2025 has delivered an embarrassment of riches for gamers across every platform. From breathtaking RPGs that redefine storytelling to indie gems that challenge our expectations, this year’s lineup proves the gaming industry is firing on all cylinders despite ongoing challenges.
Whether you’re gaming on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC, or mobile devices, there’s never been a better time to pick up a controller. This comprehensive guide breaks down the absolute best games of 2025, helping you navigate the crowded release calendar to find experiences worth your time and money.
What Made 2025 Special for Gaming
Unlike previous years where quality releases trickled out slowly, 2025 hit the ground running with major launches nearly every week. The arrival of Nintendo’s Switch 2 brought a new generation of hardware, while established franchises like Monster Hunter, Assassin’s Creed, and Doom returned with compelling new entries.
The year also witnessed unexpected breakouts that captivated audiences worldwide. Games like Blue Prince and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 arrived from relatively unknown studios and dominated gaming conversations, proving that innovation and passion can triumph over massive marketing budgets.
Industry Trends That Defined the Year
- The “Friendslop” Revolution: Cooperative games with intentionally chaotic physics became a genre unto themselves
- Extraction Shooter Evolution: Titles like ARC Raiders proved the genre could foster community rather than toxicity
- Switch 2 Launch Dominance: Nintendo’s new console launched with more quality titles in six months than some systems see in years
- Indie Renaissance Continues: Small studios delivered some of the year’s most talked-about experiences
- The Year of the Ninja: Three separate Ninja Gaiden games plus other ninja-focused titles flooded the market
Top-Tier Masterpieces: The Must-Play Games
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC)
The year’s biggest surprise came from Sandfall Interactive, a French studio that delivered what many are calling a generation-defining RPG. Set in a Belle Époque-inspired fantasy world, Expedition 33 follows a group of heroes attempting to defeat the Paintress, a godlike entity who annually eliminates everyone of a specific age.
What makes this game extraordinary isn’t just its innovative turn-based combat system that blends real-time parries with strategic planning. It’s the emotional depth of the narrative, bolstered by stellar voice performances from Jennifer English and the motion capture work of Maxence Cazorla. The game tackles themes of grief, perseverance, and hope against impossible odds with remarkable maturity.
Why it stands out: Clair Obscur proves that AA studios can compete with AAA blockbusters through vision, passion, and meticulous execution. The soundtrack featuring French accordion music, the creepy mime aesthetic, and the rhythmic combat system combine into something genuinely fresh.
Hades II (Switch, Switch 2, PC)
Supergiant Games faced an impossible task: follow up one of the greatest roguelikes ever made. They didn’t just succeed—they delivered what feels like two sequels in one comprehensive package.
Playing as Melinoë, daughter of Hades and sister to the first game’s protagonist Zagreus, you’re trained by Hecate to defeat the titan Chronos and free the imprisoned gods. The scope is staggering, with players fighting through Tartarus and ascending to Olympus’ summit across countless runs.
The magic lies in how the game remembers everything. Every death matters. Every conversation builds relationships. The narrative reacts to your choices, creating a living world that acknowledges your journey whether you’ve completed ten runs or a thousand.
Technical achievement: The game maintains smooth performance while juggling hundreds of potential story permutations, ensuring no two playthroughs feel identical.
Blue Prince (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC)
This first-person puzzle game became 2025’s indie phenomenon through pure word-of-mouth. The premise seems straightforward: explore your deceased great uncle’s 45-room estate to find the mysterious 46th room. You can’t bring tools in or out, can’t stay overnight, and must start fresh each day.
What unfolds is a mind-bending mystery that transforms from simple exploration into an intricate puzzle box. Players chart their own path through the mansion using a blueprint, making choices about which rooms to explore. The brilliance emerges when you realize the solution lies not in finding the room, but in understanding how to read the rules differently.
Player experience: Blue Prince will consume your thoughts long after you’ve stopped playing. You’ll wake up at 3 AM with sudden realizations about painting clues, clock positions, or globe orientations.
Genre Excellence: Best Games by Category
Best Action RPGs
| Game | Platform | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 | PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC | Historical accuracy and immersive medieval Bohemia |
| Avowed | Xbox Series X|S, PC | Philosophical narrative about authoritarianism |
| Monster Hunter Wilds | PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC | Next evolution of monster-hunting gameplay |
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Warhorse Studios’ sequel captures medieval European life with unparalleled detail. Following Henry of Skalitz as he rises from beggar to respected squire, the game immerses players in 14th-century Bohemia with historically accurate locations modeled after real castles and towns.
This isn’t a game that holds your hand. Actions have severe consequences—theft can result in caning, branding, or hanging. The combat system demands practice and patience. But every secret discovered and problem solved feels genuinely earned, making Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 one of the most rewarding RPG experiences in years.
Best Metroidvanias and Platformers
Hollow Knight: Silksong
After eight years of anticipation that became an internet meme, Team Cherry delivered a sequel that lived up to impossible expectations. Set in the fallen kingdom of Pharloom, Silksong follows Hornet through a dense religious mythology involving the Weavers, Grand Mother Silk, and the creeping Haunting.
The game’s difficulty isn’t for everyone—newcomers especially found its unforgiving nature challenging. But for those willing to persevere, Silksong offers some of the most precisely calibrated level design and satisfying combat mechanics in gaming. Voice artist Makoto Koji’s improvised bug-speak carries emotional weight that polished dialogue often fails to achieve.
Donkey Kong Bananza (Switch 2)
Nintendo surprised everyone by making Donkey Kong, not Mario, the flagship 3D platformer for Switch 2. This marked DK’s first major 3D adventure since 1999’s Donkey Kong 64, and the wait proved worthwhile.
The game’s standout feature is its complex physics system allowing Donkey Kong to literally destroy the environment. Each punch can disintegrate boulders, ice, and hardened magma, creating a tactile satisfaction that never gets old. The fully destructible maps combined with a freeform camera represent genuine technical achievement.
Gameplay innovation: Unlike typical collectathons, Bananza minimizes mandatory collecting until postgame, focusing instead on the pure joy of movement and environmental interaction.
Best Shooters and Action Games
Doom: The Dark Ages (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC)
id Software’s latest chapter in the Doom franchise delivers exactly what fans crave: brutal, unrelenting first-person action. The Dark Ages doesn’t reinvent the wheel—it perfects it, offering some of the most visceral combat encounters in the series’ storied history.
Borderlands 4 (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC)
The looter-shooter series returns with its signature chaotic energy intact. While it plays things relatively safe mechanically, the refined gunplay and endless weapon variety make it a strong entry for both series veterans and newcomers.
Best Horror Games
Silent Hill f (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC)
Konami’s revival of Silent Hill continues successfully with this risky new direction. Set in 1960s rural Japan rather than the series’ typical American locations, Silent Hill f follows teenage Shimizu Hinako through a nightmare born from familial trauma.
The game takes unprecedented narrative risks, requiring players to complete it at least three times to fully understand the ending. Combat incorporates Dark Souls-like mechanics that divided fans but demonstrated Konami’s willingness to evolve the formula. The feminine adolescent perspective brings fresh psychological horror themes to the franchise.
Best Multiplayer and Cooperative Experiences
ARC Raiders (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC)
Embark Studios cracked the code on making extraction shooters accessible and community-friendly. Set in post-apocalyptic Italy rather than the genre’s typical American wasteland, players form squads to gather resources while battling robotic enemies.
What shocked everyone was the community response. Despite the PvPvE structure designed for competitive resource stealing, players organically began cooperating, forming temporary alliances to survive. This unexpected kindness made ARC Raiders a phenomenon among streamers and welcomed players who typically avoid competitive shooters.
Split Fiction (PS5, Switch 2, Xbox Series X|S, PC)
Hazelight Studios followed up their Game of the Year winner It Takes Two with another mandatory co-op adventure. Split Fiction pairs fantasy writer Zoe with sci-fi author Mio after they become trapped in a digital simulation that manifests their stories.
Each level alternates between fantasy and sci-fi themes, offering wildly different gameplay mechanics. One moment you’re riding dragons, the next you’re cyberpunk ninjas, then somehow you’re grilling yourselves as hot dogs. The emotional payoff as the initially antagonistic pair becomes genuine friends makes the journey worthwhile.
