One other yr has come and gone, one other journey round our solar accomplished. For the online game business, it was an odd and turbulent one — layoffs, studio closures, corporations being purchased and offered. However a minimum of we acquired some nice video games out of it, proper?
As at all times, the tip of the yr brings with it the inevitable flood of “Greatest Video games of the Yr” articles. I needed to do one thing a bit totally different. This isn’t only a record of my favorite video games of the yr, however a group of standouts for very totally different causes — some good, some irritating, some unexpectedly private.
Earlier than I begin itemizing off the video games I performed and wish to chat about, let’s deal with just a few of the apparent absences.
The primary is the mighty Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, winner of each award recognized to mankind and a number of other that aren’t. As a Scotsman, the acute Frenchness of the sport is already a tough hurdle to beat. However that flaw apart (I’m joking, clearly. Or am I?), I did fireplace up Expedition 33 on Sport Go and performed for about an hour.
I truthfully don’t know why I finished. I used to be busy with different video games on the time, and Expedition 33 hadn’t been despatched in for evaluation whereas others had, in order that they took precedence — and I simply by no means went again. I’m hoping to seek out the time in 2026.
Hades 2 is one other stunning omission. Hades is one in all my favorite video games of all time, however I didn’t really feel any hype for the sequel. I feel partly as a result of I didn’t need one. Hades felt full. With that mentioned, I’ve a sneaking suspicion that after I do lastly get round to Hades 2, I’ll adore it too.
Lastly, I didn’t play any of the video games competing for Sport of the Yr at The Sport Awards: no Loss of life Stranding 2: On the Seashore, no Hole Knight: Silksong, no Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. Is that loopy? In all probability. However this yr, I discovered myself wandering different paths. Who is aware of — perhaps 2026 will see me catching up.
The Outer Worlds 2
The Greatest Sport Of 2025 That I Didn’t Overview
Typically it’s simply good to have one thing to your self, isn’t it?
Virtually every part I play, I play with the intent of reviewing it and thus are inclined to blast via it as rapidly as I can, like a cocaine-fuelled monkey with a keyboard. That was the plan with The Outer Worlds 2, however as an alternative what truly occurred is that I’ve been slowly chipping away at it, and I’m extraordinarily grateful for that truth.
Obsidian has had a busy yr, managing to shove not one, not two, however three video games out the door. Avowed was first rate however finally a bit forgettable. The Outer Worlds 2, although, is a distinct house beast totally. I’ve been having heaps of enjoyable traipsing across the galaxy, amassing weapons and finishing quests. In some ways, that is what I needed Starfield to be
The failings system is a selected spotlight. It didn’t take lengthy for me to be provided “dangerous knees” in trade for higher sneaking, as a result of I spent all my time wandering round crouched. Now I’m tremendous quiet when sneaking, however the second I arise my knees pop so loudly that everybody on the planet — and possibly everybody in orbit — is aware of the place I’m.
Since then, I’ve additionally turn out to be “simply distracted”, a perk that… is {that a} shiny object!? OMG!
Apart from being enjoyable mechanically, the issues add an entertaining role-playing layer, giving additional persona to my mute adventurer.
Gunplay is strong, quests are entertaining, and the story is robust. The companions are sadly the weakest a part of the sport — an issue Avowed additionally suffered from. A pair are fascinating, however the remaining are forgettable bumpkins who simply form of exist.
I additionally love what number of talent checks there are. Certain, they’re typically arbitrary and don’t seriously change outcomes, however there’s nonetheless a thrill in accessing areas or speaking your method via conditions purely based mostly on the way you’ve constructed your character. It makes me wish to replay the sport with a distinct construct.
A really nice RPG. Not top-tier, however a strong 4 stars. Disgrace Microsoft buggered up the advertising and marketing for the entire thing by deciding to make it an $80 sport after which backtracking like loopy. Good job.
Marvel’s Cosmic Invasion
The Greatest Factor Marvel Did In 2025
A side-scrolling beat ’em up, you say? From the chaps and chapettes who did TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge? With a roster of Marvel heroes, some huge, some small? Signal me the hell up!
Significantly, this sport is stupidly enjoyable. I wrote my review fairly recently, so I’ve little else to say besides that this is perhaps my favorite sport of the yr. The beat ’em up gameplay is past satisfying, the roster is a wonderful mix of huge names and lesser-used characters, the co-op is a blast and grabbing the Platinum trophy felt extraordinarily rewarding.
And only for enjoyable, right here’s who I need added as DLC: Gambit. His powerset can be good for this sport, and after his look in Deadpool vs Wolverine, he’s extra recognized than ever.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
The Greatest Sport From 2006 That I Performed In 2025
Nostalgia is a hell of a drug, isn’t it? Stepping again into Cyrodiil — rising from the sewers and into that vibrant land — felt like having nostalgia injected straight into my mind. That music. That superb foremost theme.
In some ways, it’s aged with all of the grace of a clown on a pogo stick. There’s no getting round it. It’s almost twenty years previous, and even at launch it was thought of a bit tough, a bit janky. That previous Bethesda appeal that has since soured, however was in full pressure again then.
I don’t care, although. For all of its very apparent flaws, Oblivion stays a implausible first-person RPG full of sturdy quest designs, a very good levelling system, and it lets me create my very own stupidly highly effective spells. It was a pleasure enjoying via this once more, and I even discover myself considering it was higher than Skyrim.
However then once more, they do say absence makes the center develop fonder, and it’s fairly onerous fonder of Skyrim when it refuses to do the absence half and as an alternative retains getting re-released each 5 minutes.
Check out my full review here.
Mafia: The Previous Nation
The Greatest Sport That Made Me Really feel Issues
I used to be deeply glad to see the return of Mafia, and even happier with the way it did it: a centered expertise that makes good use of its double-A price range. It’s a powerful counterargument to an business obsessive about bloated budgets and infinite improvement cycles.
The story is the sport’s focus, a traditional Mafia story of a younger man being “saved” from a horrible life by a Don and step by step changing into increasingly more concerned within the household’s lifetime of crime, by no means realising he’s traded one sort of slavery for an additional. Throw in a forbidden romance and also you’ve acquired the foundations for a compelling, albeit pretty easy, story of loyalty, love and loss.
Easy? Sure. Considerably predictable? Additionally sure. However, executed superbly via well-written characters and stellar performances. It’s not fairly often a sport tugs at my meagre heartstrings, and but that’s what The Previous Nation did. When the credit went scooting up the display, I put down my controller with the sort of glad sigh I often reserve for ending a very good guide.
When it comes to gameplay, it’s nothing particular. Commonplace capturing, knife fights that lose their oomph after the primary couple, primary driving. However for those who love a very good story, that is the sport for you.
South Of Midnight
The Greatest Sport With All The Swagger
On the subject of its platforming and its fight, South of Midnight is about as memorable as a Pot Noodle. And never even one of many good ones, like…um. Okay, there’s no good one. However you ge the purpose.
However in the case of the vibes, South of Midnight is one thing else totally, a folksy supernatural story wrapped in a stunning aesthetic and a putting stop-motion animation model, it oozes persona. And the music — that’s what brings all of it collectively. Southern blues, heaps of soul.
I don’t bear in mind each gameplay beat, however I bear in mind the music. I bear in mind the characters. I bear in mind these moments the place the sport all of a sudden blooms right into a musical quantity. Actually, the builders ought to simply go and make an animated movie, as a result of I’d watch the hell out of it.
As a substitute, all that love and creativity is wrapped round a totally mediocre action-adventure core, leaving the sport struggling to seek out an viewers. No less than Sport Go gave South of Midnight an opportunity to exist — and for that, I’m glad.
Additionally, the truth that it wasn’t nominated for Greatest Music at The Sport Awards is an absolute travesty.
The Alters
The Greatest Sport I Actually Need To Like However Can’t
The Alters is among the cleverest video games of 2025, each conceptually and in execution. It’s sci-fi premise of being stranded on a hostile planet the place it’s important to rigorously handle assets whereas staying forward of the solar is already a strong setup for a administration sport, however whenever you throw in a crew of clones you find yourself with one thing very cool certainly.
The one most spectacular side of the sport is Alex Jordan , the bloke who not solely performs the function of Jan Dolski, but additionally all of the clones. Since each clone relies on totally different paths Jan could have taken in life, they’re all totally different, from a logical scientist to a blue-collar miner to a therapist. All totally different, however all nonetheless Jan. Alex Jordan manages to seize that completely, giving every a particular voice. His work is spectacular, and he ought to have been nominated for his performances at The Sport Awards. As a substitute, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 acquired a number of nominations.
