Mario Kart World is a genuinely fantastic package, though it still feels as if it falls short of some of its open-world racing contemporaries. The open-world design isn’t being made the most of here, but the tracks are still fantastic and Knockout Tour is one of Mario Kart’s best-ever multiplayer modes. If you’re getting a Nintendo Switch 2, you need Mario Kart World.

If you’re looking to get the most out of the Nintendo Switch 2 and want the kind of in-depth technical demonstrations that simply don’t exist on other consoles, Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is absolutely something you should play. But pay for? Probably not. I do recommend playing the game, but you’ll enjoy your time with it much more if you manage to have a friend share their Virtual Game Card with you instead of paying money for it yourself.

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time isn’t up to the quality of a big Animal Crossing release, and it doesn’t quite have the depth of dedicated farming and life sims, but it makes up for it with a breadth of activities that are simple, but so hard to put down. This isn’t going to replace the likes of Animal Crossing or The Sims in your heart, but Fantasy Life i is a genuinely heartwarming RPG adventure that scratches the social sim itch.

Elden Ring: Nightreign is more Elden Ring, but it also isn’t. It’s a brave new multiplayer experiment, and a bold recycling of older assets, to mixed results. Parts of Nightreign will likely define your fondest gaming moments of 2025, while the frustration caused by others might haunt your dreams. Nightreign’s budget price indicates that this isn’t the next big FromSoftware Souls experience, but it is something incredibly special. If you’re a FromSoft fan that wants an interesting co-op experience with no Ultra Instinct Comet Azurs, Elden Ring: Nightreign shouldn’t be missed.

Much more important is that Sad Socket has already nailed the core formula in terms of making it fun, engaging, and satisfying to play — it’s been ‘just one more run’ for me consistently since I got access and I have a feeling I’ll spill yet more blood for the Blood King in the future. [Early Access Review]

If you’re eager to get closer to the Onimusha series ahead of Way of the Sword, Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny is a great way to do that, but it’s an awkward action experience in 2025.

It may not revolutionize VR game design like Half-Life: Alyx, but Batman: Arkham Shadow is a great example of what the platform can be with a triple-A budget. All of the key mechanics that make the Arkham series what it is are translated brilliantly to this new format, leading to a game that fits right in with what came before while still feeling like a bold step forward.

RoadCraft is a great concept that needs at least another year of development. In a few patches, it’ll be the best game of its type, but it’s impossible to fully recommend with its sentient semis, borked physics, idiotic AI, and base technical issues.

Brushes with Death isn’t the best part of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, but it’s a firm reminder of why we should still be talking about the game when we decide on the best of 2025.

Though thoroughly enjoyable, Blacksmith Master’s gameplay loop dulls after a while, making you wish that your well-orchestrated symphony would be interrupted by some sort of crisis — anything to introduce variety and a bit more challenge. If you’re looking for a management sim with well-defined limits that you can put down after a while, satisfied with having accomplished something, this title is an easy recommendation. [Early Access Score = 70]

If you are a fighting game fan, have friends who are fighting game fans, or just want a deep dive into one of the best parts of fighting game history, then Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is a clear winner. It’s worth buying even if you ignore the underwhelming curio that is Capcom Fighting Evolution, which I completely neglected to mention here. There are at least three distinct games here that different audiences will return to time after time for multiplayer sessions, and everything else is just a bonus. Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is a firm reminder that Capcom and SNK have developed some of the best fighting games of all time, and with this compilation, you don’t even need to be an old-head to know it’s true.

Doom: The Dark Ages is yet another hit from a series that can’t seem to miss. It keeps the core of intense, fast-paced shooter gameplay, actively enhancing it with new mechanics that alter the moment-to-moment action while keeping the pulse-pounding feeling the same. Like Doom 2016 and Eternal, I’m left craving another hit already, but I’ll happily wait another five years for it if this is the result, unlike CoD’s exhausting annual release cycle.

Looking at Stellaris BioGenesis in a vacuum, it’s one the best-ever expansions released for the game, though still quite expensive when you consider the fact that you need other DLCs to get the most out of some of its offerings. This one will grow on people once the stardust over its launch controversy has settled and everyone has calmed down a bit.

