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My Top 10 Games of 2025 list was actually mostly ready in 2025. But I had to wait until I played the game I had been most looking forward to the whole year, a game that came out at a busy time. A time so busy, I didn’t play the game for 5 months.
That game is Ghost of Yotei, and, spoiler, it did make the cut.
Without further ado (and in no particular order), here are my Top 10 Games of 2025.
Avowed
In Avowed, the Great Axe is king—particularly my own personal Great Axe, which I found as a lowly common weapon. It’s superb now, which is to say I never found a Legendary alternative.
But I was loathe to part with this phenomenal partner, no matter how many Legendaries I found for other weapon types. I am nothing if not loyal… Truthfully, it’s just because swinging the thing around, and sending mushroom men flying, was such a blast! The developers found the fun in first-person axe-swinging, for sure.
Avowed is also a stunningly gorgeous open world RPG that puts decision-making front and center, no matter how many nails you’ve got to chew to make it through. While I expect Dawnshore is better off for having met me, I can’t say the same is true of Shatterscarp, Galawain’s Tusks, or, truthfully, the rest of the planet. But I did what I did, and I stand by it!
If you’re at all interested in realized western fantasy worlds, of which there are simply too few of in AAA gaming, then don’t skip Avowed!
Elden Ring: Nightreign
Having played the entirety of Eldin Ring the original in co-op (something I highly recommend!), picking up Nightreign was a no-brainer. A roguelike souls game? I mean, sign me up!
Nightreign essentially has two phases: exploration and boss fights. The former is a battle against overconfidence. Do we have enough time? Do we have enough levels? Hubris might answer “yes,” but we should know better than to listen! All failed runs ultimately boil down to “we should have aborted.”
“We don’t need to go to the church; we have plenty of potions!”
“We should have gotten more potions…”
In many ways, learning the game had become our undoing.
But it also gave us the knowledge and skills required to tackle the game’s post-launch, remixed bosses and DLC, so all’s well that ends well, right?
Sword of the Sea
I’ve lavished enough praise for Sword of the Sea, surely. It’s a stunner, a love letter to the natural world and a paragon of artistic creativity. Oh, and it’s also just a lot of fun to play. Part Tony Hawk, part Journey/ABZU, Sword of the Sea is all excellence. If you’re going to make time for any game this year, then set aside four hours for this one.
And then another four to hunt down the shells, and another four to take breathtaking shots in Photo Mode, and another four just to enjoy the atmosphere all over again.
The world’s been encased in stone. Set the sea free, one act at a time!
Donkey Kong Bananza
Donkey Kong Bananza is full of surprises, especially for those who’ve been following the great ape’s escapades over the years. It has a depth of movement and control typical of Mario, with the added element of smashing everything in sight.
Oh, and it also has one of my favorite credits songs in recent memory.
Between collecting fossils, finding Banandium gems, and digging deep, there’s plenty to do in Nintendo’s latest 3D marvel. If you’ve been holding off because the idea of breaking through layers of rocks doesn’t appeal to you, even if that breaking is finely tuned and terribly satisfying, then maybe this game isn’t for you.
But if you’re anybody else, then Nintendo’s latest great is here. Oh, Banana!
The Midnight Walk
You don’t need to fear the dark.
Be that as it may, I found the dark terrifying, especially when my primary method of interacting with it was to CLOSE MY EYES AND HOPE IT WENT AWAY.
More charming than scary, The Midnight Walk nonetheless could endanger your pants. Fortunately, the loveable Pot Boy and Housey are at your side throughout the entire escapade to make sure you’re never far from light—or far from home.
Did I mention that the entire game is uniquely built with stop-motion Claymation? It’s a delight. Truly. This is one that has stuck with me since completion, which might be because I made a choice I can’t take back.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
I played Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 late in the year, completely aware of the buzz and absolutely planning to get to it…eventually. I got to it (eventually), and it met every expectation.
From the very first scene, where characters knowingly hours away from abject tragedy made light of the situation with dark humor, I knew I was in for something different. Something unique. An adventure about grief, how different people handle it, and the friction that comes from disparate coping mechanisms. And that’s just the first act.
More than anything else, I’ll not forget how Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 used facial expressions, glances, and overlapping speakers to add humor and tension and, most importantly, humanity to every conversation in the game.
Shout out to one of the year’s greatest songs, Monoco, which is only better when you sit and let it cook. More bass solos in games, please!
Absolum
The very best beat-em-up I have ever played. Absolum is excellent as a roguelike, too, thanks to its incredible build variation, smart mission structure, enjoyable side quests, and driving meta progression. The Steam demo made it my most anticipated game of the year, and the final release didn’t disappoint.
Whether I’m bouncing on the final boss as a wind-built Rocket Dwarf or I’m unleashing a torrent of projectiles as a luck-based Cider, every run came with a new build. Some of them are good. Some of them are great. And some of them led to a 2,000+ combo.
Don’t mess around with time, kiddos.
Even with all its beating em up, Absolum has charm and heart to spare. Baby frogs, desperate parents, righteous foes, adorable skulls, goofy goblins—it really has it all. Plus, it’s beautiful to look at and has a soundtrack to match.
Now, let’s see who burns brighter, Sun King!
