Elden Ring delivers what it promises: it's a souls-like fantasy action RPG game developed by FromSoftware, with the influence of Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R.R. Martin, that brings a sprawling realm fully immersed in a rich and bloody story and that certainly will have every fan of fantasy and challenge ready to immerse themselves in this universe for hours and hours. Get ready for lots of action, epic battles, adventure, exploration and hardship.

Tears of the Kingdom is a sequel that knows how to present new things and adds more lore to the incredible universe of Zelda. Islands with a sense of freedom, exciting game, and twists from start to finish will make you play for countless hours in this game and its immensity.

Astro Bot is an incredible and fun adventure that celebrates the history of PlayStation and video games in a nostalgic way, capable of embracing the inner child of those who lived through past generations of Sony consoles. The levels are beautiful, the power-ups add a special layer of gameplay and the boss battles are creative, but the villains are not very memorable, which leaves the title below the best of Donkey Kong, Mario and Crash Bandicoot games.

Hidetaka Miyazaki gets it right once again by masterfully expanding the world of Elden Ring. Some defects such as the repetition of enemies return in this DLC, but they are not enough to overshadow the excellence that surrounds the Realm of Shadows. Unfortunately, some questions regarding the narrative of the Lands Between remain unanswered, but following in Miquella's footsteps is incredible. The boss battles are more exciting than ever and the new map is gigantic, providing many hours of exploration and, of course, many deaths.

Bigger, better, and more challenging than its predecessor in virtually every way, Hades 2 is a true lesson in how to make a sequel. With some of the best combat ever created for action games, Supergiant Games' new work impresses with great dialogue full of sarcasm, originality in its representation of Greek mythology, an excellent soundtrack, and beautiful art direction. The roguelike retains the essence of the first game in the franchise, but adds a number of elements that make the gameplay more strategic and challenging. In a 2025 marked by great titles from independent studios, Hades 2 emerges as another strong contender for Game of the Year.

God of War Ragnarok is beautiful, rich, exciting, and even bigger and better than the 2018 adventure, which shows that passion and quality work has gone into its creators. I had many doubts about whether a sequel to something that reinvented the wheel of the god of war would be able to surpass its predecessor and admit, with great pleasure, that I was wrong. This is a must-do adventure for action-adventure fans, and probably Kratos' best adventure in a video game. It's a work of art, a retelling of the hero's journey and a game that delivers on everything it promised and more, and serves as an excellent conclusion to the Norse arc of Kratos and Atreus.

Resident Evil 4 Remake has what it takes to be our favorite action game of 2023. While it doesn't have the industry impact that RE 4 did, and it doesn't rewrite how Remakes should be (like RE 2 did), it's an excellent game, which deserves to be appreciated by everyone, whether or not they are lovers of the franchise. The bestiary of creatures, its action-packed story, and its rich, action-packed world make so many improvements over the original that it's well worth a ticket to revisit this darker-than-ever universe.

With its touching narrative, creative battle system and striking art direction, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 shows that there is still room for innovation in turn-based RPGs, especially when you mix real-time action. Refining every element of the genre with care, Sandfall Studio's game delivers an engaging and mature experience that deserves attention.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is everything the long time fans of the franchise were yearning for but didn't get for a long time. The story will be relived and retold, but now there's uncertainty about the fate of each character. Every expectation was met with surprise and reward in a game that is not perfect, but is a true masterpiece of a genre that became popular exactly because of the long running Square Enix franchise.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the best the franchise has seen in terms of visuals, with lots of new items, power-ups, enemies and stages with depth that really transform the player's experience, be they familiar with Mario games or not. The Wonder Flower's unpredictability makes the game always surprising and engaging, forging new paths and rhythms to keep players involved.

The most ambitious game in the franchise's history, Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth has the charisma of its characters and the mix of drama and comedy in the most bizarre situations as its biggest strengths. The turn based combat is an evolution from Yakuza: Like A Dragon, but it still isn't close to the best action adventure games of the series. The open world is full of activities, but some of them aren't inspired and just bloat the game at some points. Infinite Wealth is not the best of the franchise, but will definitely leave veterans emotional.

New game from the most impactful franchise in the history of fighting games, Street Fighter 6 accomplishes everything it sets out to do almost perfectly. The game shines for its diverse and accessible gameplay, stands out for its excellent art direction and soundtrack, and offers many possibilities in World Tour mode. The game's story is the only truly weak point of a title that was born as one of the best fighting games in history.

With an excellent political plot that brings impactful reflections into dialogue with contemporary reality, a cunning villain, magnificent soundtrack, Homeric combat and captivating characters, Metaphor has established itself as one of the masterpieces of the fantasy JRPG and one of the candidates for the 2024 Game of the Year (GOTY) award, as well as bringing back memories of Final Fantasy 9 and other emblematic titles in the genre.

Such creativity, inventiveness and irreverence, characteristics that define Josef Fares and Hazelight, make Split Fiction a formidable experience on every level. It's no exaggeration to say that this is the best game of the generation so far. With a touching narrative, captivating characters and a very entertaining gameplay, the game is the culmination of several lessons learned by the developer who mastered the cooperative games and proves that the clamor for It Takes Two is no coincidence.

Unafraid to explore uncharted territory, Donkey Kong Bananza proves once again that Nintendo has found the perfect union between tradition and creative innovation. The highly modifiable terrains and transformations with targeted powers are the icing on the cake of a universe built not only to give DK an extensive adventure, but also to represent the essence of the Kong family through the exciting main campaign.

