Despite what The Game Awards suggests, 2025 was filled with a variety of games offering deeply resonant experiences. And while the mainstream titles may not have been as overtly provocative as other years, I believe we were able to create a list of blockbusters and indies that stood out.
My only hope is that some of this resonates with you as much as it did with me.
10
rematch
I spent weeks thinking Rematch was going to be my game this year. The rigorous mechanics and demanding skill level not only allowed the game to compete with mega-franchise EA FC, but also felt revolutionary in the soccer genre.
Unfortunately, sporadic bugs and occasional spikes in network instability cause problems. Luckily, these problems can be solved with enough time and resources, but they're not core to the gameplay. It's a testament to the game's design that despite the stutter, the ultimate experience still feels extremely cathartic. When Rematch works, I feel like I'm going to fly. Now, if only I could customize my players to look like they're wearing this year's Liverpool home kit…
9
blue prince
There's something about the Blue Prince that's hard to explain. To solve the mystery of Room 46, you must completely immerse yourself in the feeling of deep depression. I don't think this game is as unsettling as others have suggested, but its investigative premise makes it utterly fascinating from the moment it starts.
Of course, much of Blue Prince's self-imposed friction rests on its design, which operates as a roguelite first and a puzzle second. Something as fickle as RNG can be frustrating. But the fact that there's a sympathetic gothic feel at the heart of the game's objectives makes the cycle of building rooms in the mansion and the puzzle solving itself very worthwhile.
8
vertex
Peak is one of the best multiplayer experiences of the year because it utilizes friction through challenging levels and an obfuscated survival system while maintaining a casual aesthetic. This is a roundabout way of saying it. Sometimes you just want to giggle as you watch your friends fall down the mountain to their deaths while their screams echo off the rocks and fade into oblivion.
Sometimes that's what the game is all about.
7
Meeting at Blake Manor
Few gothic games are as instantly immersive as The Seance of Blake Manor. From the hellish structure to the haunting mansion itself, every step taken to solve Evelyn Dean's disappearance immerses you in an atmosphere of sinister mysticism.
And submit to the Phantasmagoria as you must. If you're in a paranoid scary situation, you can't look away and rest on one inference at a time.
6
sector
Please enter a sector. A kaleidoscopic dopamine synapse overload in the form of a top-down twin-stick shooter and a pulsating original soundtrack to enhance your ride.
be careful. Sektori is not for the faint of heart. It works exclusively on excessive stimulation of nerve transmission. A digital trance of cathartic score chases and crunchy explosions designed solely to destroy you indefinitely. Get over it and enjoy the quintessential arcade experience of the year.
When I die, bury me in Sektori. I hope to wake up as a ghost of my own zero state. Just for another run.
honorable mention
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Heroes of Hammerwatch 2
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Megabonk
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Elden Ring Nightlane
5
arc radar
There's a romance to the way Arc Raiders handles the apocalypse, making it one of the most memorable multiplayer experiences of this generation. Playing the minor chords of the arpeggio synthesizer from the menu will point you in the direction of hopeful recovery. This is true even if the use of generative text-to-speech undermines its own framing. But ultimately, it's the very human interaction in any raid that gives you commands that defines the core experience.
When the entire player base engages and commits to serious interaction and proxy chat communication, the narrative told through new gameplay feels unforgettably limitless. I don't think we'll run out of these Arc Raiders moments anytime soon.
4
Silent Hill f
The best horror stories often involve inevitable relapse and unavoidable trauma. Silent Hill goes beyond these requirements and is filled with layered and cunning meditations on our natural tendency toward human cruelty. It's a scream into the hell of adolescence, hearing something unrecognizable yelling back at you.
There is a palpable complexity to this work that makes it one of the most powerful horror narratives of recent memory. This is not because of outright fear, but because of the way it weaponizes the righteous anger trapped deepest within. During the opening minutes of Silent Hill f we are reminded that it is not only the violence that shakes us, but also the sadness that always accompanies it.
3
Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
Citizen Sleeper 2 is a game about windows. This is a game that looks at many vulnerable worlds caught in a vortex of economic despair. It's a meditative journey of solemn synthesizers and gentle dialogue floating in an interstellar miasma. It pierces us with the gentle prose that lies behind the everyday rolls of the dice as we form the rhizome strands of unshakable relationships.
At the very edge of the star-studded belt is a prescient reminder that we are not just remnants of rampant corporatism, but also a prescient reminder of our existence and our resentment at being called a quiet malaise. In the end, each of us can make meaning despite the constant drumbeat that crushes modernity. This is the game we need in our lives.
2
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Kojima's games are always more than just games, they act as cautionary tales that speak to the modern human condition. This time Death Stranding 2 is more of an emotion than a game. It is an interactive album, similar to a folk album, designed to evoke an aesthetic that centers around our inherent inclination to grieve and care. It's unlike anything you've ever played.
Even in its most reductive form, walking from one place to another, DS2 continues to serve as one of the most necessary reminders of the beauty inherent in life. There was also an 11 minute long cutscene near the end of the game that almost left me in disrepair.
1
Hollow Knight: Silksong
In constant suspense, Silksong single-handedly leads the way into the most incredible experience I've had all year – a journey of radical individuality that makes Bilewater and all that it is. It's a way of reminding us that focusing the rhetorical framework of this gaming experience primarily on difficulty is a huge disservice to how beautifully the narrative ultimately shakes out, especially from a feminist perspective.
It's very clear that Team Cherry has enhanced Silksong to deliver a message of emotional recovery, adding to the expected great design elements that were present in the original Hollow Knight. What resonates more than anything is this.
- released
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September 4, 2025
- ESRB
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Anyone 10 years and older / fantasy violence, mild gore
- developer
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team cherry
- publisher
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team cherry
