Games: Your personal year in review for 2025

I've not played anywhere near enough games this year for my liking. It's an important period of my Son's life where I am focused on chauffeuring him around to his various activities, and gladly so to keep him preoccupied and productive. My biggest fear is him falling off the track as I did at his age.

That said, there were a few games I managed to get some hours into.

Timberborn ended up being just what I needed for a while. It's just complex enough to sink your teeth into, but casual enough to be able to pick up and set down with any amount of time between. The graphics are super charming and the game has lots of personality. My only criticism of it is that it often leaves me feeling lost for what I should be doing - but I think it's probably something that would be considered a feature.

I've also played a bunch of 'The Farmer was Replaced'. It's a game where you control a drone that plants and harvests on a grid, which you control by programming it in Python (well, a sub-dialect of Python). It's pretty fun and scratches the leisure programming itch that I normally scratch with Factorio. Which brings me on to...

Satisfactory. I picked it up this time last year and played it all through December and a bit of January before life got busy again. And now I'm hankering for more of it, so it may become a bit of a Christmas tradition that play Satisfactory in December. The factory must grow!

This year, as with every year, I played a lot of games. I'll omit the ones I picked up for the Backlog Burner event this November, all of which I've already written about at length, and go back to the start of the year, when I bought game pass for one month and frantically played several major releases -- only one of which left a lasting impression.

Obsidian's Avowed, Machine Games' Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and NeoWiz's Lies of P all took up a great deal of my time, but for the first two, that's really all they did. I found both to be kind of fast-food style games: fun, cheap, and insubstantial, but lacking the qualities I usually look for in their close genre neighbors. The Great Circle's immersive-sim elements were its best feature but also were fairly shallow; its adventure story might conjure nostalgia for some, but I don't remember 9/11, so it didn't leave a mark on me. And Avowed was, like The Outer Worlds before it, a good time with some notably excellent design decisions, some notably gripping scenes and ideas, but as a whole, it still felt bland and pre-digested. Lies of P, on the other hand, proved to be a challenging and delightful time; its exquisite boss design, and its well-paced and constructed levels, have made it maybe my favourite souls-like of all time, sparring with Remnant 2 for the spot, in the same year I played Shadow of the Erdtree. I still haven't played Lies of P's DLC; when it goes on sale, I look forward to it.

This year I played quite a few independent games, too, of course. Signalis and 1000xResist in the earlier part of the year; both games feature futuristic lesbian clones in a dystopian setting; though Signalis is a PS1 style horror game, and 1000xResist a walking sim, both became instant favourites for their fantastic writing. 1000xResist, in particular, fed my heart through a blender several times; if its political commentary was on the nose, its story about family, trauma, and growing up broken -- and the ways our brokenness can break the world, too -- challenged my most core beliefs about empathy and forgiveness, and spoke to me in a way that few works of art have. Throughout the year, I gradually chipped away at Sifu, too -- an hour or five every month -- I found I had to be in a particular mood to play it, a sort of irritable and listless mood, but for those few time, it was a lot of fun, and though the character action elements pushed me away a bit, I still really enjoyed it by the end.

I decided to give Obsidian another chance, and picked up Pentiment, which everyone says is their best-written work by far. Everyone is right. I have never played another game like Pentiment, a game that is sharply written, incredibly unique in its presentation, impressively reactive, and grounded in close and careful examination of a historical period that was largely unfamiliar to me. Pentiment is a story of the end of an era; a dawn of new social structures, new modes of creation, new views on religion and power. And its commentary on all these themes is incisive, affecting, and novel, with a lovable protagonist and a twisty plot.

Abubakar Salim is one of my favourite voice actors in the business, but I found his debut action-platformer (with Metroidvania elements), Tales of Kenzara: Zau to be lacking both in sharp, unique deisgn decisions and affecting story beats. What stood out to me was the art direction, which was consistently beautiful and striking, and the gameplay systems and the visuals were more than enough to propel me through the 12-hour game.
I played Zau because, this year, I accepted that Hollow Knight: Silksong was never going to release, and decided to play other metroidvanias instead -- including Nine Sols, whose combat was so engaging that I realized that, like, who even needs Silksong, anyway?