You can see Team Cherry's love and dedication in every corner of Silksong, from the level designs to the adorable NPCs, the captivating story, the relentless enemies, and a spine-tingling soundtrack, which makes me feel bad for cursing every generation of developers for dying so many times. But that's the charm and appeal of the game.

More than just an excellent representative of the adventure genre, Blue Prince is proof that a game doesn't need a combat system or require quick reflexes to be challenging from start to finish. The title developed by the Dogubomb studio and published by Raw Fury is on the same level of quality as young classics such as Return of the Obra Dinn and What Remains of Edith Finch, requiring players to pay great attention to detail in order to proceed through a mansion that will take us down different paths each day, requiring constant adaptability. Full of mysteries and with a story that surprises from start to finish, Blue Prince is a brilliant chapter in adventure games and, even with a smaller scope, has everything it takes to be remembered as one of the best releases of 2025.

Spider-Man 2 puts Miles and Peter in their biggest adventures so far, with the best Venom adaptation that has ever been made. The gameplay eventually becomes repetitive, but the charm and charisma of the main characters holds the quality together just as much the Spiders sling across New York.

Destiny 2: The Final Shape brings one of the best Destiny experiences in years, if not the best. The new package of additional content brings a well-crafted campaign, both in terms of story and gameplay, a fun sub-class with a lot of potential for versatility, an interesting new world with fun activities that don't get too tiring, even after countless repetitions, and a fantastic and challenging endgame that closes everything The Final Shape has brought with a flourish. Even with a new season format that leaves something to be desired, the latest expansion has been an excellent addition to the game, and is practically a mandatory experience for lovers of this universe created by Bungie.

A strong contender for game of the year, Monster Hunter Wilds marks another great success for Capcom with its most popular franchise. With a grand and impressive world, a huge variety of biomes and fights against breathtaking monsters, the new chapter in the franchise offers some of the best and most varied gameplay of the entire generation of consoles, rewarding players who explore the enormous possibilities that Monster Hunter Wilds has to offer. Whether you're a beginner or a veteran of the series, it will be hard not to be charmed by yet another brilliant piece of work from Capcom.

More than a simple homage to 90s RPGs, Sea of Stars is a game that shines on its own using a well known formula, creating its own identity. The spectacular art direction, level design rich in details and charismatic characters make a perfect match with a combat system that is simple yet rich in options. Sea of Stars is, in essence, a turn-based RPG as brilliant as the classics.

Pokémon: Pokopia revitalizes the franchise by combining the creativity of Minecraft with the charm of Animal Crossing in a deep narrative. Despite suffering from long loading times on the Switch 2 and a slow, real-time-based pace, the freedom to rebuild cities and manage habitats is extremely rewarding. It's an innovative and necessary addition that, even with technical flaws, delivers an exciting and authentic experience.

Tekken 8 is a game that arrived to establish a new quality standard for fighting games, just like Street Fighter 6 did before. With spectacular, agile and fluid gameplay, a good story mode and excellent online component, the newest game from Bandai Namco is a technical achievement that fixes almost all the problems the franchise had without losing its essence. If Tekken 3 is stil the biggest and most important 3D fighting game of all time, Tekken 8 is the best and most complete 3D fighting game ever made, and it should keep this title for many years.

Phantom Liberty is an excellent follow-up to Cyberpunk 2077's story. The expansion heavily benefits from coming at the best time the game is having right now thanks to a slew of technical and creative updates it received since launch, boasting new interesting additions to gameplay with the Relic system. Phantom Liberty introduces sensible and well-written characters that heavily impact V, while, at the same time, cement themselves as a few of the best characters on CDPR's game.

More dynamic and intense, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach dodges the judgments of tediousness that the first game received. The gameplay plays on the safe side with high doses of Metal Gear for more action and fun. As for the narrative, the plot is sublime with its criticism of large corporations, social networks and AIs, but it is also extremely emotional when talking about family, friendship, love and depression.

Resident Evil Requiem combines the best that the franchise has had through 30 years on top of excellent protagonism from Grace and Leon. Unfortunately, the game falters in action sequences which are reminiscent of Resident Evil 6, the worst title in the saga, and stumbles slightly with a narrative that isn't as brilliant and sublime as its horror and gameplay. However, it still demonstrates the mastery that Capcom has maintained with the franchise since RE7: Biohazard (despite the misstep in RE3 Remake).

Dispatch is one of those games that is already among the best of the year and puts a smile on your face from the very beginning, even bringing tears to players' eyes — whether from joy or sadness. The writing is brilliant, the choices carry weight, the characters are captivating, and everything in the game just made me look forward to a second season even more. The absence of more interactive moments like in Telltale titles is a little frustrating, but it doesn't weaken the game at all.

Alan Wake 2 is a complex, exciting and thrilling journey through the world of horror. The narrative is extremely well constructed and plays with metalanguage in an impressive way. The gameplay enjoys a solid and consolidated base within the survival horror genre that is expanded thanks to the characters' mental locations. Full of horrifying, shocking moments and hair-raising twists, the game presents one of the best plots ever created in games. Unfortunately, bugs overshadow the maximum potential of the title, but Remedy Entertainment's work is a true masterpiece of gaming and is enough to fight for the GOTY (Game of the Year award) of 2023. It took 22 years for a game to finally threaten the position Silent Hill 2 (2001) as the best survival horror in history, and Remedy's game can look to Konami's timeless classic on an equal footing in this dispute.