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| Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Donkey Kong Bananza, Hades II, and Metroid Prime 4 Beyond from our Top 10 Games of 2025. |
By Jon Scarr
In 2025, it didn’t feel like one type of game dominated the gaming landscape. Big AAA releases were front and centre, but they weren’t the only things worth playing.
A lot of the games we ended up liking here at 4ScarrsGaming most came from indie studios doing very specific things well. At the same time, a few long-awaited AAA games finally showed up and reinforced why they were worth the wait. What mattered to us here most wasn’t how big a game was or its budget. It was whether we wanted to keep playing once I started.
This is our Top 10 Games of 2025. These are the games we liked the most this year, even if they weren’t the highest rated.
10. Consume Me
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| Gameplay screenshot from Consume Me showing the daily planner interface, tasks, and character choosing how to spend free time |
9. Keeper
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| Keeper focuses on movement and atmosphere as you explore its strange, quiet world. |
8. Metroid Prime 4 Beyond
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| Samus exploring a strange new area in Metroid Prime 4 Beyond. |
It doesn’t try to surprise you every five minutes, and that’s fine. It knows what kind of game it is and sticks to that. For something that’s been a long time coming, it feels like the right version of a new Metroid Prime rather than a big swing just for the sake of it.
7. Split Fiction
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| Split Fiction constantly shifts what each player is doing on screen. |
It was an easy game to suggest to someone else, especially if you had the right person to play alongside. A lot of the best moments came from reacting to whatever the game threw at us next, then talking about it afterward.
6. Hollow Knight: Silksong
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| A tough encounter that asks you to learn patterns and stick with it in Hollow Knight Silksong. |
The world comes together through small details. You start picking up how things connect, how enemies behave, and how you’re supposed to move through it all. It rewards taking your time and paying attention, and it never feels like it’s trying to hurry you along.
5. Blue Prince
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| Gameplay scene from Blue Prince showing documents and a portrait being examined with a magnifying glass |
What I liked most is how much space it gives you. You spend time thinking about what you’re doing and why, and those ideas hang around after you put it down. It’s the kind of game that keeps growing on you the more time you give it.
4. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
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| Gameplay scene from Death Stranding 2 On the Beach showing Sam Porter Bridges in a combat encounter in a rocky outdoor area |
Death Stranding 2 was never going to work the same way for everyone, and that’s kind of the point. It pushes further into ideas that already split people the first time and doesn’t spend much time trying to smooth them out.
I didn’t agree with every choice it made, but I respected that it stuck to its own direction. It’s the kind of game people ended up arguing about, picking apart, and thinking about after the credits rolled. Not many games this year felt that comfortable doing their own thing.
3. Donkey Kong Bananza
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| Donkey Kong Bananza is built around movement, impact, and breaking things apart. |
The animal transformations keep things playful and make exploring more fun, and the dynamic between Donkey Kong and Pauline adds more personality than I was expecting. It’s the kind of game I’d start playing to unwind and then keep going longer than planned because there’s always one more thing to find.
2. Hades II
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| A combat encounter in Hades II where timing and positioning matter as much as upgrades. |
What worked for me is how easy it was to say “one more run” and actually mean it. Even when a run went sideways, it felt like progress instead of wasted time. Getting better came naturally, and the loop never stopped being fun to come back to.
1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
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| Combat in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 balances impact and control without losing focus. |
There was no avoiding this one. Clair Obscur showed up everywhere in 2025, and it earned that attention. The combat feels good to play, the world sticks in your head, and the story carries the experience without overstaying its welcome.
I kept thinking about the characters and where everything was heading, not just what was happening from fight to fight. It isn’t trying to reshape the genre or constantly surprise you. It knows the story it wants to tell and follows through on that idea all the way to the end.
By the time the credits rolled, it felt earned.
Honourable Mentions
A few games that didn’t crack my Top 10, but I still spent a lot of time with this year:
Mario Kart World
This felt like an actual step forward for Mario Kart. The open roaming changed how I approached the game, not just how I raced. I liked having space to explore and mess around between races, and it made the world feel more alive instead of just a menu of tracks.
Ghost of Yōtei
I liked my time with this one quite a bit. Combat and movement worked together in a way that made just being in the world enjoyable. Even when I wasn’t chasing the next objective, I didn’t feel like I was wasting my time.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows
This was the first Assassin’s Creed in a while where I felt like I could play it my way again. Stealth felt like a real option, and I liked choosing how much I wanted to engage with the game instead of being dragged through it.
Silent Hill f
Silent Hill f worked for me because it didn’t pull its punches. The setting and the imagery are uncomfortable on purpose, and the game never tries to ease you into it. I found myself thinking more about specific locations and scenes than about explaining what the game was doing, which feels very fitting for Silent Hill.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is all about momentum. You drop into a map, pick a character, and start cutting through waves immediately. I liked how little setup there was between missions and how quickly it let you get back into the action.
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