Probably my game of the year this year, Hollow Knight: Silksong, was then nigh-shadowdropped. Conversations about this game have largely been consumed by conversations surrounding its difficulty, to which I can only say, I agree with every ciriticsm anyone has made of this game, and I would see not one frame of it changed the slightest bit. Vibrant, beautiful, challenging, and, in a flow state, delightfully fun, Silksong is possibly the most intrinsically rewarding game I've ever picked up. But what shocked me about it was its cohesion. Unlike Hollow Knight before it, Silksong has a clear plot, strong themes, and the unified vision to make them land with a surprising deftness. Hollow Knight had the world design, the atmosphere and the set pieces it needed to make me feel, but its sequel's ideas often made me think, as well.

When I played everyone else's game of the year this year, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (a game I'd been eagerly awaiting since its first teaser trailer showcased an incredibly strong art direction), I was sorely disappointed both in the game and the state of the conversation of the surrounding it. Clair Obscur felt to me like an unpolished debut effort, a six or seven out of ten if you want to hear a score, with incredibly strong and exciting and unique ideas, but none of the skill or deftness required to execute on them, leaving me with a strong feeling of missed potential: of unexplored themes; of combat that never pushed me to my limits; of a story that failed to do its characters justice; of a world that never felt sufficiently real or, after The Twist, sufficiently constructed. But the conversation surrounding the game seemed at many times, even coming from critics I otherwise tremendously respect, to fall into fanfiction; to act as though the games triumphantly grappled with ideas it only ever grazed the edges of in subtext; to act as though its characters were complete, its world was coherent; as though it was an unequivocal masterpiece born from the head of Zeus, which only thirty people ever worked on, which had no institutional backing, which really put a boot up the ass of all these unsustainable triple A studios. In small ways, it made me come to hate a game that I initially enjoyed, and was arrested by, enough to play twice straight through. I felt the same way about Baldur's Gate 3 a couple years ago, albeit to a much lesser degree, but I wonder whether the reaction to Expedition 33 communicates, what I feel it does: the immaturity of games and games criticism as a medium, or whether I'm the one who's in the wrong here.

No year would be complete without me playing gacha live service games. This year, I mainly played Limbus Company and Reverse: 1999. The latter, a left-wing gacha visual novel, contained a couple of chapters -- "Folie et Deraison" and "1987 Cosmic Overture" -- that are genuinely, genuinely, some of my favourite stories in any game -- fuck it, maybe, some of my favourite works of literature. Reverse is a game that is constantly grappling with the art, the stories, and the ideas of generations past, and in this wrestling, if it never illuminates some new vivid truth, it at least conveys so acutely the joy of the struggle. Almost never dramatic, bombastic or heightened, the game's structure as almost a magical realist short story collection allows it to present a wild buffet of fascinating stories across a variety of genres spanning the twentieth century, and when it stumbles and drops a dud, it never takes long to recover and blow me away again. Reverse is so good that it might genuinely be partly to blame for how much I disliked Expedition 33, actually; comparing the scenes from Reverse's best chapters, which blew me away so, to segments of Expedition 33, released at around the same time, to touch similar themes, it was like night and day. Claire and Obscur, one might say.

Limbus Company never blew me away thus. Its relationship with classical literature is never so nuanced and thought provoking; its takes on Faust, on Moby Dick, on The Stranger or Don Quixote or "The Metamorphosis" often feel more like adaptation or fanficition than serious engagement. But there is value to taking these stories and characters into its almost comedically bleak, dystopian, SCP-punk world, to intensify and lightly modernize them -- and there is value, too, in the fact that all the game's gacha systems can and are intended to be bypassed via grinding, which gave me a lot of time to listen to some of the audiobooks which did blow me away. Steam says I've played 650 hours of Limbus this year, most of which would have been grinding. That's a lot, a lot more than any other game, but it was worth it, because I listened to so many fantastic books during those hours.

