My Top 20 Favourite Games Of 2025

Another year has been and gone, and it’s been yet another fantastic year for gaming. Not only did I play some phenomenal new releases, but I also caught up on some old classics too.

I’ll be ranking the twenty best games I played this year – not just the games that released in 2025, but ones I started and finished before the year was through.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

• My Top 20 Favourite Games Of 2025
• Ace Attorney Deep Dive: “Turnabout Time Traveler” (Spirit Of Justice – Special Case)
• 2016: The Year In Music
• Every “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” Game Award Ranked By How Deserved They Were
• Every Ace Attorney Defendant Ranked

Honourable Mentions

Before diving into my top twenty, I wanted to give a quick shout-out to some great gaming experiences I had in 2025 that didn’t quite make the cut for one reason or another:

I started The Witness many years ago, but this was the year when I finally finished it. I absolutely loved the simple yet unique style of open world puzzling … even if some of the individual puzzles were too complex or unintuitive for my personal tastes.

“Cyberpunk: 2077” is one of my favourite games of all time, and now I can comfortably say that Phantom Liberty is one of my favourite DLCs of all time. It’s more of the same fantastic worldbuilding and story, and yet it sometimes eclipses the base game in quality. I didn’t want to include a DLC on this list but it would’ve ranked very highly – definitely in my top five.

I played some great time-wasters this year in Cauldron, Max Manos and Nebulock. All of those got me through some rainy days, but they weren’t exactly the most engaging or ground-breaking titles so I opted to leave them out of this list.

And now for the real top twenty. If you’re wondering where “Silksong” or “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” are, you’d be better off reading my reviews to see why they missed out …

20 – A Trio Of Branching Narrative Visual Novels

I’m going to cheat a little for this entry. There were three visual novels I played in 2025 which impressed me with their complex and branching narratives, so I wasn’t sure which one to single out for this spot.

Here are my mini reviews for “The Letter”, “Raging Loop” and “The Zodiac Trial” (with a brief part in each as to why I couldn’t rank any of them higher than twentieth place):

The Letter

After playing “Paranormasight” a while ago I’ve been on the lookout for my next horror visual novel, and “The Letter” seemed to tick all the right boxes. It’s not as good as “Paranormasight” by any means but I still had a decent time with it.

To get the negatives out the way – the horror in this game is very hit or miss. It’s always the same type of jumpscare again and again, so at first it was unnerving but eventually it became very predictable. And the other major drawback is that the ending is very abrupt and answers few questions. I imagine they were saving all of the satisfying answers for a nonexistent sequel.

As a visual novel, however, it’s fantastic. The characters are unique and memorable, the story has many twists to keep you on your toes, and the sheer amount of branching is bonkers. I could replay this game a hundred times and get slightly different stories.

Raging Loop

A branching visual novel set in a small town where a deadly game of Werewolf is being played? “Raging Loop” has one of the best hooks I’ve ever seen for a visual novel.

At first, I loved it. The quirky characters and extreme choices always kept things fresh, and I like Werewolf-style social deduction games so I was locked in. The ending, however, was very muddled and exposition-heavy, and there weren’t as many choices / branching narratives during the actual Werewolf-sussing segments as I wanted.

The Zodiac Trial

“The Zodiac Trial”, on the other hand, had the opposite problem to the other visual novels – its ending was awesome and easily the best part of the narrative. It was the beginning and middle of the story that I took issue with.

I never found myself connecting to any of the characters. People always died quite quickly in each “The Zodiac Trial” timeline, and the constant time-hopping meant I never mourned anyone. The interface (or lack thereof) for jumping in and out of timelines was also way too hard to navigate – a “ZeroEscape” style of timeline tree would’ve been appreciated.

This game would’ve never made this top twenty if it wasn’t for its ending. All of a sudden I found myself caring for a few of the characters, and important events and details are tied together in such a genius and satisfying way. Which just goes to show that nailing the ending is all you need for a game to stick with its player!

