Jason Fanelli is a frequent Game Mess Mornings guest, freelance writer, and fighting game sicko. You can find him sharing his work and occasionally singing on stage on BlueSky.
It is an honor to once again be asked to contribute to Giant Bomb's end-of-the-year shenanigans.
It's been another wild year in this industry we all love, with highs and lows and everything in between. Layoffs, AI, and general corporate bullshit continued to place a stain in a general sense, but there were also many very good video games to speak of, including some we thought we'd never see (Silksong! Metroid Prime 4!).
You're going to read a lot of articles about "the games of the year," which means you're going to see a lot of the same names over and over again: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Donkey Kong Bananza, Dispatch, Hades 2, Silksong, MindsEye…ok, maybe not that last one.
Because of this, I wanted to offer something a little different; instead of talking about my favorite games, I want to focus on the best individual moments from the games I played and the industry I follow throughout 2025. This approach, I hope, is more interesting to read than just listing my GOTY and its runner-ups as I have in previous years. Sure, I'll mention what my GOTY is, but I don't want to get hung up on "rankings" or anything like that; let's just talk about the things that made me smile the most.
Share yours in the comments, and maybe I'll seek them out for myself.
Springfield in Fortnite
Fortnite's collaborations sometimes feel like a child throwing new action figures into a toy chest. Hey, look, the K-Pop Demon Hunters are here! Whoa, there's a new set of Scooby-Doo toys! Wait, how did Kim Kardashian get here? The list goes on.
However, sometimes a Fortnite collaboration transcends that simplicity, and when that happens, we get the short-lived Springfield season in partnership with The Simpsons. The way the team at Epic Games implemented Springfield into Fortnite, and then packed the map with references to the show--especially deep cuts like the Radiation King TV in the one farmhouse--made me smile every time I dropped.
As the season went on, Homer's antics kept the battle royale loop fresh with donuts dropping from the sky, Homer clones running around, and boss battles against some of Springfield's finest. I know collabs like this are usually one-and-done, but I'd really like to see Springfield back in some form in Fortnite's future.
The Donkey Kong Bananza Twist
I haven't been this intrigued by a close-up of an opening eye since Lost was on TV.
Donkey Kong Bananza is my Game Of The Year for 2025. There are arguably better "games" out there, but none of them matched fun gameplay with sheer delight for me and my family like DK and Pauline's underground antics. Smashing things was amazing, the soundtrack quickly became a household favorite (ohhhhhh zebraaaaaaaa Zebraaaaa ZEEEBRAAAAAAA, there, now it's in your head again), and that was all before I reached the endgame.
I refuse to spoil it here, because I do not want to potentially take away the delight of the moment from anyone who may be holding off on playing it, but believe me when I say it is a moment of confusion, then catharsis, on a level that few other games managed to hit this year. Plus, the final chapter that builds off of this twist is incredibly cool, eventually making you realize that the game hinted at this the entire time; I just wasn't picking up what it was putting down.
Getting Called Out for Smelling Like Shit in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
There's always a lot of talk about "realism" in video games; how "real" do players actually want their games to be? Warhorse Studio set out to make as authentic a medieval experience as possible in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, and they packaged it with one of the deepest, most thorough RPG experiences available.
Despite its gritty, dark looks, there's a lot of Monty Python silliness running through the game too. Case in point is how the game casually reminds you that you haven't visited the local bath house in a while…by having every NPC you come across comment on how much you smell like absolute shit. It's wildly funny, to the point where I'd delay getting washed simply because I wanted to hear how some bloke on the street would address me. If you're making a list of 2025 games to play over winter break, make sure KCD2 is in consideration.
The Daft Punk Experience
I'm going back to Fortnite for a second, because while The Simpsons was awesome, it was my second-favorite Fortnite event of the year. Top honors goes to the incredible Daft Punk Experience, which celebrated the dance music duo in a way that I've never seen before.
From the start of the experience, when I'm floating in space and "Contact" begins to play, I knew I was in for something special. After the audio/visual assault that follows, I end up on a barren planet surrounded by debris. This is a direct reference to the video announcing the band's dissolution, and the love and attention to Daft Punk's body of work only grew from there.
