As seems to be the pattern in these last few years, 2025 was a fantastic year for video games, and Game Pass in particular. With a solid mix of Indie, AA, and AAA titles, there was always something great to play, no matter what month it was. I wasn’t able to spend as much time as I wanted playing all the latest releases, so there are some notable absences on my list, but overall, I still played a great collection of games, and as always, it was tricky ranking them one on top of the other.
But rank I did, so keep reading to see which games resonated with me, Aarsal “SoulBlazerz”, the most as we bid 2025 goodbye!
Honourable Mentions
Of course, before we get into the ranked list, I wanted to highlight a few games that didn’t make the numbers for various reasons, but still deserved a shout-out. Though not always in a good way…
League of Legends
Kicking off the mentions is, of course, the game that sucked up so much of my free time over the year. I’ve been playing League on and off for over 10 years now, and it continues to be a great time with friends. Mostly. Would I recommend it to anyone in 2025? Eh, well, probably best to stay away and keep this uber time sink of a game alone…
Donkey Kong Bananza
I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to talk about Bananza, but I did spend hundreds of dollars to play essentially just one game, so why not? Maybe it’s the way this development team makes their games (as I wasn’t able to get Mario Odyssey to click with me either), but Donkey Kong Bananza was a game I ended up dropping around four hours in. I’m sure I’ll be playing more of it eventually, but the wide levels and the whole “destroy anything you want!” schtick didn’t really do it for me.
Soulstone and Deep Rock Galactic Survivors
Heck, I could probably throw Halls of Torment in this blurb too, but Bullet Heavens remain a weakness of mine, and this year proved no different. All three of these games played differently enough for me that I was able to sink a dozen plus hours in each, with Soulstone Survivors in particular almost making my top 10. If you’re a fan of the genre, give it a try!
Keeper
One of the most beautiful games I’ve played, Keeper deserves every shoutout it gets. With its creepy yet hypnotizing visuals that you can’t look away from, Double Fine crafted a magical world and invited us all to step into it.
Ghost of Yotei
I only recently started playing Yotei, and to be honest, I wasn’t expecting that much. I played and enjoyed Tsushima back in 2020, but ended up dropping it after the first island, as it got too repetitive for me. Thankfully, it seems Yotei built more depth into the quality of the series, rather than the quantity. Gone are some of my biggest annoyances, and instead, the game gives you an intense but fair combat system and a beautiful world to explore.
Open-world games still aren’t my preferred genre, but even though I’ve only spent half a dozen hours with Ghost of Yotei so far, it was already enough for me to consider it among the better games I played this year.
Now, without further ado, let’s dive into my top 10 games of 2025!
Number 10 | South of Midnight
I was already fascinated with the original In-Engine reveal trailer for South of Midnight, so I knew I was going to have a good time playing it. And I did, mostly. While I hear many complain about the combat in the game, I actually found fighting pretty fun. I did turn up the difficulty and so was forced to really learn and master the systems, but especially by the end, I was having a blast weaving from one enemy to another.
My primary issue with the game is that it peaked around the two-thirds mark. The best parts of South of Midnight were the character-specific chapters, their platforming, their stories, and their boss battles with fantastic music. So I was disappointed when the game didn’t end on a high note like that. Still, though, it’s a good game and well worth playing.
Number 9 | Ninja Gaiden 2 Black
This game’s credits roll next to a very slow-motion shot of Ryu walking forward. That tells you all you really need to know. Jokes aside, while Ninja Gaiden 2: Black is based on the somewhat inferior Sigma version of the second game, it looks beautiful and plays like a dream. This was highlighted all the more when I played the third game in the series right after and felt the sheer gap in quality.
Sadly, I didn’t have the time to play through Ninja Gaiden 4 before the end of the year; otherwise, I’m sure it would have a spot on this list.
Number 8 | Citizen Sleeper 2
As a fan of the first game in the series, my year started strong when I reviewed Citizen Sleeper 2. While it was certainly less difficult and dealt with different topics, I appreciated the more crew-focused expansion of the game and the general widening of the world.
The dice-based gameplay continued to hit that sweet spot of balanced yet exciting, and I was left feeling very satisfied as I watched the credits roll. If you’ve been sleeping (sorry, not sorry) on this series, then you owe it to yourself to at least try them out for a little bit.
Number 7 | Blue Prince
While I still haven’t seen the credits roll just yet, Blue Prince became an unforgettable part of my gaming journey in 2025. After playing a round of the game, confused at pretty much everything, I went out and picked up a physical journal to write my thoughts and hints. And yes, I made sure the book was blue.
I quickly filled up pages and pages with sometimes the most obscure of references, and I felt that same triumph that Tunic gave me when I’d correctly “figure it out”. The RNG nature of the game does get a little frustrating at times, but Blue Prince was certainly one of the best indie games of the year.
