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Another year, another set of new games.
You’d think these game devs would have stopped by now but they just keep making good games! What a disaster!
After ~begrudgingly~ enjoying my time with a handful of games released throughout 2025, I’ve decided to make a list highlighting a few of them.
I’m the only person on the internet doing this.
Let’s begin!
Best Ketchup
(Or, Gustav Presents: For Those Who Come After)
Try as you might to play them all, with every good game, there’s always five more that you miss along the way. I found some extra time this year to catch up on some titles I missed over the last few years, and there were a few notable standouts.
Second Runner-Up: Stellar Blade (April 2024)
I was a bit leery about Stellar Blade going in. However, once I got into the game, I was pleasantly surprised with Nier-ly everything Stellar Blade had to offer, and I poured a lot more time into it than I was expecting.
It’s a well-made action game with exciting combat that’s both stylish and challenging. Exploration was extensive and rewarding, featuring some interesting side content. The story has been done better elsewhere, but there are still some genuinely good story beats sprinkled throughout that make it worth the time invested. I’m looking forward to the next chapter, but I do hope they tone it down a bit with the costumes.
First Runner-Up: Viewfinder (July 2023)
It’s short and nowhere near as challenging as other games in the first-person puzzle genre, but Viewfinder makes up for that with its mind-blowing mechanics that never fail to impress. Each time I solved a puzzle, it felt like I was breaking something. Consistently feeling like magic, I kept wondering, “How did they do this??”
On top of the puzzles that use the cool photo gimmick, almost every level has something different to blow your mind in new ways, making every puzzle feel fresh and exciting.
It’s a shame that you can wrap up Viewfinder rather quickly (four to five hours), but in this case, its brevity worked in its favor. Puzzle games can be infuriating when you hit a wall, so being able to make your way through before any of the puzzles overstay their welcome made it far more impactful.
If you’re a fan of puzzle games, it’s certainly worthwhile to experience it at least once.
Winner: Astro Bot (September 2024)
Hold on tightly, everyone. I’m about to break new ground:
Astro Bot, good.
Every bit of this game was charming, tough, and a delight - almost always at the same time. It’s a challenging experience that tests your patience but remains accessible to anyone capable of pushing their limits. One of the best 3D platformers ever made, Astro Bot is snappy and fresh with each new level.
It does a tremendous job of pulling on your PlayStation nostalgia strings and makes you want to find all the little Astronerds just so you can exclaim gleefully: “I remember them!" Or “Who??”.
It’s a remarkable accomplishment and went completely under the radar! A game that no one talks about!
Everyone! Play Astro Bot!
Wait…it was on how many GOTY lists?
…Oh. Still. Underrated.
Best Time Wasted
One of the more annoying aspects of video gaming is the time you have to spend playing them. The audacity! It could also be the best. Who knows? I’m no expert videogamesman.
Luckily, there are games that just eat up time and, hours later, you’re just okay with it. Two specific games this year devoured my time in different ways, and I’m glad they did, even if I didn’t (technically) finish all of what they had to offer.
Runner-Up: Hollow Knight: Silksong
Much like the first Hollow Knight, I have still yet to finish Silksong. I know. Bad gamer!
I put a decent chunk of time into the original game before hitting a wall, and I unfortunately hit another wall in Silksong. A little past the halfway point, I’ve been trying to dip back in every so often to break down that wall, but it remains to be seen when or if I’ll ever get past it.
Both games are daunting in their complexity and density, and can often be a little too challenging for their own good; Silksong is no exception. With tough fights and long runbacks, it can be deflating and a killer to the momentum.
However, every second “wasted” exploring and uncovering every inch of the map was rewarding, and I enjoyed every second - lost as I may have been at times. The struggles with the platforming aside, Silksong is the type of game that makes me wish I was better at games and a lot more patient.
Winner: Blue Prince
Blue Prince is a deep, deep game. To some, the depths at which it goes could be considered a detriment. To others like myself, I couldn’t get enough.
I reached the end of Blue Prince’s core story at the end of Day 46. If I stopped there, I would have felt like it was time well spent (or wasted). But…there was that other thing I still hadn’t seen yet…What was that? And also, what about that other thing…?
As of this writing, I’m on Day 113, and I still have a lot more loose threads that I’m still pulling on. The RNG of getting a chance to tie up those threads is the contentious talking point when talking about Blue Prince, but it’s what makes it so special to me in this category. Whether you’re trying to get to an all-new room or you’ve unlocked a new wrinkle on something you’ve seen a hundred times before, every moment feels like you’re figuring out something.
It’s rare for a game - roguelikes in particular - to make me feel like I’m learning something new every time I play it. Oftentimes, it’s just an incremental stat upgrade that ultimately doesn’t change much. But when Blue Prince changes how you think about certain items or rooms, it makes your “wasted” time actually seem meaningful.
That’s why I loved running around the Manor looking for new clues to – Oh, I ran out of steps. Guess I’ll call it a day.
Best Remake/Remaster
There sure are a lot of remakes and remasters out there, huh? (A remake of this list, completely remade in Unreal, will be released in 2027!!)
While I have yet to play Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater, I know it’s going to be great. Same goes for Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and a few others. Those games meant a great deal to me when they came out, and I spent many, many hours with them. While I cannot wait to revisit them in an all new light, I’m delaying them simply because I know what to expect. The element of surprise just isn’t there.
Runners-Up: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4
While there wasn’t much of a surprise with Tony Hawk 3+4, the fact that it ever came out was maybe the best surprise of the entire year.
Even though I knew what to expect from the game, I still absolutely adored every second I got to spend with the new collection. One of my favorite series of all time, I’ve spent countless hours in the Tony Hawk franchise, and 3 and 4 were a big part of that. With all of the levels burned into my memory, skating around only needed the punk, rap, and ska-infused muscle memory to kick in.
They didn’t need to change a single thing about the game for a remaster collection, but the new additions to the visuals and soundtrack fit comfortably; adding a modern edge to the experience. The game itself still feels as fast and fluid as ever, with controls that feel identical to the way they were back in 2001, making it super easy to pick it up (pick it up, pick it up). The removal of THPS4’s no-time-limit career mode is a bit of a bummer, but it still works perfectly well without it.
But, as with Oblivion and MGS Delta, it is still just a collection of things I’m used to; reminding me of my time spent with the games they used to be.
Which is why…
Winner: Once Upon a Katamari
I know. I know! Once Upon a Katamari is NEW and NOT a remake or a remaster.
I know!
But where the remakes/remasters of the year serve as HD memories of older titles, Once Upon a Katamari reminds you why you fell in love with this dumb, giant ball of a franchise in the first place and gives you much, much more. If more of these remasters/remakes went in this direction instead of rehashing old titles, I bet we’d see a boom in creativity.
Almost a direct continuation of the original Katamari back in 2004, they created a game that could have fallen out of a PS2 instead of overburdening itself with an insane graphic overhaul. With a silly beating heart at its core, it never feels like a cynical reboot of the franchise.
Packed with insanely charming levels and absurdly fun challenges that keep you coming back for more, Once Upon a Katamari proves over and over just how fun this series can be. From the classic “get bigger” missions to rehydrating a desert, I was glad to do whatever dumb challenge they presented to me. Becoming a giant tumbleweed or a spiky icicle ball, each level is just as dumb as the last. Make it sillier by customizing your character with a whole slew of equally weird cosmetics.
Rolling it all together (heh), it ends up being one of the best entries of the entire series and never stops being a blast to play. It’s a great time for returning fans of the series, but it could be a powerful first taste of the Katamari drug for any newcomers.
This is a quintessential Katamari experience that everyone should roll with.
Best FPS Nostalgia Bait
While Doom 2016 is still the best the franchise has ever been outside of the original ‘93 game, Doom: The Dark Ages adds a lot (arguably too much) to the formula. There are moments that feel like you’re playing the purest form of Doom, and then it will suddenly shift to something completely different - all while maintaining the classic Doom vibe. It’s impressive that they were able to swing so wildly, even if it did make you wish they had stuck to their guns a bit more.
I enjoyed almost every bit of Doom: The Dark Ages, with the “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Demons” segments being a setpiece highlight and the skull crushing Pulverizer being one of the most metal weapons in video game history.
However, a few level-breaking moments really caused me to lose momentum. In two separate instances. I made it ~90% of the way through one of the already very lengthy levels, only to reach a point where I couldn’t progress, and I had to restart the entire level. In one instance, a waypoint wouldn’t trigger and, in the other, the exit closed on me, locking me out. It soured the experience, but I still pushed through.
I suppose it ~was~ hell, so like, I guess I shouldn’t complain?
Winner: Abiotic Factor
Since Valve is too busy releasing hardware, we have to rely on others to help bring the Half-Life vibes to us and nothing this year made me feel the warm, nostalgic Black Mesa fuzzies more than Abiotic Factor.
Nowhere near a perfect title, Abiotic Factor released in 1.0 this year, and it takes the setting, tone, and aesthetic of the original Half-Life and turns it into a charming Survival Crafting game. Those last few words might be poison to some, but Abiotic separates itself from the oversaturated genre with plenty of winks and nods to its inspirations. Even if the typical pitfalls like hunger/thirst/sleep can feel like a thorn in your side the entire time, there are so many fun and endearing little touches to the game that really make it stand out. The game’s densely packed environments can be hard to navigate, but it truly does feel like you’re playing a giant Half-Life mod with an impressive selection of handcrafted weapons and gear.
Admittedly, I’m not through the game just yet. I am playing with a friend, who loves Half-Life possibly just as much as I do, and we’re playing at our own pace. We’re only a little over halfway through and, even if we are at a rather annoying RNG-heavy part at the moment, I’m still excited that there’s so much of the game to see.
It’s nowhere near as perfect or concise as the franchise it’s inspired by, but Abiotic Factor deserves to be listed as one of the best Half-Life experiences in 2025 you can have-life.
Best Story
Admittedly, it can take some extra grease to help keep my brain motivated to play certain games. Either the story is great and the gameplay is too dry. Or the gameplay is a thrill, but the story induces sleep. It’s a hard thing to balance, and if a title favors one or the other, I tend to set it aside “for later”.
The backlog grows.
Thankfully, two games this year blew me away with their compelling stories, each with wildly different delivery methods.
Runner-Up: Blue Prince
Blue Prince doesn’t unload its story and lore on you like a lot of other games. Instead, Blue Prince drip-feeds it to you in an incremental way, allowing you to absorb it your own way. It stays away from heavy-handed and long-winded dialogue-heavy cutscenes, and instead allows you to put the pieces together by yourself.
With the heavy RNG in Blue Prince, your mileage may vary with this particular delivery method. You might want to skip the story altogether to focus solely on puzzles. That’s where Blue Prince shines because it does an incredible job of letting the subtle world-building seep into your head - sometimes without you even realizing it.
It’s not just the delivery method that made it stand out, by the “end” you’ll have a deeper understanding of the manor itself and the country it all takes place in, all without drowning you in expository dialogue. The familial story threaded into the storyline develops naturally, and you’ll get to know more little by little as time goes on.
It's a thoughtfully crafted world with a staggering amount of depth, and piecing it together is half the fun.
Winner: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
On the other hand, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 offers a much more traditional approach and, in turn, delivers one of the best stories I’ve played in a video game.
While a lot of the JRPGs that inspired Clair Obscur have interesting characters and plot threads, I struggle to find one that compels me to move forward. Either they are so traditional that it feels like I’ve heard it a million times before, or they’re too convoluted right out the gate. Clair Obscur, however, starts with an interesting premise that immediately hooked me and drove the entire 50+ hour experience.
Conceptually compelling and quick to establish itself, I immediately needed to see how it all wrapped up. It’s been a long time since a game captured my attention so quickly.
What makes it even more special, while skirting spoilers, is that there are multiple turning points throughout the game that introduce a new wrinkle that pulled me even closer in. It just keeps delivering and keeps giving you more and more, with every bit of it being just as delicious as the initial setup. Just when you think it’s about to be over, the game just opens up and delivers more.
