With 2025 coming to a close, we’re taking a look back on the top 10 best games of the year. From Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to Hollow Knight: Silksong, here are the games that we kept going back to throughout the year.
Well, gamers, the year is officially just about over, which means it’s time to look at all the great games that came out this year and cram them into our holiday break.
The one theme this year is that indie titles absolutely dominated the industry, and were some of the biggest breakout successes of the year, while Triple AAA releases somewhat floundered and didn’t quite capture the longevity I think many expected them to have.
One need only look at Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, which has trailed in sales behind its predecessors and, for the first time, lost its throne as the top shooting game of the year both commercially and critically.
There’s no mistake, 2025 was a rough year for the games industry. Despite new IPs like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Arc Raiders showing off immense talent and proving that video games are an exceptional art form, it’s undeniable that the industry is at a low.
Between massive gaming corporations laying off thousands of workers, the growing list of controversies surrounding the use of generative AI, and EA being bought by Saudi Arabia’s private equity firm, the list goes on. All these events spell a rough 2026, with the effects most likely not being felt for years to come.
Still, if 2025’s success with indies proves anything, it’s that gamers will always champion the games passionate developers create. One’s driven to prioritise the player’s experience and fun before all else.
Here are our top 10 picks from the year that we think did just that.
10. Pokémon Legends: Z-A
With the release of the Nintendo Switch 2, Pokémon fans were eager to see what developers Game Freak would do with the new hardware.
While Pokémon Legends: Z-A doesn’t push the envelope the way most fans would like, there were enough curveballs to keep long-time fans of the series invested.
By introducing a new combat system, unique new evolutions for fan-favourite Pokémon, and reworking the entire progression of the game offered up a refreshing experience for fans who may honestly be a bit exhausted with Game Freak releasing the same game over and over again.
By taking all of the best bits Pokémon is known for, reworking them in dynamic and exciting ways, and keeping that thrill of discovery, Pokémon Legends: Z-A overall feels like a labour of love that sees its older and lifelong fans and rises to meet them.
9. Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
A Hideo Kojima game will always be an event, and Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is no different.
The sequel takes place 11 months after the climax of the previous game. In that time, the world has changed significantly, with much of America reconnecting to the ‘Chiral Network’ (a pseudo-Internet-like system). Now, the new American government is looking to reconnect with the rest of the world.
Unlike the original Death Stranding, its sequel is a far less frustrating experience. While it still keeps its quirks and charm, and fittingly adds more, there’s far less friction to this one that won’t have you fighting against yourself to keep playing it.
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is one of the most cinematic games of the year, one that you’ll find yourself experiencing an overwhelming and emotional journey on. Plus, you get to travel in a relatively unique depiction of a post-apocalyptic Australia that isn’t just Mad Max again. For that reason alone, Death Stranding 2 is automatically one of the best games to exist.
8. Battlefield 6
Let it be known, 2025 is the year Battlefield officially beat Call of Duty.
After a lengthy break between titles, Battlefield 6 is a bold return to form for the series, offering one of the most satisfying and refined first-person shooter experiences you can have this year.
Maps are intricately packed, offering stunning environments for skirmishes that can fit up to 64 players, meaning you’re never roaming around for long to look for enemies.
Of course, vehicles and aerial combat add much-needed variety to gameplay as well, and make decking choosing your load-outs as a footsoldier all the more complex. Some of my top moments in gaming this year would feature me laying out mines as an engineer and watching a tank-full of soldiers drive into them and blow up, or finally getting the drop on that one sniper camping in a building all game.
Unfortunately, just this week, the creative lead Vince Zampell a, a titan of the first-person shooter game in the industry, passed away following a car accident. Zampella, a co-creator of the Call of Duty series, absolutely revitalised the Battlefield series this year, and his loss leaves an immense legacy that won’t be forgotten.
7. Dispatch
Older gamers may remember a time when episodic-gaming giants Telltale Games were at the forefront of the industry with titles like The Wolf Among Us and The Walking Dead. Since the company announced that it had gone bankrupt, we’ve had a drought of games daring to follow in their narrative-focused footsteps.
It would take former Telltale and Ubisoft veteran devs to recapture that magic and deliver one of the most unique and engaging gaming experiences of the year with Dispatch.
If you love shows like Invincible, this game will feel like it was tailor-made for you. You play as Robert, a former hero who, after a tragic event, ends up becoming a dispatcher at a superhero agency. Your role suddenly turns from hero to managing former villains turned heroes, sending them out on missions, and taking care of their emotional state.
For a game like this, you need stellar characters and a voice cast that lets you buy into their story, and the game absolutely delivers. With impeccable performances from Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, Critical Role’s Laura Bailey, and The Batman‘s Jeffrey Wright, it’s easy to find yourself playing through the game in one sitting and running it back to see the several different outcomes.
6. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles
The original Final Fantasy Tactics, released on the PlayStation in 1997, was one of the best role-playing games of all time. It was also one of the most scarce and difficult to buy. So, when a long-awaited remaster was announced, you can bet this ol’ dweeb was frothing at the mouth to play one of Final Fantasy‘s most beloved titles for the first time.
My reaction while playing was much like Frank in that famous It’s Always In Sunny In Philadelphia meme, overwhelmed with realisation. Having completed the game, I can say proudly that everyone was right, and this is one of the best RPGs to date.
What’s even more impressive is that the remaster hardly changed the core experience. The remaster adds updated visuals, full voice acting, and a slew of quality-of-life changes that enhance the experience without dramatically changing it.
