Soccer has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I still think back to first grade, when my mom decided to move me from baseball to soccer. I played on a travel team for nearly all of elementary and middle school, and in high school I was back on the field the moment cross country season ended. Growing up at home, I’d often walk into the living room to find a soccer match playing on the TV. Even now, I wear a Barcelona charm on my Crocs and play casual pickup games at the park. When I lace up my cleats and step onto a field, a switch flips in my brain, and all the skills and instincts I’ve picked up over the years come rushing back.

Despelote transported me to Quito, Ecuador in 2001, letting me see the world through the eyes of a young boy who loves soccer. The entire city is on edge, as Ecuador teeters on the brink of qualifying for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. This is the first game I’ve played that was also an autobiography. Developer Julián Cordero narrates the experience, guiding us through the city’s shifting atmosphere month by month while offering glimpses into his childhood as he explored the world around him.

I loved kicking the ball around with friends, running through the park, and overhearing fragments of family conversations. There’s a raw vulnerability to Julián and his family that makes the game feel deeply authentic. Many moments mirrored my own childhood – simple experiences like playing outside until my mom called for dinner, or wandering around a party trying to entertain myself while the adults talked. My lifelong connection to soccer kept me fully engaged and made the story resonate even more. Despelote serves as a beautiful window into a time long past, captured through an innocent and endearing lens. I only wish it were longer so I didn’t need to leave the world so soon. It stands as a perfect reminder that games can be an extraordinary medium for delivering meaningful, personal works of art.

A majority of the games I play are large-scale action and adventure experiences. From fighting Shadows in the TV World to cutting down hordes of Mongols with a katana, it can be a bit exhausting to jump from one high-intensity game to the next. A Short Hike was a welcome change of pace from my usual lineup. It’s a quaint, cozy game about a bird trying to reach the top of a mountain. Thankfully, this mountain is far less punishing to climb than Celeste.

The game takes place on a small open-world island (tiny compared to Elden Ring or Breath of the Wild), but it’s packed with charm. There are plenty of characters to meet and help along the way: some are attempting to scale the mountain just like you, while others are content simply enjoying the park. As you assist fellow animals and collect golden feathers, you gradually gain the ability to climb higher and higher.

A Short Hike is a genuinely pleasant experience, elevated by a peaceful, upbeat soundtrack. It’s the perfect game to sit down with and get lost in for a couple hours. The characters are all cute and expressive, and the journey culminates in a heartwarming conclusion once you finally reach the summit. This game has been on my radar for a long time, and I’m glad I finally took the hike.

In another all-too-normal impulsive decision, I bought and played Limbo in November. It’s a rather short game, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The black-and-white art style makes an already spooky game feel even more ominous. The platforming puzzles strike a good balance: not too difficult, but still fun to solve. The story is heavily left up to interpretation, and I spent most of the game confused about what was happening. I still need to watch some videos explaining the narrative. In the end, Limbo was a nice little game, and I’m glad I finally got around to playing it.

The fun didn’t stop with Limbo, because on the same day I also played through Inside, another short but intriguing puzzle-platformer. If Limbo’s story left me confused, Inside’s narrative downright baffled me. You start the game as a kid running from the police, and you end it as an amalgamation of human bodies rolling down a mountain after escaping a research facility. Along the way, the kid uses a mind-control helmet to gather humans, dives deep underwater in a submarine being chased by some phantom-like entity, and goes through countless other bizarre events for reasons I couldn’t explain. The sheer shock factor of Inside’s sequence of events put it above Limbo on this list. Experiencing both bewildering narratives in a single afternoon was a great time, and I’ll definitely be looking up more interpretations in the future.

Hekki Grace! Every year, I have a tradition of buying a small game on New Year’s Day to carry with me into the year ahead. In 2021, it was Hades; last year, it was Cocoon; and this year’s pick was 1000xRESIST. Going in, all I really knew was that the game had a “really engaging story”, and some striking character designs. As it turns out, “really engaging” is a massive understatement.

In a year packed with story-driven games, 1000xRESIST stands out as one of the most unique and compelling narratives I experienced. You play as Watcher, the blue sister, and slowly uncover alongside her the story of how the world was destroyed and rebuilt into what it is today. Gameplay takes a clear backseat here, and the story is undeniably the main reason I saw this game through to the end.

The narrative unfolds and reveals itself in an unconventional way, flipping through time like the pages of a storybook. Some moments have you exploring old classrooms or drifting through surreal, liminal spaces, soaring through the air. Outside of those sequences, however, the gameplay largely consists of walking and talking. While I was admittedly disappointed by how minimal the mechanics were, the strength of the story more than made up for it.

I was especially satisfied with the ending; it doesn’t simply present a conclusion – it makes sure you understand the message it’s trying to convey. 1000xRESIST is an experience unique unto itself. I’m confident I made the right choice bringing this game with me into the new year, and I can only hope next year’s tradition lives up to the same standard.

I picked up Ball x Pit after hearing all the buzz around its release. The developers take the classic brick-breaker formula and elevate it into a full roguelike experience. The game starts simply: you control a character who jumps into brick-breaker-style combat to fend off hordes of enemies and bosses. It also features a base-building component between runs – gathering resources and constructing buildings unlocks new abilities to help deal with the increasingly overwhelming enemy forces.

The sixteen playable characters keep the gameplay fresh, and things become even more interesting once you unlock the ability to bring two characters into a single run. My favorite combination was The Repentant, whose balls deal 5% more damage each time they hit a wall, paired with The Cohabitants, which launch mirrored copies of every ball for even more chaos.

