The start of a new year is a great opportunity to look back and reflect on the last 12 months, and at the same time, weigh up which games I most enjoyed spending my time with. 2025 saw the release of the Switch 2, which once again shook up my gaming habits, as I shifted away from hours spent in front of a 55-inch OLED TV with the PS5 Pro and all its ray tracing and AI upscaling, back to the warm embrace of a new generation for Nintendo. Naturally then, you can expect a bunch of Switch 2 games here, but I’ll reserve my more detailed impressions of the console as it approaches its first year for another time.
2025 has been one of the biggest years for the games industry in a fair few years, and whilst layoffs and AI have dominated the headlines, in a decade I think we’ll look back on the year and be grateful for such a wealth of incredible games, from AAA studios all the way through to the ever-persevering indie scene. This isn’t a ‘top xyz’ list, so ignore the order, and instead just treat it like you would a friend’s recommendations. Let’s get started!
Is This Seat Taken?
We’re kicking things off with a game that I downloaded to play across a series of flights as I spent two weeks during the summer in Singapore and Indonesia. I wanted something simple, with a basic concept that would keep me entertained between more intense sessions of other games, and that’s how I ended up taking a chance on Is This Seat Taken? (Poti Poti Studio).
The core idea of Is This Seat Taken isn’t a new one, essentially you need to figure out how to place a bunch of characters who all have particular likes, dislikes, and so on. Some will refuse to be sat next to someone playing loud music for example, whilst others want to be sat on the window seat on a bus to take in the view. At first, each level and the puzzle it presents is fairly easy to overcome and solve, with the challenging gradually ramping up as you build your confidence in the game’s systems.
Over time new layers get added to the equation, but it never really evolves beyond reading the room and piecing things together using logic, which works to the games favour in my eyes. I think you could definitely make the case for the gameplay getting a bit repetitive by the end, but the charming nature of Is This Seat Taken’s presentation stops it from becoming a slog.
It doesn’t revolutionise the world of puzzle games, but does it really have to? The cost of entry is cheap enough to justify hopping in if you’re looking for a laidback game that won’t challenge you too much, so if it sounds like your kind of thing, give it a go!
Played on Nintendo Switch 2
Death Stranding 2
We love to throw the word divisive around a lot nowadays, but I honestly can’t think of a game that divided opinions more than Death Stranding all the way back in 2019 (7 YEARS AGO!). Some lauded its unique courier-inspired gameplay complete with incredibly inventive use of triggers to steady yourself, with others criticising the fetch quest gameplay loop that has been derided for generations at the point of its release. Whilst I never found myself taking the latter opinion, I did bounce off the original when I first played the Director’s Cut in 2021, which made my love of its sequel all the more surprising to me.
It could be the music in all honesty, I fell in love with the soundtrack for Death Stranding 2 (Kojima Productions) as soon as I booted the game up for the first time. With rousing tracks like To the Wilder and Minus Sixty One, through to Just How It Goes and Story of Rainy, the idea of being an on-foot (or on-wheels) deliveryman had never seemed so appealing. The gameplay seen in the original is carried over here, although there’s a much larger focus on Metal Gear-style stealth and combat encounters that, in my opinion, improve the pacing that many complained about in the original.
Kojima’s work exudes his outlandish personality to a fault, and Death Stranding 2 is no different, exploring the same wild concepts seen in its predecessor, but with more confidence and style. It’s a stunning game, too, one of the best looking of the generation, and the PS5 Pro’s additional power is used with unbelievable effect, especially in a certain firework-related scene that I will not be spoiling.
I’ll hold my hands up and say I haven’t actually finishing this one yet, but I certainly plan to, because no game can quite nail the overwhelming sense of isolation (and companionship with its returning multiplayer features) quite like Death Stranding.
Played on PS5 Pro
Pokémon Renegade Platinum
Ah, a fan game! Well, kind of, technically Pokémon Renegade Platinum (Drayano) is an enhanced version of the original generation 4 release that adds a slew of updates such as higher difficulty, improved Gym Leader battles, new ways to encounter more Pokémon, and lots of QOL changes to improve the overall flow of the adventure.
It’s been a long time since I loved a new Pokémon game, and coming off of the back of a rather lacklustre play through of Pokémon Legends: Z-A I turned to the world of modded 3DS’ and roms to try and recapture my previous enjoyment of this storied franchise. What really stood out to me within a few hours of playing Renegade Platinum was just how much slower video games used to be. Sinnoh doesn’t throw constant distractions at the player, instead respecting your ability to actually concentrate and engage with it even if there’s ten minutes of relatively low stakes gameplay.
Even if the pixel art in these games isn’t quite at the miraculous level seen in generation 5, its still able to present characters, locales, and Pokémon themselves with such wonderful detail and character. It’s a big area that the 3D games have struggled to recreate in my eyes, perhaps the limits of pixel art are ironically enough able to cause you to imagine things the 3D renders fail to show? Just make a HD-2D game please @GameFreak…
Returning to the region that introduced me to the wonderful world of Pokémon has been an absolute delight, and it’s reminded me, that even if the more modern entries might not be my cup of tea, there’s always a region I can turn back to, and enjoy, even 20(!) years later. And, if anything, replaying Sinnoh has made me a bit more excited for generation 10 this year, there’s just something magical about Pokémon isn’t there!
Played on New 3DS XL
Pokémon TCG Pocket
Oh not another Pokémon game?! And a mobile, one, too? Ok, hold on a second, I am not claiming Pokémon TCG Pocket (DeNA) is the best game in the world, nor am I ignorant to some of its more nefarious practises, but I like it, ok?
I’ve actively tried to avoid getting sucked in to the bottomless pit of card collecting after spending too much of my younger years with Yu-Gi-Oh and Match Attax, so Pokémon TCG Pocket lets me live the collecting fantasy but at a much lower cost of entry. It’s not the kind of game I’d sit and play for hours, the gameplay itself is fairly shallow, as should be expected in all truth, but it’s perfect for ten minutes here and there. Plus, there’s no chance of scalpers preventing you from getting shiny new cards, just rather awful odds!
I’ve seen a lot of criticism at the games gacha-esque elements, which are certainly valid, but as someone who subscribes to the premium pass and drops a tenner (£10) on each new set of cards, I can’t say I feel ripped off by terrible odds. Plus, I genuinely do think the f2p experience is a damn sight better than a lot of other gacha games, at least because you can win battles without needing the latest rare cards (shoutout Greninja, Giratina, Darkrai and the rest).
I do hope that we will see the game evolve this year, the current formula of promos is getting a bit stale, but other than that, I find it hard to complain too much about a game inherently designed to be played in short blocks delivering on that exact promise.
Played on iPhone
Donkey Kong Bananza
The Switch 2’s debut year has evidently been a huge success for Nintendo, but one quite obvious criticism in my eyes though, has to be the lack of system selling games that have flexed the Switch 2’s additional power in a way that only Nintendo can. Thank the banana-themed heavens for Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo) then, which swept me off my feet and may have just created a new genre in the same breath.
You see I very much consider Donkey Kong: Bananza to be a 3D de-platformer, with its primary ‘smash everything in sight’ mechanic and its eclectic array of destructible levels leaving it to serve up an experience that feels entirely the opposite of its older, more fine-tuned, brother, that being Super Mario Odyssey. The Odyssey inspiration comes through in its visual design language and semi-open approach to progression, but that’s about it.
My initial ‘disappointment’ at the lack of a sequel (or sequel-adjacent) game to Odyssey was quickly dispelled upon booting up Donkey Kong: Bananza for the first time. While the smashing mechanic may lack the depth that is usually present in these 3D blockbusters from the big N, it did allow the developers of Bananza to go all-in on this concept, and the game is all the better for it.
Pacing becomes a big issue in the latter stages, especially because of a lack of real challenge and evolution of its mechanics, but there’s just about enough here to stick the landing. I hope that we’ll keep seeing this level of experimentation from a Nintendo who has become a bit more closed off to these bigger swings following the breakout success most of its more carefully produced games in the Switch generation have seen.
Oh, one more thing, Donkey Kong has NEVER had a better look than in Bananza, and I’d love to see more of this larger than life depiction of a Nintendo icon in the future.
Played on Nintendo Switch 2
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (Warhorse Studios) couldn’t have been further off my radar at the start of 2025, but a week before it release, and following an onslaught of reviews praising its brilliance, I had to take a leap of faith, and thank God I did!
I don’t think I’ve ever played a game that sells the TRUE role-playing experience quite like Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. The first 5 or so hours are some of the most infuriating I have ever spent in a video game, lacking the ability to actually swing a sword, or have a bath, or even have enough money to afford to sleep in an inn and skip ahead to the next morning, but in an instance it all just clicked.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II wants you to suffer in those first few hours, it needs you to feel abandoned and lost in a place where no one gives a shit that you’re the main character in a video game. Rarely do gameplay and narrative work so well together, but here it does, and to brilliant effect. After overcoming some initial struggles and beginning to form your version of Henry, the wider narrative begins to shape around you.
Helping villagers and engaging with quests (that even in their simplest form have more depth than 95% of other games’ main story beats) build you into a better, more capable character, and all that frustration you felt as you drowned in its brutality at the start just fades away.
The meticulous nature of everything in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II will make a lot of people bounce off it, but its a rare example in the modern day of a game that hasn’t been developed for mass appeal. Stick around long enough and you’ll become the sword-swinging, one-man army power fantasy that most games give you right away anyway, you’ve just got to earn it here, first.
Hades II
Ah. another sequel, 2025 really was a year of revisiting franchises for me wasn’t it… Hades II (Supergiant Games) is the most enjoyable roguelike I have ever played, and having pumped over 75 hours into its early access on Steam, buying it again on Nintendo Switch 2 was a relatively easy decision.
Supergiant’s first-ever sequel is, in my opinion, its magnum opus, and delivers the same exceptional loop seen in its predecessor but with more polish, more gameplay opportunities, and a more high-stakes (and thrilling) narrative to power your way through.
Hades II is an incredibly moreish game, but it manages to avoid the common traps other roguelikes fall in to by constantly introducing new ways for you to interact with its gauntlet of locations, enemies, and boss encounters.
The writing continues to exude the wit, charm, and flirtatious energy that made the original such an immediate hit, and an expanded cast of characters present even more opportunities to riff with and bounce off Greek mythologies finest A-listers. Character designs are fantastic, too. Shout out Jen Zee, who I believe is the artist behind the character portraits, for making EVERY character insanely hot, Zeus has never looked so spicy!
Some may criticise it for being too safe in some areas, and it definitely is more of an evolution than revolution, but is that even a bad thing? I think Supergiant was very aware of what made its God-like resonate so well with players, and the sequel only highlights just how true this is.
I’ve not quite wrapped this one up at the time of writing, but if my 50+ hours in the Switch 2 version alone are anything to go by, it’s hard not to recommend this to anyone who has an interest in finally seeing what all the fuss is about.
Ghost of Yōtei
My first few years with the PS5, outside of a select bunch of exclusives such as Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, were mainly spent working through a backlog of PS4 games that were able to harness the new power of the PS5 in some rather dramatic ways. Ghost of Tsushima was one of such games, and it’s gorgeous take on 13th century Tsushima became an escape from a world being ravaged by a certain virus that I won’t speak of any further… As such, the reveal of a sequel in late 2024 was inevitably going to be one of my most anticipated games of 2025.
Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions) took the brave decision to step away from the story of Jin Sakai and tell a new tale in the harsh lands of Ezo, and set more than 300 years after its predecessor. And you know what? It actually works, despite what the numerous culture war leeches on the internet would have you believe. Atsu is a worthy protagonist to stand alongside Jin as the next Ghost, and her story of revenge, albeit very tropey, is a solid throughline across a game that follows the tried-and-tested formula that made Tsushima such a hit.
Ezo itself is a beautiful, desolate land to explore, and presents the player with many a awe-inspiring vista to overlook, forests to explore, and landscapes that will see you pause everything for just a moment to head into the photo mode again, and again, and again.
The gameplay itself is on the whole a step up from the original, too, especially in combat, with the stance system being replaced by offering Atsu a larger arsenal of weapons to make use of. The rock, paper, scissors-style system is still in play here, but a wider selection of weaponry opens up a lot more opportunity for new combos and finishers that stops cutting down members of the infamous Yōtei Six from getting dull no matter how much time you’ve spent in this world.