19 – RoboCop: Rogue City

I, along with many others I’m sure, had low expectations going in “RoboCop: Rogue City”. It seemed like a generic shoot-em-up set in the RoboCop universe, but I got it at a heavy discount so I thought there was no harm in trying.

Those low expectations ended up being a blessing in disguise – while this is far from a ground-breaking shooter, it’s robust enough to provide a few hours of fun action.

18 – Escape Simulator 1 & 2

I played the first “Escape Simulator” for free, and I was so impressed with the puzzles and level design that I immediately bought the sequel upon release.

“Escape Simulator 2” is even better than the first. Not only is it an enormous graphical improvement, but the escape rooms themselves are much more ambitious and enjoyable.

17 – I Am Your Beast

“I Am Your Beast” is in a similar vein of game to “Neon White” where you run a level as fast as you can whilst causing as much chaos as possible.

It’s not as glamorous as “Neon White”, but “I Am Your Beast” is a great, fast-paced action game. With a much better and less cringey story than “Neon White”.

16 – The Rise of the Golden Idol

I absolutely loved “The Case of the Golden Idol”. Its sequel “The Rise of the Golden Idol” didn’t wow me as much, but I still had a fun time with it.

It’s more of the same tough puzzling but in a new, updated time period.

15 – Megabonk

At first I thought “Megabonk” was just a 3D “Vampire Survivors”. Then I realised it’s so much more than that. Than I realised it is just a 3D “Vampire Survivors”.

It gets a little stale once you’ve played it for hours, but those were some quality hours of idle fun.

14 – PowerWash Simulator 2

“PowerWash Simulator” used to be my guilty pleasure time-waster. I can safely say “PowerWash Simulator 2” now holds that title.

It’s more of the same, but slightly more refined and tightened. I can see myself playing DLCs and bonus jobs for years to come.

13 – Strange Antiquities

I’m torn as to whether “Strange Antiquities” is better than “Strange Horticulture”. They’re both so similar yet so different.

As of right now, I think the original was better for its mystery and plant focus – but the surreal storytelling and creative applications of magic in “Strange Antiquities” were a joy to behold.

12 – Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

There was a point while playing “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle” when I was certain it would finish in my top five games of 2025. The first few hours in the Vatican / Italy were some of the most fun I’ve had all year.

Sadly, the rest of the game drops off in quality a little. I didn’t like the Gizeh or Sukhothai parts nearly as much … but the arcade-y gameplay and the adventurous story made me feel like a kid again.

11 – Spider-Man 2

I remember playing the first “Spider-Man” and being blown away. Only in the Arkham games had I ever previously felt like I was genuinely in the shoes of a superhero.

“Spider-Man 2” is more of the same, with arguably a more ambitious story. I would’ve liked more gameplay updates / additions, and the story beats didn’t hit as hard as I wanted them to, but otherwise this was another solid Spidey experience.

10 – Balatro

“Balatro” is just a card game at the end of the day. It also happens to be the best goddamn card game of all time.

I’m no gambler, but the highs I felt from pulling a good Joker or getting a good run were euphoric. This is one of those games you could play on a desert island for eternity.

9 – The Roottrees Are Dead

There were a couple of detective games that really surprised me in 2025 – the first of which being “The Roottrees Are Dead”, a game about exploring internet archives. It’s more exciting than it sounds.

It’s your job to figure out the Roottree family lineage, and the interface where you search key words and add relevant evidence to your files is very comprehensive and clever.

The DLC “Roottreemania” was more of the same internet sleuthing, but with even more outward infidelities. What more could you ask for?

8 – Black Mesa / Half Life 2

I’m going to cheat yet again for this entry. For the life of me I couldn’t pick a favourite between “Black Mesa” and “Half Life 2” – both are exceptional for different reasons.

