Somehow, Lucy James returned to Giant Bomb.
Okay, well not really. But I’m thrilled that the stars aligned and allowed me to write up my top games of the year for the (very swanky-looking) site. Before we jump into my list, I want to say huge congratulations again to the boys: they’ve only bloody gone and done it. Giant Bomb is independent, and long may she remain so. I’m so proud of them, and will forever cheer them on from the sidelines.
Okay, sentimental stuff out of the way, now it’s time to talk about ME.
This year has been a great one for game releases (and a shit one for just about everything else). I’ve played some absolute all-timers, replayed some favourites, and developed quite a worrying PowerWash Sim addiction. Here are my top games of the year.
Games That Rewarded Me for Being a Nosy Cow
The great Tamoor Hussain once said, “See the drama, don’t be the drama.” It’s an adage I try to live by, so where better to get my drama drippings than via the interactive medium of video games. The Roottrees Are Dead combines salacious family secrets with combing through old school internet, so very much in my wheelhouse. The Séance of Blake Manor lets me rummage through people’s belongings and is packed with spooky ghost stories. Duck Detective and the Ghost of Glamping had me sensibly chuckling at every turn. Truly, it was a great year to be a nosy cow.
“I Just Need to Lock In” Games
Not content with my full-time job and juggling a few other projects at the same time, I decided to really go all-in on two games this year: Fields of Mistria and PowerWash Simulator 2. Fields of Mistria was an obvious one. I’ve been following and loving its early-access offerings since it launched, so naturally, with its latest update, I decided to start a brand new farm from scratch. I was making notes of crop rotations, spending days in the mines hunting for drops, and romancing everyone because I was the town floozy. Fantastic, can’t wait for 1.0.
PowerWash Sim has genuinely become a problem. It launched around the time of the Xbox ROG Ally X, and it sort of became the default game I’d boot up when I was testing the console. One time, I spent over an hour cleaning a giant barn, and as the completion screen popped up, I wiped pretend sweat from my brow and said, “Phew, that was a big job,” and my friend Jenn has never let me forget it. Soap is free now! It’s a huge improvement on the first game!
I think my Steam Wrapped is broken because this was easily my most-played game in 2025, and it barely showed up in the recap.
FromSoftware Representation
Lies of P was a game I didn’t really expect to play through this year because when I tried it at launch I bounced off it after a few hours. Not so this time! I loved running around those wrecked streets with Timmy Chalamet & Co., and it has cemented itself as the best non FromSoft FromSoft style game around. Excellent soundtrack too.
I wasn’t entirely sold on Elden Ring Nightreign because I am such a specific (read: annoying) kind of Souls player. The kind that combs through every corner for items, kills every enemy, takes her time, and never uses her items. So basically, the exact opposite of what Nightreign wants you to do as you rush through the world as the night draws in behind you. Despite that, I loved my time with Nightreign! The DLC rocks!
I have also restarted Elden Ring, which I promise is not a cry for help.
Game I Forgot I Even Played
I played through Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii earlier this year on PS5 and completely forgot about it. I liked it!! Am I such a PC gamer now that I don’t remember playing things on other platforms? It even had a musical number, and I am a sucker for one of those.
Games That Made Me Cry
and Roger is a masterpiece! I don’t want to say anything else about it because I firmly think you should play it yourself. It’s like $5 and only takes an hour, do it and thank me later.
Man, Expedition 33 is fantastic, and I wish I could Eternal Sunshine it from my mind so I could experience it all again. I’ve dealt with a bunch of grief in my lifetime, and the game was such a masterful exploration of death that it felt oddly cathartic to play through.
That and the parries, the parries were VERY satisfying.
Games That Made Me Glad I’m Not a Teenager Anymore
Sometimes I wish I could just turn back the clock and be a teenager again. Live a life with no responsibilities, just while away the hours listening to music with my friends, talking about everything and nothing.
But then I remembered that being a teenager sucked, hormones sucked, developing (both your body and your identity) sucked, and I find I’m quite content being in my thirties. I think Silent Hill f was such an effective horror game for me because it perfectly tapped into all the anxiety and insecurities that come with being a teenage girl. It was my first Silent Hill game, and now I’m very stoked to play 2 Remake over the break.
There were many more games I played in 2025 that I loved, but I am already a full day late with submitting my list (sorry Jeffs, love you), and so I will call it there. Love and miss you, wonderful Giant Bomb community. Tell my lads I love them, and hopefully you’ll see me grace the website again very soon (I have not forgotten about Skull and Foams).
Xoxo Lucy