Before the end of this year, I aim to finish Wanderstop, to buy UNBEATABLE, and to take a swing at Promise Mascot Agency, three more indies I meant to play this year but haven't quite gotten around to. Wanderstop has been fun so far; I make tea or espresso every morning, and its extravagant and nonseniscal tea machine does a good job at simulating the relaxing ritual these routines can become. Davey Wreden, Wanderstop's writer, is to blame for breaking my brain with The Beginner's Guide, and while Wanderstop probably won't be such a shrill and brutal experience, I'm so far finding it to be very nearly as impactful.

I'm sure there are other games that I've played this year and failed to mention, but these were the ones that stuck with me the longest. Right now, I'm craving some Minecraft, so hopefully the Tildes Minecraft server ends up relaunching some time soon!

It's been a really long year for me, and I've kinda forgot of a lot of games I played this year so I'm going through my Steam/Switch/Phone library right now as I write this!

The biggest game for me this year for sure has been Hollow Knight: Silksong. I played the original a couple of years ago and fell in love, so when they announced the Silksong release two weeks before the actual day, it actually pulled me out of the depression I was going through at the time because I had something to look forwards to for the first time in a couple of months. It did not disappoint. I ran through to the "bad ending" in about 20 hours and then realized I had another 40 left anyways. It was an incredible journey with great mechanics and it felt really nice to get lost in a world again.

In terms of multiplayer, the Monster Hunter Wilds release was probably my most played this year. I LOVEEEE hunting with friends and grinding to perfection every new arch tempered or savage variant with friends is so satisfying. I even got to play with friends I've meet on this site! (Shout out to @immaterial for hunting with me for a couple of hours even though our time difference is huge!) The combat was definitely a lot easier than World and Rise, in my opinion, but the game is just so fun and so nice. (Peak is an honorable mention here, I played it a lot with friends to get me out of a funk)

My shut off my brain and just grind game this year has been Megabonk. I'm definitely not great at it, but it's literally the perfect game to just set a goal and grind for a couple of hours while watching a show or podcast. It's not very deep at all but the gameplay loop is just so addicting. (Ball X Pit would be my second choice for this, and a forever mention will be Slay the Spire because it's my favorite game ever)

On the subway since moving I've been absolutely glued to Luck Be a Landlord. What a simple yet insanely addicting game. There's something so satisfying about getting the perfect combo and just running ahead of the curve. I used to play solitaire on my transit/commuting times on the plane but I can see myself just making random runs in Landlord for hours now. (honorable mention to Clover Pit here, even though it's not a commuting game, it's very similar in concept)

A quick shoutout to Dispatch, I really enjoy the old telltale style of gameplay and I really enjoyed looking forwards to something every week. It was a fun time and I mostly wish it was longer. Because of it, I've downloaded Telltale's Batman game again, and Danganrompa 2 (which I should be getting through soon if I wasn't so addicted to Megabonk right now)

Split Fiction is a game right up my alley for me and my friend that lives across the country and only plays games on his PS5 (and doesn't like to buy new games) The last level was incredibly memorable, and we spent hours trying the secret level (that we didn't end up beating sadly). It took me back to the days where we were literal kids, playing games for hours and hours until our parents yelled at us for staying up till 4AM. (2 player co-op games that I also really enjoyed this year was League of Legend's Arena Mode, me and another friend would just play random bravery champs and got about 50 to 1st place, before they wiped our progress sadly)

Wanderstop was another game I was really really looking forwards to when it was announced. All of Davey Wreden's games honestly taught me something and Wanderstop is no different. I love the cozy, slow gameplay with no pressure, no need to look things up, no need to rush through for any reason. In the world of running a rat race, it's so important, especially coming from the NY/NJ area where speed is everything.