In short, you’re not getting a lesser version of the game if this is your first time playing it, but for long-term fans, you’re getting plenty of fixes that will help ease those minor frustrations.
Which only proves that older titles can absolutely match up against some of the more massive games on offer to this day.
5. Hades II
After a year of early access, Hades II officially launched in September this year. Despite getting slightly overshadowed by another massive sequel to a beloved indie title, Supergiant Games’ Hades II is an incredible sequel that vastly improves on its predecessor, which, at the time, felt like the peak of what the roguelike genre had to offer.
Hades II takes on a more narrative focus this time around, putting its lead character, Melinoë, against the terrifying Chronos in a bid to save her family and Olympus from the titan’s wrath.
The gameplay blueprint remains very similar to the original Hades: complete multiple zones, with challenging bosses at the end, without dying. Each time you die, you respawn at your home base, where you can upgrade your stats, interact with NPCs who deliver essential story details, change weapons and equip new items that alter your run.
Each new run will bring with it different challenges that always keep you on your toes, and slowly drip-feed you more encounters, giving you more motivation to keep running it back.
Even more, unlike the original, which just saw you escape through multiple levels of Tartarus, the sequel will have you descend deeper and deeper into the underworld to reach the same bedrock that you tried so hard to escape from in the original. After finishing your first run, you’ll also be able to ascend Mount Olympus, offering an entirely new challenge for players willing to take on the task.
If you loved the original Hades, then this year’s sequel will far exceed your expectations for what the series has to offer.
4. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 hates you and makes it known.
Taking place in 16th-century Bohemia, you’ll find yourself playing as Henry, a simple blacksmith-turned-knight sent to deliver a message across a war-ravaged region. At the start of your quest, your party is ambushed, leaving you penniless, without weapons to arm yourself, and your identity as a noble knight suspect.
As you play, you have to struggle to reclaim your recognition and break free from the perspective that you’re just another simple beggar.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is the ultimate medieval simulator. You’ll find yourself having to take into account skills that you would normally take for granted, such as needing to teach yourself how to read, because, of course, that was a luxury back then.
The game does not shy away from the deplorable living standards of the Renaissance period and lets you live through it warts and all. While you may not immediately love your time with Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, it will absolutely be one of the most unique and interesting experiences you’ll have with a game this year.
3. Hollow Knight: Silksong
After almost a decade of waiting, Hollow Knight: Silksong, the sequel to the beloved Metroidvania Hollow Knight, was finally released. Despite such a long build-up of hype, somehow the small and humble team over at Team Cherry managed to deliver on near-fanatical expectations and release one of the best games this year.
Not only does Silksong deliver on the hype, it also improves on the original Hollow Knight in several ways, offering a far clearer narrative, more ferocious action, and world design that will have you guffawing at how it connects you to different areas.
One of the more challenging aspects driving fans from getting into the game is its difficulty. Silksong demands players run its gauntlet again and again, with gruelling run-backs to bosses that’ll make you feel like you’re doing a walk of shame. And yet, the feeling of finally overcoming that hurdle that had you stuck for nearly an hour will go down as one of your most memorable gaming moments ever.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is a difficult game; there’s no mistake in that. But it’s one of the finest games to make the challenge worth it.
2. Ghost of Yōtei
Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Yōtei is one of the finest games I played this year.
Taking place centuries after its predecessor, Ghost of Yōtei sees players take on the role of Atsu, a woman on a vengeful quest to take down the Yōtei Six. As you explore the various regions of Ezo, Japan, you’ll acquire new weapons, form new connections with the people in the region, and stack up a large bounty on your name.
As an avid hater of open-world games, Ghost of Yōtei is one of the rare titles that had me enthusiastically exploring all corners of the map. The world is so intricately layered that you never feel as though you’re wasting time treading from one objective to another. It’s also not so densely packed that you feel as though you’re constantly being bombarded by events veering you off your main course.
Each new weapon adds a unique playstyle, and different weaknesses and strengths, gives you ample reason to cycle through them all to become the weaponmaster you always dreamed of becoming.
In my eyes, Ghost of Yōtei is one of the best action games released in years, one that refines PlayStation Studios’ formula into an experience worth sinking your teeth into.
1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
That’s right, another publication has named Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as its game of the year.
Sandfall Entertainment’s debut game has quickly and deservedly become the breakout game of 2025, netting the most wins at the Game Awards this year, and has featured on nearly every end-of-year list so far.
When the game was first announced at the Xbox Games Showcase last year, I was instantly hooked. The game promised a unique spin on JRPG turn-based combat with a mature narrative, and it far exceeded my (and I suppose everyone’s) expectations. The combat depth? Immaculate. The characters? Some of the best in gaming’s history. The narrative? Richer than a man who invested in Bitcoin early.
Even gamers who aren’t in love with turn-based combat have been conceding that Clair Obscur is the one game that can hook them in.
Of course, it’s impossible to talk about the game without mentioning the stellar voice cast. Ben Starr, Jennifer English, Charlie Cox and Andy Serkis (that’s right, of Lord of the Rings fame) breathe so much life into their characters, you’ll demand they all get awards.
I won’t lie, 2025 has been a devastating year for the games industry. However, with passion projects like Clair Obscur leading the charge that low-budget indie titles can be succesful, it sparks hope we’ll still see excellent games from talented devs who won’t have to compromise on their vision for many years to come.
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