I do this every year and I need to stop writing “hope next year is better for the industry!” because it just never is. I still hope, though.
I dunno, man. I’ve come to write this list with possibly the least energy I’ve ever had for it. I did play some games, and I enjoyed them, but it’s increasingly hard to stem the feeling that this won’t, maybe can’t, continue, in several different senses.
This year brought yet more studio closures, rocketing hardware prices, and the ever-growing waterfall of money into the toilet that is generative AI. I want to explore more of the indie and art space but that is being squeezed out of existence by funding simply not existing any more. BAFTA-award-winning designers are broke while the same people who said Web 3 was the future stuff chatbots into every orifice they can reach. I’m tired.
On a more positive note, I enjoy my work, I get to work with some very talented and nice people, and I shipped a game at the end of the year! Dave’s Word Game is out for iOS and Android and you should play it. I also got married, which isn’t about video games but is very good.
I almost exclusively played games on PC this year, primarily on the Steam Deck, though I did get the MiSTer unit out for a run in the spring, which was nice. This year brought the Switch 2, probably the least exciting console launch I can remember, and while I do like it, I like it in the way I like my new phone rather than in the way I drew pictures of the Wii on MS Paint when I was 12.
I played 33 games for the first time this year. As always, if I didn’t feel like I gave it a fair shake, it doesn’t count, so while I did play about half an hour of Blue Prince I don’t really feel I have an opinion on it.
You can see my lists from previous years here:
Games I played for the first time in 2025
The Case of the Golden Idol (PC)
I need to start taking notes when I actually play the games. I loved Golden Idol but I played it right at the start of the year so I don’t feel I have much to say about it other than “it’s really great”. I want to play the sequel.
Eternal Strands (PC)
I really liked what I played of Eternal Strands. The setting is interesting, it feels great in the hands and, while some of the writing is not to my taste, it’s the sort of game in the sort of budget range I think we’ve been sorely missing. More of this, please.
Baldur’s Gate 2 (PC)
The first Baldur’s Gate is, frankly, a chore, albeit a very historically interesting chore. I found its story to be thin, and it’s so dependent on dice rolls that a combat encounter can be brute forced by just trying it over and over again.
Baldur’s Gate 2 runs in the same engine, looks the same, mechanically plays the same (it’s still AD&D I think) but is totally transformative. Companions are far more fleshed out, the stakes are instantly personal in a way that pulls you in so much quicker, and the world seems that much richer. You could see the through line from Baldur’s Gate to BioWare in their prime, though it was faint. The line from Baldur’s Gate 2 is drawn in big thick marker pen.
Wilmot Works It Out (PC)
I started playing Wilmot with Lucy on Sunday mornings before we went climbing and it became a really lovely morning ritual. It’s so easy to pick it up for just one puzzle, though rather harder to stop that becoming seven puzzles, and it works great as a co-op game with one person controlling and the other helping to spot pieces. I tend to love everything Hollow Ponds puts out so it wasn’t a huge surprise this ended up being one of my favourites this year.
Avowed (Xbox)
It’s “Obsidian do Elder Scrolls”, sure, but I think the thing missing from that equation is that Obsidian are really good at doing what Bethesda does but better, and have been for years. It’s a gorgeous game. Sadly I cancelled my Game Pass this year and didn’t get to finish it, but I loved my time with it.
Monster Hunter Wilds (PC)
I’ve tried so many times to get into the Monster Hunter series, but this was it! This was going to be the one!
It wasn’t. I had fun, but there’s a fussiness and a fiddliness to Monster Hunter that I simply do not get on with, but hugely respect as part of what makes these games work for the people that like them. Not for me, sadly.
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
I’d been hearing about Chrono Trigger for my entire gaming life but I’d never actually sat down to play it. I’m so glad I gave it a shot, it’s fantastic. I haven’t finished it yet - playing on MiSTer adds some faff to getting into the game - but I do mean to go back and do so.
Ys (Turbografx CD)
I was reading online somewhere about how the Ys series has been running for decades and is still the same storyline and characters. No reboots or complex sub-series. I’d heard good things so I gave it a try.
Listen: bump combat needs to come back. There’s a hit indie game just waiting in someone’s brain to revive it. Please.
Also: Turbografx games have killer soundtracks.
Promise Mascot Agency (PC)
I enjoyed Paradise Killer so was looking forward to Promise Mascot Agency, and it’s really great. The (deliberate) tonal whiplash in places is so very funny. I did wonder if it would end up feeling a lot like the Yakuza games but it’s very much its own thing (though getting Takaya Kuroda to voice the main character is a hell of a flex).
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (PC)
I don’t know if I liked E33 as much as some other people did - I think the rhythm stuff is a little looser than I’d like, and a lot of the environments don’t feel visually cohesive to me - but it’s still a fantastic time. The voice acting and voice direction is a particular highlight; games always have an issue when trying to get characters to interrupt or talk over one another, presumably due to separate recording. E33 does this really well.