After rolling credits, I didn’t have much desire to keep actively playing, though I was still interested in upgrading every building and completing more levels with different characters. Fortunately, the final unlockable character, The Radical, literally takes the reins and plays the game itself. About 20 of my roughly 33 in-game hours came from letting The Radical play so I could unlock every ability. Overall, Ball x Pit was a fun, brief experience, but it doesn’t come close to reaching Balatro’s level for me.

I don’t even remember where I first learned about the original Pico Park. My earliest memory is giving it a shot on a random evening with friends in college, where we spent the entire night laughing, yelling, and having an absolute blast. When I found out the developers had made a sequel, I knew I had to be there on day one.

Pico Park is simple in concept but expertly executed. Everyone plays as tiny cat-like critters called “Picos,” working together to complete a series of fun and wacky levels. These levels range from platforming challenges to Tetris-style puzzles and plenty of other silly minigames. The game supports up to eight players simultaneously, and it truly shines the more people you can gather.

Organizing large groups with varying levels of gaming experience is surprisingly difficult, but that chaos is exactly what makes Pico Park 2 so entertaining. I played most of the game with around six to eight people, and I’m honestly impressed we managed to clear even half of the levels. The difficulty ramps up significantly toward the end, so to finish the final stages, I ended up pairing with a friend and tackling them as a duo. No friendships have been destroyed due to it (yet), and until then, Pico Park 2 is a must-play at all of my friends’ game nights.

There has been an unfortunate lack of rhythm games on my list this year. Last year, I was introduced to the Rhythm Heaven franchise, and ever since, I’ve been searching for another game that could give me the same dopamine rush. While I wait for Rhythm Heaven Groove to release in 2026, Sayonara Wild Hearts has served as a perfect interim fix!

It’s a relatively short experience (I beat it in one sitting before lunchtime), but there’s plenty of replayability if you want to perfect every level. The story follows a heartbroken girl journeying through a dreamlike world, battling cursed arcana in order to both heal herself and the world around her. It’s a simple but charming narrative that ultimately culminates in her confronting her ‘demons’ and restoring her heart.

The real sauce of the game, however, lies in the game’s graphics, music, and gameplay. The bold color palette meshes beautifully with the surreal, polygonal environments, creating a striking visual identity. Each level has the protagonist chasing and confronting the cursed arcana in inventive ways – whether that’s chasing them down on a motorcycle or entering a VR headset to face them head-on, the variety keeps the experience consistently fresh and engaging.

As with any rhythm game, the music is the star of the show. There’s an unmatched satisfaction when your inputs perfectly sync with the beat. Despite only playing through the game once over the course of a few hours, tracks like Dead of Night, Mine, and Begin Again have stayed in my frequent rotation on Spotify. Sayonara Wild Hearts is an easy game to jump back into whenever I feel like chasing a perfect run, and I’m sure it’ll live rent-free in my head for a long time.

Donkey Kong has been one of my favorite platforming franchises ever since I played Tropical Freeze on my Wii U. I played the original Donkey Kong Country a few years later, but never ventured beyond that – until this year. While I didn’t love the original DKC and felt it had aged noticeably, I’d heard nothing but praise for its sequel, Donkey Kong Country 2, so I was excited to finally give it a shot.

Despite its namesake, DKC2 has you playing as Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong on a journey to rescue Donkey Kong after he’s been kidnapped by King K. Rool. The game begins aboard K. Rool’s ship, where the first game left off, and takes you through a variety of areas on your way to save DK. While the level design in the first game was fine, very few stages stuck with me after I finished. In DKC2, however, nearly every area introduced memorable and creative ideas that kept things fresh throughout.

Dixie Kong’s hair-glide ability is a fantastic evolution of the series’ movement, complementing Diddy’s agility while opening up new level design possibilities. There’s also a much greater emphasis on animal buddies this time around! While Winky and Expresso are sorely missed, the new additions – Rattly, Squitter, Clapper, Glimmer, and Squawks – are all implemented exceptionally well. Squawks quickly became my favorite; I loved the speed and freedom of his flying levels, with Squitter coming in as a close second once I got the hang of his web mechanics.

Some standout levels include the minecart stage where you’re chased by a ghostly skeleton, the level where you ride Rambi through a honeycomb, and all the bramblebush sections. I also made the decision to collect every DK coin, which gave me a great excuse to revisit several stages. The music is another highlight, serving as a phenomenal follow-up to the original game’s already excellent soundtrack.

Donkey Kong Country 2 perfectly scratched the 2D platforming itch I had after finishing Donkey Kong Bananza, and now I understand why it’s considered one of the most beloved entries in the franchise.

I’ve been a loyal Nintendo fan since I started gaming. I watched Let’s Plays of Paper Mario and Majora’s Mask before eventually getting a Wii for Christmas. A couple years later, I received a Wii U for Christmas; to this day I can still count on one hand the number of people I’ve met who also owned one. After that came a Switch in 2017 and a Switch OLED in 2022. It wasn’t until I graduated college that I finally branched out from Nintendo and bought my first PlayStation. As much as I love Nintendo games, I can’t keep up with the $60 releases every other month. I usually buy two or three $60+ games a year, but I can’t justify picking up every big release as much as I’d like to.

Donkey Kong Country Returns is a game I’ve wanted to play since I was a kid, and when the remaster released this past January, I knew it was finally time. Instead of buying the overpriced $60 Switch version, I tracked down the original Wii release online for $20 and played that instead! It was a great way to start the year and genuinely satisfying to finally fulfill a childhood wish. While the game shows its age in a few areas, it deserves credit for laying the groundwork that allowed Tropical Freeze to shine. I go into more detail in my review of Donkey Kong Country Returns, so be sure to check that out!

