Chuck Zimmerheld's Top 10 Games of 2025

Hey, it's me, Chucktowski - builder of this here website. This year went absolutely off the rails and included me joining the team here at Giant Bomb. I feel I've talked ad nauseam about this website and what it means to me personally, but suffice it to say I am thrilled to be here, and I hope to help this place grow as much as possible in the next year and on. I somehow played enough video games this year to actually have a list to talk about - but mark my words, next year I take my revenge: I'm slacking off from work, delaying updates, ignoring support emails, and playing the hot new releases day-and-date.

10. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Hideo Kojima doing Kojima things. This game rides the end of my list because the stellar action sequences are repeatedly interrupted by the rest of the game. It's when the heady courier traversal sim takes a step back and allows for bonkers tar goop Troy Baker ghost baby bullshit to take place, making this game incredibly strong.

Can I actually recommend you just find a compilation of cut scenes from this game and have a nice night in? It's a great way to experience Death Stranding 2, and that's not meant to be backhanded in the slightest.

9. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Hey, now wait a damn minute, this game came out in 2024! Yes, that's correct, but while taking stock of what I was able to actually play and enjoy this year, I realized I no-life'd Troy Baker's voice-over masterpiece in the first week and a half of January this year. It came out December 9th, 2024 (that's the day after Mike's birthday) and sadly avoided any and all awards ceremonies, so I think it deserves inclusion here.

The Great Circle's world is lovingly realized and lifelike but distinctly Indiana Jones, and had me poking my little fedora around every corner, picking apart mysteries in a game that was deeply welcoming, extraordinarily well-acted, and had a story that was appropriately corny for this franchise. Also, the whip! And puzzles! And I even liked driving that motorboat around!

What a villain we had in Emmerich Voss, played by Marios Gavrilis, by the way. This game is the best Indiana Jones movie since 1989, and Garvilis' performance, along with Troy Baker's, had a lot to do with it.

8. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance

The newest iteration of Shinobi is slick. There must be some deeply opinionated folks over there at Lizardcube that had a vision and executed on it, because everything works together so well here: vault rolling over top of an enemy, juggling them in the air, dunking them off a platform, while shamisen sizzle in the background. You're able to pick up a controller and dive right into dance-fight choreography interspersed with perfectly competent puzzles in a low-barrier-to-entry, juiced-up schmovement game.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is sugary-sweet ninja theater whose mastery of platforming, combat, and sauce elevate it above what could have otherwise been another-one-of-these.

7. Avowed

I think about Morrowind a lot, and I feel with extreme clarity that the team at Obsidian does too. In Avowed, you play as an Envoy of the Aedyran Empire, newly arrived in the Living Lands to sort out a colonial mess of epic proportions. Your decisions will repair or destroy the livelihoods of those involved, having ramifications on distinct cultures, religions, and ecosystems.

The discourse around Avowed missed out on the differences in playthroughs determined by player choice, as reviewers and audience alike avoided spoilers when possible. Having explored multiple branches of the story myself, though, I can say this title is Obsidian's most ambitious yet (I'll visit you soon, Outer Worlds 2) and reflects player decision-making in a way that blows past Fallout: New Vegas. Avowed is a true role-player's game, letting you leave the mark of a diplomat or cut a bloody path.

(Tyranny is another Obsidian title that I think actually has the most in common with Avowed in terms of its politics & themes - CRPG fans should check it out.)

6. The Séance of Blake Manor

The art of The Séance of Blake Manor reminds me of that early AI (not that AI) tech showcase, Facade, mixed with Archer. Its stylings seem a little low budget, flat, and lacking the personality that a game of this scope and mood could have greatly benefited from. That said, once I moved past that and started engaging with the game on its terms - what an experience.

Séance has you exploring a sprawling estate as you interview suspects, poke through their belongings, and piece together mind-maps while unraveling overlapping interpersonal mysteries. The systems at play here have you pulling threads, chasing leads, and managing the clock as you attempt to avert disaster at an eldritch get-together in the western boonies of Ireland.

Everything is earned in Séance - you're gathering clues and piecing it all together, and the game never spoon-feeds you the solutions, making it a very fulfilling whodunit that will genuinely keep you guessing.

5. Donkey Kong Bananza

I'm so glad the Nintendo Switch finally released in 2025, complete with a system-seller like Bananza - it would have been a real shame if we all had to suffer through eight years of subpar hardware that hitched along at 20-30 frames a second with constant pop in, right? Right?

Donkey Kong Bananza is a damn charmer, but what really grabbed me were the systems in play here. I pick up a chunk of rock, beat a puzzle piece with eyeballs over the head with it, grab another chunk, chunk jump, surf a chunk, "break" my way through a level, and have a damn blast doing it. In between, I cherished the little character moments with Pauline or the excellent cast of ape villains - and I have to say, Donkey Kong has finally been elevated as a franchise in a way it hasn't been since the SNES.

4. Dispatch

Dispatch really won me over, and I'll readily admit that I wanted to hate on it - but the writing here is absolutely best in class, and the surrounding game is lifted by it. Paired with shockingly good performances from Jeffrey Wright and Aaron Paul, Dispatch has an incredibly well-earned story with all the humor and heart. What if I told you Matt Mercer and Laura Bailey were in a new game together and they were footnote performances in it?

I definitely had a long internal dialogue about what constitutes gameplay here, but where I've landed is that anyone complaining or trying to tear Dispatch down as "not a game" is a gigantic fuddy duddy, and I hope Punch Up shows those dorks his special move.

3. Blue Prince

My perfect evening in? Well! I guess I'd have to say it's me with a cup of cocoa and a little notebook to fill with all my nonsensical puzzle notes. Blue Prince is an extraordinary, fresh take on multiple genres, and it is to my extreme benefit that it is not a game for everyone. Dogubomb has demonstrated a firm grasp on mood, storytelling, and thought-provoking puzzles, and they've energized my hopes for the genre(s) and how these layers will continue to evolve and blend together.

The soundtrack is worth a mention here as well; the bass clarinet comes in on tracks like Westwardly Winds and elevates a thoughtful experience to a mesmerizing one. I don’t know if “manipulated” is the right word, but you’re certainly steered into thinking something sinister is going on in Mount Holly by some of the music - but it’s more likely that darkness is something you brought with you when you arrived.

2. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Everything is working together and pissing excellence here in Expedition 33. The cast of characters here provide warm, earned emotional moments and are backed by one of the best video game soundtracks ever made, with a sweeping orchestral-synth experience. In regards to these characters in action, I am not good at parrying or games with demanding timing, but I found myself digging into Clair Obscur, insisting that I get better and be better at it, and when I did find those moments of connection, I earned some of my most satisfying gameplay moments of the year.

I also found that even if I didn't excel at parrying, I could excel at breaking the game down systematically by leveraging its intense pictos and skill trees, which let me do oodles of damage and one-shot many bosses all the way into the finale.

The above already would have cemented this game near the top of my list, but the narrative of Clair Obscur - one dealing with grief and escapism - tells one of the best stories in games ever. Compelling, interesting, unique, and strange, the world of Clair Obscur asks more questions than it answers and sets me up with hope that they continue the franchise and explore their lore more deeply.

Also: Sciel.

1. Hades II

Melinoë's trials and perseverance as she traverses the hells above and below, to save a family she's never met, won me over and surpassed the first Hades in a way I assumed would be an impossible fight. I was utterly charmed by Melinoë's characterization: understated, dutiful, sharp, oblivious, and earnest. She is a flavor of protagonist that feels refreshing in a sea of snark - and in a game full of stupid, sexy gods and goddesses, she carried the story of Hades II for me with ease.

It's reductive to say that Hades II is just more Hades; it's more that each part of what made the first game an all-time great is expanded upon and makes the sequel much more than its sum. With its soundtrack, Darren Korb has done his career-best here, featuring standouts like Bewitching Eyes, Time Belongs to Us, and Sightless Shepherd. The voice cast works their asses off to erase any notion that these new characters are stand-ins or replacements, with fascinating entrants like Hecate, Medea, and Prometheus. The game has more teeth as well, and not just from its monsters; Polyphemus is an excellent vibe check, and Scylla and the Sirens had me looking forward to their fight so that I could enjoy their diegetic performance while I picked them off. In addition to great boss fights, the combat benefits from more interesting weapons (I still miss the shield) and aspects, along with options for difficulty like the Vow of Rivals. Rivals not only adds wrinkles to familiar encounters, but also treats the player to new dialogue and music, sprinkling sugar before punishment.

It's easy to forget this is a roguelite, not because those elements are forgettable, but because of how seamlessly Supergiant integrates them into their game. I was happy to bounce between the featured weapons per run, and using the tarot cards to modify my run felt appropriate to the witchcraft of the Silver Sisters.

Hades II feels fantastic to play and is the game I keep thinking about getting my hands on again; it's approachable, legible, charming, and smooth. It's one of those few games where I am deeply unbothered by needing to replay and stack wins in order to get the "true" ending, because it means I get to keep playing the best game of 2025, and none of my time is wasted.