Peak (PC)
The “friendslop” genre found one of its best representatives in Peak, a mountain climbing game with deliberately chaotic ragdoll physics. Managing hunger, energy, terrain, weather, and friends who laugh at every mishap creates memorable moments of both triumph and hilarious failure.
With a new procedurally generated mountain daily, Peak offers endless replayability. The simple premise—climb a mountain—becomes surprisingly deep through items, weather systems, and the constant threat of tumbling over the edge.
Best Story-Driven and Narrative Games
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC)
MachineGames made the bold choice to prioritize exploration over action, creating an experience that honors Indiana Jones’ archaeological roots. Rather than copying Uncharted’s action-heavy formula, The Great Circle emphasizes puzzle-solving, stealth, and environmental storytelling.
Playing as Indy means avoiding full-blown shootouts (they typically result in game over) and relying on disguises, the iconic whip, and quick thinking. The detailed environments spanning jungle ruins to icy mountains reward careful exploration, while puzzles involving ancient mechanisms and hidden treasures capture the spirit of classic LucasArts adventure games.
Despelote (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox, PC)
This two-hour autobiographical experience from developer Julián Cordero transports players to Quito, Ecuador during the country’s 2002 World Cup qualifying run. Playing as eight-year-old Julián, you kick soccer balls around a photographically-rendered city while absorbing fragments of adult conversations that paint a picture of economically challenged but proud culture.
The game evolves into something meta and documentary-like, dissolving walls between the in-game soccer matches young Julián plays and his real world. It’s a genuinely new approach to interactive storytelling that could only exist as a video game.
Dispatch (PS5, PC)
AdHoc Studio, founded by Telltale Games veterans, finally cracked the interactive TV formula. Dispatch presents as an animated superhero workplace sitcom where you guide a former hero through his new career as a dispatcher coordinating active heroes.
By removing tedious point-and-click interactions and focusing on meaningful narrative choices, Dispatch achieves the pacing and flow of actual television. The episodic release actually worked, with new episodes arriving weekly over four weeks rather than suffering the years-long delays that plagued Telltale’s model.
Best Puzzle and Strategy Games
The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy (Switch, PC)
This hybrid visual novel and tactical RPG shouldn’t work—it blends too many disparate elements. Yet it succeeds brilliantly. Players control Takumi Sumino, a Tokyo student transported to a mysterious complex that serves as humanity’s last defense against invading monsters.
The hook? There are 100 different narrative outcomes across 100 in-game days. Unraveling the complete story requires multiple playthroughs, but the writing from Danganronpa’s Kazutaka Kodaka and Zero Escape’s Kotaro Uchikoshi ensures every revelation feels earned.
Strange Jigsaws (PC)
Developer Fleb created a puzzle game about puzzles within puzzles. What begins as a single jigsaw opens into another, then another, descending into an Inception-like structure that could only exist in video games. The puzzles themselves often incorporate jokes and absurdist humor that become part of the solution.
The Roottrees Are Dead (PC)
This point-and-click mystery tasks players with investigating why four members of the wealthy Roottree family died. Using period magazines, scrapbooks, and a rudimentary internet, you piece together decades of family secrets. The twist-filled narrative rewards careful attention to detail across multiple playthroughs.
Best Games for Nintendo Switch 2
Mario Kart World
Nintendo’s racing series receives its biggest evolution yet with 24-player races and a fully interconnected world to explore. While the free-roam mode adds pleasant downtime between online matches, the standout feature is Knockout Tour—a battle royale twist linking multiple courses into extended races where last-place finishers get eliminated at each checkpoint.
Kirby Air Riders
This unlikely sequel to a 20-year-old cult classic became the year’s ultimate party game. City Trial mode perfects chaotic multiplayer: players spend five minutes collecting power-ups before competing in a randomized minigame. Because the final challenge is luck-based, newcomers have equal chances of winning against veterans, making it perfectly balanced for mixed-skill groups.
Metroid Prime 4 (mentioned in Switch 2 lineup)
While specific details weren’t extensively covered, the long-awaited continuation of Samus Aran’s first-person adventures joined the Switch 2 launch lineup, finally delivering on a promise made years ago.
Best Mobile Games of 2025
Subnautica (Android, iOS)
The beloved underwater survival game’s mobile port brings the full experience to handheld devices. Exploring alien oceans, building bases, and uncovering mysteries works surprisingly well on touchscreen controls.
Monster Train (Android, iOS)
This deck-building roguelike successfully translates its strategic depth to mobile. Managing your hell train while battling through vertical levels remains as addictive as the PC version.
TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge (Android, iOS)
The arcade beat ’em up that captured nostalgic hearts now fits in your pocket. The pixel art style and cooperative gameplay make it perfect for quick sessions or extended marathons.
Hidden Gems You Shouldn’t Miss
Baby Steps (PS5, PC)
From the minds behind QWOP and Ape Out comes a hiking game where walking is the challenge. Protagonist Nate must navigate treacherous mountains using atrophied limbs and ragdoll physics. Beyond the intentional frustration lies a meditation on masculine insecurity and accepting help—Nate repeatedly refuses maps, lanterns, and shoes that would ease his journey.
Consume Me (PC)
This autobiographical game from Jenny Jiao Hsia chronicles a life defined by shifting obsessions. While eating disorders play a role, the game refuses to be just a health PSA. It’s a coming-of-age story about food, relationships, religion, and how our lowest moments don’t have to define us.
Megabonk (Android, PC)
Despite its intentionally janky appearance, Megabonk delivers 100+ hours of genuine roguelike survival gameplay. Developer vedinad crafted meaningful progression systems, physics-based movement that feels better than actual skating games, and enough content to justify repeated runs.
Öoo (PC)
This minimalist platformer eliminates jumping, instead moving its bomb caterpillar protagonist through explosions. The simple concept unfolds into ingenious level design that constantly surprises, making it one of 2025’s most imaginative indie titles.
Best Remakes and Remasters
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter (PS5, Switch, Switch 2, PC)
Nihon Falcom’s remake updates beloved RPG with modern visuals and revamped battle systems while preserving the remarkable character development and worldbuilding. The story of Estelle and Joshua growing from simple coming-of-age tale into world-saving epic remains as powerful as ever.
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles (PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, Switch 2, PC)
One of gaming’s greatest strategy-RPGs returns with streamlined systems and fresh voice acting. The political narrative about class warfare and revolution feels more relevant than ever, proving this story transcends its era.
Platform-Specific Recommendations
Best PlayStation 5 Exclusives
- Ghost of Yōtei: Sucker Punch’s samurai epic delivers stunning visuals and improved gameplay mechanics in a revenge tale worthy of classic cinema
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach: Hideo Kojima’s ambitious sequel improves on the original’s walking simulator mechanics while expanding the star-studded cast
Best Xbox Series X|S Exclusives
- South of Midnight: Compulsion’s Gothic fantasy adventure celebrates Deep South culture through stop-motion-styled visuals and folklore-heavy storytelling
- Avowed: Obsidian Entertainment tackles authoritarianism in this fantasy RPG where every choice carries weight
Best PC Exclusives
- Nubby’s Number Factory: A hilarious number-generation game where failure means the sun explodes, featuring items like “Poop Butt” that are surprisingly powerful
- Keep Driving: A meditative road trip simulator about wasting time during early adulthood, with no combat or traditional progression
Games by Player Preference
For Story Lovers
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
- Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy
For RPG Fans
- Hades II
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Avowed
- Monster Hunter Wilds
- The Outer Worlds 2
For Action and Shooter Enthusiasts
- Doom: The Dark Ages
- Borderlands 4
- Ninja Gaiden 4
- Battlefield 6
- Shinobi: Art of Vengeance
For Puzzle Game Fans
- Blue Prince
- Strange Jigsaws
- The Roottrees Are Dead
- CloverPit
- The Séance of Blake Manor
For Multiplayer Gaming
- ARC Raiders
- Peak
- Split Fiction
- Mario Kart World
- Kirby Air Riders
What to Play Based on Time Investment
Quick Sessions (Under 5 Hours)
- Despelote: 2-hour autobiographical experience
- Strange Jigsaws: 3-4 hours of puzzle-solving
- Öoo: Compact platforming perfection
Weekend Adventures (10-20 Hours)
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: 15-hour archaeological adventure
- Shinobi: Art of Vengeance: 12-hour ninja action
- Silent Hill f: Multiple 8-hour playthroughs required
Epic Journeys (40+ Hours)
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2: 60+ hours of medieval immersion
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: 50+ hour RPG experience
- Hades II: Endless replayability across hundreds of runs
Technical Achievements Worth Noting
Visual Excellence
Several games pushed graphical boundaries in 2025. Ghost of Yōtei delivers photorealistic environments that blur the line between game and film. Donkey Kong Bananza showcases what Nintendo’s new hardware can achieve. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 proves AA studios can create stunning visuals rivaling AAA productions.