How do you follow up a game made entirely of yarn? You double down and handcraft the whole world. My sister and I played Yoshi’s Woolly World together on the Wii U, and this year we finally got to play its follow-up, Yoshi’s Crafted World. This is undoubtedly one of the cutest and most creative games I played all year. Cardboard floors, fabric Yoshis, clay enemies, origami platforms — every piece of the world looks lovingly handmade. Yoshi can now wear fun costumes in each level, from juice box cartons and cardboard mice to little tin cans and coffee creamer armor. Half the fun for me and my sister was picking out these silly costumes before every level. The game introduces a plethora of fun new level ideas while keeping the same amusing multiplayer mechanics as the previous game, like stealing each other’s eggs or launching one another to reach tricky spots. Some of our favorite levels included the safari level, the bakery world, and the Mega Cardboard Yoshi beatdowns.

My sister and I had a great time running through the whole game once, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to 100% complete it. After beating a level, an NPC sends you back to the level on scavenger hunts to find various items in the background & foreground. At first, we tried to complete every task, but constantly replaying levels became exhausting – some required up to eight trips just to satisfy the NPC. A more enjoyable reason to revisit levels is the “flip side”, where you progress from Finish to Start searching for three Poochy pups. Unlike the monotonous scavenger hunts, the Poochy search stayed engaging, offering a fresh perspective on familiar stages. The soundtrack, unfortunately, isn’t quite as inspired as the previous game’s. The main level theme track repeats across most levels, and the overall score feels rather sleepy. Even so, despite the repetitive completion tasks and average soundtrack, playing through Yoshi’s Crafted World with my sister is a memory I’ll always treasure.

Mario Kart World had enormous pressure on it: Nintendo’s first truly new Mario Kart entry since 2014, the flagship launch title for the Switch 2, and the first AAA game to carry an $80 price tag. While I had a good time with it initially, there are several areas where it falls short due to some questionable half measures.

Knockout Tour is an exciting addition to the racing modes, but it becomes repetitive quickly, with only eight routes and no way to customize your own path. I love the wide variety of costumes and new characters (shoutout Cow and Pianta), but randomly mixing costumes and characters instead of organizing outfits into folders makes the menu feel unnecessarily cluttered.

The massive mix of new tunes and nostalgic remixes may be the most impressive soundtrack of the year, but without any volume settings, the music is often drowned out by rumbling engine noises and item sound effects. This is especially frustrating in free-roam mode – the most obvious place to add a radio for selecting music. As for free-roam itself, it’s an interesting concept, but I quickly lost interest due to the lack of meaningful incentives to collect all the P-Switches and Peach coins. I mostly used it as an efficient way to unlock character costumes.

That said, a tremendous amount of love and care clearly went into this game. The character animations are the best in the series, the world is beautiful and densely detailed, and the new racing mechanics keep Mario Kart feeling fresh. I don’t think World will replace Mario Kart 8, but it stands toe-to-toe with it, offering a different kind of grand experience. I’m hopeful that some of my complaints will be addressed through DLC someday, but as it stands, Mario Kart World is a staple for game nights.

I saw a YouTube comment recently that read “I hated Blue Prince just as much as I loved it, which was such a bummer,” and that perfectly sums up my feelings about the game. I loved the opening stretch of attempting to reach the Antechamber and uncover Room 46. The game is shockingly addictive; I spent hours opening rooms and collecting items. The sheer variety of rooms and endless mansion layouts kept pulling me back as I chased the perfect run. I was extremely satisfied when I reached Room 46 after about fourteen hours and watched the credits roll. As any Blue Prince veteran knows, though, the game is packed with secrets around every corner, and reaching Room 46 is only the tip of the iceberg.

The next major challenge is finding the eight sanctum keys that unlock the underground rooms, and this is where the game began to lose steam for me. Many keys are locked behind extremely unlikely conditions, such as reaching the Mechanarium only after unlocking seven other mechanical rooms, or finding a very specific vault key and reaching the vault in a single run. These challenges wouldn’t be as frustrating if not for the heavy reliance on room RNG. I became more and more discouraged every run where I wouldn’t get any pieces needed to find the keys. On top of that, I wasn’t particularly impressed by the game’s soundtrack, and several puzzles actively annoyed me, especially the Gallery puzzles.

I’ll admit I got plenty of help from a friend and looked up multiple puzzle solutions. I didn’t want to waste time solving something and giving up since I had no idea when I’d see some rooms again. My frustration isn’t entirely the game’s fault, though – I frequently heard I should keep a notebook to track clues, but I was too lazy to commit to it.

That said, there were many puzzles I genuinely enjoyed, like the Clocktower and the Pipe Room. As an engineer at heart, I loved the Billiards Room’s math puzzles, and I had fun with the Parlor room riddles, at least until they became absurdly long. My friend and I completed all the classrooms and passed the final exam (yes, we looked up the answers), and I eventually earned the Full House trophy. My final achievement was collecting all eight sanctum keys and completing the sigil puzzles (also with assistance). There were plenty of challenges left, but by then I was ready to step away.

Despite all my complaints about RNG, I can’t deny that Blue Prince had me in a chokehold for months. I loved the art style of this game, and it’s truly astounding how the developers turned door-opening into such a compelling roguelike. I loved Blue Prince just as much as I hated Blue Prince, and despite it all, I still have a nagging itch to return to the game for one more run.

Reflecting on it now, I’m split on Split Fiction. Let’s rewind. I played it online with a college friend right at launch, and we had a delightful time together. We made a great duo: he gravitated toward the more stoic, logical Mio while I naturally leaned into the upbeat, whimsical Zoe. Mio’s first chapter was a terrific introduction. The stressful vehicle chases, Parking Attendant and Mr. Hammer boss fights, and the hilarious CAPTCHA section instantly hooked me.

Despite how strong that opening chapter was, I barely think back on the others. A few moments stand out, like the turtle boss in Chapter 3 and the giant dragon final boss of Chapter 4, but none of the chapters left the same impression as the first. The side stories, on the other hand, were a major highlight. Fighting the Dentist as a tooth and goofing off in the Moon Market are just two examples of the side stories’ wonderfully creative ideas.

The only other section that matched Chapter 1 for me was the final boss. Ironically, a game centered on storytelling ended up having one of my least favorite narratives of the year. Still, that weaker story set the stage for an excellent showdown against the evil CEO, Rader. Running through remixed versions of earlier chapters in a striking blend of sci-fi and fantasy was incredibly impressive.

In short, my favorite parts of the game were the beginning, the end, and a handful of side quests along the way. When I look back on Split Fiction, I remember loving it and thinking it was really cool, but that “compliment sandwich” may have distracted me from how lukewarm I felt about the middle sections. Overall, I still think it is an awesome game packed with great ideas, and I hold on dearly to the memories of playing it with one of my best friends.

No game benefits from a blind playthrough quite like Inscryption. Honestly, I don’t know how to write about it without spoiling the very things that make it special. There’s so much I want to talk about, from the compelling card game to the memorable characters, but I’d much rather anyone reading this experience it completely unspoiled. Maybe someday I’ll write a separate entry where I dig into all my opinions. For now, I’ll leave it at this: the first 10 hours of Inscryption were a 10/10 for me, I loved every twist and turn along the way, and above all else, listen to the stoat!!!

I’ve entered the past couple of years with a relatively clear idea of which games I wanted to tackle. For example, going into 2025, I knew I wanted to play Persona 3 Reload, The Last of Us, Yakuza: Like A Dragon, and Ghost of Tsushima, among a few other titles. It’s impossible to predict everything I’ll end up playing, though, and The Messenger was one game that completely caught me by surprise. While casually browsing Nintendo’s E-Shop (as I far too often do), I found it on sale for a whopping $3. I couldn’t ignore a deal that good, and so it received an express ticket to the very top of my backlog.

First things first: The Messenger’s 8-bit and 16-bit soundtracks are incredible, nearly rivaling Shovel Knight’s fantastic music. Every area delivers hit after hit: from the Hill of Destiny to A Home Amongst the Clouds, the stellar finale of A Melody to Break the Curse, and even into the Picnic Panic DLC with Impact Zone. The soundtrack simply doesn’t let up; I added nearly 70 songs from the game to my video game playlist on Spotify because they’re all that good.

The Messenger is everything I wanted Cybershadow to be. Unlike Cybershadow, I genuinely enjoyed the story here, especially the twist that elevates what could have been a generic narrative. The lighthearted, comedic writing is among my favorite of the year – high praise I rarely give to 2D platformers. The ninja acrobatics and combat feel silky smooth, and the platforming challenges consistently kept me engaged. The sudden shift into a Metroidvania structure was a bit jarring, but I’m well-accustomed to tedious tasks, so it didn’t bother me much. The DLC provided a great excuse to return to and squeeze out a few more hours. I had an absolute blast with The Messenger, and I genuinely hope I find another game that excites me as much as this one did.

I bought the Hotline Miami Collection a while back during a sale since it’s often cited as one of the greatest indie game series. This year, I finally decided to give it a shot. In both games, you play as a hitman in Miami, receiving jobs over the phone and executing your targets however you see fit. Every level demands careful planning and execution against waves of mafia goons. From punching and shooting to smashing enemies with pipes, the game is far more violent than I anticipated.

The first game is a solid introduction into the series’ playstyle, with a bewildering yet engaging story to back it up. The second game refines the formula, increasing the difficulty and forcing you to think critically about how to clear each floor. The varied layouts and different masks to wear keep every level fresh. I loved the sense of accomplishment after finally making it through a floor after dozens of attempts.

The gameplay reminded me of a top-down Katana Zero, which sounds backwards, but I just happened to play Hotline Miami second. The electronic and techno soundtrack perfectly complements the intense action, and I was completely engrossed running floors over and over. I struggled plenty, dying constantly, but there is ample opportunity to improve and chain together bigger combos if you’re motivated.

The Hotline Miami Collection is incredible as-is, so I’m almost okay knowing the developer has no plans for a third game. Maybe someday I’ll return and finally earn a grade higher than a B on the levels.

I don’t think I could ever get tired of the sheer whimsy the Yakuza games bring. I imagine the brainstorming session for Yakuza: Like A Dragon consisted of a dozen people shouting out the most bizarre sidequest ideas imaginable, and whoever was in charge refused to turn down a single one.

A kart-racing tournament with a full storyline? Sounds fun.

Dozens of exams spanning a wide range of subjects? Sure, why not.

What if the protagonist had a pet crawfish? Incredible.

A full blown business management campaign to become Yokohama’s #1 company? Absolutely.

