I will get a little to a lottle into my own feelings throughout this list. It’s been a year! I own this website now!
That’s absolutely wild.
So I'm going to write what I want. You can skip to the list at any point and skip all of this janter that should be saved for a therapist. I remember being so nervous during my interviews. I pretended that I had a doctor’s appointment so I could skip out on my job at the time, and then I took my first phone interview with Jason in my car. I faked another doctor’s appointment so I could have an in-person interview with Jeff and Brad. And I remember my final interview with Vinny was over Zoom, and I booked a conference room for two hours and didn’t tell my then boss what it was for. I would obsessively refresh my email, waiting to learn if I made it or I didn’t. I eventually got that email.
Fast forward eight years and some change, and we’re here now. Shit.
- Jan and Abby at PAX West 2019
There have been ups and downs. A lot of ups and just as many downs in my time here. I’m not going to lie, it’s been really, REALLY rough weathering the various storms throughout the years. I’ve thought of leaving a baby’s handful of times. I have been so frustrated at certain points where it was tough going in. And after the waves of departures, sales to different companies, and the loudest parts of the internet saying that “GIANT BOMB IS DEAD,” I felt adrift at sea.
But fuck that. I can’t swim. But I will always figure it out.
I held on. I’ve held on. I will continue to hold on.
- Jan at PAX East 2018
I cannot emphasize to y’all enough about how I believe this iteration of the team and where I am at is a perfect storm to carry Giant Bomb to fantastic wild places. So thank you, Jerf, Jeff, Dan, Mike, Shawn, Chuck, everyone else, and YOU, the folks at home, for continuing to listen and watch the shows.
I promise y’all that, however long we can keep doing this, we will be doing this right.
And to the OGs and everyone that’s been on the team previously, thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking a chance on me. I hope I’ve made y’all proud.
I’m probably going to get more mushy later sooooooo…
VIDEO GAAAAAAMES!
Honorable Mentions
- Magic: The Gathering - I don’t think I’m any good still, and I’m too shy to go to an actual in-person event, but I’ve really enjoyed getting into Magic this year. Every person I’ve talked to has been so generous and kind with sharing their knowledge of the game. I want to bring CoJANder Nights to the website at least once next year!
- Shinobi: Art of Vengeance - Joe Musashi is so cool.
- skate. - Not quite what I wanted Skate 4 to be, but close enough.
- Blue Prince - I hate math, and I like fortune tellers.
- Donkey Kong Bajanza - I hate Ostrich DK
- Marvel Rivals - GIVE ME CYCLOPS
And now to the Top Ten! Reminder, I’ve been real in my feelings this year, and these ten games have affected various parts of my brain. I may be reaching and trying to find meaning in my life right now, so some of these might be a stretch. Also, video games are so freaking cool, y’all. You should honestly check them out sometime.
10. Kirby Air Riders
The chaos of Kirby Air Riders is a wonderful exercise of letting go. Letting go of any notion of what you think a mode or a day is supposed to be. Am I supposed to collect power-ups and have a specific build for my machine? Am I supposed to go after and knock out my opponents? Why am I now collecting a bunch of PNGs of food? How come I can’t quite control my hamster Rick, while he’s gone feral and he’s full on sprinting across this small city? None of that matters. Are you having fun? Yes? Good.
9. Baby Steps
Sometimes you have to walk an obscene distance to clear your brain out. But what if we also made it challenging to walk to begin with? The world is a better place with Bennet Foddy’s brain applied to video games. His ability to make a game where the act of walking is a major, and the only, challenge is astounding. But that’s not all! Let’s throw in Foddy’s sense of humor to tackle the inner workings of a possibly depressed brain. How do we handle men’s inability to admit that they have a problem or get someone to finally start working on themselves? You simply get up. Not Mark Ecko style, but just stand back up. You’ll fall. But you will always at least try to get back up on your feet.
8. Umamusume: Pretty Derby
I’m not going to be able to convince you to check out this game if you haven’t already. It’s not only full of horses, it’s also full of heart.
7. Silent Hill f
It was only a couple years ago that I embarked on my journey through the Silent Hill franchise. While I’d still like to eventually get to Silent Hill 3, I have really grown attached to the world that has been created in the original two games. Silent Hill f is a worthy and hefty entry into the franchise that is as haunting and as mind-bending as the originals. I would almost give a leg up to Hinako because her journey throughout the game is heart-wrenching and painful as James Sunderland or Harry Vacation. Games are so sick, y’all. Never will I ever experience the societal pressures of not adhering to Japanese standards for women in the 60s, but Hinako bravely swings away at those expectations in front of her.
6. Skate Story
I believe that Baby Steps was a game that a lot of folks wound up resonating with and appreciating for more than just the gameplay. I love how a game can be super sticky well past rolling credits. That is Skate Story for me. Behind the shimmery poetic depths of the underworld, the simultaneous frenetic and calming music, and the glorious font treatment is a story of LITERALLY shooting for the moon. In this case, you’re trying to eat them, but yeah, aim high!