Audio Design
Sword of the Sea earned Grammy nominations for Austin Wintory’s ethereal soundtrack. Lumines Arise uses music as a core gameplay mechanic, creating therapeutic experiences through sound. The accordion-heavy score of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 establishes unique atmosphere immediately.
Performance Innovations
Elden Ring Nightreign successfully merged Souls-like difficulty with battle royale structure in ways skeptics thought impossible. The game’s random generation maintains FromSoftware’s meticulous level design quality across unpredictable runs.
Games That Pushed Boundaries
Narrative Innovation
And Roger tackles dementia through experimental interface design. Text boxes become gibberish. Buttons don’t work. These frustrating design choices mirror cognitive decline while intertwining the caregiver’s story with equal weight—a perspective rarely explored in media.
Genre-Blending Success
Promise Mascot Agency disguises political grassroots campaigning as screwball comedy about reformed Yakuza members reviving a dying town through mascot promotion. The card battle system serves a story about protecting local communities from corrupt leadership.
Accessibility Achievements
Tiny Bookshop creates genuinely relaxing gameplay without sacrificing depth. Managing a bookstore in a seaside town combines deckbuilder mechanics with helping neighbors, proving cozy games can have substantial systems.
Looking Forward: What 2025 Means for Gaming
This year proved several important trends. Mid-sized studios can compete with industry giants through focused vision and passion. Cooperative games don’t need toxic competition to thrive. Nintendo’s hardware transitions can launch with genuine strength rather than waiting years for good games.
The success of games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Blue Prince demonstrates that word-of-mouth and genuine quality still matter more than marketing budgets. Meanwhile, established franchises like Hades, Silent Hill, and Doom showed that iteration and evolution keep beloved series relevant.
Perhaps most importantly, 2025 reaffirmed that gaming offers experiences impossible in other media. Whether it’s the procedural storytelling of Hades II, the environmental destruction of Donkey Kong Bananza, or the meta-narrative layers of Blue Prince, video games continue expanding what interactive entertainment can achieve.
Final Recommendations
If You Only Play Five Games This Year
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: The year’s defining RPG experience
- Hades II: Perfection of the roguelike formula
- Blue Prince: Puzzle gaming at its most imaginative
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2: Unmatched medieval immersion
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: Adventure gaming done right
Best Value Propositions
- Hades II: Hundreds of hours of gameplay with constant narrative rewards
- ARC Raiders: Free-to-play extraction shooter with fair monetization
- Megabonk: Budget price with premium content depth
Best Games for Newcomers
- Mario Kart World: Accessible racing fun for all skill levels
- Tiny Bookshop: Relaxing introduction to management games
- Despelote: Short, impactful experience requiring no gaming experience
Conclusion
2025 delivered one of gaming’s strongest years in recent memory. From generation-defining RPGs to revolutionary puzzle games, from cooperative chaos to solo adventures, every type of player found something worth celebrating.
The industry faced challenges—layoffs, studio closures, and mounting development costs—yet the games themselves radiated perseverance and passion. This was a year defined by getting knocked down and getting back up, themes that echoed through countless titles from Baby Steps to Hades II.
Whether you gravitate toward blockbuster productions or indie experiments, prefer competitive shooters or meditative puzzles, 2025 offered experiences you won’t forget. The games on this list represent the best of what interactive entertainment can achieve: art that responds to you, stories that adapt to your choices, and challenges that respect your intelligence.
So pick your platform, choose your genre, and dive in. The best games of 2025 are waiting.