MyNameIsFatMike's 2025 Games of the Year

2025 was a year characterized by constant shifts and growing extremes at every end of every spectrum, not just within the games industry but life in general. In periods of uncertainty as the cart speeds along the track of life, I often find reprieve in exploring a handful of games that loom over my shoulder from the previous year. Taking in games without the pressure of release cycles and commentary is a pattern I've grown very accustomed to. A downside to this approach is that I'm rarely left with enough games played to even populate a full "top 10" games of the year...but that's not the case this year baby; let's jump between some extremes!

10 - EAFC 26

Speaking of extremes, there are no extremes to be found in this year's installment of the artist formerly known as FIFA. To quote the great Willem Dafoe in his legendary FAGE Yogurt Commercial: "Plain was the same as it ever was the same, plainly plain, samely same". EAFC 26 delivers on its steadfast and enduring promise to provide the only football game with billions of dollars and the licenses to all your favorite clubs and players. Save for the occasional highlight year where major tweaks abound, the typical expectation for a new release is a minor overhaul of a particular mechanic or gameplay system, and then 11 months of balancing updates where the devs slowly undo their changes. The mechanic on tap for this year was an "overhaul" of dribbling to provide a more "authentic" experience. Online play in the Ultimate Team modes is typically brisk and arcade-like, not methodical and tactical as offline players find in the career modes. A toggle selection is now given for offline play where players have the option of choosing between a more authentic experience, or a faster-paced one similar to what you would face online. Truth be told, the differences are fairly minor, and as expected, do not justify the price-tag nor the need to buy the new installment. I am however a creature of habit, and if I want to pretend that this year's Manchester United is not embarrassing in real life, I have to prove it in this year's imaginary footy roleplay.

Do not be afraid. Video game Cunha is not real, he can't hurt you.

9 - Fast Fusion

You might call me crazy if I said the best racing game to launch alongside the Switch 2 was not Mario Kart World. I am crazy, but I stand by my assessment. I love a good blue shell and a power-slide from time to time, but as games get bigger and more chaotic, often retreat from the noise toward games that offer nuance in a simpler package. Fast Fusion checked all the boxes for me. It's sleek. It's beautiful. It feels precise. It doesn't make fun of me for being old. Choices are minimal, just the way I like them. While the avalanche of Fortnite and Super Smash goobers fill lobbies in Mario Kart World, I found solace in a series of familiar but engaging races with clearly presented objectives and a direct path of progression. Wipeout is clearly an inspiration for Fast Fusion, and much like Wipeout I enjoyed coming back to this one for brief stints to master a track or fuse another pair of ships or repeat a track I've already mastered, just to spend a few moments with something familiar.

"Fast fusion" was my nickname in college

8 - Shinobi: Art of Vengeance

My oh my! Shinobi was the perfect sweet treat to arrive on my Steam Deck this summer. Shinobi makes an immediate strong first impression; I was instantly captivated by its fluid mechanics, gorgeous art, and impeccable presentation. This game is dripping with style; every background, environmental asset, and character has an edge to it. I feel like I'm playing the game the right way, even if I am just spamming the dive-kick at every single enemy. Not since the Wraith class in Lawbreakers (rest in peace) has a game achieved such a quality dive-kick mechanic; for that alone it deserves a spot on this list.

Capturing a screenshot mid dive-kick was a challenge but I persevered for you, dear reader

7 - Terminator 2D: No Fate

It's difficult to articulate what's so charming about this game. It masterfully taps into every ounce of nostalgia that can possibly be extracted from the player with pinpoint precision. The mechanics are relatively simple but there's a brash confidence to this game that is completely striking. The act of ducking under projectiles to return fire in edgy warehouses and dimly lit laboratory buildings is simply badass. Playing this transported me right back to the year 1991 when the film was released. I was only 1 year old baby at the time, but this game doesn't make you feel like a baby. In fact, I feel quite grown up and that is an achievement. I was looking forward to this release from the moment it was announced and it did not disappoint. Licensed properties in a format like this are a rarity these days, I hope developers continue to receive the same creative liberties and resources for such titles in the future.

You weren't planning on closing this list now were you? We're just getting started.

6 - Donkey Kong Bananza

We established earlier that I am not the biggest Mario Kart fan. To that end, this was the real Switch 2 launch title in my alternate 2025 canon. Nothing breaks up the gaming monotony quite like literally punching away at the earth's crust and the various baddies that are its inhabitants. Bananza is a new vision for DK, one that is wholly different from anything we've seen for the character, or any character in Nintendo's catalogue. A Red Faction-like was not even in the orbit of a possibility on my bingo card, which is proof that daddy Nintendo is still capable of successfully and artfully reinventing itself and its properties with the times. Nintendo continues to zig while everyone else zags and in a year of dancing between extremes, a little zigging was just what I needed.

If only real life were that straightforward

5 - Rematch

"Another soccer game? I'm calling the police!" you might be saying. To that I say, in keeping with the them of extremes, these two soccer games could not be more different. Rematch is a soccer game from the developers of SIFU, and it plays exactly how you would imagine that sounds. The meticulously plated array of delicate and touch-sensitive, difficult-to-master controls are unlike anything I have ever played and achieved something I haven't felt since Rocket League: the feeling of what it's actually like to play soccer. Every match is ripe with infinite possibilities, and every improbably comeback, miraculous save, perfect touch, artful pass, diabolical skill move, and impeccable act of teamwork washes away the game's many shortcomings. EAFC26 looks like the beautiful game, but Rematch is the beautiful game.

Do not be afraid. Video game Cunha is not real, he can't hurt you.

4 - Ghost of Yotei

In the words of Vin Diesel, Ghost of Yotei is a game about family. Actually, it's a game about revenge and sick sword duels. Scratch that - verily, this is a game about change.

The protagonist Atsu finds herself in a period of Japan that is rapidly changing. The dynastic systems of power and governance are grappling with seismic shifts, technological marvels, and external influence. The spirit of change and the smell of gunpowder is in the air, and every aspect of this game reflects the reality of a changing world.

Vin Diesel wasn't completely off when he said this was a game about family. Revenge is also an apt description of the narrative's primary thrust. But the concept of change underpins both, helping to shape the different twists and turns that challenge old patterns of thinking. The developers at Sucker Punch explore how grief and trauma can change us, as well as how it can keep us from changing. It explores how revenge can change families, and how the presence of family can change the thirst for revenge. It's a timely game with timeless themes woven into every interaction, environment, story arc, and character; some displayed brazenly and others hidden with subtlety if you flex your analytical muscles. Cathedrals are everywhere for those with eyes to see.

In a year filled with change, it was therapeutic to escape into this lush setting and experience another person's trauma from a safe distance. I may never sit beneath a Ginko tree or play a shamisen in real life, but I feel like in a small way Atsu's struggle was my own, and the experience (however superficial) of overcoming her difficulties made some tangible growth within me. It's no soccer game, but it's still pretty great.

I wonder how far Vin Diesel could drive his Charger off this cliff

3 - Clair Obscur Expedition 33

"Well we've had one trauma, yes. But what about second trauma?"

As Vin Diesel once said, Clair Obscur is a game about family. Actually, it's a game about revenge. Scratch that - really, this is a game about change. It's a timely game with some timeless themes woven into every interaction, environment, story arc, and character; some displayed brazenly and others hidden with subtlety if you flex your analytical muscles.

This all sounds a little familiar, but funny-business aside, Clair Obscur is a marvel of a game and the success that it found in the manner of its development is unprecedented. I'm averse to JRPGs in general, and I don't typically jump into bandwagon games right as they hit, so it was a special experience to be able to process this cultural phenomenon collectively and engage with the community at the time of its release. What can be said about this game that hasn't been said already? It was touching, exhilarating, creative and unexpected. The story of this its development and the studio that created it is one for the ages, and E33 deserves every one of its accolades.

"They paint us, cause they ain't us"

2 - Tsunami Sea

The sophomore album from metalcore band Spiritbox is my number 2 game of the year, so sue me. After a smattering of artfully and thematically diverse EPs, Spiritbox followed up their debut album Eternal Blue with a raucous bag of tunes that explore aspects of different metal subgenres while still sounding raw and unique. The central motif of the album is the concept of a tsunami hitting the band's home of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Themes of isolation, change, facing waves of adversity beyond your control, being caught between extremes and finding solace where you can abound aplenty; sounds pretty timely, eh? (They're a Canadian band so they say "eh") This was my soundtrack to the year and describes many of the themes that the games on this list portray and for that, it deserves the #2 spot on my list.

"Down in the deep end, I couldn't see straight / I shouldn't be here, watching the world fade / Wind on the current, carried the wrong way / Down in the deep end, lost in my own waves"

1 - Battlefield 6

This one is for the boys, the fellas, the posse, the crew, and the squad. This one's for the gals and the ladies; the homeboys, the dawgs, the playas and the cohort. Actually, this one is for the olds - Gaming's generation X.

In what would devastatingly turn out to be his swan song, Vince Zampella (rest in peace) delivered a love letter to the Battlefield franchise that for many years was his biggest creative and professional competitor. Call of Duty has been the ire of many Battlefield fans who sought something different than the mainstream lightning-fast reflex-focused, lone-wolf murder-fest. Battlefield is about something different - it is about the collective It is about overcoming incredible obstacles together. It is about being a nobody and together with other nobodies, becoming somebody. It's no secret that Battlefield had lost its way, floundering in a decade of mediocre releases that each strayed further from the values I just described. How unlikely, that Mr Call of Duty himself would be the one to bring Battlefield back to the path and re-establish (mostly) the values that were lost.

Battlefield 6 is not a perfect game, and it's not the ultimate battlefield experience we dream will one day find it's way to release, but it's pretty damn good, and corrects many of the wrongs that have been festering in the core of the previous several entries. Most importantly, it brought the boys back - older and grayer, but back nonetheless. With Battlefield 6, Vince returned to me a community that I though I had lost forever and for that, this title resoundingly and unashamedly takes the top spot as my game of the year.

Much like me and the squad in this screenshot, Battlefield is turning a corner and entering a doorway into a new era. For those who come after who came before