While the exploration didn’t give me the sustained sense of joy and wonder I was hoping for, Revenge of the Savage Planet keeps things light and brisk, making it an enjoyable survival crafting adventure you can charge through with a friend. It may not do anything revolutionary in the genre, but I certainly wouldn’t mind if similar games took some lessons from it on how to tighten up this kind of experience.

Drop Duchy brings together city-building, tactical combat, and Tetris under a roguelite mantle and fits it together so neatly that you can’t see any seams. It’s one of those perfectly polished little gems that know what they want to be and do.

In an era where Sony insists on remastering games that feel like they’ve just come out, to see something almost 20 years old brought into the modern era is a joy that has clearly won back fans who were drifting away after Starfield. If Bethesda feels like printing money, then it needs to move similar remasters of Fallout New Vegas and Morrowind up the agenda.

So I leave Haste having got exactly what I wanted from it, no more, no less. Its momentum-based platforming mechanics are great fun that tap into that sense of satisfaction I love from the genre. While it could’ve done with a bit more variety in terms of boss and level design, the core gameplay is so much fun that I struggled to put it down, and I’m sure the endless mode will keep me hooked for quite a while.

Pax Augusta is incredibly authentic and detailed and anyone who loves historical dioramas will be utterly entranced by it, though its actual city-building gameplay has room for improvement — both design-wise and in technical matters.

Very few games I’ve ever played have captured that feeling, and even fewer have done it as masterfully as Expedition 33 does. It’s the kind of story I will always carry with me; its messages of loss, grief, and acceptance are second to none. Add to that incredible combat that mixes careful strategy with skillful reactions and unique mechanics, all wrapped up in a world that is a treat for the eyes everywhere you look, and you have a game that I will never stop praising.

A deeply complex and satisfying tactics game, Mechabellum is essentially the result of a steamy night involving StarCraft, Armored Core, and chess and it will completely consume the life of any mecha-loving masochist dipping their toes into it — it’s the current apex of auto-battlers.

Its own story is indeed almost negligible, but Sunderfolk shines in its ability to be a catalyst or stage for self-generated stories and connections between you and your fellow players that will resonate even outside of the game. In this way, the devs at Secret Door truly succeeded in creating a digital, more approachable version of the TTRPGs we all love, even if it’s one with room to improve. I’m very excited to see where they can push this concept in the future.

Shadowveil has the makings of something thoroughly enjoyable, but is hurt by a lack of polish and of a clear direction. It feels like the team wanted to make two different games, but had to glue them together, leading to lots of awkward mechanical contradictions under the pretty ink — it’s a testament to the individual systems’ strength that the game is quite fun regardless.

While having fewer shiny additions to greet you with immediately on the faction-building screen than previous DLCs, Age of Wonders 4: Giant Kings is exactly the type of expansion I’ve been patiently waiting for. We can finally unleash all those handcrafted power fantasies on a world that has the flavor and style to match our creations.

While the roguelike elements can cause frustration, Blue Prince still manages to be a fantastic experience. It nails the sense of discovery and leverages the randomness to keep it going much longer than a traditional puzzle game does, all while constantly motivating you towards a grand objective that’s satisfying to solve.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows doesn’t feel like a step forward or a step back, it feels like a sidestep for the series. For every improved feature – like stealth or combat – there’s something that feels worse, like exploring the world and climbing to a high place for a vantage point. At the start, you’re embarking on a bold adventure, and in the midst of it all, it feels like trying to complete a shopping list in a new supermarket with no signs. It’s directionless, overwhelming, and tedious. You can’t even ignore the dozens of optional objectives, otherwise you won’t be high enough level to take on the main challenges. If you want a game that you can play for the next year, AC Shadows is it, but if you want a tight, narrative-driven stealthy ninja adventure, look elsewhere.

Ten years on, Xenoblade Chronicles X is finally a complete game with the Definitive Edition, and it’s still one of the most bafflingly ambitious games I’ve ever played. It attempts and succeeds with so much, even if not every aspect is on par with the majesty of Mira. It can be slow and tedious at times, but even after more than 90 hours, a part of me didn’t want the adventure to end. We don’t know what’s next for Monolith Soft, but after this I’d be overjoyed to see more from Elma, Lin, and everyone in New Los Angeles.