2025 was a strange year, both within and outside of gaming. At times it felt like the year would never end, with weeks dragging endlessly into a spiral of bad news, bad vibes, or bad times. And yet here I sit, with the calendar pages soon flipping to 2026, and I have to wonder if this entire year actually happened. Sure, the pages turned, but it barely feels all real. But you know what did feel real in 2025? Video games.
Okay, that was a stretched metaphor, but hey, we’re here now. 2025 had some really high gaming peaks, and making a coherent list of 10 games I loved was trickier than ever. Sam and David have referred to this as “The Year of the 9,” and my appreciation for the games of 2025 is no different. Which is also why this year, my list goes to 11. Kind of. You’ll see.
One note right up front: This year is exceptionally tricky to talk about due to the Microsoft BDS Boycott. Had Microsoft not continued on with its support of the genocidal crisis in Palestine, I would be telling you this was the year Xbox Game Pass finally earned its wings. Many of the games I loved this year are Game Pass titles, but I cannot say that is the best way to play them. Included in this are three games that would have made various versions of this Top 10 list beforehand: Doom: The Dark Ages, Avowed, and The Outer Worlds 2. The developers and creators behind these games deserve their flowers, as they are amazing titles. But, until Microsoft agrees to divest itself from the Israeli military, I will not recommend anyone play them. Developers deserve your support; Microsoft does not.
On to the games!
Honorable Mention: skate.
skate. is not, currently, a good video game. The world it exists within is lifeless, covered in lootboxes, and buggy as all hell. Even for an early access title, skate. is exceptionally broken. In my time skating around San Vansterdam, I’ve: clipped through the ground, been trapped in a bus, had my board vanish from beneath my feet, become lost in adjacent dimension to my party, been unable to join that party at all, and had dialogue loop endlessly, among many other small quirks. And yet, I still find myself logging in to do bugged challenges with my friends, as the team at Full Circle builds a game around us.
The skating aspect of skate. is fantastic. The trick system blends smoothly into itself, allowing players to pull off full and ridiculous combos. The persistent online world (when it works) creates an MMO-like playground of flying bodies and Sonic the Hedgehogs. skate. is less Skate (2007) and more the Jackass simulator I’ve always wanted. I will continue to keep checking out skate. as it moves through early access, and I hope eventually the rest of the game catches up to the fun that is already there. At the very least, I will continue climbing up to the tallest building in San Van and yeeting myself off it. It’s the little things.
10. Skate Story
Skating games are back! But not how you think! Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4? Hell no! skate.? More like toothache! HA! For gamers who want those sweet kickflips and aerials, 2025 gave us two games that fill the void fantastically: Sword of the Sea (which is also terrific) and the delightfully weird Skate Story.
Skate Story is less THPS and more the spiritual sequel to Sayonara Wild Hearts. As a demon made of glass on a quest to devour the moon, you weave your way through the underworld on your Devil-provided skateboard, proving the worthiness of your journey. Performing tricks gives you parts of your Soul back, which you can use to buy new decks and stickers for your board. Along the way, the Eternal Centipede and its cohort of Evil Eyes try to dissuade you and halt your quest to eat the Moon, regardless of whether it keeps you up all the time or not.
Sound weird? Skate Story is that level of weird, and somehow even weirder. The story is fantastical nonsense. But that wrapper hides some amazing gameplay, with a skating and trick system that is equal parts simple and snappy. Cruising through challenges in Skate Story is a blast, helped by its eclectic visuals and pounding soundtrack. My playthrough clocked in just around six hours, and I immediately wanted to go back for more.
9. Monster Hunter Wilds
If you heard me at all during the lead-up to 2025, there was one consistent game I was most excited about: Monster Hunter Wilds. I was a late convert to Monster Hunter, only truly falling in love with the series during Monster Hunter World. But the depth of my love for World carried me for years. I devoured World with my group of friends, and some of my favorite gaming memories came from those days. In particular, our ragtag team of newbie hunters decided, on a whim, to hunt a dangerous monster far above our level early in the game. The hour or so that followed are a golden memory for me, something I will cherish forever. And while I enjoyed Monster Hunter Rise in the interim, the 2023 announcement of Wilds as a true follow-up to World lit a fire in my heart. And then, in February 2025, it arrived.
And it was okay. There are parts of Wilds that I do love. The large environments and new monster designs in particular are inspired. The party system is confounding but functional. The story is the most “story” I’ve seen in Monster Hunter, and it’s pretty good! Plus, the act of hunting monsters themselves is still a blast. However, some of the new choices are confusing at best, and maddening at worst. The game is too easy in the early stages, and the late game grind doesn’t have the teeth of previous titles. While post-launch additions have helped with that, there is magic missing in the bones of Wilds. While my group of friends played World for months, we all quickly drifted away from Wilds, only occasionally checking in on the hunts.
Monster Hunter Wilds is a good game, but perhaps not a great one. Hopefully, whatever sequel or expansion Capcom has planned will help revive it within me. But for now, I look back at Wilds as a game that I enjoyed and wanted to love more than I did. It is still deserving of a spot on this list, but it should have been higher.
8. Donkey Kong Bananza
I was pleasantly surprised by Donkey Kong Bananza. My gaming history does not hold a lot of love for the original Donkey Kong Country games, and the less said about Donkey Kong 64, the better. I do, however, think Tropical Freeze is a must-play for anyone. Regardless, I found my time with Bananza to be a pleasant, although not perfect, experience. Smashing apart levels in search of bananas tucked into nooks and crannies was a joy. The collect-a-thon elements of the game itself lead to the experience being a wonderful time filler, though perhaps not one demanding of central focus. I found myself enjoying Bananza most when watching something else with my girlfriend, my hands idly smashing the ground apart. And that, in and of itself, makes it worthwhile.
Donkey Kong Bananza is the Switch 2’s killer launch title. Fun environments, smooth gameplay, and a surprisingly emotional story make Bananza an absolute recommendation for anyone with a Switch 2. The problem? I don’t think it is enough of a console seller on its own. Whereas The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild demanded everyone run to their nearest GameStop for a launch Switch, Bananza is just a good game in a year of good games.
7. Time Flies
For my more intense thoughts around Time Flies, I highly recommend checking out my review from this summer. In short: In a year where time felt immaterial, Time Flies is a grounding reminder of the ephemeral nature of life.
6. Lies of P: Overture
For years, I kept one consistent rule to my Game of the Year lists: Unless it is fully transformative, no DLC or expansion packs. Therefore, last year’s Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree was nowhere to be found, although Diablo III: Reaper of Souls was in 2013. This year, I am breaking that rule.
Lies of P: Overture forced me to replay one of my favorite games of all time. My original save was lost, so in order to touch this new DLC release, I had to redo every part of the base game. And it allowed me to look back at Lies of P with fresh eyes, and reminded me why I love it so much. From its tight gameplay and interconnected systems to its surprisingly emotional story, Lies of P remains a high water mark for the genre. And Overture brings all those elements to an even greater level.
Krat Zoo, where Overture takes place, is an amazing playground. The new enemy designs, especially the Ergo-sick carcasses of the animals left behind, are disgusting and pitiable (this is a plus). The boss fights are grandiose, with some continued stellar music behind them. But more than anything, Overture doubles down on what made Lies of P’s story work. By grounding the story in the human elements of Krat, of the relationships forged between people in their worst moments, Overture tells one of the best stories of the year. The tragedy of the Legendary Stalker hits emotional beats I didn’t expect in my Soulslike experience, and I was genuinely moved by the ending. As death faces her, there is comfort in sharing those moments with the child she loves dearly, and joy that perhaps, maybe, life will continue after.
Lies of P: Overture isn’t transformative to the base Lies of P experience. If you didn’t enjoy the base game, Overture does little to change that experience. But the additions themselves are amazing for those of us who think Lies of P was better than Elden Ring.
It’s me. I’m that person.
Now that that’s out of the way, it’s time to talk about the five games I think deserve perfect 10’s in 2025.
5. Blue Prince
It is rare, after 60+ years of video games, that a game feels like a one-of-a-kind experience. Blue Prince is that game. Unlike anything before it without multiple genre hyphens, Blue Prince stands alone in the mystery game genre. I spent weeks, notebook next to me, occasionally recruiting help from my housemates, unraveling mystery after mystery inside of Mt. Holly Estate. There was triumph, there was frustration, but more than anything, there was an experience I will never have again.
My friends and I are strong proponents for the board game Betrayal at the House on the Hill. We have spent whole summers building out the house, uncovering the Haunts that exist within. Blue Prince is Betrayal but amped up into a fantastic video game form. I recommend Blue Prince to anyone who will listen. At least, anyone with the patience to map out chess pieces for hours and hours and hours and hours.
4. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Much of what can be said about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has already been said by its record-breaking award count at the most recent Game Awards. Its gameplay is stellar; it’s story, heartbreaking; it’s music, tremendous. Months later, I still think about the impact the finale of Clair Obscur had on me. In fact, it hit me so hard, I wrote an entire piece about it.
While some of the conversation around Clair Obscur has become poisoned by internet morons unable to praise the game without crapping on the genre it jumped out of, the game itself is worthy of the praise it has received. My sincerest hope is that folks who loved Clair Obscur will use it as a gateway to the JRPGs the team at Sandfall clearly love. In particular, the newly released Trails in the Sky: First Chapter is a great next step for folks newly interested in the genre.
3. Hades II
The simple fact that Hades II exists at three and not one on this list is a testament to the strength of 2025. Hades II is a nearly perfect follow-up to one of the greatest games ever released. Supergiant Games both refined and enhanced the incredible gameplay of Hades, especially in the area of movement. By restricting dashes and including a sprint, Hades II feels like a different game with shared DNA. The new weapons are equal parts familiar and new, again feeling like an evolution from Hades instead of a one-to-one continuation. Hades II is a fantastic sequel, but it does suffer from sequel problems.
To be blunt: The story and characters of Hades II are not up to the bar of the first Hades. I like Melinoë, but she isn’t Zagreus. Her romances (with one exception) don’t have the power of Megara and Thanatos from Hades. The supporting cast and their stories are weaker, and their resolutions often feel hollow. Where Hades focused on the growth and adaptation of relationships between people, Hades II is all too comfortable to have situations stagnate. Resolution doesn’t come in Hades II, instead focusing on inevitability.
I still loved my time with Hades II, even if the story beats left me sour. Supergiant makes games that are easy recommendations for anyone curious. But this time, I may just recommend Hades.
2. Dispatch
I didn’t have high hopes for Dispatch, the first game from AdHoc Studios. A Telltale-style game in 2025, with a cast made up of YouTube celebrities, built around crass superheroes in a market saturated by The Boys and Invincible? It was going to take a lot to get me interested.
What I didn’t expect was the level of heart at the core of Dispatch. This is not a story about superheroes who curse: This is a story about what happens to flawed people when they are given a supportive and kind environment. At the core of Dispatch is kindness. Not the traditional idea of kindness, where mistakes and past transgressions are forgiven with a wave of the hand. This isn’t Catholic kindness, where you can only atone by prostrating yourself before those you’ve wronged.
This is true kindness, where pasts are held in equal measure to your present actions. Where people aren’t clean slates, but flawed and messy but still loved. Dispatch tells a story of rehabilitation, where anyone is worthy of a second chance. No one is cursed or forced into a box. No crime is unforgiveable, while also not being forgotten. You are allowed, as a person, to be held accountable for your actions and still be worthy of moving forward with those around you.
Dispatch moved me. The acting and story are transcendentally good, with some really funny writing behind it. Whatever AdHoc chooses to do next, I will follow. And those YouTube celebrities doing the voices? Every one of them should be proud of their work. They all have great outlooks in voice acting, if they choose to do it.
1. Hollow Knight: Silksong
Hollow Knight: Silksong exists. That, in of itself, is a triumph. But more than anything, a game with seven years of hype behind it should not be able to survive the weight of those expectations. Hollow Knight is a moving story of grief and loneliness, of the beautiful liquor of dreaming to forget. The package itself is dark and gothic and gorgeous. The gameplay is sublime. A follow-up to that, with multiple delays and periods of silence, should never be able to meet the expectation.
Silksong is better than Hollow Knight in just about every way. The gameplay is refined. The story is even more robust, helped by a player character with real agency. The visuals are stunning. I devoured Silksong, never wanting to put it down once I began. The challenge was exactly what I wanted, and then some. The ruined kingdom of Hallownest provided hours and hours of joy for me, and the plight of the characters within pushed me to find the best possible outcome.
2025 was a great year for games. But Silksong means it is a year of games that I will never forget.
What were your favorite games of the year? Let us know in the comments!
Gary is a jack-of-all-trades video game enthusiast based in Boston, MA. A semi-professional fighting game player, even less professional Apex Legends player, and even less professional adult, he spends most of his time poking at strange indie gems and reading about the need for more diverse voices in gaming criticism. He invites anyone to recommend anything he's missed in the gaming world via Twitter or BlueSky, where he can found under the username @grtnpwrfl. When he isn't spending his time playing games, Gary is an avid New England Patriots fan and frequent hiker.