In terms of physical games, I didn't play as much Flesh and Blood this year, but I had a great time playing and teaching @C-cab how to play Magic this year! It was a great time and I hope he remembers how to play lol. We also got through some of my favorites, though I think Slay the Spire The Board game was last year for us. Moonrakers hit the table a couple of times this year too, and I still love that deckbuilding negotiation game. Scythe was another game that I played once that was super memorable, and I think every time I brought out Captain Sonar, at least someone in the group was incredibly obsessed with it. I also played Betrayal in the House on the Hill a couple of times this year, and I personally loved it a lot, it's really dynamic and very replayable!

I just woke up so these are just some preliminary thoughts, but I'll probably try and edit this if I think of anything else. Looking forwards to seeing what other people think!

Wow, what a year for games. Lot’s of thanks before diving in. To the generous folks like @Protected, @xavdid, and @kfwyre I really appreciate you sharing your games and spreading so much joy! I’m much more of a casual gamer, and to me the industry is just absolutely packed with amazing, affordable games. I’m just in awe about the quality and creativity of modern games. That and how much cozy games have taken off. Love me a cozy game.

My highlights were Dredge, Dave the Diver, A Highland Song, and Hollow Knight. I had no real disappointments. 2025 was a banging year for games! I’ve written up each game I played below. I’ve tried not to include any spoilers, but if any have crept in I’m sorry. I did these in order of when I played them, incase you're like "why are they arranged this way?!?"

A Highland Song 9/10 - Total play time 21 hours - Completeness: 90% - Courtesy of @Protected

I think A Highland Song is a total sleeper of a game. It’s been my constant return to comfort game in 2025. I think I’ve run through the whole game about 16 times. It’s got a banging sound track, a really engaging storyline, and impressively fleshed out characters for how little actual dialog there is. I’m about 90% through all the peaks and side quests, and have a fastest time of 3 days. It’s really relaxing and cozy.

As a fun aside I learned about Beltane through this game, the Celtic holiday that kicks off the start of summer and is one of the points when the veil between our world and the spirit world is at its weakest. Without giving anything away, there are Selkies in the game that arrive on Beltane. I swim every morning in the ocean here and this year on Beltane there were two mother/pup seal duos in the shallows of the cove we swim from! It was pretty magical and just made me feel even tighter with the game. I played another runthrough that evening.

Papers Please 7/10 - Total play time 5 hours - Completeness: 30% - Courtesy of @xavdid

Very fun concept and beautiful, brutalist art style. I’m only 30% through but it’s a fun game to come back to. Just not after a long day of admin work haha. Definitely worth checking out!

Dredge 10/10 - Total play time 24 hours - Completeness: 100%

Dredge is probably my game of the year. It was incredible. The art. The storytelling. The atmosphere. The creatures. 10/10. Learning it was made by only 3 people made it all the more impressive. There were so many little decisions that made the game incredible. I bought all the additional DLC and I still crave more. I heard they have reached the extent of what they can do with the open world - like physically - but am hoping for a sequel. The only other game that has touched Dredge in the last few years has been Wytchwood.

Her Story 7/10 - Total play time 2 hours - Completeness: 100%

It was a really interesting concept and the acting was great. If you’re into mystery solving I think this is a great addition to the genre. It made me want to checkout the Rootrees are Dead.

Dave the Diver 10/10 - Total play time 42 hours - Completeness: 95%

Probably my second favorite game after Dredge. I played this for an unreasonable amount of time and have been trying to 100% it. I love the story line and the side quests. It’s just pure silliness and fun. I was a huge fan of the early game when everything was still quite difficult. By the end it feels like a little bit more of a grind as dives can last up to an hour. Overall all the mechanics and the diving vs sushi restaurant are really, really fun. Oh and great characters!

Paper Trail 8/10 - