2025 is one fantastic year for critically acclaimed game releases, and we haven’t even reached the final stretch yet. With Ghost of Yotei and Hades 2 already receiving positive praise for their reviews, there’s already a fierce battle going on over who should take the Game of the Year crown.
As someone who’s been playing video games for half of my life, I have never seen a year as fully stacked with fantastic entries that break the mold of the gaming industry’s formulaic battle royales and live-service titles.
Indie Titles Are Gaining Traction
The biggest surprise this year is how indie studios have made their mark on the mainstream. Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is already on track to be Game of the Year, all thanks to its fantastic story, responsive turn-based combat, and a fascinating cast of characters like Esquie.
But Sandfall isn’t the only studio getting traction this year. Dogubomb’s Blue Prince is also one of the highest-rated indie games of 2025, with a total Metacritic score of 92. Despite being a puzzler, it has already amassed its own loyal playerbase digging for secrets and uncovering new strategies to navigate Blue Prince’s ever-shifting manor.
Of course, it wouldn’t be an amazing year without Team Cherry’s Hollow Knight: Silksong and Hades 2. Both fantastic games in their own right, and punishing for the uninitiated. Silksong proved that it can still be great despite difficult hurdles, whereas Hades 2 proved that you can always capture lightning in a bottle twice in a row.
All of these titles mentioned are less than $40, which makes the barrier for entry to these indie titles affordable. You won’t need to have the beefiest PCs to run it or the best graphics cards with Ray Tracing; it just needs a decent gaming rig to work!
AAA Games Take the Backseat
A major pitfall for gaming this year has been the AAA gaming industry. While titles like Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Borderlands 4 received positive praise, their expensive price point has made a few gamers hesitant to purchase them, considering there are cheaper titles that offer the same amount of content.
Monster Hunter Wilds was among this year’s highly anticipated titles, and we were glad to give it a perfect score in our review. It was the ideal evolution of the series, but the months that followed weren't good. Technical and performance issues plague PC users, and a lack of meaningful content has been a cause for concern among players.
This is also the year of Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. It's not the most popular AAA game out there, considering its niche gameplay design, but it targets the right kind of audiences.
Silent Hill f and Ghost of Yotei seem to be doing well in terms of reviews and player reception. Both are fantastic titles that lead up to the year’s imminent close, ultimately paving the way for Grand Theft Auto 6’s release next Spring and Wolverine next Fall, respectively.
Best Year Since 2017 and 2013
2025 is also the best year when it comes to a decent balance with AAA titles and Indies. Compared to the year 2017, when we had a slew of fantastic AAA titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, and Horizon Zero Dawn taking center stage. This was also the year that Hollow Knight released, paving the way for Silksong’s massive phenomenon.
If we compare this year to a decade ago, 2013 was also a standout time for gaming. Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us came out, opening new doors for cinematic storytelling in AAA titles. Not only that, heavy hitters like Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V also released, providing some of the best and technically impressive titles of the generation.
2025 is already beating those years by a wide margin, and there has never been a perfect time to hop into gaming and enjoy the many delights of this year’s fantastic titles. With 2026 inching closer and closer, we already know which games are going to take over headlines. But so far, 2025 has been an absolute blast when it comes to gaming.
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