Branching Path: James Galizio’s Top 10 Games of 2025

2025 wasn’t fairly the yr I anticipated when it got here to sport releases; normally I can determine a thesis for what video games I ended up enjoying, and which grew to become my favorites, however this go round I do not precisely know if I can absolutely sq. that circle apart from some traditional suspects. What additionally did not assist issues is that there have been completely some video games that I’d hoped to get to by the tip of the yr that fully handed me by; video games like Digimon Story: Time Stranger, amongst others. Maybe I can blame how a lot time I spent raiding in Final Fantasy XIV this yr; however I nonetheless ended up enjoying a ton, so I do not know the way nicely that excuse lands. Especially since that was my identical excuse final yr… oops!

Much like final yr, I’ve received a listing of my 10 “runner-up” video games I completed this yr, my predominant listing, after which a listing of 10 video games that might have ended up on this listing – if solely I’d had the time to complete them. Shockingly sufficient, a number of of the video games that I’d supposed to play final yr I received round to this yr – so perhaps there’s hope that in a number of years time I may re-evaluate how issues stand. That’s not what we’ll be doing right now, although. With no additional ado:

Ten Games That Didn’t Quite Make My Top Ten, But Rule Anyway (In no particular order)

Monster Hunter Wilds – If you’d have requested me on the finish of final yr, I used to be sure Wilds was going to be my Game of the Year for 2025, however a bunch of technical points – even on literal top-of-the-line {hardware} – and a variety of core points with the gameplay loop, in addition to a dearth of endgame content material at launch, meant I’m heading into 2026 with fingers crossed that the eventual enlargement will help proper the ship – however I’m certainly not relying on that with any diploma of certainty.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – I loved Expedition 33 an ideal, nice deal – however over time a whole lot of these emotions have grown diminished a tad. Part of it has to do with story spoilers I’d slightly not go into; a part of it’s every thing surrounding the GenAI utilization. It’s nonetheless an unimaginable RPG, and I fully perceive the way it has acquired its flowers.

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time – It’s a rattling disgrace that Level-5 is obsessive about GenAI, as a result of it completely has overshadowed what has been an unimaginable yr of releases for the corporate, and a complete return to type. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is a superb sport that one way or the other manages to make each disparate half work, which I did not anticipate in 1,000,000 years.

Dear me, I used to be… – It’s uncommon that I play a sport that does not even final a full hour that sticks with me as a lot as this one. Arc System Works made it their purpose this yr to start out releasing video games that are not simply the Fighting Games the corporate has been identified for; whereas I do not wish to smash the shock for what this sport is definitely about, if that is any indication for the way forward for the corporate, issues are in excellent arms.

Time Flies – What do you do with the time life has given you? How does the place you have been born impression these prospects? Time Flies is not only a sport about these questions, however the thought of making an attempt to squeeze each merchandise in your bucket listing throughout the very brief lifespan of a fly is each an attractive and introspective expertise that leaves you questioning what you are doing with your individual life, even after the credit roll.

Hades 2 – I liked every thing about Hades 2 that wasn’t the story. Maybe issues would have been completely different if I hadn’t completed the sport earlier than Supergiant rewrote the ending; however what’s performed is completed. If you really liked Hades’s gameplay, Hades 2 is a large enchancment, and undoubtedly is likely one of the finest video games of 2025. If you are fortunate sufficient to have not performed it but, do not hesitate to offer it a shot. I simply want I had waited slightly bit longer earlier than I did.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A – This virtually made it on my predominant listing, however the DLC actively made me benefit from the sport worse – if I have been to re-review the sport, I’d most likely give it an 8. Mega Dimension is a large slog and it is actually stunning that they launched it within the state they did.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment – Age of Imprisonment is a superb Zelda sport, however what holds it again from my predominant listing is the way it feels a bit underwhelming as a Musou title. It’s nonetheless a title I heartily suggest to anybody who owns a Switch 2, however I simply want there have been some missions that extra actively felt like I used to be enjoying a Warriors title.

Ys X: Proud Nordics – While I loved Ys X when it first dropped in Japan in 2023, I felt it ended up an uneven expertise when all was stated and performed. This at present Switch 2-exclusive re-release with a slightly unlucky subtitle does so much to enhance issues, however it nonetheless would not fairly match the heights of Ys VIII. Can we get an Ys IX re-release subsequent?

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance – Between Ninja Gaiden and Shinobi, 2025 lived as much as Koei Tecmo’s moniker of it being “The Year of the Ninja”; and whereas I did take pleasure in my time with Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, I did not end it. Shinobi was an ideal motion platformer with gentle metroidvania parts, however it simply did not fairly crack the highest 10.

