Top Games 2025
Games! There were so many surprise hit this year from smaller studios. Looking back at 2024, this might be the trend now? Not that I don't enjoy the big games, but the smaller games made by smaller teams have a lot of heart in them and are fun to play.
The List
My top games for 2025!
- Arc Raiders
- Blue Prince
- Factorio: Space Age
- Deltarune: Chapter 3 & 4
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time
- Donkey Kong Bananza
Arc Raiders
I didn't really get the appeal of extraction shooters before I played the Arc Raiders playtest. I love roguelikes, but something about constant hardcore PvP where you can lose your stuff did not sound appealing at all. Yet Arc Raiders immediately showed me what there is to like in the genre.
I look forward to when Marathon releases.
Blue Prince
Ah, Blueprints. I enjoyed the main part of the game, but by the end, I was just trying to line up the right rooms to get the keys and get to the 46th room. It also didn't help that I messed up my gear rooms, like Security, with the wrench and made it super rare... It's a great game, but puzzles after the end starting to drive me crazy.
I was waffling if this or Blue Prince should be my game of the year, and I think I finally made the choice. Blue Prince was good, but Arc Raiders caught the zeitgeist despite it's use of AI voices. Blue Prince would have been my top if it didn't annoy me so much at the end.
Factorio: Space Age
If it wasn't for Balatro, Factorio: Space Age would have been Game of the Year last year. And now that it's not "new", it just doesn't feel right to give it Game of the Year now. Sorry Factorio, maybe you will get Game of the Decade.
This shouldn't come as a surprise that I kept playing Factorio this year. I did everything but get to the edge of the solar system, which I didn't do because building the ship to do it was taking too long. I took a break from the game for most of the year to play these other fine games, but as of December, I spun up a server with some mods for my second playthrough. This game scratches the brain in all the right ways.
Deltarune: Chapter 3 & 4
The music slaps. I'm not sure about how I feel about the episodic nature of the releases. I like the chapter format for the story structure (It was this year that someone pointed out and I realized each chapter is 1 in-game day). But, having yeats between chapters means I forgot the details for chapters 1 & 2, which means some of the story doesn't have the same impact compared to if I played it the day or week before. But, returning to see Ralsei and Susie is like returning to see some old friends. I like the character growth Susie is going through and I want to see it to the end.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
This game has the style and vibes to be game of the year, I just haven't finished it. It's really nice to return to a good turn based combat system.
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time
I played this one a little late in the year but I love it. I really enjoyed the original on 3DS back in the day, so this was an enjoyable and much larger sequel to return to. There's almost too much to do in it. I can also feel the deeper influence on it, like the town build sequences remind me so much of Dark Cloud 2. It's a very enjoyable game that I hope to finish in 2026.
Donkey Kong Bananza
Oh, Banana.
I played this with my 5-year-old who also enjoyed it. It's a slurry of bananas that's pretty fun, but I don't think I need to play it anymore.
Honorable Mentions
These are other games I enjoyed and want to mention.
- Peak
- Void Crew
- Lethal Company
- Pokémon Legends: Z-A
- Battlefield 6
- Unbeatable
Peak and the rise of Prox-Chat games
So-called friend slop games are all about friends and are not sloppy at all. Jank yes, chaotic yes, but a whole lot of fun. I have a lot of fun exploding in Void Crew, falling in Peak, and dying in Lethal Company. Here's to more gaming with friends in 2026.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A
I don't know what caused me to think it, but I thought I would be able to control the Pokémon a little more directly and dodge attacks or something. I made it... At least half the way through I think before I feel off.
Battlefield 6
They made a good one of those. I was playing regularly up until Arc Raiders released and I haven't been back. I am also switching to Linux on the desktop this year, I don't know how much I will actually be playing it in 2026.
Unbeatable
I started this late in the year, so I haven't finished it yet. The game explains nothing and I mostly like that. Hopefully I have more about it in 2026.
Games I've Finished!
Neva, Dreams of Aether, Deltarune: Chapter 3 & 4, Blue Prince, Sayonara Wild Hearts, Donkey Kong Bananza,
Other Games I Played and Liked
Monster Hunter: Wilds, Shapez 2, Cassette Beasts, Civilization VII, Monster Train
Other Games I Keep Meaning to Play
Octopath Traveler 1 & 2, Divinity Original Sin 2, Pine, Kingdom Hearts 3, No Man's Sky, Ni no Kuni, Doom Eternal, Dwarf Fortress, Dispatch.
Other Games Started That I Keep Meaning to Finish
Pyre, Doom, Dragon Quest XI, Angels with Scaly Wings, Ni no Kuni II, Loop Hero, Tails Noir, Prey, Red Dead Redemption 2, Disco Elysium, Alan Wake, Control, God of War, Psychonauts 2, Tactical Breach Wizards.
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