Best games of 2025: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Dispatch, Hades II

Grand Theft Auto VI, probably the most anticipated game of all time at this point, didn’t come out this year (I called that one right!), but that doesn’t mean 2025 was hurting for amazing games to play. In fact, it was the complete opposite: 2025 was stuffed with superb releases, from acclaimed debuts to long-awaited sequels (not GTA VI, obviously, now slated for a Nov. 19 release).

Across hundreds of hours, dozens of games, three very worn controllers and one new PC, these are the games that stood out in a year full of standouts.

A year of stories

Let’s get this out there early: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is far and away my favorite game of the year, and that’s saying something. The debut release from French studio Sandfall Interactive is nigh flawless, from its paintinglike aesthetic to its unforgettable soundtrack and pitch-perfect performances. But it’s the tragically beautiful story Clair Obscur tells — a fantasy adventure about an isolated city, its dying residents and the lengths people will go to save themselves from grief — that makes the game so memorable. 

But it was far from the only narrative that left a lasting impression. Dispatch, about a powerless superhero who joins a dispatch network that sends out former villains to save the day, has some of the best writing in video games, full of charm, wit and hilarious brashness. Hades II cleverly raises the narrative stakes from the first game — Chronos, the Titan of Time and grandfather of Melinoë (the character you play), has wrested control of the Underworld from Hades and is laying siege against Mount Olympus and the Greek gods who live there — all while maintaining the much-lauded gameplay mechanics of the original. 

Then there’s the dazzling tale of magic and identity that is South of Midnight. Set in a gothic-infused Deep South, it’s a thoughtful exploration of finding the strength to move on from the past, anchored by gorgeous and deeply detailed stop-motion animation. And Ghost of Yōtei, the sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, elegantly captures the perils of vengeance with protagonist Atsu’s more personal and tragic focus. (It’s also one of the most visually impressive games on the market.)

A year of puzzles

Sometimes, though, the best story isn’t the one that’s told directly to you. Silent Hill f, the latest entry in Konami’s survival horror franchise, hides in its ingenious puzzles some of the most compelling lore and backstory I encountered this year — and provides powerful motivation to explore the haunting fictional Japanese town of Ebisugaoka, even as monsters are chasing you.

Meanwhile, Blue Prince, a brilliant brainteaser of a game, is nothing but puzzles. As you uncover the mysteries of an enormous, beautiful, very strange 45-room mansion, an interesting story unfolds. But it’s the endorphin rush you get as puzzles are solved and progression is made that are the true crowns of Blue Prince.

A year of working together

While solving puzzles tends to be a solo adventure, plenty of games this year rewarded you for partnering up. Split Fiction, from the developer of It Takes Two (another of my all-time favorites), requires two players, either gaming on the same couch or online together; you can’t play it by yourself. In return, it offers a fantastic cooperative adventure that follows two authors who find themselves trapped in simulations of their creations. Its delightful co-op level design and mechanics are the definition of ingenuity, and completely unrivaled.

Then there’s the happy quirk of Arc Raiders. The premise of the extraction shooter is simple (if execution is anything but): Go in, scrounge for gear and material amid the postapocalyptic ruins, and get out without getting killed by other players or the deadly robots running around. Turns out, in a refreshing change of pace, Arc’s player community preferred to work together to take down the robots, score some loot — and not kill each other. (Of course, you are welcome to be that person and ruin everyone’s day.)

Meanwhile, in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, you play as porter Sam Bridges (the hero of the first game), whose goal is to reconnect the world after a supernatural disaster. Yes, it’s a single-player game, but its core is about connections — how they build, how they fray and how they break. It’s a story, no matter how absurd and over the top, that makes you ponder the bonds in our lives. (And its visuals, as Sam delivers packages across Australia, are stunningly near-photorealistic.)

A year of trying something new

A couple of titles this year warranted attention even though I had never played previous entries in their franchises (or at least not in some time). No better time than the present, right?

First off: Hollow Knight: Silksong. The original Hollow Knight, released in 2017, is hailed as one of the best games of all time, and one that I didn’t play until right before Silksong was released. (I now know why it’s so well-regarded.) The sequel, in which you are transported to a world full of silk, bugs, traversal challenges and obscenely difficult boss fights, is an exercise in self-flagellation. You will be frustrated, but like in Blue Prince, success is oh so sweet.

And then there’s Donkey Kong Bananza, a game in which simply collecting banana-themed loot borders on joyous. There’s so much more, though, from the sheer fun that is playing as DK (you feel powerful when you throw those punches) to how destructible the world is (everything is breakable!). I honestly don’t remember the last time I played a Donkey Kong game, but if this is the way Nintendo is going to treat this franchise going forward, count me in.

A year of just dumb fun

Sometimes, I don’t want to think; I just want to smash buttons. These games scratched that itch in fun, generally mindless ways. 

Ninja Gaiden 4, an action-adventure game set in a perpetually rainy, near-future Tokyo in which you control a blood-manipulating ninja, is pure dumb fun. Who cares about the story when you can pummel your enemy into oblivion? It’s the epitome of stylish, hack-and-slash excess, and a reminder that sometimes too much is just enough.

Doom: The Dark Ages, a sequel to 2016’s Doom reboot, falls into much the same category. There is a plot, which focuses on protagonist Doom Slayer’s origins, but it’s really about running straight into hordes of demons and turning them into goo with a bevy of outlandish weapons (and one overpowered shield). What else is there to say? Doom is what it always is: a power fantasy where the scariest being in a war against the forces of Hell is a dude in a suit. And that’s all it needs to be.

A year of excellence

All those games, and I didn’t even get to gems like Ball x Pit, The Séance of Blake Manor, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, Battlefield 6 or Digimon Story: Time Stranger, all among my favorites this year. That’s how great 2025 has been for gaming. We can only be so lucky in 2026; maybe we’ll actually get to play GTA VI.