Howdy, my name is Harris Foster, and I work at Devolver Digital. You might not know me or my work, but Giant Bomb and I go way back. I’m like a “C-Tier” friend-of-the-pod, hanging out around the edges of the GB community. No, seriously. Here I am quite literally at the edge of the screen when Giant Bomb declared independence:
Being in the crowd to witness this moment was one of the many things that made 2025 a pretty great year. Some other highlights include getting a big promotion at work, helping Dan win a sweepstakes, and playing a whole lot of terrific video games. Oh, and I guess I got engaged too. No big deal. Anyway, video games!
10. Lumines Arise
Lumines Arise is my first Lumines game, and I think I’ve gotta go back and play them all now. The combination of music and visuals puts me into a special flow state and calms all the sharp static noise my brain usually makes. Between the spectacular bursts of particles and genuinely great music tracks, this is the kind of video game most deserving of a high-fidelity screen and sound setup. No joke. I’m sure Naughty Dog’s next thing is going to look realistic and expensive, but Lumines Arise is the reason to max out your living room setup.
9. Unfair Flips
Unfair Flips is indisputably a perfect video game. Upon launch, its rules are not only explained to you, but sworn to you. It never deviates from this guarantee. You know exactly how this game will go, so any more time spent with it is an interaction solely between you and God.
I managed to pull off a win in my first 45 minutes, which normally would be considered “good.” But for some reason, I winning only brought me disappointment. I felt like I was undeserving of this victory. Had I earned it? Truthfully, I was hoping I’d never win. Because it’s possible. And losing forever is arguably funnier than winning.
But the fact that I felt disappointed… rules. And realizing that is the closure I needed. Do you see what I’m saying? Is Unfair Flips over when you get 10 heads in a row? No. Unfair Flips is over once you acknowledge that it’s art.
8. Tower Unite
I recently realized something. I’ve helped launch more video games in the past six months compared to the past six years in previous roles. So naturally, I am tired. At the end of a busy day, sometimes I don’t want to get frags or solve puzzles. Sometimes I just want to get on voice chat with my buddies and experience the best kind of “fucking around on the internet” a video game can offer. Since the excellent PlayStation Home isn’t around anymore, we’ve got Tower Unite.
Here are some of the things you and your friends can do in the virtual world of Tower Unite:
- Go bowling while the 2006 Sony E3 Press Conference plays on all of the flat-screens in the alley, forcing strangers to watch with you.
- Witness a far-too-online roleplay couple have a dramatic public breakup in the town plaza.
- Fully furnish an apartment with creations from the Steam Workshop, including game consoles that actually run RetroArch when played.
- Watch that same roleplay couple embarrassingly decide to get back together a few minutes later.
- And most importantly, play some of the worst virtual mini golf humanly imaginable.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. These days, it’s wild to see an online multiplayer game that puts player expression and UGC at the forefront without asking for a dime beyond the initial sticker price. I play as the creepy mid-2000’s Burger King Mascot with a cigar sticking out of his mouth. I really admire what Tower Unite has going on, and I’m glad it exists. Best social game of the year. Cheers to you, Tower Unite.
7. ARC Raiders
My appreciation for Arc Raiders started when I learned about the etiquette established by the community. Players don’t kill on sight. Being asked in voice chat if you’re “friendly” is far more common than taking a bullet. Before Arc Raiders, I didn’t think a massive online game could make communication and trigger-discipline the primary means of success while at the same time putting the “shoot gun” button underneath the player’s index finger.
I’ll put it this way: when I played Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, I was disappointed that the multiplayer wasn’t about sneaking around and blending in as designed, but instead was jerks sprinting at full speed, rolling up on anyone they could find, and face-stabbing them. Same thing with Gears of War’s multiplayer and its bouncy shotgun business. These games taught me that gamers will find a way to kill things as fast as possible, even if that means breaking the design intentions propping it all up. Arc Raiders proves this wrong. The fact that Arc Raiders’ playerbase so consistently keeps the integrity alive is a real feat worth recognizing.
6. BALL x PIT
Is it poor form to pick a game you worked on? Probably. Sorry.
BALL x PIT is really good, and I won’t talk about it any further because I don’t want to be rude. I’m so sorry. Gosh, this... gosh. It didn’t even cross my mind when I was writing my outline, but now that – Oh, I’m being told that I’m making things worse. Okay, fine, I’m done. I’m done!
5. Nubby’s Number Factory
The black-tar heroin of “number go up” games. Excellent visual style, an unnecessary level of absolutely wack-ass world-building, and it plays a nice little animation when you’ve discovered a combo so broken that you’ve invalidated the need for a high score counter. Nubby’s Number Factory doesn’t care about anything other than having the most fun possible.
My favorite thing about this game is that for every instance where they could’ve written “A ball is spawned,” they chose to say “Nubby gives birth.” That’s disgusting. I love it.
4. Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater
Metal Gear Solid 3 used to be my least favorite game in the series. Something about the Cold War jungle vibe just didn’t interest me. Thanks to the increased fidelity and improved controls in the Metal Gear Solid Delta remake, I now see MGS3 for what it truly is: The campiest, shlockiest thing Hideo Kojima has ever done with the Metal Gear universe. Viewing MGS3 through this new lens rockets it up to the top of my list, and it now sits alongside the original PS1 Metal Gear Solid as one of the best Snake stories ever told.
Revolver Ocelot, you son of a bitch.
3. CloverPit
Gambling is fun. It’s very BAD for you, but it’s fun. So rather than gamble for real, you should play Clover Pit, where you can get a taste of those sweet, sweet dark patterns and only risk around ten real dollars and dozens of real hours.
The lights! The sounds! The bells as you hit a jackpot! They’re all there in Clover Pit. This game initially had me worried that it was going to simply be “slot machine-skinned Balatro,” but while I see Balatro as a strategic roguelike that truthfully has zero actual gambling elements, Clover Pit is the opposite: a hyped-out gambling turbo-simulator. I loved playing Clover Pit in the riskiest ways I could, whether that be choosing the Fake Coin item that ups my respin percentage or hoping that my spin would fail so that the Toy Train would proc just one more time and keep me in the game. I wanted as many under-the-hood slot machine spins as possible, and Clover Pit delivered. This game probably saved me from losing hundreds of dollars in real-world gambling, and for that I’m thankful.
2. Silent Hill f
I had always heard that Silent Hill was a series filled with deep meaning and symbolism, but because my only point of reference was the testimony of tormented die-hard fans, I had no way of knowing the absolute truth. All I had was the guidance of these scholars. Some told me to join them in their misery. Play Silent Hill. The highs are real high, and the lows aren’t that bad. Come on in, it only hurts a little. Others told me I’m better off staying far, far away. To not waste my time. Silent Hill will chew you up and spit you out. A beast.
I’ve always felt conflicted about this. Could I possibly find the same deep meaning in Silent Hill 2 as those who came before me? The beast of Silent Hill stood at my door for years as I thought it over. Will I be tracking down original PS2 copies to get the true Comic-Sans-less experience? The beast of Silent Hill grew hungry. Do I really want to willfully enter a world where I could develop an opinion about Silent Hill: Shattered Memories??? The beast of Silent Hill reared its ugly head back and opened its jaws.
No. Too much pressure. Too much bias. Gotta stay away. I dismissed the notion of ever playing a Silent Hill. And away the beast went.
On September 25, 2025, Silent Hill f released. It was the first full-length original Silent Hill game in over a decade. My first chance to experience an original Silent Hill in the moment, uninfluenced by the thoughts and opinions of those who came before me. The beast of Silent Hill was once again at my door, and this time I let him in. Chapter after chapter, Silent Hill f’s arms wrapped warmly around me. I began to understand. Silent Hill f brought me into the fold of the other Silent Hill sickos who came before me as I began to draw meaning, make connections, and have ah-ha moments. I loved it. I loved the themes. I loved the characters. I loved how the story respects player intelligence. I loved how beating the game changes subsequent playthroughs both practically and through gained knowledge and context.
I no longer think the Silent Hill 2 theories are head-cannon bullshit. I believe every single one of them. His name isn’t Pyramid Head, it’s Red Pyramid Thing. I still don’t know what the “f” in Silent Hill f stands for, but whatever you think is probably right. I don’t know why I was so scared before. I hope I taste delicious. I love Silent Hill. Always have. Always will.
1. Counter-Strike 2
Much like Silent Hill f, Counter-Strike 2 also has a lot of dedicated sickos warning you not to play it. Unlike Silent Hill f, we should listen to those people.
Do not play Counter-Strike 2. It is my number one Game of the Year.
Thank you for reading, and thank you to Giant Bomb for having me! Being invited onto this website about video games is always a pleasure.
Before I go, I want to give a special shout to the late-year releases of Sektori, Skate Story, and Unbeatable. I am certain that if I had more time with these games, they’d find a way to slot onto this list. It’s not that these games don’t belong in the top 10; it’s just that they came in just a little too hot to definitively place in the rankings. There’s science to where they’d fit, and science takes time. You understand.