Our Most Wanted Games of 2025 – #40 to #36

Just like the music charts, we are now entering the Top 40 of the games we are looking forward to this year. The countdown here may throw up some surprises, with games maybe not being where you would expect them to be in this countdown. Without further ado, let us commence the Top 40 countdown with a musical number…

40 – Ratatan

PS5, XSX|S, PS4, NSW, PC – TBC

Patapon lovers, rejoice! Revealed towards the end of 2024, producer Hiroyuki Kotani announced a spiritual follow up to Patapon with Ratatan. Ratatan is a rhythm roguelike action game, that will combine the beat of the music with the action on screen, with up to 100 characters fighting on screen at any one time. Players can also play in four player co-op.

RATATAN’s roguelike element comes from the fact that after each battle players are rewarded with different power ups and awards, with these changing on each run. Ratatan is accompanied by Cobuns, and it is they who get these power ups to use in battles and trials that are on their path.

39 – Hell Is Us

PS5, XSX|S, PC – TBC

Hell Is Us was first announced back in 2022, and after a long period of quiet development, we were treated to 15 minutes of gameplay in October that gave us a good long look into the world.

Hell Is Us is set in the fictional country of Hadea, which has been torn apart by war. Players will have to explore the world with melee weapons and a drone, which will help navigate as well as face off the dangerous creatures that wander it. Players won’t be able to rely on map markers and waypoints, instead having to learn the world itself and pay attention to everything happening in it, and listen to what people are saying to figure it out.

38 – Dragon Quest 1&2 HD

PS5, XSX|S, NSW, PC – 2025

Probably the shortest entry on this list as there is so little official information on it, and yet such surety of what this will offer. These remakes of the earliest Dragon Quest games were announced back in June alongside a re-reveal for Dragon Quest III HD-2D, a long in development project that built up to release in November getting a 9/10 in our review.

Dragon Quest 1&2 HD will continue the narrative chronologically, and it is likely it will have the same features as Dragon Quest III HD-2D, including HD-2D graphics, an improved battle system, and a large world to explore.

37 – Eternal Strands

PS5, XSX|S, PC – 28th January 2025

Eternal Strands is another one that is coming early in 2025. This month, in fact. Eternal Strands has a huge and expansive open world that can all be explored, which is called the Enclave. Unfortunately, the Enclave has largely been invaded and taken over by a force known as the Surgeborn, an otherworldly enemy that has trapped the people in a smaller and smaller corner of it.

Enter the Weaver, Brynn. She is on a mission to push back the Surgeborn, liberating the Enclave from their incursion. It will not be an easy fight as the Surgeborn consist of towering creatures that will prove a challenge to take down. However, Brynn has access to weapons and magical abilities to fight back, as well as being able to use the environment to help her. You can use enemy attacks against each other as well to even the odds. The world can be manipulated so new paths can be created showing hidden parts of the Enclave. Be careful though, as the world is dangerous and destructible.

36 – Pokémon Legends Z-A

NSW – 2025

Pokémon Legends Z-A was announced back in February 2024, another spin off following in the footsteps of Pokémon Legends Arceus. However, where that game jumped back hundreds of years in time, Pokémon Legends Z-A is set in a modern setting and swaps the wilds for one city setting, that being the Paris inspired Lumiose City. The city itself is undergoing a major redevelopment plan to make it easier for Pokémon and people to co-exist within it.

That will mean Pokémon will be roaming around Lumiose City, so you will be trying to catch them all as people go about their lives. We do know Mega Evolutions will return, and… that is pretty much all we do know!

There have been no further official updates regarding the starter Pokemon, how the gameplay will work, and what the city will look like. What we can say is that Pokémon Legends Z-A is expected in 2025 for the Switch, and we’d bet it’s a cross-gen game for Switch 2 as well.

Tags: Dragon Quest 1&2 HD, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, Eternal Strands, Hell is Us, Most Wanted 2025, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Ratatan