The Yakuza franchise easily has my favorite sidequests and minigames in any JRPG I’ve played. You truly never know what the game is going to throw at you next. I was especially floored by how much I enjoyed the business management minigame. I went in fully expecting to skip it since it sounded dry and tedious, but after giving it an honest shot, I became completely obsessed. I ended up playing it for eight hours straight until I finally claimed the #1 spot. And that’s without even touching on the main story, which I enjoyed far more than Infinite Wealth’s narrative. I love the rhythm of the game: watching 45-minute emotionally charged cutscenes; diving into cinematic, over-the-top yakuza brawls; then immediately pivoting into the goofiest sidequests imaginable.

Ichiban Kasuga is one of my favorite heroes in any game. His sincerity, optimism, and willingness to fully commit to even the most ridiculous situations make him endlessly lovable. I can’t wait to see where the series takes him next, but for now, I’m beyond excited to try out Yakuza 0 in 2026.

I bought the original Hades game on a whim during my freshman spring semester, and my suitemates and I put in over 70 hours in a single week just to beat it. Since then, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the full release of Hades II, and my patience was finally rewarded in September. Supergiant Games absolutely nailed this sequel. They took everything I loved about the first game and raised the stakes across the board: more intense combat, stunning graphics, a wealth of boons, and rocking music.

The dialogue alone is staggering. Even 55 hours in, I haven’t heard a single repeated line – every NPC has unique, compelling interactions. I had a blast alternating between underworld and surface runs, experimenting with new weapons, and daring myself to crank up the heat. The soundtrack is as phenomenal as ever, with standout tracks like Sightless Shepherd, Titan of Time, and, of course, Claw Out Your Eyes. It pains me to see this game so low on my list, but that just highlights how strong the other games on this list were. Hades II is an absolute triumph in its own right.

“I am not your son. I am the Ghost.”

Jin Sakai is undoubtedly my favorite hero this year – an honorable man forced to abandon the samurai code he’s lived by his entire life in order to save the island he calls home. Haunted by past failures in the past and crushed beneath impossible odds, Jin takes desperate, often brutal measures to drive out the loathsome Mongol invaders.

That powerful narrative is paired with Ghost of Tsushima’s breathtaking world, easily one of the most gorgeous landscapes I’ve ever explored in a game. When I wasn’t sitting jaw-dropped, soaking in the scenery, I was fully absorbed in its thrilling katana combat. I loved the balance between stealth, silently dismantling Mongol camps, and the intensity of open combat, where juggling sword stances became essential once the horde closed in. The Iki Island DLC was another standout, adding meaningful depth to Jin’s character and confronting him with the emotional scars he’d long buried. It enriched his arc without undermining the core story, making his internal struggle feel even more personal.

My biggest nitpick is that I never felt particularly motivated to pursue most side content. The Shinto and Inari Shrines became repetitive fairly quickly, and the combat was forgiving enough that I rarely felt compelled to hunt for upgrades. While I did finish all the character side quests, I never formed a strong attachment to any of their stories.

Even so, Jin Sakai’s journey – walking the razor-thin line between honor and survival – will stay with me for a long time. His transformation into the Ghost isn’t just compelling; it’s unforgettable.

I told myself I’d play Persona 4 Golden in 2026, but after enjoying Persona 3 Reload so much, I was eager to finish out the trilogy. Persona 4 feels far more lighthearted compared to the darker, gloomier atmosphere of Persona 3. The Investigation Team ended up being my favorite party of the year. While S.E.E.S.s interactions were largely focused on exploring Tartarus, the Investigation Team spends much more time simply enjoying each other’s company. Cooking dinner, school field trips, camping, skiing, and putting on a full concert recital all help make their relationships feel special.

Watching each character confront their truth inside the TV World was both exciting and bizarre in ways I didn’t expect. The dungeons in Persona 4 Golden are miles better than Tartarus – I vividly remember running through the Sauna, Theater, Game, and Secret Base and taking on their bosses. The classic turn-based combat returns with added duo attacks for Chie/Yukiko, Yosuke/Teddie, and Kanji/Naoto. The music is phenomenal as ever, with Heaven, Time to Make History, and Reach Out To The Truth standing out as some of my favorites songs of the year.

Released in 2012, Persona 4 Golden does show its age, especially after finishing Persona 3 Reload. The menus are lackluster, the dungeons and combat aren’t as refined, and the visuals are the least exciting in the trilogy. These are minor complaints though; the characters, world, and story are among the best in the whole franchise, and I’m confident Persona 4 Revival will address my graphical concerns.

I was deeply disappointed that the murder mystery was spoiled early-on. I wish I could erase the game from my memory and experience it fresh, but even knowing the culprit, I still loved uncovering the ‘why’ rather than the ‘who.’ I also struggled to reach the true ending near the endgame, as the required dialogue choices are extremely specific. It took several attempts and a few Google searches to avoid the bad ending. The effort was worth it, though, because the final boss was exhilarating. I loved my time with Persona 4 Golden, and I have no doubt I’ll replay it in full when Persona 4 Revival releases.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest video game stories ever told, I’ve wanted to play The Last of Us for years. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any way to play it until 2024, so I made do by watching a Let’s Play and later season one of the HBO series. With season two on the horizon, I finally made time to play through both games. I had a great time finally experiencing the story firsthand.

The writers deserve all the praise for the narrative; I loved watching Joel and Ellie’s relationship evolve over the course of their cross-country journey. The mix of stealthy exploration and tense combat against the infected delivered a thrill I haven’t felt since playing Resident Evil 4. The game holds up remarkably well considering it came out twelve years ago. I honestly have very few criticisms; it’s an incredibly solid experience that tells a moving story without overstaying its welcome. Highlights include the final hospital sequence and my first encounter with a Bloater. The Last of Us is definitely a game I can see myself returning to for a replay.

