowt but a sack to your name, the difficulty curve just kept me from getting any further. Hand-to-hand combat it based on timing, with a shoulder button assigned to each limb, yet during the time I played with it I couldn't consistently get the hang of it. With a shield and sword to hand, and armour enough to deflect an errant blade, it's passable, but when you have none of this to back you up, my aging reflexes couldn't keep up. Despite this, I can see this is an exceptional game with a complex control scheme as deep and rewarding as its story and world design that surely makes it one of the best of the year. I know a few folk who rank it as just that.
9
Cronos: The New Dawn (★★★★☆) is more my speed. Created by Bloober Team, the same team behind last years excellent Silent Hill 2 remake, Cronos returns to the smaller scope of The Medium. It’s not as narrative heavy as their previous efforts, plonking you in the middle of a post-apocalyptic town with little backstory. The deliberately cold protagonist is there to research the anomaly that caused all of the destruction, and in doing so has to fight back against cosmic demons. It has an old-school vibe that reminds me of the Upside Down from Stranger Things. The obtuse nature of it all is perhaps its biggest weakness. From the setting and story to the main character itself, any plot details are sparse and interpretive making for a slightly less affecting survival horror than it could be. Still, the combat’s tight, and the exploration's absorbing with some cool puzzle-solving and trippy visuals that, while not breaking new ground, treads those familiar floors with aplomb.
8
I have something of a love/hate relationship with the Elder Scrolls series. The ethos of a massive open world was always a selling point (no game is as large as Daggerfall) but Bethesda Softworks also have a habit of populating it with repetition or worse - nothing. I tired of the fourth entry on its original run fairly quickly, despite my nerdy collector mind owning it on a multitude of systems. I was expecting to feel the same with The Elder Scroll IV: Oblivion Remastered (★★★★☆) too, but this time round something clicked and I was hooked 'til completion. It's something I can't quite put my finger on as to why. Nothing much has changed; the story, the world - even the mechanics are similar. Perhaps its the new graphics that bring depth and detail to an otherwise repetitive world (Imperial City is only slightly less bland), or the subtle tweaking of combat and controls make it more playable. Either way, the game was always a classic but now it's better.
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7
Is there a more creative developer than Double Fine? Following on from the sublime Psychonauts 2, they give us another smaller curio that could've only emerged from the creative fervour of their Amnesia Fortnight internal events. Keeper (★★★★☆) is an intriguing puzzle adventure that is unlike anything else you'll find on Steam. You play as a lighthouse - not a keeper, the actual building - who has mysteriously gained some sort of sentience (and spider legs) in a strange uninhabited fantasy world. A large bird, saved from a flock of evil creatures thanks to the light of its signal beam, befriends the building and goes on an adventure to save this world from darkness. It's obvious the designers have seen more than a few Studio Ghibli movies. The lighthouse stumbles around like Howl's Moving Castle, curious creatures click and gather like a forest spirit from Princess Mononoke, and the crumbling ancient world overtaken by nature harks back to Laputa: Castle in the Sky. With absorbing (if not particularly hard) puzzles and an exception art design, Double Fine have another classic on their hands.
6
Raw Fury are quickly becoming the indie darlings to watch. The Kathy Rain publisher (whose sequel this year is top of my to-play list) has been giving us a lot to be happy with, not least with critically lauded puzzle game Blue Prince (★★★★★). First-time developers Dogubomb have cleverly mixed a rogue-like randomness into an escape room - or get-in room as the case may be. You are the inheritor of a bizarre mansion that houses a bunch of unique and surprising rooms. The thing is, they're moveable. Every door you open gives you the option to enter one of three different room types which are chosen from a pre-determined stack. From kitchens to bedrooms, control rooms to an observatory, they hold the key to navigating to the centre of the house where your family fortune hopefully resides. The game takes some surprisingly inventive turns that had me favourably compare it to another exceptional puzzle game of recent years; Inscryption. I spent hours - nay days - getting lost in this puzzle of a home and while it may get repetitive as you try and decipher all of it's mysteries, every single moment was one to remember.
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5
In 2024, there were a couple of games that almost persuaded me to buy a PlayStation 5. Thankfully, I knew they were coming to PC so all I had to do was wait a year and and save half a grand in the process. Both Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (★★★★★) and Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth (★★★★★) released on Steam in January and both offer a familiar gameplay that I cannot help but love.
Spider-Man 2 is perhaps the weaker of the two, offering up little more than the last two games in the series. But what those games had was a powerhouse of perfect game design from combat, exploration and open-world design. It suffers a little by being yet another foray through the streets and scrapers of New York City, limiting its scope somewhat even with the additions of Queens and The Bronx. It's still incredibly fun to swing around in, so much so that the quick travel feature was rarely used despite the map more than doubling in size. Combat is also a little too similar, but when it's as visceral and entertaining as this, it's hardly a negative. Flashes of other cities - notably Paris, France - offer up tantalising new locales to swing in, but we never go there. Still, by the game's end credit, I wanted more. Here's hoping the inevitable next entry takes us somewhere different.
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth could be more different that the last one. Not only is it a complete overhaul of the 1997 original, it also moves away from the somewhat necessary linearity of Remake. Our troupe of rebels have left the enclosed city of Midgar and entered the world at large. On the PlayStation, it was represented by a large 3D map from which you can access notable locations. Here, that map is now represented as a series or large, open-world areas; not quite Witcher 3 or Skyrim levels of large, but smaller, self-contained environs. This is both a blessing and a curse. For starter, Square-Enix haven't quite cracked the intricacies needed for an open world; it needs to be populated with interesting stuff to do. Here, each of the six regions have a bunch of similar side-tasks that rarely alter. In fact, the act of finding them is often more fun than the actual task. Despite this, the core of Rebirth is just as great as previous entries. The story and combat is as thrilling as ever, and the Dementor-like Whispers do not undermine what was already there like they threatened they could in Remake. Not quite a replacement for FF7, but a more than welcome alternative.
4
It's been a banner year for the point-and-click adventure. So much so that there's a long list of titles I plan to get to when my bank balance and time keeping allow me to (see: Kathy Rain 2, Foolish Mortals, Slender Threads, Near Mage). Even with those glaring omissions, what I did play were all-time classics. The Drifter (★★★★★) by David Lloyd is one hell of an adventure. A down-on-his-luck drifter has hitched a train back to his hometown for the funeral of his mother. He's barely arrived in town when he witnesses a murder, barely escaping with his own life. Or, depending on how you play, he didn't. In a clever twist, our protagonist can die, but is instantly brought back to life much to his - and our - confusion. His infinite lives are part of the plot, and it quickly escalates into an intense conspiracy thriller with little downtime. A feat considering the slow-paced nature of a point-and-clicker. One of the best written adventure games of all time that features some incredible puzzle design, and one I couldn't put the mouse down until I reached its conclusion.
3
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (★★★★★) is perhaps everyone's de-facto game of the year. In truth, it might even be mine but the contrarian in me feels it has garnered enough well-deserved love throughout the internet that I want to cast my attention onto some less gushed over games. And, coming from a bunch of disaffected ex-Ubisoft employees, it deserves all of the praise it gets. In essence, it's a turn-based RPG that could've easily sat into the oeuvre of Final Fantasy has they not gone down the action-heavy real-time route. You begin the game just before a small town festival known as the Gommage. This is when citizens of a certain age disappear thanks to the a being known as the Paintress, and a bunch of youth will cross an unknowable sea never to return in an effort to destroy her. This takes our hero through a rich fairy-tale journey that's full of twists and effecting turns.
It deservedly won many a game of the year award, but perhaps its most controversial accolade is its win for Indie Game of the Year. I'm not too bothered by the use of AI as stop-gap art assets. In that respect, it's something the technology is good at if ethically used and the final product has over-written them with artistic intention (which is so the case here - you can't excuse Sandfall Interactive of being artistically lazy). My issue is that with the funding it received from publisher Kepler Interactive early in its development, I wouldn't class it as an Indie game at all. Still, it cost a hell of lot less than many AAA games and surpassed pretty much all of them in terms of quality as well as gameplay. A modern classic.
2
Any game that Wagjet Eye Games puts out - whether they developed or only published it - is an insta-buy for me. Not a single dud has crossed their paths, and with such a record I did something I rarely do nowadays: I preordered a game. Old Skies (★★★★★), released on my birthday no less, is a time-hoping sci-fi that doesn't disappoint (though I'm going to try and critique it anyway). It stars Fia Quinn, a time agent separated from time who is entrusted by her corporate overlords at ChronoZen to chaperone a series of tourists throughout time. Each of them, naturally, cause havoc in their chosen destination that our agents must put right, and the consequences could be dire.
The plot is episodic in nature, with each tourist being the centre of their own story. While there is a conspiratorial through-line that touches each chapter, it's a testament to the writing that the ongoing plot doesn't gets in the way of the episodic one - or vice-versa. Graphically, Wadjet Eye has upgraded from the pixelated look of their previous games to a cleaner comic-book style. Personally, I prefer the warmth of the pixel art as seen in Unavowed or The Excavation of Hobbs Barrow, but that's not to say that Old Skies looks bad. Far from it, and it perhaps better highlights how talented Lead Artist Ben Chandler actually is. Still, minor nitpicks in an exceptionally high-quality, stellar game.
1
You all know I love a good horror, and Konami's recent return to the Silent Hill franchise has been great. Not quite as great as the promise Silent Hills could've given us, but still the best it's been since the PS2 days. Silent Hill f (★★★★★) is also something of a departure for the series. It is not set in the Lynchian slice of Americana that is the town the series is named after, but a rural Japanese town in the 1960s. You play as Hinako Shimizu, a quite school girl who wakes up to find the town abandoned and shrouded in a thick fog. Some of her school friends are here too, including long-time friend and potential crush Shu Iwai.
While none of the familiar tropes of the series feature, the ominous tone and allegorical story are very much in keeping with it. In this respect it's more of a spiritual sequel to Silent Hill 2 than any other in the series. While that classic was about the lead character's relationship with his deceased wife, Silent Hill f is more about the repressed inter-personal relationships of teenagers in Japan's more conservative areas. I don't want to give too much away with my theories, but rest assured the terrifying floral aberrations mean just as much to the main character as the faceless nurses in part 2. I found the whole thing entirely gripping (save for one annoying puzzle involving scarecrows), and it's enough for me to mark it as my favourite game of 2025.
There were a couple of classic adventure got the remake treatment this year. While I've yet to play the update of Syberia (I hear it has its issues), I did play the remake of its progenitor Amerzone: The Explorer's Legacy (★★★★☆). I went in hoping it would have the same quality of life updates as Cyan's Myst and Riven, and while the overhauled graphics rendered in real-time look astonishing at times, it is the exact same game mechanically - warts and all. You do not free-roam the environments but point-and-click as you did before. While this does mean some of the mouse-centric puzzles don't need to be overhauled to accommodate the control scheme, it does limit your immersion into an otherwise inviting globe-trotting adventure.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
There were a couple of classic adventure got the remake treatment this year. While I've yet to play the update of Syberia (I hear it has its issues), I did play the remake of its progenitor Amerzone: The Explorer's Legacy (★★★★☆). I went in hoping it would have the same quality of life updates as Cyan's Myst and Riven, and while the overhauled graphics rendered in real-time look astonishing at times, it is the exact same game mechanically - warts and all. You do not free-roam the environments but point-and-click as you did before. While this does mean some of the mouse-centric puzzles don't need to be overhauled to accommodate the control scheme, it does limit your immersion into an otherwise inviting globe-trotting adventure.
In my view The Last Half of Darkness (★★★★☆) updates the 36-year old shareware gem much better, even if the core of the game isn't as good. Your witchy aunt has died, and you take it upon yourself to visit her huge estate to investigate. The atmosphere is suitably spooky, though not overbearingly scary and while the haunted premises isn't as well designed as, say, the Stauf or Spencer mansions, it's still a decent setting to explore. The puzzles are on the generic side, with sliding blocks and button pushes that are the staple of any adventure, but considering the age of the game it's based it, it can be more easily forgiven here. Recommended.
Axys (★★★☆☆) is the kind of obscurity I almost didn't pick up on. It's hidden beneath the Steam recommendation algorithms and the weird name alone isn't enough for the search function to find it. I came across a random YouTube review where its similarities with an ancient PlayStation gem sparked my interest. Axys is, essentially, an unofficial sequel to Kula World (aka Roll Away), the beach-ball bouncing puzzle game that defies the laws of physics. You have to navigate a 3D maze from all angles to find a key before reaching the exit. Simple and fun, though it does little to build on the original's formula.
Beyond the Ice Palace 2 (★★★☆☆) unlocked one hell of a core memory in me. I remember playing the original way back on my trusty Atari ST, and its echoey soundtrack often seeps unknowingly into my unconscious. Going by the screenshots, I was expecting some sort of explorative Metroidvania, but instead this harks more to the linear 'vanias than the open Metroids. Not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination, but the skill-based combat is something I'm getting increasingly unskilled at as I age.
More recommended adventures from a great year for the genre. Of these three Brassheart (★★★★☆) is perhaps the most well rounded one. It features your standard point-and-clicking with a bunch of puzzles surrounded by nice art and a good story. You play as Pola, the pilot daughter of an inventor who is whisked away on an adventure after one of her father's wayward contraptions kidnaps him. Light-hearted, and alarmingly big-headed (literally, not metaphorically), it's a cozy adventure that ticks all of the boxes you want it to.
As good as Brassheart is, the story-dense Rosewater (★★★★★) is more to my liking. Developed by Grundislav Games and created by Ben Jordan alumni Francisco González (A Golden Wake, Shardlight), you know there's going to be something good behind it. Set almost entirely on a steam train travelling through the old west, this episodic adventure has our lead journalist Harley meet new people and problems at each stop. There is an overarching story where that involves a hunt for hidden treasure, but its the small moments among Harley and her companions that really matter. A game that's more about story and consequence than puzzle design, but an exceptional one nonetheless.
Simon the Sorcerer: Origins (★★★☆☆) is that other facet of an old-school point-and-clicker - decidedly stuck in the past. At least when the past is as good as Simon the Sorcerer, you have something of a winner of your hands. The graphics are nice and colourful, though a little lacking in animation, and while the voicework sounds the part, it retains that stilted narration that's more about sarcasm than plot progression. And the plot, like the originals, is minimal. Yet, by the gods, is it a good original to base itself on.
Two remakes/remasters at different ends of the spectrum. Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (★★★★☆) is the Nth re-release of the beloved classic. It's ultimately a lazy port being sold at full price because greed. Only good if you don't have it on any of the other platforms it released on. At least it has the extra 3DS levels, though nothing actually new for this release. Great game - I give it four stars. Disappointing cash grab - I give it one star.
On the other end of the spectrum is Yooka-Replaylee (★★★★☆). In my mind, this game isn't all that old so I wasn't sure why Playtonic Games decided to revisit it. Then I realised the original is 8-years old! Longer still when I backed it on Kickstarter - something I totally forgot about. It's a game wasn't without its faults (see my 2017 rundown), but almost all of them seem to have been addressed here. The collectables have been rethought so it's not quite a slog. The controls have been tweaked and smoothed out for a better playing game. The levels feel more complete and robust. There's more too, and all it makes it the game it really should've been from the start.
It's not often that a single indie game can cause such a ruckus in the video game community. The long awaited Hollow Knight: Silksong (★★★★☆) did just that simply be pricing itself competitively. The polished Metroidvania errs on the difficult side, which I can no longer find the patience for, but even I can recognise the class design on display. Ostensibly the same game in concept, but so much more in execution, Silksong to not only be worth the wait, but worth the £16.75 they charge for it.
I like a good walking simulator, and the spookier it is the better. Karma: The Dark World (★★★☆☆), despite currently being sold in a bundle with Bloober Team's Cronos: The New Dawn on Steam, is not so much spooky, but plain weird. It's a treatise on corporate dystopia directly referencing George Orwell's 1984, but the psychological moments have little cohesion. Each chapter feels like a self-contained short. One moment, you'll be surrounded by TV-headed men striking in front of a warehouse, the next you'll be answering telephones in a representation of hell (aka, the office). It aims to be psychologically resonant, but ends up just being a confused jumble of admittedly impressive yet narratively empty visuals.
Luto (★★★★☆) is a much better example of how effective the subgenre can be. You start each day looking into the broken mirror in the bathroom of your new house, and every day you find your keys and leave for work where it cuts back to that same mirror in that same bathroom the next morning. It's fairly bland, until one day the phone rings and an ominous voice in on the other side. The next thing you know, you're exploring impossible basements and slowly uncovering the backstory of you absent brother, Sam. While not devoid of supernatural or surreal moment, and there are a bunch of identifiable puzzles, it's a game that's still favourably reminiscent of that unforgettable classic in the genre: Gone Home. Highly recommended.
Lost Records: Bloom and Rage (★★★★☆) is Life is Strange developer DON'T NOD's newest consequence-driven adventure, and as is the calling card for the company, it packs a weighty emotional heft. Played in two different timelines; 1995 and 2022, a group of friends confront the repressed memories of an eventful summer past. The game balances intense emotional moments with beautiful, dream-like visuals, creating a poignant experience that tugs at the heartstrings. A must-play for those who enjoyed Life is Strange or just like a good story.
Out of all the Metal Gear Solid game, I have perhaps played the third one the least. The first was a revelation on the PS1, while 2 made for an enjoyable game despite the bait and switch protagonist. Even number 4 on the PS3 got more playtime out of me despite it being the only one locked to its original console. I've tried, many a time, to get into it through various iterations - from its PS2 originals, its 3DS outing or the Master Collection from a few years back - but something about this entry doesn't click the other ones do. Despite recognising that Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater (★★★★☆) is a stunning reimagining of the classic 2004 stealth-action game, I still have yet to gel with it. In fact, I'm rating it so highly more because of consensus (it's considered on of the best in the series) over personal tastes. If I were to analyse why, I suspect the structured stealth of MGS feels more at home in the orthogonal level design of an office space or military compound over the free-form chaos of a jungle and my mind just can't make the adjustment - at least not enough for me to stick with it until the plot deepens. I will force myself to get past my hang ups some day - I have played and enjoyed every other entry with Phantom Pain being the worst of a good bunch - and I wanted this remake to do what Oblivion did earlier in the year, but alas... I'll eat that snake some other time.
While I certainly love some aspects of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (★★★★☆), there's no denying it's a bit of a disappointment. The choice to go open world seems like a good move on the surface, but the design they went with didn't fully commit. Instead, there are self-contained areas that, in a backwards move, feel like themed levels. These are located on a large, barren desert of a map that has very little to actually see or do in it. Occasionally, it changes tone from the isolated exploration of a dead civilization to a pulpy action set piece that could've been ripped from a Tron movie tie-in. The art design goes a little beyond what Metroid is known for too, with some in-your-face sci-fi reminiscent of Heavy Metal or surreal Moebius art. There are glimpses of a good game - even an exceptional one - but the core design decisions limits what it could've been instead of elevating it.
I was tentatively looking forward to Tomb Raider IV-V-VI Remastered (★★★☆☆). The games aren't as well remembered as the first three and The Angel of Darkness really needed some bug fixes. Alas, the same ethos behind the first remaster remains; update the graphics, do little else. Being PlayStation games, I doubt they needed to change much in the engine for parts IV and V, so I suspect the sixth entry coming from the PS2 needed a lot of new code to update it. It looks good, and the story goes down some interesting roads, but while some performance issues are improved, that was not the only issue with the game. From the controls to the level design, all of it is poor. And being a remaster rather than a remake, all of these issue remain. Without a doubt, the worst Tomb Raider game proving reason enough to take the franchise away from Core and give it to Crystal Dynamics. As a remaster, it does what it sets out to do, but in one package it highlights how the series was declining in quality.
For better or worse, the ethos of a remaster is to preserve the core of the original game. Some may update the graphics, some may smooth out some of the jankiness, but ultimately what you're getting is the same game on modern systems. System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster (★★★★☆) is no different. The 1999 original may have been overlooked at the time, but there's no doubt the short-lived series is an influential one. King of the remaster Nightdive Studios know this, and have kept everything intact, including some aging design choices that perhaps shouldn't have been. The graphics are simply upscaled, with not much extra detail or polygons to make it look drastically different from the original, and the menu implementation is still a little clunky. Still, the game is a classic for a reason and if you haven't played it yet, this your chance to do so in the best way possible.
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