Shacknews Top 25 Games of the Year 2025

With the end of 2025 mere hours away, the Shacknews staff reveals their top 25 games of the year.

by · Shacknews

Every year, the Shacknews staff casts our ballots and tabulates votes for the best games of the year. 2025 was such a strong year for games, both AAA and indies, that for the first time in recent memory, we had no idea how our votes would shake out. As the dust settled, our list emerged. Keep scrolling to read about our top 25 games of the year 2025.

Honorable Mentions

There were some great games that didn't make the cut for our Top 25 Games of the Year 2025 list, but we wanted to give them a proper shout-out. Here's a list of our honorable mentions in no particular order:

  • Kirby Air Riders
  • The Outer Worlds 2
  • PEAK
  • Full Metal Schoolgirl
  • Avowed

Shacknews Top 25 Games of the Year 2025, 25 - 11

25. Windswept
24. Silent Hill f
23. Commandos: Origins
22. Cronos: The New Dawn
20. Sid Meier’s Civilization VII
20. Gigasword
19. Lumines Arise
18. Arc Raiders
17. Blue Prince
16. Ghost of Yotei
15. Ball x Pit
14. Skate Story
13. Elden Ring: Nightreign
12. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
11. Mario Kart World

Want to read the rest of the list? Hit Next Page to see our text version of the Shacknews Top 10 Games of 2025 or watch the video.