I had a difficult time deciding which game I preferred. Both are excellent in their own ways, and I knew that wherever I placed one, the other would have to sit right next to it. After much reflection, I ultimately chose Part II as my favorite. I know its story is highly controversial, but the narrative worked for me. I loved the new setting of Seattle, a city I’m already fairly familiar with. The gunplay is just as strong as in the first game, featuring even scarier encounters and a wider selection of weapons. The music perfectly suits the atmosphere, and the graphics are the most realistic I’ve seen in any game.

That said, the real reason I chose Part II over Part I is due to how impressed I am Abby won me over. Even though it had been spoiled for me, Joel’s death is still the second most gut-wrenching death I’ve experienced in a video game. I was fully invested in Ellie’s revenge quest and adamantly opposed anything involving Abby. I nearly gagged when I realized half the game would force me to play from her perspective. Still, I pushed forward and, against my will, slowly began to warm up to her.

It’s fascinating how stepping into another person’s shoes can humanize them. I couldn’t help but care for Abby after watching her evolve through her unlikely alliance with Lev. She also gets some of the game’s strongest gameplay sequences, particularly the Rat King encounter and The Island. By the end, Ellie began to feel more like the villain. I respect the decision not to let the player choose the ending – sometimes that choice simply doesn’t fit the story being told. I reflected on Ellie and Abby’s opposing perspectives long after finishing the game, and that’s ultimately why I chose The Last of Us Part II over Part I.

Elden Ring Nightreign is not a perfect game. In fact, it may be the most frustrating roguelike I’ve ever played. Every mission takes at least 40 minutes to reach the final boss, only to end about twenty seconds later when your team is wiped out by one of the Nightlords. Nightreign’s saving grace (pun intended) however is its multiplayer.

In college, I learned the term “trauma bonding” while struggling with friends through classes like Intro to Microelectronics and Analysis of Algorithms, and that concept applies perfectly here. Playing Nightreign with friends turns an otherwise rage-inducing experience into something far more entertaining. Over the course of 100+ hours, my high school friends and I managed to defeat all of the Nightlords and a handful of the Everdark Sovereigns. Early on, I gravitated toward Duchess and never looked back. Our win/lose ratio is atrocious, but we had a great time regardless.

Surprisingly, playing with random people online wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected. We were either thrilled to get a competent teammate or amused paired with less-skilled players. I also loved seeing which bosses they pulled from Elden Ring and the Dark Souls series; it’s been too long since I’ve fought Smelter Demon and Dancer of the Boreal Valley. The Nightlords are some of the most epic bosses in Soulsborne history. My favorites include Adel, Baron of Night; Libra, Creature of Night; and Heolstor, the Nightlord.

It’s still a shame that the developers never added crossplay to the game. Regardless, there have been so many highlights, from frantic last-second rescues in the storm to immediately sprinting the other way whenever the Bell-Bearing Hunter appeared. Even now, I’m beyond excited to hop back in with friends and sink more time into Nightreign with the new DLC.

In a turn of events no one saw coming, I somehow managed to squeeze in a full playthrough of Octopath Traveler 2 this year. I’m especially glad I did, because it was the best JRPG I played all year. As a strong sequel should, Octopath 2 raises the stakes and addresses every major issue I had with the first game. The graphics and HUD have been drastically improved, and it’s honestly astonishing to return to the original afterward and see how much it now feels like a beta version of its sequel. Overall, the characters are wonderful, the graphics are gorgeous, the music is excellent, and the combat is thrilling; my only complaints are minor nitpicks. Check out my retrospective on Octopath Traveler 2 if you want my more in-depth thoughts.

Even though I hadn’t played its predecessor, Ghost of Yotei was my most anticipated game going into the year. I had heard plenty of buzz about Ghost of Tsushima, so I knew I’d enjoy it, and the Ghost of Yotei trailer at The Game Awards convinced me I had to play them both in 2025. I managed to beat Tsushima just in time to play Yotei upon its October release.

In the best way possible, Ghost of Yotei feels more like a movie than a game. Every region of Ezo is brought to life through stunning use of color. The fiery reds and oranges of Ishikari Plains, the silvery, snow-covered peaks of Teshio Ridge, and the soft pinks and blues splashing across Oshima Coast give each area a distinct personality. Atsu, the new protagonist, is fierce, relentless, and unquestionably a worthy successor to Jin Sakai. Her quest for revenge against the Yotei Six started slowly after the prologue but quickly accelerated once I began targeting the Oni and Kitsune. Unlike Jin who relied on a single weapon, Atsu wields a variety of weapons that keep combat interesting. My favorites were the Yari, a spear for controlling distance, and the Kusarigama, a sickle-and-chain combination perfect for breaking shields and striking from afar. From hidden waterfalls to the snow-capped summit of Mount Yotei, duels are always set against breathtaking, cinematic backdrops. My favorite duel was also the most challenging, and the opponent’s words are burned into my memory: “Make this duel unforgettable.”

Ghost of Yotei also polished a few minor issues from the first game. Jin’s armor selection never appealed to me, but I found myself constantly switching Atsu’s costumes since I loved them all. Side content felt far more manageable too. While Tsushima’s world often felt sprawling and overwhelming, Yotei’s compact layout made exploration and completion satisfying rather than tedious. I had an amazing time earning the platinum trophy for Ghost of Yotei, and I’m confident that it’s a worthy successor to the original game in every way.

In an unforeseen turn of events, the wild card on this list, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, somehow earned a spot in my top six games of 2025. I’ve been obsessed with this game ever since finishing it. Everything from the unsettling atmosphere, fascinating puzzles to the thought-provoking story captivated me in a mystery I couldn’t put down. Piecing together the narrative and watching it all culminate in a climactic finale was one of my favorite experiences of the year. Lorelei features over 150 puzzles, and while some can be too obscure and others are a bit too simple, the standout puzzles were among my favorites of 2025. They had me so entranced that I was scribbling solutions on napkins just to work them out. The game is by no means perfect – the movement can feel awkward at times, and having only a single button for every input is a bit silly – but none of these issues were intrusive enough to ruin the experience. The only real transgression? I still have no idea what a tampon does. :(

Deltarune is a game I definitely want to give a full journal entry someday, so I’ll keep this brief. While I’m only writing about chapters 3 and 4 here, my placement on this ranking reflects all four chapters released so far.

IT’S TV TIME!!! After a nearly four-year hiatus, Deltarune finally returned with a double feature, and it’s just as good as I remembered. Chapter 3 opens strong with the introduction of Tenna, one of my favorite video game characters all year. His colorful dialogue, popping design, and jubilant show-host attitude won me over instantly. While the videogame segments become a bit tedious on repeat playthroughs, the rest of the chapter is a delight to play. The physical challenges, the escape from the game show, and the return of Rouxls Kaard all kept a grin on my face the whole way through. The final battle against Tenna is the cherry on top, now one of my favorite boss fights in both Deltarune and Undertale. Naturally, every good game show has to end eventually. The final physical challenge against the Roaring Knight delivers a sharp tonal shift to the chapter and serves as a worthy adversary to test my combat skills.

Chapter 4 builds directly on that shift. The Dark World feels noticeably more somber, and the characters’ moods reflect the looming sense of impending doom. The game still finds moments to lighten the tone, such as the time-consuming, lengthy battle against Jackenstein and the wonderful addition of the old man, Gerson Boom. I loved watching Susie’s character development, and the Hammer of Justice fight was a fantastic callback to Undertale. The finale escalates dramatically, with the Roaring Knight reaffirming their threat before culminating in a monumental showdown against the Titan.

I love how chapters 3 and 4 work together to tell a cohesive continuation to Deltarune’s narrative while embracing drastically different tones. I’m relieved Toby Fox has confirmed Chapter 5 for 2026 because after that cliffhanger, I don’t think I could handle a longer wait.

I MUST SPEAK MY TRUTH: I LOVE DONKEY KONG BANANZA!

Donkey Kong Bananza is the most satisfying game I’ve played this year and my favorite 3D Platformer since Astro Bot. Donkey Kong’s absurdly strong ability to punch through nearly any surface is endlessly entertaining. I spent hours smashing through dirt, stone, and every other destructible material I could find.

While I liked Bananza during my first playthrough, I didn’t truly fall in love with it until I committed to the full collectathon: all 777 bananas, 696 fossils, and 110 music discs scattered throughout the planet’s many layers. That hunt pushed me to explore every area to its fullest extent. While I spent about 20 hours finishing Bananza’s main story, reaching 100% completion took closer to 40 hours, and not once did it feel like wasted time.

The Bananza transformations make traversal feel effortless. I was constantly hopping to higher grounds, flying between landmasses, or speeding across massive fields in pursuit of the next collectable. Elephant Bananza and Kong Bananza’s sheer power let me obliterate any obstacle in my way, and with the amount of gold I was picking up, the abilities practically paid for themselves. The rehearsals were a surprising and welcomed endgame challenge, pushing me to truly master each Bananza transformation, and the final level felt like a perfect reward for collecting every last fossil and banana.

Pauline and Donkey Kong made a delightful, heartwarming duo. Watching their relationship grow as they traveled deeper into the planet was one of the game’s highlights. Small touches, like brief conversations before going to sleep, did much to showcase their awesome friendship. I never got tired of hearing Pauline during Bananza transformations, and her final song, Heart of Gold, still makes me tear up every time.

The developers absolutely nailed the ending. King K. Rool’s long-awaited return caught me completely off guard – I was bamboozled yet again by that rotten crocodile – but it only made the finale more satisfying. It’s easy to dismiss Donkey Kong Bananza as just a game about punching and destruction, but doing so ignores the incredible care, creativity, and polish poured into every layer of its world. I can confidently say that Donkey Kong Bananza is my favorite 3D Platformer Nintendo has ever made, and I sincerely hope we get to see Donkey Kong & Pauline team up again in the future.

Watching the Full Moon, Full Life opening movie every time I started the game

Witnessing S.E.E.S. summon their Personas for the first time

Finally getting more teammates into Tartarus after a month of only Yukari & Junpei

Spending countless days listening to Color Your Night and When the Moon’s Reaching Out Stars while exploring Paulownia Mall and Tatsumi Port Island

Hearing Want To Be Close while returning to Iwatodai Dorm after long days of school and socializing

Venturing through 200+ floors of Tartarus and defeating hundreds of enemies with It’s Going Down Now blasting in the background Uncovering the secrets of the Kirijo Group and Strega

Meeting Aigis on the beach after learning none of the guys have any game Koromaru Akinari, Mutatsu, Maiko, and President Tanaka’s Social Links

The intriguing symbolism of death and grief throughout everyone’s stories

Discovering just how overpowered Shinji is in combat

Activating everyone’s Theurgy skills for the first time

“The arcana is the means by which all is revealed.”