Mario Kart World
Look, my days of Mario Kart are mostly behind me. I lived for Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart DS, playing with friends and family at every get together. Then we just kind of fell off. We bought every game in the series still, but it became a short-lived co-op jaunt through the Grand Prix cups before moving on. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe had a little more longevity as we enjoyed the Piranha Plant-based battle mode and eventually some online play with friends, but that was kind of it. If the gang’s getting together, the gang’s playing Smash. That’s just how it is.
Well, Mario Kart World introduced a new way to play together with its World. My brother and I drove up to each stage together and hunted down those Peach coins and ? blocks. Plus, since my Switch 2 arrived late, we had to run the Grand Prix twice!
More importantly, a new generation of family members were ready to Kart their way to defeat! And with such an incredible cast of characters to pick from, the game was a blast from the selection screen. No wonder it’s easy to call it one of my Top 10 Games of 2025.
Peak
After watching 2021’s The Summit of the Gods animated film, climbing hits different. The compulsion to move forwards, towards the Peak, is not just game design. It’s a surreal need to surmount the self.
Well, we surmounted a lot of things in our time with this mountain-climbing game, but rarely ourselves and never the mountain. We died. A lot. We sacrificed a lot more. Everything, in many cases, to pull each other up, to survive together. Often, indeed, to the detriment of surviving together.
Perhaps it’s the proximity chat that does the heavy lifting, or our rule of no talking when you’re dead, but there was something profound in watching our friends slip. Fall away. Disappear over the edge. We know we cannot help them, if they even survived, for our own stamina bars are empty, our stomachs yearning, our bodies filled with thorns.
And so every heroic moment is all the more pronounced, the risks, the sacrifice. We gave it all for the group. Even the run.
Ghost of Yotei
I finally got around to playing Ghost of Yotei! It wasn’t until the week leading up to the multiplayer launch, but then, I did get busy, then sick, then sick, then busy, and I didn’t want to start the game until I had time to truly devote to it.
Sublime. Like its predecessor, the game is an artistic marvel; its respect and awe for nature drips across gaming’s most stunning canvas. There’s nothing quite like the feeling I get when the wolf appears to save me from my poor playing, or when I’m walking up to an enemy encampment while playing my shamisen. It’s a world I can’t get enough of exploring, hunting down new swords and skills with minimal UI.
The multiplayer Legends is just as fun as it was in the first game, and while I’m disappointed Survival is still the only mode for 4 players out of the gate, and that it brings more gimmicks to the battlefield, I can’t help but love playing it. We’ve still got levels to climb yet, because I got busy again (and then sick, and the horizon looks busy), but you can believe we’ll be sticking with this one all year!
Runners Up
Fast Fusion: A fun, high-speed racer severely hampered by its imposition that all unlocks must be earned in single player. Something the series has insisted upon in every iteration, I’m afraid.
Monster Hunter Wilds: Really, really good Monster Hunting, except for the return of horrible multiplayer lobbying for the duration of the story. Start the mission, find the monster, wait for it to say the hunt’s begun, and then LEAVE and lobby up with the last player to get there. Really? Rise solved this problem!
The Riftbreaker: While technically not a 2025 release, this game just launched co-op in August 2025. My brothers and I added the game to our libraries immediately. The game is everything I wanted it to be: fun base-building, defense, and exploration. Best part: the repair tool bringing back broken bases instantly.
Outhold: A cute, last-minute TD for the year. I quite enjoyed trying different builds over the course of the brisk campaign and doing what I could to clear the missions.
MotionRec: This puzzle platformer (which just came out on consoles!) out of Japan hits the same notes as the likes of Elechead: each room is a bite-sized puzzle that tests your understanding of the core mechanic at work. Here, record your actions so that you can play them back.
Erenshor: A single-payer MMORPG, only the multiplayer part is simulated. Playing the game brings me back to when I was spending hours on Runescape and Conquest, testing MMOs like World of Warcraft and Flyff, and otherwise grinding away the time.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A: It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. In other words, a modern Pokemon game. Fun to play, bewildering in its execution. And don’t get me started on the story…
Metroid Prime 4: Not Metroid Prime’s finest outing, alas.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Deluxe Edition: It’s a port of one of my favorite games, with some new stuff. Not much to say about it other than the music still slaps.
Games I Watched
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma: More action game than farming sim, I remember liking the music but not finding the story writing particularly compelling. Even less compelling: romantic options as paid Day One DLC.
Hades 2: Having never played Hades, I had no idea Hades 2 had an ending. I found the story absolutely riveting, especially when SPOILER comes into proceedings. Would watch again, no doubt. Another good villain in a year of winning villains.
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter: A complete, classic JRPG with music to match. I’m not totally sold on the new localization, and the cinematography was way too extra, but I had fun watching all the same.
Games I Missed
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-Yo: Another game whose demo sold me on it, only I never actually picked it up. Bad habit, I admit.
Blades of Fire: I’m really curious about this one, and it’s probably the one I missed I want to pick up the most.
Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog: I really enjoyed the style of the demo, but the timing didn’t work out. I’ll keep it on the wish list and hope a weekend opens up!
Bang Bang Barrage: A local multiplayer game that will definitely make the lineup the next time I’m together with friends.
Tiny Bookshop: I like books. One of the reasons I missed some of 2025’s games was because of all the books I read. So this one seems like a good fit.
Curious about my Top 10 Games of 2024? You’re in luck, I’ve brought a link! And if you’re curious about what games tickle my fancy in 2026, well…be patient!