10) Katamari Damacy: Rolling Live

Two new mainline Katamari Damacy video games launched this yr, and right here I’m actively saying that the one unique to Apple Arcade was the higher of the 2. I’m saying this as a result of I’m right, and Once Upon a Katamari was simply okay whereas Rolling Live felt like one thing like a misplaced third PS2 sport; not fairly nearly as good as We Love, however good nonetheless. It additionally has most likely the perfect soundtrack of the collection in a really very long time, and a few fascinating concepts for ranges – cleansing out the tub home is impressed, as is the extent the place you are rolling up all the sunshine sticks for a live performance till your Katamari is one large neon blob. Hopefully this one will get a port to different platforms in 2026?

9) Lumines Arise

Speaking of large neon blobs; Lumines Arise was the perfect VR sport I’ve performed this yr, even when most individuals will not play this in VR. I’ve at all times wished to get into Lumines, I’ve made makes an attempt prior to now, however this revival from the identical crew that made The Tetris Effect was precisely what I wanted. It’s loopy how this unimaginable album got here with a free online game – full with some completely attractive visuals for every stage, from dancing iguanas, to eggs that hatch into birds flying all throughout your display, to coach crossing indicators. If you in any respect loved The Tetris Effect, give this one a shot, particularly when you have a VR headset. 

8) Look Outside

This was the newest addition to my listing, and I’ve stated all I have to say about it for our greatest of 2025 function. Look Outside is an RPG that everybody ought to at the very least give a strive, as a result of it is actually one of many singular finest video games of the yr.

7) Silent Hill f

The second that it was confirmed that Ryukishi07, of When They Cry fame, was writing for Silent Hill f – I knew there was an honest likelihood it could be top-of-the-line video games of the yr it launched in, and I used to be proper. I’d by no means performed a Silent Hill previous to this; I used to be a GameDice child rising up, and by the point I’d received a PlayStation 3 the collection’ heyday had already come and gone. I’ve been which means to get into the collection – and extra horror video games usually since Alan Wake II a number of years again, actually – and Silent Hill f felt like top-of-the-line locations to start out. Sure the fight wasn’t nice, and the a number of playthroughs received a bit grating over time, however the true ending nonetheless caught the touchdown nicely sufficient to cement it as certainly one of my favourite video games of the yr.

6) Trails within the Sky 1st Chapter

Much like with Look Outside, I’ve already stated every thing I wish to about Trails within the Sky 1st Chapter earlier this yr; regardless of some authentic points with the brand new translation, that is most likely top-of-the-line remakes I’ve ever performed when it comes to how lovingly it recreates the sensation of enjoying the unique. It’s virtually adequate to make me comfortable with the follow-up to Trails Beyond the Horizon not releasing till 2027 on the earliest. Almost.

5) Kirby Air Riders

Kirby Air Ride was most likely the singular sport I put essentially the most time into on GameDice as a child, and I’d by no means even dreamt we would get a follow-up; not to mention one which so totally washes the unique. Kirby Air Riders is a dream come true, comes filled with a lot content material, and the brand new City Trial is a wonderful mess. I’d virtually thought-about placing this in my high slot – as with all of the opposite video games in my high 5. More than every thing else, this was the singular finest sport I performed on my shiny new Nintendo Switch 2 this yr; as sturdy a begin as any for a console platform.

4) Lies of P: Overture

Yet once more, one other sport I’ve already written about! Lies of P: Overture is an unimaginable DLC to an already nice sport, and cements Round8 as a studio to control for the longer term. We won’t have Bloodborne on PC – formally, anyway – however we do have the subsequent neatest thing. I’m in day-1 for no matter is coming from the crew subsequent.

3) Peak

It’s Peak.

“Friendslop” was the style that finest represented 2025, and regardless of the destructive connotations of the time period they have been a few of the most satisfying experiences I’ve had this yr with pals. Of all of them, Peak has constantly been the perfect. One of my most memorable gaming moments of the yr was the one time I one way or the other discovered my method to the tip of a stage nicely earlier than my pals and had an intimate assembly with the Hat Man, after which a one-way journey all the best way again down the mountain – screaming all the best way. Classic.

2) Hollow Knight: Silksong

An unimaginable follow-up in each sense of the phrase; whereas I liked the unique Hollow Knight, Silksong looks like an evolution in all the precise methods to make it the higher sport – at the very least for me. I drastically appreciated the extra overt concentrate on the story this go round, and I like that Hornet is given loads of alternative to point out her personal character.