Skin Deep (PC)
Another game I played, liked, and didn’t return to. Skin Deep does the immersive sim thing so confidently, and the writing is really sharp. One for next year.
Mario Kart World (Switch 2)
It’s more Mario Kart. The open world stuff is somewhat interesting at first and then quickly becomes mundane. The whole package feels a little underbaked. I don’t know, I had fun with it for a few hours and then never touched it again.
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach (PS5)
Death Stranding was a surprise favourite for me back at launch, when I played it on the PS4. The later Director’s Cut made some changes, my least favourite of which was really emphasising the combat. On The Beach unfortunately continues this trend. I don’t want to shoot guys, I want to sneak around ghosts! Said ghosts are still here, and there are some scary new ones, but they’re all trivially easy to avoid. Ten or so hours in, the whole game feels trivially easy. I’m hoping this shifts as I get further in - it’s so endearingly batshit I want to keep going.
Destiny 2: Edge of Fate (PC)
Destiny had a weird year in 2024 - The Final Shape was fantastic, but it put a pretty neat bow on the story, meaning that people were given a fairly neat opportunity to dip at that point. Bungie needed to pull out something fantastic to convince people there was life in the old warhorse yet.
They did not. Edge of Fate has some interesting plot stuff, and I like Lodi a lot, but it’s all buried under a story I’ve already forgotten, the most naff destination so far and, most unfortunately, the enshittification of every other part of the game.
Bungie’s staff have been through a lot of shit these last few years and I desperately hope the studio finds its feet soon. I love Destiny and I want it to continue but, while Renegades would give me a little bit of hope later in the year, it still looks like it’s on its last legs.
Donkey Kong Bananza (Switch 2)
I hoped this would be the Super Mario Odyssey of the Switch 2. It isn’t, but it’s still really good! It makes fantastic use of the new hardware and I love how colourful it is, and how much it encourages you to just mess around with the environments. If this hadn’t come out I’d be a bit miffed about my Switch 2 purchase.
Frog Detective 3: Corruption at Cowboy County (PC)
I finally got around to Frog Detective 3 and I didn’t even finish it. I don’t know why. I adore the first two, and it’s just as funny and charming and well made. I wonder if I just played it at a time when its sunny, optimistic humour just wasn’t what I needed.
Öoo (PC)
Öoo has a really simple premise - you’re a caterpillar made of a couple of bombs, which you can detonate to propel yourself or interact with the environment - but the mileage NamaTakahashi gets from this is incredible. Some of the puzzles are really fiendish; I confess I did have to look up solutions for a couple. The game doesn’t outstay its welcome either so mechanics fatigue never sets in. A really special game.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance (PC)
I feel so bad for this game because I feel like in a year without Silksong it’d be all anyone talked about for a month. It’s made by Lizardcube, who made one of my favourite games of the last decade, the Wonder Boy remake, and that sense of artistry and attention to detail is present here, as well as some incredibly slick 2D combat. I really hope it’s done well enough to keep that studio afloat.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater (PC)
I’d never played MGS3, so I thought I’d give this a look. It’s interesting but after speaking to a couple friends and reading Joe Wintergreen’s blog post about it (shout out to Joe Wintergreen’s blog btw it’s ace) I think I’m going to go back and play the original, somehow.
Hollow Knight Silksong (PC)
Much has been written about Silksong’s difficulty. I think it is a cruel game, and I fully understand why some people I know - people much better at these sorts of games than I am! - bounced off.
I went back to Silksong recently after some time away from it, and the point I’m at in the game seems to be when things are opening up for me. This is both in a literal sense - I’ve unlocked many more areas and don’t, currently, have a bottleneck boss to try and beat - but also in terms of my own relationship with it. Something has clicked, where the mechanics that once felt difficult now feel, well, still really difficult, but also playful and expressive, maybe even more so than Hollow Knight.
Final Fantasy Tactics (PC)
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was a childhood favourite of mine, but I’d never played the original, so this year’s remake was a good opportunity. I’m playing the remastered version with the new graphics and the voice acting - I actually love the pixel art in it, and that strange sort of not-dithered-but-something look, and the voice acting is really good.
I’m not far enough in the game yet to have any real strong opinion (other than “oh boy this is quite hard isn’t it”) but I’m really enjoying it so far.
Ball x Pit (PC)
I love Kenny Sun’s games - Twinfold is one of the best iOS games ever made - so I checked this out on launch and it’s pretty good. I think I might be over this style of brain-off Survivors-ish thing now but it’s a nicely made one that makes your brain go “ping” in that very comforting way.
