John Warren is the founder and editor of VGBees, one-fourth of If You’re Driving Close Your Eyes, the peddler of Glydr, the innovative foot controller, and former head of Fanbyte (RIP).
They say that any long relationship is less about maintaining the rapturous, oceanic passion of your early days and more about finding little things to fall in love with over and over again. With my work at VGBees (and previously at Fanbyte), I’ve been accused of disliking video games. It’s odd to know that to a certain contingent, my attitude toward the medium is one of only derision. I’ve spent over fifteen years of my career and over thirty-six years of my personal life in games.
I’ve spent hundreds of hours talking about games into a microphone. I’ve made games, managed portfolios, and gotten my ass kicked by my mom in Tekken 2 at a Putt-Putt Golf and Games in Plano, TX.
I fell in love with games again this year, like I do every year. I’ll save my proper GOTY for my own website, but here are my top ten ways I fell in love with games in 2025.
I Got to Work with Niki Grayson for Another Twelve Months
Some people are going to tell you not to work with your friends, but not everyone has a friend like Niki. I’ve loved working with them in one capacity or another since 2019, and this year was not easy for either of us, but I wouldn’t be having nearly as much fun doing this without them.
Niki’s got such a sharp mind for this industry and in turn sharpens mine. I wouldn’t know jack shit about Pokemon without Niki around, either. Gotta know about the lizards. I’m forever grateful to Niki for enriching my professional life in ways they probably can’t imagine but, as ever, I’m more grateful for another year of friendship with or without video games.
Lotus Joined Our Podcast
We hired Lotus at Fanbyte not too terribly long before we all got shitcanned in 2022, but immediately appreciated her instincts as well as her dedication to unearthing and championing indie games that often escape mainstream outlet radars. This year, I asked her to join The VGBees Podcast as a permanent host, and it’s the best single decision I’ve made all year.
Not only does she push me to both trust and interrogate my instincts in equal, oscillating measure, but she’s introduced me to some amazing indie games. I can’t wait to play (and beat) POCO in one sitting. It’s a free point-and-click adventure game that looks sublime. I also wouldn’t have been keyed into Angeline Era, one of my favorite games of the year, without Lotus’ critical eye.
My Bestie Played Shenmue for the First Time
One of life’s great joys is knowing someone you love is experiencing something deeply important to you. As one of the world’s preeminent Shenmue appreciators, I’m always looking for people in my orbit to play Yu Suzuki’s divisive masterwork. When I played the game on VGBees’ Twitch channel, I had equal numbers of chatters praising the game’s idiosyncrasies as I did people begging me to play anything else. I knew one of my oldest friends would love this game, and have known this for many years. Finally, she played it, and she took tons of screenshots and it was one of my favorite things from this year.
Avowed Won My Personal GOTY in February
Okay, so I don’t declare an official GOTY because I prefer to be annoyingly precious and deferential to the idea that my mind can change on a dime. Still, Obsidian’s Avowed came out at the beginning of 2025 and attached itself way the hell into my consciousness the entire year. I love the verticality and movement of this game. I love the combat even when it’s kicking my shit in.
Most of all, I love that Avowed gave you a little private investigator badge and fucking meant it. You better have your head on a swivel in Avowed because it can very easily mean the difference between life and death for so many in this game world.
Author’s note: Microsoft is still actively complicit in the genocide in Gaza, and you can read more about the BDS Movement and its requests for the games industry to abstain from consuming certain Xbox products and Xbox Game Pass. I have signed this pledge and recommend you do, too, if you are able.
I Got Vulnerable With My Writing
I would not count Baby Steps among my favorite games of the year, but it certainly pulled a chair up for me at the table of my repressed feelings about everything from masculinity to my disabilities. I wrote about it, too, and it was well-received. I don’t often put myself right in the center of my writing, but it felt good to do it, and I’m glad it struck a chord for others, as well.
I think because this process felt so good, it opened me up to thinking about games a little more flexibly. As a critic, I’ve historically bristled at what I would consider personal essays, but when it works it works.
I Upped My Emulation Game
When I bought my OLED Steam Deck, I figured it would be mostly an emulation machine for me, but something curious and wonderful happened instead. I started playing, get this, my Steam library more than anything else. And so my emulation library sat, languishing and losing ground to larger, newer files. In 2025, I decided to invest in specific emulation devices and setups to make sure I always have a good setup wherever I go.
I bought a Retroid Pocket 5 and quickly loaded it up with my library, and then I finally set my desktop up with a proper RetroBat installation. It’s been super easy to dip in and out of a ton of older games while keeping my Steam Deck handy for all the new stuff I’ve played this year.
The Horses Stuff Happened
This year was great for Homework Games, or games I’d consider mandatory for fully understanding the state of the medium. Horses shouldn’t have been banned from a single storefront, but it was, and therefore became a very necessary part of unpacking where we are in the life of this art form. I played and beat Horses. I didn’t think it was very good. I do think I am very glad that I played it.
If we are going to clutch our pearls every time we remember Roger Ebert dismissing video games as art, then we have to put our money where our mouths are. At least Horses is trying something new, which is more than I can say for a lot of the games I played this year (or last year, or the year before, or the year before that, etc.).
The Nintendo Switch 2 Came Out
There’s just something about Nintendo, huh? It’s undeniably and inextricably linked to childhood nostalgia for me (and countless others), but there’s still a Nintendo magic I can’t deny even when they disappoint me. And boy, they disappointed me with Mario Kart World. That’s another list, though!
I preordered my Switch 2 in April. I broke my ankle in a car accident in May. In June, I received my Switch 2 and immediately, inexplicably bought the Switch 2 edition of Cyberpunk 2077 and played tens of hours in handheld mode in bed. I had a blast. I wouldn’t dare tell you it’s the optimal place to play the game, but it was perfect for me this summer. Which brings me to…
Damn, Tears of the Kingdom is Great
I put hundreds of hours into The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild between 2017 and 2023. It’s my favorite game of all time. I knew Tears of the Kingdom would be cool, but I also knew the ceiling was impossibly high. For a while, I sat in a profound emptiness when I’d play it. It just didn’t awe me. How could it?
Switch 2 changed this for me. Whether it’s the upped frame rate of the Switch 2 edition or the care I’ve taken to replay it this time, I’ve fallen deeply for this world again. I have no expectation for what’s to come with the Zelda franchise, but Tears of the Kingdom has solidified my belief that if the series ended tomorrow, I’d be fully at peace with it.
Games Media Isn’t Dead, and I’m Not Sure It’s Dying
If you believe your average timeline poster, games media is dying. Or it’s dead. Or it’s not quite dead, but it’s on life support. Or it’s a terrible thing to get into in 2025.
But between some great reporting and an influx of wonderful indie sites and podcasts, I think we’re doing okay. Not great! Can’t pretend! But I think we’re going to be okay. We have to just be vigilant, honest, brave, and supportive. Hey, Giant Bomb is independent again! You didn’t have that on your bingo card in 2025. Good things can happen.
Have a good 2026 and keep on buzzing!