Experiencing the finale after 100+ in-game hours and bawling my eyes out as Memories of You played and the credits rolled

All of these moments (and so many more) made Persona 3 Reloadone of my favorite JRPGs ever, standing out even after playing seven other RPGs throughout the year. Despite some questionable gameplay decisions, its story is something truly special, and I hope everyone gets the chance to experience it. I’ll leave things off with this quote from Mrs. Kamiki: “Take good care of the ones dearest to you. If you wait until their time has come, and you’re clinging to their cold bodies… then it’s too late. …Everyone who’s born will die someday. Not just Akinari, or me, or you. It happens to everyone… So before that happens… It doesn’t take a grand gesture. You don’t have to make a big production of it, but… If you love someone, let them know it. We all go through life with the same struggles, the same heartbreak… We should be able to prop each other up with the same love and kindness as well… I’m sure you have something precious you can share with people… Always remember that…”

What is there to say about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 that hasn’t already been said? It’s the most impressive game this year, racking up over 300 awards and landing second for most awards won behind Elden Ring. From its picturesque painted landscapes to its invigorating turn-based/action combat and awe-inspiring music, every facet of Clair Obscur feels meticulously crafted. I didn’t truly understand what “Best Game Direction” meant at The Game Awards until I played this game. Expedition 33 was clearly built around a strong creative vision, and the developers executed it perfectly. Every element serves a purpose in telling a beautiful, cohesive narrative.

For all the recognition I give it now, I wasn’t immediately sold on Clair Obscur. Much of the early praise I heard focused on how it modernized turn-based combat with dodge and parry mechanics, something I was already comfortable with, so I took that acclaim with a grain of salt. I also wasn’t in the right headspace for a massive RPG at the time, and I felt fairly lukewarm on Act I and the start of Act II. After a week-long break, though, the expedition finally grew on me. Recruiting Monoco, fighting the two Axons, and ascending the Monolith completely won me over.

The Renoir and Paintress battles are stunning spectacles; I genuinely would have been satisfied if the Paintress fight had been the final boss because it was just that good. If I wasn’t already convinced by how impressive Clair Obscur was, the real final boss sealed the deal. I’ve never been as torn by a choice in a video game as I was at the end of Expedition 33. I spent at least thirty minutes mulling over my decision, and even then I’m still not convinced I chose correctly. While some of the side content was a bit easy, I enjoyed completing it all and earning the platinum trophy. The Simon battle was the most challenging boss I’ve faced since Malenia in Elden Ring. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is deserving of every award it’s received this year, and I hope it’s used as a benchmark for games to come.

After a nearly seven-year wait, Hollow Knight: Silksong finally released on September 4, 2025, and I dropped everything to play it. For two straight weeks, my life followed a single routine: go to work, then play Silksong. From September 4th to September 20th, all other hobbies were shelved and socializing was reduced to the bare minimum. I didn’t stop until I reached 100% completion, and in sixteen days I logged 90 hours of playtime. Only two other games claimed more of my time this year: Persona 3 Reload (a 90-hour JRPG plus its DLC) and Elden Ring Nightreign, a multiplayer experience I returned to throughout the year. I spent a long time debating whether I preferred Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 or Silksong, but there’s no denying the absolute chokehold Silksong had on my life for those two consecutive weeks.

Hollow Knight Silksong is everything I wanted from a sequel to Hollow Knight. Pharloom is a massive world packed with hidden items, branching paths, and memorable bosses. Every time I thought I’d uncovered most of the map, it simply kept expanding. The Citadel lived up to every whispered promise from Act I, and Act III recontextualized earlier regions in ways that reignited my desire to explore even further.

Hornet’s acrobatic moveset is significantly more challenging, and more rewarding, than the Knight’s. Some mechanics, like the new dash timing and dive attack, took time to get used to, but once they clicked, combat became exhilarating. I spent most of the game using the Beast Crest embracing the aggressive playstyle it encouraged. Silksong’s difficulty is no joke. Double damage, a limited health pool, and enemies with intricate, punishing movesets demanded constant focus. While many people were understandably deterred by its difficulty, I dug in my heels and powered my way forward. I died constantly, in every possible situation, but I always got back up. The Coral Tower gauntlet was the one point where I nearly gave up, but after stepping away for a day, I came back and conquered it.

There were countless standouts moments in Silksong that made this an amazing experience. My favorite was the heart-pounding ascent back to Pharloom, the volcano erupting right on my tail while Enter Pharloom played in the background. I loved The Slab segment of being kidnapped, stripped of my gear, and forced to break free. I spent far too long climbing Cogwork Core for the first melody, and Mount Fay proved to be an equally brutal and satisfying platforming challenge. Defeating Groal the Great, First Sinner, and Skarrsinger Karmelita left me invigorated. Of course, I can’t forget the grand spectacle that was Trobbio’s performances and sparring against Phantom while the organ thundered in the background.

Pharloom feels alive. NPCs are scattered everywhere, and I was always eager to return to Bellhart or Songclave to see how the world evolved. Running into Sherma or Shakra along the way always brought a smile to my face. I appreciated that Silksong presents its story more openly than Hollow Knight, while still offering deep lore through conversations with townsfolk.

Hornet was a far more engaging protagonist than the Knight. Having a lead character who actively speaks and connects with others was refreshing. Her journey culminates in a powerful reflection on her past in Hallownest, grounding the story emotionally. The final battle against Lost Lace at the bottom of the void was demanding, emotional, and utterly fitting, and the ending was a beautiful callback to the original game.

Despite its divisive reception, I’m unwavering in my love for Hollow Knight: Silksong. No other game held my attention the way Silksong did, and I would replay the entire journey again in a heartbeat.