The driving force of the story wouldn’t be anything without its remarkably deep cast of characters. Superbly written and performed across the board, each character’s own emotional stories have a beating heart that makes them all easy to identify and sympathize with. They’re all very human and authentic from the jump, helping you root for their success in their Expedition.
Long after finishing it, I’m still thinking about it. To me, games of this scope can never quite sustain their stories, but Clair Obscur maintains the intrigue the entire way through. It’s beautiful from the Prologue to its final moments. A masterclass in storytelling that is worthy of all its praise and accolades. It transcends being just a video game story and becomes almost as powerful and authentic as classic literature or film.
It deserves to be studied and then placed into a baguette and then eaten.
Best Multiplayer
To maintain some semblance of a “social life,” I gather with some friends each week to play video games online. Our 6-8 person group usually plays the Survival Crafting genre because it gives us an opportunity to play the game, do the stuff, and have casual conversations. Between those lengthy and grindy experiences, we play games that can serve as one-off experiences; games good for a few runs before we’re back to our bigger game.
This year, two massive games scratching that specific itch fell into our hands, and they both came with a lot of laughter.
Runner-Up: R.E.P.O.
While borrowing a lot from trendsetter Lethal Company’s formula, R.E.P.O. focuses a lot more on the comedy aspect of reaching quotas, and it nails it perfectly. A genuine blend of horror and slapstick adds so much pure fun to each session that it’s hard to deny its charm. The temperamental physics-based item damage adds an extra humorous kick to the adorable robot mayhem, making it more than just a “hide from the monster” simulator.
It quickly became one of my favorites of the quota based friend slop games because the replayability is so high. Lethal Company can make you feel deflated when missing your quota, but I always want to try again with R.E.P.O., and even if the next attempt goes poorly, it’s still a blast. It’ll be a game I’ll always be happy to jump back into any chance I can get.
Speaking of jumping…
Winner: Peak
Scared of heights in real life, climbing games have always fascinated me. First growing with the early Counter-Strike climbing maps known as Kreedz, the desire to climb dumb cliffs was further reinforced by the early Assassin’s Creeds and Mirror’s Edge. However, those games were all such solitary experiences. Even on public Kreedz servers, you were the one to blame if you fell. If you struggled with a jump, you just had to watch others jump past you beyond your skill level. Meanwhile, Assassin’s Creed and Mirror’s Edge were mere single-player parkour simulators.
Peak sets itself apart by allowing you to climb together as a team. Reach out to grab someone from the edge and help hoist them up! Just like the movie Cliffhanger! Sure, you’ll both fall to your death moments later anyway (also like Cliffhanger) but, in that brief moment, you feel like a hero. You’ll feel connected in ways that a lot of multiplayer games just don’t offer. It’s a very simple addition, but so effective.
Adding to its replayability, Peak changes its mountain every day so that you’re never repeating the same climbs, making it constantly fresh and exciting to fall off and make your way up. Playing Peak solo can offer a lesser experience but still holds its own merits and challenges with more deliberate climbing and item use restraint.
With others or alone, the sense of defeat in Peak doesn’t seem to last as long as in other games, and the need to make it to the top is ever-present.
If falling off a cliff in real life weren’t so…permanent, I think I’d give it a try!
Note: A few days ago, my group finally got to the very top, and it was an incredible experience. Sure, most of us died, and a single friend was the only one that got through the remaining ~400m by his lonesome, it was no less magical. He certainly couldn’t have done it with all the ghosts cheering him on from the beyond. I never felt more confident…?
Game of the Year 2025, IMO
My top two games this year did something very special in very different ways.
One is an amalgamation of all the things I love about video games, repackaged in a uniquely invigorating way. The other was an expertly crafted game in a genre that I generally enjoy but run out of patience with. Even with some major flaws, both games are verging on near-perfect in my eyes, and it was tough to pick one for the top spot. Though the choice was ultimately made, I do consider both titles to be on my list for Best of All Time; proving that 2025 had some major heavy hitters.
Runner-Up: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Pulling me into a turn-based RPG game is much harder than I’d like. Though I enjoy my time with them, I rarely finish them. I fall off way too fast, and I move onto something else before I really give the game a chance.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was different.