Unfortunately, that’s probably an area where Yōtei suffers the most, you’ll spend A LOT of time playing this game if you want to partake in the never-ending amounts of side-quests and distractions that litter your path to revenge. Whilst an improvement on Tsushima’s offerings, a lot of the non-story content in Atsu’s adventure finds itself straying way too close for comfort to the line of repetitive, and it’s a real shame that the refinement that went into other areas of the game didn’t quite make it here.
Still, at it’s core, Yōtei is a power fantasy and on that it delivers across the board. Sucker Punch has found a formula that really works for these games, and whilst they don’t redefine the genre, or take huge leaps of faith with never before seen ideas, they are bloody good video games, and I anticipate I’ll revisit Yōtei, just like its predecessor, many many times.
Played on PS5 Pro
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Oh come on, of course this would end up on here. I don’t really need to explain why Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive) is a good game, do I? I will though, briefly.
Expedition 33 first arrived on my radar following an exceptional cover piece in Edge #404, and by the time it launched in April ’25 I was more than ready to finally experience this French-inspired RPG for myself. I got one hour in, finished the prologue, sat in silence for about half an hour before turning off my PS5 Pro and not touching it for two days because I wasn’t sure if I could face returning to Lumiere after what had just unfolded in front of my eyes.
Let’s get a few things straight, the combat is exceptional, the music is just utterly mesmerising, the narrative arcs that these characters go on is bloody brilliant, and the visual design is entrancing, but all of these achievements pale in comparison to THAT prologue! I think it may be the first time I have ever been so enthralled by the first hour of a game that I could just tell what would unfold across the next 40 hours would be worth every last second.
It’s a masterclass in establishing stakes, and investing you in characters that you know so little about but are immediately sympathetic towards, and it ironically concludes with such a crescendo that the rest of the game struggles and strains to try and match it.
The other 39 hours are pretty great, though. Expedition 33 oozes style, class, and a real sense that Sandfall Interactive wanted to tell a story and present you with characters that despite existing in a world of magic and fantasy, just feel so bloody grounded and human. Every character is overflowing with heart, and manage to escape the stereotypical confines that often present themselves in RPG parties that can sometimes feel like a set fantasy tropes as opposed to actual people/creatures with motives, desires, and individuality.
The combat is a surprising combination of turn-based elements with Mario & Luigi-style live button prompts, with some attacks/parries being executed with such bombastic animation that you’ll let out a “holy shit” in pretty much every encounter. I also loved each character having a unique approach to combat too, adding another ripple of strategy and opportunity to build parties to test out wildly different combinations of synergies.
I do plan to talk about Expedition 33 in a standalone post, so the last thing I’d have to bring up before I wrap this is the music. It’s no coincidence that the original soundtrack was my most listened to album on Spotify in 2025, trust me, it’s bloody good music. Every single track in this game only adds to the scenes its present within, and the ‘boss encounter’ songs are so rousing that I normally started each of these fights by just sitting back and letting the music serenade me for a few minutes before I even pressed a button.
So, to conclude, give it a go? It’s my favourite game of the year by far, and I can’t help but place it in my own personal ‘hall of fame’ as one of the most enjoyable, and thought-provoking experiences I have ever had the pleasure of playing through.
Played on PS5 Pro
Wrapping it up…
And that’s a wrap for 2025, a year that saw me stray away from my typical indie routes and instead head down the more treaded path of major releases from some of the industries biggest studios.
It’s also the first time since 2017 that I’ve felt a bit burnt out from playing games, even despite the exciting launch of the Switch 2 and the release of some heavy hitters that I was really excited for.
The industry is in a funny place right now, record profits are mirrored by unpredecented levels of layoffs and corporate greed, and its becoming even harder to truly enjoy something that is increasingly coming at the price of the people who make any of it possible.
Video games have never been a more powerful behemoth on the global entertainment stage, so why aren’t the people who have allowed that to happen being rewarded in turn? Why are thousands and thousands of creatives being pushed to the side because corporate suits are more interested in plowing money into AI tools as cost-cutting measures? A question for another time perhaps, this was supposed to be a happy blog after all.
Anyhow, here’s to every single person who contributed to the games we all love, you deserve your flowers, even if your bosses are happy to stop you from getting them.
Tom's World 
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