Between that and the sheer scope of the sport, I’m frankly a bit shocked that it *solely* took 7 years to develop this; since you positive as hell can really feel on daily basis that Team Cherry spent on this. A masterpiece in each sense.

1) Angeline Era

Angeline Era is a sport that was developed for Nihon Falcom sickos like me. Inspired, within the crew’s personal phrases, by video games like Ys I, Ys: Oath in Felghana, and a variety of different unnamed titles I can hint the sport’s mechanics backwards in direction of. Yet it’s a lot greater than its inspirations, a sport absolutely assured in its personal concepts, and its personal takes on what has been performed earlier than; having to “search” for the entrances to ranges by noticing conspicuous spots on the overworld is a contact of genius, and all of the little ways in which the crew performs with your individual expectations lends all the sport a playfulness that matches completely with the sport’s Fae-filled world.

I hesitate to say an excessive amount of concerning the sport’s story, however Tets Kinoshta’s journey is a captivating allegory for the intersectionality of his religion, his ethnicity, and his personal lived background. Angeline Era isn’t a Christian online game, regardless of its express subject material. Yet, at its core, it’s a sport about religion – of what you select to place your religion in.

Ten Games That Could’ve Been On My Top 10, And It Physically Pains Me That I Didn’t Play Them

Just like final yr, there have been at the very least 10 video games that I wished to play – or end – this yr that I simply wasn’t capable of absolutely get round to, and narrowing issues down was truly fairly troublesome this go round. Maybe I’ll end greater than only a handful of those in 2026; although honestly I’m not holding my breath.

• The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy – It’s loopy {that a} sport I put 50+ hours into I did not play sufficient of it to really feel like I may drop it on my predominant listing; I beat the prologue, and a variety of routes, however I’ve but to see the “truth” ending, not to mention the ending locked behind story locks. Maybe I’ll get round to that within the new yr.
• Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake – I (mainly) completed Dragon Quest I, and began Dragon Quest II, however I simply did not have sufficient time to complete it in time for the brand new yr. Once once more, that is one I sincerely hope I can get round to within the new yr; and, hey, I did find yourself ending Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, so perhaps that is a great signal that’ll occur once more!
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II – I began this up and performed about 20 hours as a little bit of catch-up for the RPG of the Year deliberations, however I wasn’t capable of end it. That all being stated, I very a lot favored what I performed, and I may have seen it ending up on my full listing if I’d managed to complete it.
• Ender Magnolia: Bloom within the Mist – I’d liked Ender Lilies, and I do know I’ll find yourself having fun with this every time I get to it. I do consider it’ll occur finally, however no guarantees that will probably be in 2026. Hopefully it will not take too lengthy.
• Split Fiction – I liked It Takes Two, and I absolutely supposed to play this follow-up – I simply by no means received round to it, and everybody I knew that did wish to play it, ended up doing so with another person. No clue when I’ll be attending to this one with that every one thought-about, sadly.
• Baby Steps – I performed a number of hours of this earlier within the yr, realized I wished to play the complete sport on stream, and have not picked it up once more since. Definitely fairly loved what I performed, and there was completely an opportunity it could have ended up on my listing.
• The Midnight Walk – This appeared like a pleasant sport, particularly for VR. I wished to play it a number of occasions throughout the yr, however I simply by no means fairly received round to it; perhaps subsequent yr.
• Digimon Story: Time Stranger – One of nowadays I’ll end a Digimon RPG. That day isn’t right now, however someday sooner or later; I sincerely hope 2026 will probably be that yr. I’ve liked what I performed, however it simply launched at a foul time for me.
• Sektori – I completely liked what I performed of this, however I have not truly cleared a run but, and so not solely is my listing marred by its absence, but in addition my disgrace at as of but being unable to take action.
• Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road – In my protection; I’m an American. I’ve sufficient to be ashamed of this yr, but in addition I do not know a lot about Football (Soccer). What I performed at Tokyo Game Show received me , and I’ll perhaps get round to it will definitely, however as of now it is yet one more sport that I may need ended up having fun with sufficient to placed on my listing.

Like yearly, 2025 was a large yr for sport releases – and 2026 appears like will probably be no completely different. I’ll be combating catching up with my backlog whereas trying to maintain up with the upcoming new releases – and the one silver lining is that I’m already caught up with Falcom releases. On the flip facet, there is a new Final Fantasy XIV raid tier dropping subsequent week, and an Ultimate raid within the months forward. I’ll want all of the luck I can to maintain up; better of luck in 2026, everybody. Why did I conform to play by each 2022 Square Enix launch this yr.