“Black Mesa” has got to be one of the best remakes ever. I love how they adapted the aesthetic while keeping the old school level design, even changing some levels for better pacing. I loved it so much that I immediately re-installed “Half Life 2”, a game I tried to play a decade ago and couldn’t sink my teeth into.

… And now I can see why people tout “Half Life 2” as one of the greatest games ever. While it’s definitely dated in some areas, its physics-based combat is second to none. I can’t imagine how revolutionary it must’ve been at the time.

7 – The Séance of Blake Manor

Alongside “The Roottrees Are Dead”, “The Séance of Blake Manor” absolutely floored me when I first played it. This is exactly what a detective game should be – in other words, never have I felt more like a genuine detective.

You’re sent to a manor / hotel to investigate the disappearance of a young woman, and every action you take passes time. That’s all you’re told and that’s all you need to know. You have almost complete freedom to investigate anyone and anywhere you choose, and the varied cast with their own secrets and motivations always kept me on my toes.

6 – DOOM: The Dark Ages

“DOOM: The Dark Ages” is yet another glorious rip and tear-athon. Is it the worst of the recent DOOM trilogy? Probably, but I still had a blast with it.

The shield and parry system were an absolute gamechanger, and the sprawling open world levels were a nice change of pace (… albeit a little too big on occasion). It didn’t hit as hard as “Eternal”, but then again I’m not sure many shooters ever will for me.

5 – Silent Hill 2

Going into the “Silent Hill 2” remake, I was looking for a Resident Evil type of experience. A good ol’ zombie-killing thriller, basically. And it was at first – but as the story continued and became more layered, I started to appreciate the game in a whole new light.

These characters and their troubles are far more compelling than any Resident Evil character. James Sunderland in particular is one of the best, most tragic protagonists I’ve seen. The puzzles as well rivalled Resident Evil for complexity and ingenuity.

4 – Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth

“Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth” was my first love of 2025. I don’t think I played anything else during the month of January.

I enjoyed the first “Like A Dragon” but felt something was missing, and it turns out I needed a bit more Hawaii in my life. The story is bombastic and engrossing, the side content is as varied and ridiculous as always for this series, and the turn-based combat kept me entertained for hours.

3 – The House in Fata Morgana

I played the first chapter (or “Door”) of “The House in Fata Morgana” and then put the game aside for a month. It wasn’t a bad start by any means, but the storytelling was a methodical slow-burner that I wasn’t ready to commit to at that time.

But once I got used to the pace and the style of storytelling, I was blown away by the competence of the writing. Every storyline ended up being so affecting, and it’s no exaggeration to say this has one of my favourite depictions of romance in any medium ever.

I also played the sequel / prequel “Requiem For Innocence”, which strengthened a few of the characters’ motivations and backstories. While it didn’t hit as hard as the main game, I’d still recommend it if you liked the original.

2 – Hades 2

I’ve been playing “Hades 2” from the day its Alpha went public. I think it’s the first time I’ve ever done this with a game – to see it grow from a bare-bones experience to a full-on masterpiece has been an immensely rewarding journey.

In many ways, it’s an overall improvement to “Hades” – one of my favourite games of the last decade. The combat is as tight as ever, the story and characters draw you in, and there are now two different routes to fight through. The devs basically crammed two “Hades” games into one!

1 – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Every day since I finished “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33”, I’m thankful that nothing was spoiled and I got to play it fresh with no expectations. And every day since the credits rolled I’ve missed it with every fibre of my being.

I’m just gonna say it – this is one of my favourite games of all time. The writing is second to none, and the turn-based parry system made even the most filler of fights a thrill. I can maybe fault the lack of a local map or completion checklist, or how clunky the overworld can be to navigate, but those are tiny nitpicks.

“Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” is a masterpiece. It’s no surprise it won Game Of The Year as well as pretty much all the other Game Awards it was nominated for. Play it. You owe it to yourself.

Aaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: