The year is winding down, and so it’s time to look back at all the games I played in 2025 and pick my 10 favorites. Between new releases and older titles, I played nearly 200 games in 2025, and still have a few I want to finish before the year is out. None of those are 2025 games, so I can safely finalize my list of favorite games of the year.
Going into 2025, there weren’t many games that I was overly hyped for. I was excited to see what Nintendo was going to do with the Switch 2, and I was looking forward to GTA 6 before it was ultimately delayed to 2026. I had plenty of games on my radar, sure, but most of my favorite games of the year came as a surprise. If you asked me to predict what my top two favorite games of the year would be at the start of 2025, I definitely wouldn’t have named the two games that ultimately took those positions on my list.
Game Rant Editor in Chief Anthony Taormina’s Top 10 Games of 2025
Game Rant Editor in Chief Anthony Taormina shares the 10 best games he played in 2025.
Here are my 10 favorite games of 2025. Before reading on, please note that I don’t like to put games on my top 10 list unless I’ve rolled credits, and since I haven’t played much of Hollow Knight: Silksong yet and haven’t finished Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, they unfortunately didn’t make the cut. It may be a controversial take, but I didn’t care much for the original Hollow Knight and so Silksong hasn’t sucked me in like it has so many others. As for KCD2, I actually just played through the original game this year and loved it, but the sequel hasn’t clicked with me in quite the same way. I have about 10 hours so far and do plan on finishing it, but that probably won’t happen until the new year.
10
The Seance of Blake Manor
I love puzzle games. I love horror games. Considering this, it’s really no surprise that The Seance of Blake Manor has made it on my top 10 favorite games of the year list. Developed by Spooky Doorway and published by Raw Fury, The Seance of Blake Manor has players take on the role of private investigator Declan Ward, invited to a special seance being held at the titular Blake Manor in the year 1897. The goal is to discover the truth behind the disappearance of one of the seance’s guests, Evelyn Deane, with Ward only having three days to solve the mystery.
While not a full-blown horror game, The Seance of Blake Manor can definitely be creepy at times, and it cultivates an engrossing, spooky atmosphere. Every major action players do in the game advances the clock, whether that’s discussing evidence with other guests in the manor or examining objects, so players have to be strategic with how they tackle each day if they want to solve the case. The game plays like a mix of Blue Prince and Return of the Obra Dinn, and I found it increasingly difficult to put it down. If you like either one of those games, you need to play The Seance of Blake Manor ASAP.
- Released
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October 27, 2025
- Developer(s)
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Spooky Doorway
- Number of Players
-
Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
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Verified
9
Look Outside
The Seance of Blake Manor is horror-flavored without fully embracing the genre. Look Outside, meanwhile, is quite easily one of the most disturbing horror games released all year. A retro-style RPG set in a modern-day apartment where anyone that looks outside is slowly transformed into an unspeakable horror, Look Outside is a brilliant blend of survival-horror and turn-based combat. Players have to manage their resources as they explore the apartment in search of helpful items and party companions, all the while making important decisions that can have massive consequences in any given playthrough. Look Outside is a must-play for horror fans, and it’s an experience that’s going to stick with me for years to come.
- Released
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March 21, 2025
- Developer(s)
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Francis Coulombe
8
Donkey Kong Bananza
The best Switch 2 exclusive to date is also one of the best games that released all year. Donkey Kong Bananza is a sprawling 3D platformer with highly destructible environments and tons of bananas to collect. A showcase for what the Switch 2 is capable of, Donkey Kong Bananza is a blast from start to finish, with an explosive and exciting ending that really puts it over the top. I don’t know that the Switch 2 has enough exclusives yet to make it an absolute must-buy machine, but Donkey Kong Bananza definitely makes a good argument for getting Nintendo’s latest home console/handheld hybrid as soon as possible if you haven’t already.
Donkey Kong Bananza received paid DLC post-launch that added the Emerald Rush roguelike mode and DK Island.
- Released
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July 17, 2025
- ESRB
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Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
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Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo
7
Sword of the Sea
Giant Squid was there at the PS5’s launch with The Pathless, and now it’s back with Sword of the Sea. A short but sweet adventure, Sword of the Sea has players explore stunning worlds on a sword that effectively acts as a snowboard and skateboard combo. Sword of the Sea is a treat for the eyes and the soundtrack is tremendous — plus, it’s simply fun to play. It may not be the most complicated or expansive game on this list (in fact, it can be completed in just a few hours), but it’s one game that has really stuck with me and I couldn’t come up with any complaints about it if I tried. Sword of the Sea was a day one PS Plus Extra game, so if you’re curious to see what all the fuss is about, you can try it without buying the game outright.
- Released
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August 19, 2025
- ESRB
-
Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
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Giant Squid
- Publisher(s)
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Giant Squid
- Number of Players
-
Single-player
6
Ghost of Yotei
The PS5’s exclusives library has been hurt by Sony porting games to PC, but its latest console is still home to some truly spectacular exclusive games. Ghost of Yotei is one of the best PS5 exclusives released to date, standing tall as a worthy successor to Ghost of Tsushima that, in my estimation, totally exceeds its predecessor.