From the Fuser-like mini-game that allowed me to make my own mixes, to the recreation of the incredible Alive 2007 concert, I spent hours in The Daft Punk Experience as the music coursed through me. It also got a small tear out of me, believe it or not, when Interstella 5555 appeared in the concert venue once "One More Time" began. More people should watch that film.
Magic: The Gathering's Final Fantasy Set
Hey man, gaming is gaming, whether it's on a TV screen or a tabletop. I waited for the Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy set to drop for two years, and it lived up to the hype. It is a celebration of what makes Final Fantasy so good, across hundreds of small cardboard pieces, and adding them to the collection has been a beautiful thing.
I've built multiple decks using these cards, some featuring characters I expected to use (Squall from FF8, aka the best Final Fantasy do not at me), others featuring characters that surprised me (I don't play FF14, but The Wandering Minstrel is a cool dude). I collected the entire 64-card bonus sheet of cards using official FF concept art and images. I dove headfirst into this set, and it was amazing.
A lot of old-school Magic folks curse Universes Beyond, and I get it; it's "not the same game." However, I wouldn't be playing and loving Magic if it weren't for UB, so I'll continue to approach each set with an open mind. You should too.
Skating Around in Sword of the Sea
There's nothing I like more than when a small, unknown title comes out of nowhere and knocks my socks off. This year, that was Sword of the Sea.
Sword of the Sea puts me in the role of Wraith, who must skateboard on a sword (skatesword?) in order to restore the natural balance of the world. Gameplay is admittedly simple for the most part; it's a lot of skating around, hitting symbols, and collecting small bits of currency for upgrades, but my goodness, this game is gorgeous.
It hits that Journey feeling of wonder and exploration, all while a soaring soundtrack sets the tone wonderfully. The end of the game ratchets up the tension in a way Journey never did, which I also appreciated. Smaller, more focused games are increasingly becoming the future of the medium, and games like Sword of the Sea are prime examples of why that's a good thing.
F@$#ing Baby Steps
On the other end of the "unexpected" spectrum lies Baby Steps, a game I expected to be kooky and silly based on its trailer, but not a game I expected to raise my blood pressure to the point of near-spontaneous combustion.
Good gravy, is Baby Steps hard, and on the one hand, a small part of you wants to tell this hapless idiot, Nate, to piss off and put the controller down. As you continue to trek through the world, one step at a time, you begin to realize that Nate's journey is important and good, and he is, deep down, also a good soul, and you want him to succeed. So you trudge on, finding a cool hat or two along the way, while stepping ever-so-gingerly over that very difficult obstacle…
…and then you fall off the f@#$ing cliff and have to repeat multiple hours of progress and god DAMN it NATE!!
The Unexpected Homage in Wildwood Down
Earlier this year, I found out about Wildwood Down, a point-and-click adventure game in the vein of Maniac Mansion and Day of the Tentacle, set in the south New Jersey shore town I've frequented since I was a kid. The main character, Danny, is a man with down syndrome looking for his missing sister, and he's voiced by the real-life friend of the developers who inspired the character, which is super cool!
Aside from being a fun point-and-click, there's a moment in the middle of the game where the tone shifts from investigation to an out-of-left-field tribute to a PlayStation 1 classic. It seems completely random, but it somehow...works? I definitely appreciated it, and it routinely pops into my mind since I've played it, so the team at Crashable Studios was definitely on to something there.
Go check out Wildwood Down, it's a hidden gem!
"Giant Bomb has new owners, and you're looking at them."
The words that got this site where it is today. An independent Giant Bomb is a beautiful thing, and the fact that the boys were able to make it happen, and continue to make it happen, is amazing and difficult and appreciated all the same.
The community here is one worth fostering, with some incredibly cool folks just vibing and talking about games. That Jeff, Jeff, Jan, Mike, and Dan were able to pry this site from its corpo masters and turn it into what it is today feels like a miracle, but in retrospect, it was also inevitable. Whatever it is, I'm glad it's here, and there are a legion of people who feel the same way.
Giant Bomb forever. Have a great holiday, duders and dudetters, see you in 2026.
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