Number 6 | The Outer Worlds 2
Obsidian had a fantastic year, releasing not one, not two, but three games. Yes, one was Grounded 2 in early access, but that still highlights them as one of the most competent studios out there, let alone under the Xbox banner. The Outer Worlds 2 was a game I always had my eye on, as its predecessor was the first game I 1000/1000ed on Xbox, having a blast the entire time, though it was not without its issues.
And that’s where Obsidian worked its magic. Pretty much all the complaints I had with the first game were addressed in the sequel, and then some. With deep RPG mechanics and player build choices with real consequences, The Outer Worlds 2 is among the best RPGs I’ve played, let alone just this year. The only thing that prevented this game from climbing further on my list is that I have yet to fully complete it, something I’ll be rectifying soon into the near future, I’m sure.
Number 5 | WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers
I was genuinely surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this game by the end of it. A soulslike but also not one, WUCHANG is one of the better action games I’ve played, with memorable bosses and combat encounters alike. It particularly excels in how it handles build varieties and how you swap and change between them. Yes, the game certainly has its difficulty spikes, and it has one of the worst potential endings I’ve seen in a game, but anyone thinking this is another Soulslike you can simply ignore should give it another look.
It ranks so highly on my list because it did a great job in every part of this genre that matters. The level and world designs were top-notch, especially in how interconnected they could be at times, and the combat between both bosses and more regular mobs felt visceral and rewarding. It’s not a perfect game, yes, but I do think it’s being massively slept on.
Number 4 | DOOM: The Dark Ages
I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect this game to make it so high on my list. DOOM: The Dark Ages kind of felt like it came and went when it released earlier this year, especially when I would hear comments about how the soundtrack was worse, and the gameplay elements didn’t always work.
Oh man, that could not have been further from the truth for me. As I played through the game just this last week, I felt more like an unstoppable machine of destruction than I have in a very long time. Very, very few games can nail that balance between being challenging on a great difficulty without making your character feel like wet tissue paper. Looking at you here, God of War.
Yet that’s exactly what DOOM: The Dark Ages does. Every death of mine, even on Nightmare, felt fair and due to a mistake I made rather than the game being needlessly punishing. When things “click” and you get into the flow of the dance, there’s little gaming I did this year that felt as good. Oh, and I enjoyed the Titan and Flying levels, and especially enjoyed the soundtrack. The extra metal crunch has me maybe liking it more than the others even…
Number 3 | Avowed
Avowed reminded me a fair bit of the first Outer Worlds, in that it’s a game with some really great things and some parts that clearly need improvements. Yet the reason it ranks so highly on my list, top three at that, is due to two things, really.
The first is the combat. Particularly, the first-person melee combat. Avowed is one of the only times where I’ve actually enjoyed fighting enemies in first-person melee. Sure, a bunch of other games have it, Skyrim, Kingdom Come, even the Vermintide series, but I always felt they only hit “serviceable” at best in this regard. Then came Avowed, and they knocked it out of the park. Seriously, throw in some of the coolest magic casting I’ve seen, and yeah, I was actually looking forward to fighting enemies in a game set in the Pillars universe!
Which leads me to my second reason for the high ranking, one that few others share, I imagine. I played through both Pillars of Eternity games this very year and loved both, Deadfire in particular. So being able to jump right back into that world, but this time with a combat system I ended up loving? Yeah, this placement should come as no surprise. Now come on, Obsidian, give me an Avowed 2 still starring my Envoy!
Number 2 | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Legend of Dragoon. One of my all-time favourite games and a core part of my childhood. When I first saw the reveal trailer for Expedition 33, that’s immediately where my mind went and I already knew w,e were in for something special. Turns out, I was more right than I knew.
There isn’t much more I can say about this game that I’m sure you haven’t already heard or read elsewhere, but this perfect mix of a breathtaking soundtrack, creative combat, and a truly touching story made Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 one of the best games I’ve played. Period.
Number 1 | Hollow Knight: Silksong
Silksong, Silksong, Silksong.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget this game, not that I’d ever want to anyway. Yes it became a bit of a running joke for me, as my review for the game became more and more delayed, but goddamn Hollow Knight: Silksong is among the very best in the genre.
I could go on and on about why I loved the game (and I did exactly that in my review right), but ultimately, it’s because Team Cherry crafted an experience that didn’t have the lows of Hollow Knight while fully retaining those very high highs. That moment where you yell in triumph as a boss you’ve been facing for three hours finally goes down is honestly largely why I still love gaming so, so damn much. And Silksong gave me that feeling again and again and again.
Aaaand that’s 2025! Kinda, sorta, not really as I still have so ma,ny 2025 games I need to play or finish. Heck, I opted out of including Dispatch or Hades 2 on this list! But the year is indeed over, and it’s time to put it behind us and look forward to what’s shaping up to be a goddamn monster year for video game releases. Halo, Gears, Forza in Japan, and Fable all in the same year? And of course we know it’s going to be so much more than just that…
2026, bring it on!
