Game of the Year 2025
2025 was a surprise year for me in terms of video game releases. Genres I would typically turn away from had actually hooked me in ways I didn’t think imaginable. New entries in long-standing franchises left much more of a lasting impression this time around.
And believe it or not, no, Clair Obscure is not my personal Game of the Year (it’s still an incredible game though).
#10 - Hades 2
It’s the sequel to one of the greatest “Rougelikes” in history. Did you think it was going to be bad? Of course you didn’t.
Everything that made the first game a masterpiece has been tuned, refined, and expanded to make Hades 2 something more.
But the beauty of Hades 2 (besides its stunning art direction) is that there isn’t just more for the sake of it being a sequel. Instead, every development and design decision has meaning and purpose to its implementation, leading to the creation of a game that is complete and true to itself.
Hades 2 is developed and published by Supergiant Games.
#9 - Battlefield 6
I poured in countless hours into Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Battlefield 3, and even the Xbox Live Arcade game Battlefield 1943. But with the release of Battlefield 4 on the Xbox One and PS4, I had felt as though that I had moved on from the franchise. Battlefield 4 left such a sour taste in my mouth (not being able to create a squad in a team-based multiplayer game, HELLO?!), Battlefield 1 regressed too much in the historical sense, Battlefield V came and went like a fart in the wind, and Battlefield 2042 was a disaster.
That rant aside, color me surprised when Vince Zampella (RIP) signs on to get the franchise back in top form with the release of Battlefield 6. And not only that, but the game is actually great?!
If you read that long-winded rant about earlier Battlefield games and were thinking to yourself “You know what? That dumbass is right! Battlefield really hasn’t been the same since 3.“ Well then I am here to tell you that Battlefield 6 is the real-fucking-deal.
Battlefield 6 is developed by Battlefield Studios and published by Electronic Arts.
#8 - Pokemon Legends ZA
Nostalgia be damned. I adore Pokemon games. I like to think that the “Legends” games allow Game Freak the ability to experiment with features that may or may not make their way into the core series of games. And Legends ZA expands on the core Pokemon formula in transformational ways (for a Pokemon game of course).
No more needing to craft the different types of Pokeballs. Gone are the traditional turn-based battles. Instead, Legends ZA focuses more on a “hybrid” type of battle system, where you and your Pokemon are free to run around the battlefield, dodging attacks, and plotting with your own. Attacks are also now on a cooldown that is based on the power and speed of the move itself.
Those and more features lend themselves to a Pokemon game that actually feels “new”.
Do I wish the location wasn’t based on one city? Is there still no voice acting in a Pokemon game? Is the dialog and story still elementary? Are the side quests completely worthless? While I am answering yes to all of those questions, and of course I have other grievances with the game, Legends ZA is still a great Pokemon game at its core and a hell of a lot of fun.
Pokemon Legends ZA is developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company.
#7 - Absolum
A side-scrolling beat 'em up rougelike, who woulda thought?
Absolum is the perfect “Deck” game, where I mean it is the perfect game to simply pick up and play for short periods of time, using your favorite PC handheld (Steam Deck for me personally).
Every playable character feels unique, upgrades are meaningful, and every run always progresses you further. Side quests are a true highlight here, tying themselves into subsequent runs and expanding on the world and the lore. Absolum oozes style from its art and music, to the fighting styles and world design.
I tried this game out on a whim and I’ve been hooked since. I think if you give it a chance, it may just hook you as well.
Absolum is developed by Guard Crush Games and Supamonks and published by Dotemu.
#6 - Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate & Renegades
The first two expansions of Destiny 2 post-Light and Darkness Saga released in 2025, and both are great in their own way.
While The Edge of Fate kicked the new era of Destiny off with a great story, Renegades was all about the gameplay (and Star Wars, can’t forget about the Star Wars).
Unless Bungie ever releases a Destiny 3, I will forever hope they develop a true “New Player Experience”, because Destiny 2 as it exists today is a massive barrier to entry for new players (trust me, I’ve been trying to get my buddy Justin to be an engrossed as I am).
I know, I know. It’s yet another Game of the Year list with a Destiny 2 expansion included. Destiny 2 is my “forever” game. The game where I will always come back whenever new content is released for it.
The gunplay is still some of the best in the entire genre, and the same can be said about it’s art direction, world design, and music.
Destiny 2 is still an incredible experience (just not from a new players perspective, which Bungie should really fucking work on).
Destiny 2 is developed and published by Bungie.
#5 - Clair Obscure: Expedition 33
Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 took the entire world by storm with its emotional story, Reactive Turn-Based combat system, and unique setting and soundtrack that saw independent developer Sandfall Entertainment leaning into its French roots.
The winner of countless official “Game of the Year” awards, Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 may have set a new standard for the RPG genre. A little Lost Odyssey, a dash of NieR: Automata, but all things Expedition 33.
It may not be my personal Game of the Year, but it is a damn special experience that deserves to be played.
Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 is developed by Sandfall Entertainment and published by Kepler Interactive.
#4 - Sword of the Sea
Beautiful, immersive, mesmerizing, tranquil, emotional.
Those are just some of the words I can use to describe Journey, or Abzu. And they are also the same words I would use to describe Matt Nava’s newest title Sword of the Sea.
Sword of the Sea takes the movement of Journey and the spectacle of Abzu and perfects it into a package that leans further into the explorative. The world is much more expansive, with each biome providing a feast for the eyes and the ears. While the gameplay is simplistic in its nature, it doesn’t detract from the otherwise meditative experience that Sword of the Sea offers.
Sword of the Sea is developed and published by Giant Squid.
#3 - Borderlands 4
I always respected the Borderlands franchise, but it wasn’t until Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands (yes, one of the spinoffs) where it had finally “clicked” with me. And with Borderlands 4, Gearbox had developed the perfect Borderlands game for me.
You see, I am a player who love to check boxes. And for any type of open world game, that means all those little question marks or indicators sprinkled around the map? Yup, I need to see/collect them all. Borderlands 4 allows me to scratch that itch, all while being a phenominal FPS to boot.
Legendary loot is actually unique, bosses are easily farmable for specific pieces of loot to fit your build, each playable character is well thought out and executed upon in their individual skillsets, the world is expansive and biomes are diverse, Borderlands 4 is the complete package.
Borderlands 4 is developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K.
#2 - Hollow Knight: Silksong
Oh the difficult Metroidvania. The type of game that doesn’t hold your hand, allows you to get lost at a moments notice, continues to punish you in countless ways, the list goes on.
I am not what you would consider a traditional fan of Metroidvanias, especially very difficult ones. I admire them from afar, allowing others to experience their beauty and intricacies while I watch from my safe space (primarily Twitch and YouTube).
At the end of the day, I want games to be able to be enjoyed by all types of players, regardless of skillset. And for me, that means tuning the difficulty and tinkering with the gameplay options to fit my skillset. And with Hollow Knight: Silksong, a game that plenty of folks have been calling one of the greatest video games of all time. A game in development for seven years being lovingly and painstakingly crafted by Team Cherry. A game that was, by all accounts, simply too damn hard for me to spend any of my already small amount of game playing time with. A game that dammit, I wanted to play too!
But Silksong doesn’t have difficulty options. Silksong demands you play the game by its rules. And while there is nothing wrong with that, developers have creative visions for a reason, I don’t have that amount of time to “git gud”. But luckily, I wasn’t alone, as many other game enjoyers out there had the same mindset, and they created something that would allow others to experience Silksong, albeit slightly easier.
Yes, I modded Silksong (on PC) to ease the difficulty and allow myself the ability to spend meaningful time playing and enjoying the masterpiece that Team Cherry had crafted. And what a masterpiece it is.
You see, Silksong wasn’t in development for seven years because of turmoil within the studio, quite the opposite actually. Silksong was in development for seven years because Team Cherry never wanted to stop creating, they loved every second of it.
Every detail of this game has been thought out and lovingly crafted with deft precision. Every. Single. Detail.
I understand these posts are meant to highlight games that were special to me in that given year. But I don’t to say anything else about Silksong, as any additional detail I provide would potentially rob you of that surprise. So I ask you to take my word on this one. Hollow Knight: Silksong is a once in a generation type of experience.
And for those out there worried about the difficulty and that is the factor preventing you from trying Silksong, so long as you have a PC, lean into the mods. Cater the experience to your playstyle and skillset. Don’t let difficulty stand in your way of experiencing something truly special. Our lives are too short as it is. Play games how you want to play them.
List of Silksong mods I am currently using:
Hollow Knight: Silksong is developed and published by Team Cherry.
#1 - Avowed
Avowed released at the perfect time for me. I had been craving that “Elder Scrolls” style of an RPG and Avowed met that craving like a Taco Bell run at 1AM.
A well executed story about Gods, a masterfully hand-crafted world with meaningful secrets around every corner, and a combat system that indulged creativity and buildcrafting to suit different playstayles. Avowed was a game that I refused to put down until I had searched every nook and crany of its beautiful world, finding every piece of unique loot, completing every side quest, and learning everything I could about my companions.
Is Avowed a perfect game? No, and no game ever truly is. But Avowed is the most fun I had in a video game in 2025. And I still yearn for an expansion or a sequel so I can dive back into this magnificent, special world.
Avowed is developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Xbox Games Studios.