Strange Antiquities (PC)
I didn’t play the previous title, Strange Horticulture, but so far I haven’t felt like I needed to - Strange Antiquities’ story is very much its own, and it’s a lovely chill time. Play with a mouse, though, the controller support is fine but clearly not what it’s designed for.
Pokemon Black (DS)
I skipped this one at the time because my friend said it was bad, and while I did get to Black 2 a few years later I didn’t have a clue what was going on. I picked up Black this year and it turns out Bill’s a liar, it’s great. There are some notable downgrades from the 4th generation, especially how the bottom screen gets used, but it already feels like it has one of the more compelling stories in this series. Bar’s on the floor, mind, but still.
Anthology of the Killer (PC)
Anthology of the Killer is a compilation of short games by ridiculously prolific creator thecatamites. I heard about it for the first time on Side Story (my new favourite video games podcast), played it on a long-haul flight, and it became my favourite game I played this year.
To attempt to describe it would be to do it a disservice, I think, because the writing in these games is just so good, so I won’t try. I also won’t spoil any of the many, many wonderful jokes and scenes. Instead I’ll just beg you to play it. Go play it.
Stray Children (PC)
Onion Games’ output has always fascinated me and Stray Children continues their streak of really interesting games. I understand it to be a sort of spiritual successor to Moon, an RPG I haven’t yet played, but so far I’m really enjoying it even if I’m struggling to entirely follow what’s going on.
Demonschool (PC)
I love Persona and I love tactics games and Demonschool is on its face a lovely fusion of the two. And it is lovely, but it’s also very slow to start, a bit repetitive in the encounter design and not always super clearly tutorialised. If you go in prepared for that you’ll have a great time, I think.
Absolum (PC)
A beat-’em-up! In 2025! Rejoice! Absolum is great. I’ve not played enough yet to dig deep into the roguelite stuff but it feels wonderful to play and the voice acting is a treat. Dominique Tipper! Amazing.
Winter Burrow (PC)
I didn’t actually play this one, I watched my wife play it, so for the first time ever on this blog, we have a guest writer. Award-winning journalist Lucy White:
“It’s cute.”
Thank you, Lucy.
The thing about a pure survival game - I mean one where you gather resources to get more resources, turn the wheel to be able to turn the bigger wheel, none of the creative stuff like Minecraft or Subnautica - is that the aesthetics are kind of all there is. You’re doing the same thing, so how does it make you feel turning the wheel?
“I feel emotionally attached to the mouse.”
Winter Burrow’s neat.
Destiny 2: Renegades (PC)
It’s a lot better than Edge of Fate, but from my time with it it feels more like a biggish season rather than a full expansion. In a way that’s fine - I’d been missing seasons - but I doubt it’s going to win back any lapsed players.
The Star Wars thing was kind of a turn-off for me before launch - I find the Fortniteification of all games to be frankly galling - but it’s actually done very tastefully, which was a really pleasant surprise. I’d say if you’ve already paid for it as part of the bundle then definitely do play it. Otherwise? Err um oh there’s the doorbell-
Sektori (PC)
I love twin stick shooters and I’m very bad at them. Sektori is great if you love twin stick shooters, and it makes me want to be less bad at them. I don’t know if that will happen, but a boy can dream.
Star Wars Outlaws (PC)
I was gifted this by good talented pal Sam Greer as a prize for winning a quiz, and while I’ve not been able to play it for a few weeks due to it not running on Steam Deck, in the first hour I was pretty instantly charmed by it. I like Kay a lot more than any of the various unmemorable protagonists from modern Star Wars (Andor excepted) and moving between stealth and combat feels surprisingly fluid. It’s gorgeous, too. The Snowdrop engine continues to impress, and I’d be really interested to know why Ubisoft have so many bloody engines.
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (PC)
I’ve not yet played more than about half an hour of Blue Prince, but I do feel like a lot of what people liked about it might also apply to Lorelei, and I wonder why it didn’t get quite the same level of adulation. Ask me again when I’ve played Blue Prince, I guess.
Anyway: Lorelei is amazing. The puzzle difficulty is pitched perfectly, and while I always feel at least a little bit bewildered there’s always some thread I can be pulling on, somewhere. I’m at about 50% completion and I’ve had a few genuine lightbulb moments (and more than a few “can’t believe I missed that” moments) which feel great. I’ve played it a lot over the Christmas break and it’s one of my favourite games of the year despite being from, y’know, last year.
Some other games I finished in 2025
Baldur’s Gate (PC)
I reread what I wrote about this in 2023 and, yeah, I stand by all of that. It’s really interesting, but I don’t know if I’d recommend it to anyone.
Disco Elysium (PC)
I finally finished it, it’s brilliant, it’s the end of the list and I’m tired, you already know about Disco.
Did I miss something? Angry at me for some other reason? Yell at me on Bluesky or Mastodon.