While the immediate draw of the main story propelled me forward, there was so much more to the game that really kept me engaged. The exploration, the characters, the art, the music, so much was working toward a singular vision, and it was all so executed perfectly that I couldn’t put it down.
The combat was intense - albeit often frustrating - but it’s almost godlike to feel powerful in Expedition 33. Numbers go up, and high numbers are good! The toughest bosses were tough until you figured out their attack patterns and took them down, and it felt great every time. Granted, the optional “hardest boss” of the game is one I left alone entirely, but feeling that your grinding and failed attempts were all able to accumulate successfully.
Could some of the enemies be a little less of a headache to defeat? Absolutely. Did they sometimes seem like they were broken? Definitely. Luckily, allowing us to bend the rules in our favor and output insane amounts of damage made that particular misery a bit more tolerable.
At points, Expedition 33 almost seemed too big. The sweeping epic of a story took on so many forms, and the world kept getting bigger and bigger. Even still, I don’t think I ever felt bored while playing the game, and if it were twice as big, I’d still be thrilled to play more of it.
I laughed, I cried, I desired an Esquie body pillow (which isn’t a thing yet???).
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 deserves all its flowers.
Winner: MindsEye
Okay... no.
Winner: Blue Prince
I can’t stress how much this game feels like it was tailor-made to me.
Using clear inspirations from many of the games and genres that have meant a great deal to me over the years, Blue Prince ties them all together in a fascinating, alluring way. It’s not just one of the best gaming experiences I’ve had this year, but one of the most memorable in a long, long while. Turns out, I love puzzle games.
While it is certainly marred by the intense RNG element, Blue Prince still remains consistently fun even when you do reach a dreaded dead end too soon. With it being baked into the story, the randomized rooms are an integral part of the experience and likely wouldn’t have such an impact without it - even if it is divisive.
Hitting a wall in traditional games and many roguelikes can often feel like a struggle, but Blue Prince never felt that way to me. I know a lot of people - myself included - love when a game just gives you everything from A to Z. I like finishing games. But Blue Prince fundamentally broke that part of my brain that needed answers for everything; to tie up all loose ends. I played many hours past hitting credits, and there is still so much for me to see, but I’m okay with that. I know the next thing I find or solve - no matter how small - will carry just as much weight as the last revelation. If I ever do find everything in Blue Prince, I’ll be ecstatic, but it’s certainly not something I need to do. Mount Holly Estate is a magical place, and it thrives on its mysteries.
Truth be told, Blue Prince was always at the top of my list, but Clair Obscur had me second-guessing who deserves the top spot more. Ultimately, Blue Prince edges out by a hair just because of how much the game loves puzzles as much as I do. I assume if I loved JRPGs more, then the Expedition would have made its way to the top.
Even if I am admittedly not smart enough to figure most of it out, I adore all kinds of puzzles. There’s something so special about solving a riddle or unlocking a door using your mind that truly resonates with me. It’s what makes the medium so powerful to me.
Of course, I understand people’s negative comments toward the game. I know it speaks to me, but I get why people can’t stand it. But despite some of its shortcomings, nothing else this year was able to top my pure, unadulterated love for Mindseye... I mean Blue Prince.
Welp, that’s it! Those are some games that I played this year!
There are a few others I’m still working on, but I didn’t want to rush to make the list. I’m in the middle of Alan Wake 2, but I didn’t want to rush it for the list. You’ll likely see that appear on next year’s list! I like being late to the party!
2026 seems like a promising year so far. A new Resident Evil, a new Bond, and (maybe) Wolverine are all big juggernaut titles that I’ve been looking forward to. Meanwhile, ‘There Are No Ghosts At The Grand’ is a smaller indie game that I am just as excited to play - if not more. I’ve also heard a lot of buzz around this microbudget indie game called Grand Theft Auto? I think there’s only like one dude making that or something? I don’t know. Might flop.
Until then, thanks again to everyone at Giant Bomb for allowing me to make another game of the year list, and thanks to anyone who stuck around to read or glance at it. Now that you’re done, go ahead and check out some of the other GOTY lists. Or maybe take a look at some of the Giant Bomb animations I’ve been making on my YouTube channel?
Most importantly, go play some games or something.