As a lot as I do know the sport is nice, although, I hated enjoying it. On the time, I used to be coping with the sluggish decline of my beloved canine’s well being on account of bone most cancers, and was confronted with making plenty of onerous choices over that and another private issues. In brief, my head merely wasn’t in a spot the place I might interact with a sport that always demanded onerous selections below an ever-ticking clock. It made me really feel wired and anxious at a time after I didn’t want extra of both emotion being dropped into my mind chemistry.
The excellent news is that I wish to return to The Alters sometime. Perhaps, given sufficient time and distance, the affiliation with that interval will fade sufficient for me to completely recognize what the sport is doing.
Shinobi: Artwork of Vengeance
The Greatest Sport About Being A Ninja
2025 had an unusually massive variety of video games about being a ninja, and even weirder is that three of them have been all new video games in previous franchises. After all, my declare is a bit daring: Shinobi won’t be the most effective sport about being a ninja as a result of I didn’t play the opposite ones, however a little bit of hyperbole is at all times enjoyable, isn’t it? And regardless, ninja-lovers did fairly nicely for themselves in 2025.
Stupidity apart, Artwork of Vengeance is a terrific return for the sequence. Easy fight, lovely visuals, and a ninja known as Joe — presumably the least ninja title conceivable. It’s a type of video games that simply feels good to play, letting you slip right into a zen-like state as you duck, dive, dodge, and decimate your method via enemies.
Oh, after which I went and replayed it with the 8BitDo Xbox Arcade controller that I reviewed this year. Holy shit, of us, that was a hell of an expertise! It already felt good, however whenever you throw in huge clicky buttons which can be designed to really feel like an arcade cupboard, it turns into one thing else totally.
Let’s hope this marks the return of Shinobi. We want extra of this.
And you need to read my review for Art of Vengeance.
Battlefield 6
The Sport That Made Me Assume I’m Too Previous For This Shit
What a yr for Battlefield, eh? First, Name of Responsibility poops the mattress, delivering one of many worst-reviewed video games the sequence has seen in years, after which it brings in a lot decrease than regular participant numbers and gross sales. The timing was good for a returning Battlefield 6, which was not solely an important shooter but additionally centered on key advertising and marketing factors designed to tempt CoD gamers. Hey, it mentioned, we don’t have these silly clown colors and Rick & Morty skins, so perhaps it’s best to come hang around with the remainder of us adults.
Now, again after I was however a wee nipper (I’m nonetheless wee, however now additionally older and extra aggravated, usually) I used to be fairly good at Battlefield: Dangerous Firm 2. And through the years I maintained first rate multiplayer abilities. However these previous couple of years, I’ve barely ventured into the fabled lands of multiplayer, also called the dominion of I Fucked Your Mum Final Night time. So after I stepped into Battlefield 6’s multiplayer, able to have a very good time, what truly occurred was tantamount to the homicide of my ego. Poor bastard didn’t stand an opportunity.
Look, it isn’t the sport’s fault. Nope. Battlefield 6 is superior. I’m the problem right here. Each match, I used to be overwhelmed, attempting to determine the place I used to be and the place the enemy was. There’s a lot detailed stuff on the display nowadays that I discover it onerous to select the pixels of a shifting enemy, not to mention shoot them rapidly sufficient.
Certain, if I put within the time I’d in all probability enhance, however my lasting reminiscence of Battlefield 6 is a straightforward one: am I getting previous?
Then once more, does it actually matter after I’m laughing myself silly at a teammate by chance wedging a tank right into a tiny alley and blocking a whole route? In all probability not. What I really want to do is settle for my mediocrity, embrace the chaos, and benefit from the spectacle.
Lengthy stay Battlefield. It’s good to have you ever again.
A fast wrap-up
Wanting again, this appears like a yr the place video games mattered to me much less as “merchandise” and extra as experiences formed by time, temper, and circumstance. Some hit onerous. Some bounced off totally. Some shocked me by sticking round longer than anticipated. And truthfully? I feel I favor wanting on the yr this fashion.
Let me know for those who most popular this over a regular “Better of 2025” record.
