The truly staggering achievement of Trails into Reverie, however, is that it manages to bring some true catharsis and poignancy to nearly nineteen years of connected storytelling, something that no other video game series in existence can claim.

With Fantasian, it’s clear that Sakaguchi wanted to take a hard look at the key games that have defined his work, namely Final Fantasy VI, and find a meaningful way to advance his craft — to create something that can appeal to both the old guard and brand-new fans. In my mind, he and Mistwalker have wildly succeeded in that endeavor, creating one of the defining RPGs of modern gaming. It’s an enthralling experience that reminds me why I love video games so much and simultaneously makes me excited for where they can go in the future.

Splatoon 3 oozes charm and style at every level, and the level of polish here makes it better than ever. If Nintendo provides good post-launch support, it’s easy to see a time in the near-future when Splatoon 3 is the single best multiplayer experience on the Switch. Considering Splatoon 2 received support for nearly two years, and Nintendo has already revealed a roadmap for Splatoon 3, it seems likely that we’ll all be covered in paint for quite a few years to come.

When Xenoblade Chronicles 3 wasn’t bringing a smile to my face, it was breaking my heart over and over again.

The latest installment of Square Enix’s decade-spanning series gets its hooks in you immediately and never lets up. The stakes are consistently high, the scenery is always breathtaking, and the combat system is nothing short of fantastic— whether you’re battling bees on a sidequest or chipping away at Titan himself.

Indiana Jones and The Great Circle is tremendous. It is a worthy new chapter in the chronicles of film’s greatest archeologist and one of the year’s best video games.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure is an incredibly strong RPG with phenomenal pacing, characters, and combat, but it also relies so much on the player’s connection to the previous game. I can’t in good conscience say anyone should play Trails to Azure without first playing Trails From Zero, but that’s exactly what makes the experience so special. The duology of Zero and Azure revels in sequential storytelling, building a convincing world filled to the brim with personality and political intrigue.

I can’t think of a single other game that lets you manage museums, and it’s baffling it hasn’t been done before now. Two Point Museum clicks within minutes of taking control, and it only grows more captivating with time. It delicately strikes a balance between complex and approachable, and it’s genuinely hard to imagine how Two Point Studios can improve on its formula from here.

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach may not be for everyone. But if it is for you, it's one of the most enjoyable games of 2025, a must-see follow-up that is more cohesive, refined, and fully developed than the first.

I played Hades 2 and Absolum back-to-back, and Absolum feels like the perfect chaser.

Far Cry 6 does not disappoint. It didn’t just make me fall in love with it, but it made me realize what was so wrong with its predecessor.

Endwalker may not outdo the previous expansion, Shadowbringers — a high point for the entire Final Fantasy series — but it ultimately has very different aims. Even as it ends the game’s first story arc, it has me looking forward to what’s next. For all its lofty ambitions, this operatic conclusion to a decade-long story peaks when focusing on how its core characters keep each other standing, even as the world falls down around them.

Somehow, this irreverent hilarity and overwhelming brutality is a match made in heaven. Medieval warfare is terrifying, but it’s also inherently absurd. Bring us more of it.

The sequel utterly revels in the absurdity of its satire on capitalism, government, authoritarianism, and individuality – even if it takes a bit longer to get situated than the first game.

This historical murder mystery isn’t what you might expect from Obsidian Entertainment, known for first-person action RPGs like The Outer Worlds and Fallout: New Vegas, but there is still importance placed on building your character and choosing how you experience the world. It explores the societal, theological, and artistic beliefs of one town during a time of rapid change, and it does so with a beautiful art style unlike anything else in video games. Everything about Pentiment feels as carefully designed as the illuminated manuscripts it draws inspiration from, delivering an enthralling mystery that is a wonder to behold.

It’s the longest game the series has ever seen, and the most “Yakuza” Yakuza game imaginable — in the best way possible.

Onimusha 2 is the kind of game that the blockbuster side of the gaming industry feels like it’d be averse to these days, an ambitious sequel that completely leaves out everything the first game did, and keeps players in the dark. Even all these years later, I’m still blown away by the sheer gutsiness of the game, and in this case, I respect the choice to simply use this remaster as an update and not alter anything about the core vision of the game. If anything, I hope choosing to bring Onimusha 2 back in this way serves as inspiration for Capcom to re-embrace the series’ sense of experimentation as they revive it with Onimusha: Way of the Sword. At the very least, experiencing Onimusha 2 again all these years later has solidified in my mind — it’s one of Capcom’s biggest unspoken masterpieces.

We’ve seen Metroidvania games like Hollow Knight nail the formula in recent years, but Metroid Dread proves there’s nothing better than the franchise that started it all.

Trails From Zero is an exceptional JRPG that feels like it’s cut from the same cloth as the golden era of the genre when games like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VII were released. Its deep and complex narrative has a strong sense of mystery and isn’t afraid to dive into tough topics, all of which make the setting of Crossbell feel that much more realistic. An integral part of this experience is the translation work from the fan group The Geofront, and it’s easy to see how the success story of Trails From Zero could serve as a blueprint for bringing even more forgotten JRPGs to the West.

This is the most approachable Pikmin to date, with satisfying gameplay systems that will appeal to a broad variety of players.

Resident Evil 4 mixes high-octane action, thrills, scares, and cinematic moments that exemplify what this series does best. If you never played the 2005 original — or any Resident Evil game at all — this is a great place to start.

Signalis is a masterful recreation of classic survival horror. Mechanically, it ticks every box that the genre requires. Yet this indie gem shines in how it evolves the formula, both mechanically and narratively for more modern audiences. Developer rose-engine pushed beyond the boundaries of a simple homage to create something that stands on its own as the best horror game of the year.

The story of Granblue Fantasy: Relink certainly doesn’t rank among the RPG greats, but its combat is so phenomenal that I can’t stop playing it anyway.

Avowed is a concise and tightly designed RPG that never sacrifices the ambition of its grand adventure.

Ninja Gaiden Ragebound is one of those games you finish and it feels like it’s gone by in the blink of an eye. While there can be some frustration in difficulty spikes, by and large it feels like a perfectly-paced experience that manages to find that sweet spot: not too short, but not too long. But nearly every minute of its six-ish hours is sublime...I can see myself going back to Ragebound for years to come — popping in for a replay every now and again, because it simply feels that good to play. While Ninja Gaiden 4 is still on the way, Ragebound makes a bold statement that the series side scrolling legacy still holds plenty of promise. Ninja Gaiden is back, and hopefully it’s here to stay.

Every element of Shinobi works in concert to make for a relentlessly gripping experience, and I think it’s legitimately fascinating how the game takes elements from so many different places to make something new. It’s like if you took Metroid, Ninja Gaiden, Hollowknight, and Street Fighter and threw them all into a blender, but the mixture actually turns out delicious...It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a Shinobi game, but by all accounts, this feels like it could be the start of a new franchise for Sega. That mix of platforming and fighting elements is intoxicating, and it feels like it’d be an actual crime to not see more of it.

Call of the Mountain succeeds where so many other ambitious VR projects stumble for one reason — it keeps it simple. Core mechanics like traversal and combat have a generous margin of error, and can be customized extensively depending on your appetite (or lack thereof) for a challenge. This keeps the focus on immersion and exploration, rather than fiddling with finicky button inputs and timing.

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp leans into the toybox aesthetic of the series, giving the first two games a gorgeous new coat of paint, along with several welcome gameplay updates. If you’re a fan of strategic, turn-based gameplay, don’t sleep on this one.