2025 is over. Its big gaming showcases and grim real-world events are now all in the past. It’s far too early to say how 2026 will shape up by comparison. But before we move on to the future, it’s worth taking one last glance at the past, lest we be doomed to repeat it. And I don’t think anyone wants to repeat 2025, unless they spent all of their time playing video games which, depending on who you ask, were some of the best and most varied we’ve ever gotten in a single 12-month span. Here’s our definitive round-up of the year that was, beginning with:
“A common response to negative reviews, no matter the subject, goes something like this: ‘Well, what would you do to fix this?’ Normally, I would answer this with some kind of rude joke about how the purpose of criticism is not to tell you how to fix your sink, or capitalism. I leave that work to the YouTubers. But this time, I’ll make an exception. I will tell you what I am doing to fix all this. The answer is: Nothing. 2025 is over! It can’t be fixed. Isn’t that nice? Did you fuck it up? Cool. So did I. I could’ve done so much more. I could have been more kind, less lazy, more engaged and involved. I could have written a better goddamn review.”
“Xbox has promised that it is working on a new console, but it sounds like it might be a pricey high-end PC and not a traditional gaming device like those we’ve come to expect from a console maker. It’s the kind of move that reinforces what many have already declared: Xbox is dead.”
“We’re five years into the PS5 generation, and despite it being the ‘most successful‘ console ever in Sony’s line-up, the company has remarkably little cultural cache to show for it beyond the PS5’s name becoming the video game equivalent of everyone calling a bandage a ‘Band-Aid.’ And hey, it looks like you can iron out all those wrinkles, quirks, and charms and still make it to the top of the video game food chain. In two generations on top, PlayStation has achieved the kind of ubiquity the Sony higher-ups probably wanted, and all it cost the brand was its soul.”
“Nintendo’s latest flagship console doesn’t break the mold. It remains, first and foremost, a machine for playing Nintendo games, most of which are sequels to franchises that have been around since the last millennium. And it does that splendidly, even if the games themselves haven’t always cleared the lofty bar set by the Switch 1’s first year. Do I sound a little disappointed? I’m trying not to be.”
“2024 was a bad year for physical media, and 2025 just brought more bad news on that front. Some physical game releases on the Switch 2, the hottest new console around, make use of Game Key Cards, which are basically little pieces of plastic that don’t contain the game, but instead a digital DRM key that lets you download and play a specific game. They rely on the internet and Nintendo’s servers, and that should make everyone nervous.”
“A mini Fortnite season based entirely on The Simpsons could have been a disaster. But despite the odds, Epic was able to make it work and delivered what might be my favorite season of Fortnite in a long time. The Springfield island map was incredible to explore. The visuals felt very cartoonish and Simpsons-y without looking too garish, and all the Simpsons Easter eggs and characters that appeared throughout the event were a treat for fans. And on top of all that, this season included funny animated segments featuring Simpsons characters that were written by the staff of the show. Is this just one more sign of all of pop culture merging together into a grey slurry? Sure. But whatever, man, I can now play as Moe in Fortnite. I’m happy.”
“Dispatch’s cast of weirdos features an assortment of ex-villains so distinctive and memorable that each is primed to be somebody’s favorite. Robert Robertson III, an ex-hero damned to a life behind a desk, could have become a cynic discouraged by his new office job. Instead, he becomes a leader to a bunch of criminals who would not have cared if he was found dead in a ditch at the beginning of the game. The guy formerly known as Mecha Man has spent his life being a hero, and if he can’t be on the field with his mech, he decides he can make just as much of a difference by leading a new generation of heroes. Even though these menaces are a handful, he perseveres through his personal hardships and shows up as a leader to help his teammates through their own, proving you don’t need to be out in the field to be a hero.”
“Despelote is an autobiographical game about a young Ecuadorian boy’s experiences during the nation’s qualifying run for the 2002 World Cup. Over the course of the game, we’re immersed in the specificity of Julian’s experiences, understanding how soccer, and the excitement around his country’s chances to qualify for competition on the global stage, electrified him as an individual and made him feel more deeply connected to his fellow Ecuadorians. Finally, the country’s qualifying efforts all come down to a match against Uruguay on November 7, 2001. Narrating as we play, the real-life Julian says, ‘We tried every single way to depict this moment, but nothing felt like it did it justice. So just watch it for yourself.’”
“I didn’t expect *takes a deep breath* Brazilian Drug Dealer 3: I Opened A Portal To Hell In The Favela Trying To Revive Mit AIA I Need To Close It to be a game I would genuinely enjoy. The clips I saw made it look like a fun shitpost of a game. Something I’d play for a few minutes, chuckle, and then never think about again. That’s not what happened. Instead, I played a lot of BDD3 and enjoyed every moment of it. The Brazilian Quake-engine FPS is a wild fever dream of a game that contains well-designed levels buried in some of the strangest visuals you’ll see in 2025. It’s also only $5. And worth every damn penny.”
“Octopath Traveler 0 is proof that Square Enix had no reason to make Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent a gacha game when it could have easily made it an exceptional RPG without all the gacha elements dragging it down. Octopath Traveler 0 is a game saved from obscurity, as Square Enix has stripped Champions of the Continent of its live-service trappings and revived it as the proper turn-based RPG fans wanted in the first place. It is a beefy monster of a game that will take up nearly a hundred hours of your time, but that’s the consequence of adapting what was once meant to be a forever game into something that feels complete. Octopath Traveler 0 feels like a prodigal son returning after being shut down due to Square Enix’s short-sighted hubris. And it sure is nice to have all the best parts of the game preserved when they were once thought lost.”
“When Disney announced a Star Wars TV show all about Cassian Andor from Rogue One, I remember barely caring at all. ‘Cool, I guess that dude from Rogue One gets a show, too.’ Then I watched Season 1 in 2022 and was completely enthralled by its depiction of rebellion and fascism. This year’s season two was even better, featuring more moments than I can count that made me sit up in my chair, hold my breath, and wait for the next scene or piece of dialogue to either break me or let me cheer. I say this as someone who loves the franchise dearly: Star Wars has never really been this good before, and it will likely never reach these heights again. And that’s fine. Star Wars can keep being a campy sci-fi series about space wizards that kids love, because we can always rewatch Andor whenever we want.”
“Fire Emblem Shadows, 37 Metascore: What if Among Us, but Fire Emblem? That was seemingly the pitch for this mobile-only Nintendo-published dud. Even the few good ideas are overshadowed by free-to-play garbage and a lack of content. I’d probably just play Among Us instead.”
“So when you push the narrative to the side with all your might, what is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33? It’s a turn-based RPG that marries Final Fantasy’s grandiose storytelling and magical battle systems with Paper Mario’s timing-based mechanics to make something that is both strategic and engaging enough to make even the classic RPG grind entertaining and rewarding. Its grief-driven story is filled with misdirection and twists that have divided player opinion, but those divisions are rewarding to consider and debate, and it culminates in a devastating decision in its eleventh hour that fans are still talking about months later. The game’s cast of sad boys and girls walking into what is ostensibly a suicide mission have endeared themselves to fans of a genre that will carry their flags for years to come in art, cosplay, and other fan creations.”
