Hey there! First, let me say what an honor it is to be included as part of Giant Bomb's GOTY awards, an outlet I've followed and admired since college. My name is Alice, and I'm one of the co-owners of Rogue.site, a new, independent gaming publication founded by myself and other former writers from Polygon.com. When I'm not helping balance our books and keeping us compliant with state and federal income laws, I'm writing about video games. What follows are some of my favorite games that gobbled up my time in 2025. If you'd like to read more about some of the best games of this year, feel free to check out the excellent GOTY coverage put together by myself and my fellow writers at Rogue.site.
10. Tempest Rising
Given the current state of EA and the Command & Conquer license in general, it's unclear whether we’ll ever see another mainline entry in this franchise. But this year, we got the next best thing with Tempest Rising. A fast-paced, micro-heavy RTS with an awesome soundtrack featuring tracks by the legendary Frank Klepacki of C&C fame.
While I’ll continue to hold my breath for a remastered version of Tiberian Sun or Red Alert 2, Tempest Rising fills the need for a modern, original RTS quite nicely.
In addition to a healthy multiplayer scene that’s been receiving regular attention from the developers, Tempest Rising includes a pair of substantial single-player campaigns that echo some of the best RTS titles ever made.
9. Two Point Museum
The former Bullfrogs at Two Point Studios have done it again, this time applying their own Aardman-esque humor and style to the archeological-industrial complex. If you’ve played Two Point’s previous titles, you know what to expect, but I’m not complaining. I’ve lost countless afternoons decorating and optimizing my various museums as I attempt to assemble a pristine collection of antiquities for throngs of guests to gawk at.
8. Tiny Bookshop
There’s been no shortage of cozy games this year (or any year), but none represent a love letter to classic and contemporary literature quite like Tiny Bookshop. Just like it says on the tin, Tiny Bookshop has you curate and decorate your own trailer-bound bookstore, filling it with different genres of books to sell to the inhabitants of an adorable seaside town.
You can decorate your store to bolster sales of a specific genre, but the real meat of the game is making personalized recommendations to your customers based on obtuse context clues they’ve given you on their preferences. This feature relies on some passing familiarity with popular works and can be occasionally frustrating, but it feels super satisfying when it lands.
In a space that’s already packed to the gills with virtually every flavor of farming simulator imaginable, Tiny Bookshop stands out by playing into the very specific fantasy of having a friend gush about a piece of fiction you knew they’d love, and it quickly became one of my favorite titles of this year.
7. News Tower
Finally, a game that captures the romanticism of early-mid-century American print journalism! While News Tower is full of the usual logistics involved with your usual business sim, the real meat of this game draws from how you structure the newspaper you print each week. In addition to printing stories to help expand your base of subscribers, you’ll also be forced to make decisions catering to different municipal organizations if you’re ever going to eke out a living in this cutthroat town.
While there are plenty of generic beats to cover, News Tower also features multiple real-world stories that break on a weekly basis. This means each edition was full of interesting decisions that constantly put my journalistic integrity in mortal peril. I know the mob is going to break my kneecaps if I don’t publish this fluff piece, but I just had a breaking story land on my desk, and our readers deserve to know that the feds just indicted Al Capone.
If you love print journalism, history, or just charming business sims, News Tower deserves your attention.
6. Cataclismo
I never expected one of the best strategy games I played this year to be part RTS, part tower defense, and part Lego. Assembled by Digital Sun, the developers responsible for Moonlighter, Cataclismo is a post-apocalyptic medieval castle builder where you literally build your defenses brick by brick. While there are plenty of impressive pre-fab options shared by players on the Steam Workshop, it's extremely easy to lose hours putting together your ideal stronghold.
Cataclismo lives at the intersection of tactics and creativity. While you can technically build out your defenses however you’d like, the game quickly teaches you that the strongest walls are built on sound architectural principles. Your build also plays into your choice of units. While archers excel atop high walls, you’ll also need lower redoubts to buff your grenadiers. And before you know it, you’re using words like “redoubt” and looking up old Scottish castles on Pinterest.
5. System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Edition
I’m one of those people who’ve played System Shock 2 so much that I’m arguably more familiar with the decks of the Von Braun than some areas of my own neighborhood. While I would’ve preferred something closer to Nightdive’s gut renovation of the original System Shock from 2023, the developer has once again turned a title that was a little rough around the edges into the definitive way to experience this classic FPS/survival-horror game.
While the 25th anniversary edition is the result of some phenomenal work from Nightdive, it’s also a testament to the dedicated efforts of the System Shock 2 modding community, which has supported the game with patches and improvements for over 25 years.
I’ve played through System Shock 2 more times than I can count, but I was still blown away by how often the game was able to illicit a quick jump scare or feel genuinely unsettling, and the small touches added by Nightdive were all welcome additions to the experience. If you’ve never had the opportunity to play System Shock 2, you won’t find a better way to play this slick, influential, and incredibly atmospheric title.
4. Commandos: Origins
Following the untimely demise of Mimimi Games in 2023, I was worried that we’d be met with a drought of stealth strategy titles. However, Kalypso Media showed up with Commandos: Origins, delivering an excellent revival of the title that arguably popularized the genre.
Commandos: Origins applies many of the lessons and improvements that Mimimi brought to the genre, streamlining the more frustrating elements while retaining the complex tactical puzzles that make the genre so engaging.
There are only a dozen or so missions in Origins, but each level feels like a massive and immaculately detailed diorama where each patrol, sentry, and guard post presents a unique knot for you to unravel. While there’s plenty of trial and error involved, there’s no beating that feeling when your plan finally comes together, and your Commandos are operating like a well-oiled machine of professional killers.
3. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Definitive Edition
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War is the game that introduced me to Warhammer 40K as a setting, and I’ve never looked back. The Definitive Edition that came out this year is the ideal way to experience this RTS on modern systems, thanks to its myriad quality of life improvements, including support for some of the most ridiculous mods the Dawn of War community has summoned over the years.
With a total of nine playable races and four single-player campaigns that rival the quality and balance of many contemporary RTS titles, Dawn of War Definitive Edition is a testament to the strength of the gameplay established by Relic back in 2004. The RTS was never dead, for only in death does duty end.
2. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Another fine example of a title that missed last year’s awards by a hair’s breadth, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a magnificent expression of virtually every facet of Indy as a character, where so many other titles have fallen short. The Great Circle really shines as its own unique flavor of immersive sim, never missing an opportunity to make you feel like the man in the hat.
While Great Circle is chock full of tantalizing distractions, like taking pictures of cats in Vatican City or burning fascist propaganda, this game never leaves you feeling hungry for character moments. It feels like you’re never a stone’s throw away from a puzzle to solve, a tomb to explore, or something you could use to clobber a bad guy over the head.
While it’s impossible to overstate the impact of the performances of Troy Baker and the late Tony Todd have on the overall experience, the entire cast deserves a round of applause for delivering the best Indiana Jones adventure since the original trilogy.
1. Hades II
I followed Hades II throughout its Early Access development, and while it could’ve easily found its way onto several GOTY lists last year, many people, including myself, resisted that temptation. Now that we’ve been able to experience a finalized version of Supergiant’s latest opus, I’m happy to place Hades II atop the pantheon of my picks for 2025 GOTY.
Hades II builds on virtually every aspect of the original in a substantial way, with more meaningful meta progression, deeper, more satisfying combat, and an expanded cast of even thirstier characters. While the endgame climb represented a far greater challenge, this final triumph made the narrative conclusion even more satisfying.
I’ve spent a substantial amount of time with each of the picks on my GOTY list for 2025, but they all pale in comparison to the hours I’ve logged with Hades II, earning it the top slot in my list.