Ghost of Yotei is getting a free update in 2026 that will add the co-op Legends mode that first appeared in Tsushima to the game.
In Ghost of Yotei, players take on the role of Atsu, a vengeful samurai hunting down the Yotei Six. Ghost of Yotei‘s revenge story does retread some familiar territory, but it’s still an engrossing tale filled with memorable characters and nonstop action. Ghost of Yotei has perfected the swordplay of Tsushima and with Atsu’s expanded arsenal, the game’s combat never gets old. There are dozens of hours worth of quests to complete and secrets to find in Ghost of Yotei‘s dazzling open world, and if you want a true showcase for what the PS5 is capable of, this is the game.
- Released
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October 2, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Language, Partial Nudity, Use of Alcohol
- Publisher(s)
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Sony Interactive Entertainment
5
Silent Hill f
When I first played Silent Hill f, I knew that it would be the kind of game that you either love or hate, and based on the reactions to it since launch, that assessment was right on the money. Luckily, I’m in the former camp. Silent Hill f takes Konami’s beloved survival-horror franchise to 1960s Japan, but even though the setting is much different than what fans are used to, the new game is still very much a Silent Hill experience.
Game Rant’s Top 10 Games of 2025
Game Rant ranks the top 10 games of 2025, highlighting the best titles released in a year packed with uniquely memorable experiences.
Silent Hill f pairs classic survival-horror gameplay with some of the best graphics seen in any game all year. The story and characters are interesting throughout, and the game takes some big swings that I definitely did not expect going in. Silent Hill f‘s melee-focused combat system is divisive, but it clicked with me and I had a lot of fun perfecting dodges and taking out monsters. Like the classic Silent Hill games that preceded it, Silent Hill f is packed with replay value and I expect it will be something I revisit a time or two in 2026.
- Released
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September 25, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity
- Developer(s)
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Neobards Entertainment
4
Hades 2
I’m super late to the Hades train, but I’m glad to finally be aboard. I didn’t really play the original Hades much until earlier this year, when it completely and utterly consumed my life, and the exact same thing happened with Hades 2. In many ways a vast improvement over the already-amazing original game, Hades 2 features a brand-new protagonist in the form of Melinoe, who must slaughter hordes of deadly enemies as she fights her way to Chronos. Hades 2 is bigger and better than the first game, offering a familiar roguelike structure but with more routes, new weapons, and more to look forward to in each run.
- Released
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September 25, 2025
- ESRB
-
Teen / Alcohol Reference, Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
3
Split Fiction
I play video games with my wife basically every day, and so whenever we get a new local co-op game to play, it’s cause for celebration. It’s cause for even greater celebration when that new local co-op game happens to be made by Josef Fares and his team at Hazelight Studios. We loved A Way Out, we really loved It Takes Two, and we didn’t stop playing Split Fiction until we had unlocked every achievement that the game has to offer.
Like Hazelight’s previous games, Split Fiction is a co-op experience that requires two people to play. It tells the story of Zoe and Mio, two authors who wind up trapped in digital recreations of their stories. Split Fiction is stuffed full of Easter eggs and genius gameplay ideas, with each level offering something completely fresh. It blends sci-fi and fantasy elements expertly and culminates in one of the best final levels I played all year. If you need a co-op game to play and haven’t played Split Fiction yet, rectify that immediately.
- Released
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March 6, 2025
- ESRB
-
T For Teen // Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Language, Violence
- Publisher(s)
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Electronic Arts
2
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
With Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sweeping The Game Awards and winning Game of the Year from various other shows and publications, there’s not much to be said about it that hasn’t been said before. But I will reiterate the consensus: Expedition 33 is a masterpiece of a game with potentially the best video game soundtrack ever. Expedition 33 makes turn-based combat fun and engaging in ways that few games have ever managed to do so before, and to top it all off, it has an incredible story that will leave you stunned. There is one big narrative decision that I didn’t vibe with that keeps Expedition 33 from being my top game of the year, but it’s still one of my favorite games of the last decade.
Expedition 33 recently received a free update that added substantial new content to the game.
- Released
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April 24, 2025
- ESRB
-
Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
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Sandfall Interactive
- Publisher(s)
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Kepler Interactive
1
Blue Prince
The game I played most in 2025 is also my favorite new game release of the year. Blue Prince, a first-person puzzle roguelike, completely took over my life when it came out. Even though it’s not a co-op game, my wife and I played it together. We took turns doing runs and jotting down notes, filling a notebook full of clues and putting our heads together to help solve the game’s greater puzzles. This elevated my time playing Blue Prince dramatically, and so I highly recommend playing it with a partner.
You can “beat” Blue Prince in 10-15 hours without too much trouble. I have over 100 hours logged and still haven’t seen everything the game has to offer. It’s the ultimate puzzle game and my top game of 2025. It’s a shame that we will never get a Blue Prince sequel, but I am excited to see what Dogubomb does next.
- Released
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April 10, 2025
- ESRB
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Everyone 10+ / Alcohol Reference, Simulated Gambling
- Developer(s)
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Dogubomb