You will get absolutely obliterated navigating your way to the destination or goal. Destroyed. Shattered. Narrowly escaping or succeeding with the skin of your teeth. Sometimes you won’t remember why you’re doing “it” to begin with. But the hunger remains. The hunger for something greater that winds up acting in conflict with your general existence. Added with the additional conflict of starting to hate the very thing that you’re “good” at, and brought you to the dance to begin with. But sometimes the best thing to do is have a mini crashout to get some air, and then you get back on your board because you are so close to the goal.
Kick, push, and coast.
5. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles
Y’all, we got tiles! Admittedly, I am more of a Final Fantasy Tactics Advance kid because that was the first FFT game I was able to check out. But Jesus Christ, am I happy that we got this remake for folks to check out the original FFT game. Who knew a story about political unrest and the importance of friendship would still resonate in 2025? You still get the depth and all of the systems from the original, and now with VOICE ACTING!
Wow, a game that can provide VO to further enrich the experience for the player DOES add a lot. Who would have thought?
4. and Roger
This is a doozy, folks. I don’t want to spoil anything because and Roger is a fairly short game that deals in surprises and futzing around with your general perception of the game’s reality. It’s a story about love, perseverance, and how a condition can wreak havoc throughout multiple generations. In spite of that, and Roger still presents that ultimately it is better to experience love and loss rather than living in fear because the love will stick with us all much longer.
A haunting experience that really captures the ability that video games have to help share stories.
MORE INDIES THAT MAKE YOU CRY PLEASE.
3. Hades II
I played an obscene amount of Hades II when it was still in early access, so I thought that when it officially dropped, I wouldn’t be super interested. I was super wrong. If I weren’t checking in on a new game for work, this is what I would be playing. It’s amazing how you can improve a near-perfect game, but the folks at Supergiant Games found a way to do just that. While I wish I liked more of the story beats, Hades II is arguably the best game of the year. It’s like upgrading to a really nice kitchen knife. You would never think that it’d make a difference, but you slice and dice so neatly now that you understand why you needed to upgrade to begin with.
And they also give you a pet frog in this game. More games should do that.
2. Dispatch
Y’all know me. I love superheroes. I love stories about found families. Dispatch has all of that and a cute ass dog I would burn worlds for. This and Expedition 33 really came down to the wire as to which would land as my number one, and it’s honestly decided by a hair.
There’s the argument that there’s not much of a game here and that Dispatch is a glorified animated show. But I actually do enjoy the dispatching mechanic a lot. I like that through teamwork and the various experiences you and the Z-Team go through, you deepen your bonds. You help elevate your team to push past their limits and help them see what they’re capable of. In the process, you can’t help but examine yourself and wonder where you land on the team, if you even belong there. But collectively, it is this combination of you and this ragtag group of miscreants with their own quirks that is able to reach new heights.
Huh.
1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
I think the French needed this win.
Hey, if you haven’t played this yet and are wary of spoilers, get outta here!
Expedition 33 is absolutely intoxicating. The combat feels good, the look of various worlds you traverse is gorgeous, it has an extensive and enchanting soundtrack, brilliant performances, and an intricate story painting a multilayered picture of grief and acceptance. It's the whole dang thing. And gang. It’s perfectly okay to like something that a lot of other people also like. It does not rob you of your own experiences that you had with a game or anything that becomes popular. I still like Hamilton.
Anyway! I know the key point that a lot of people will flock to about the story is dealing with and avoiding grief. But the parts of Expedition 33 that resonate with me the most are the messages about agency and making art. Do any of these characters outside of Verso and Maelle actually exist? This is an approximation of Verso. Is HE even real? How can you stand up and fight when there is the notion that you yourself aren’t “real” at the end of the day? But together, the team’s combined belief is enough to materialize actual hope and change, or at least approach the precipice of it. It’s a reminder that the people around you are important to your growth, but you ultimately have to make the call for yourself whether to stay or grow.
Then there’s a version of Verso that is stuck maintaining this whole illusion because his gift is to paint. A part of him is stripped of his other faculties, and he’s meant to tirelessly work and work and work so he can preserve this picture and reality for others to partake in versus pursuing what may actually be calling him. But why can’t there be a balance?
The questions that Expedition 33 can potentially make a player face is absolutely haunting and obviously does more than resonate with me. Though folks may bristle with the endings, I’m still left with the notion that it is ultimately the better decision to choose yourself and not be dissuaded by the routines you’ve immersed yourself in, because there is no growth there, for anyone. Sometimes something has to be destroyed so everyone can grow for the benefit of everyone involved.
For those that come after.
And that’s it! That’s my Top 10 games of 2025. I’m not going to apologize for getting all mushy gushy and in my feels and perhaps extracting too much meaning from these games.
A close friend told me that it’s hip to be earnest, and I’m going to keep rolling with that.
It’s been a year, gang. Thanks to y’all for sticking with us. I’d want to go on another spiel about every individual member and homies that have helped me keep my head up, but I kind of put something together that shows my appreciation.
Roll the tape: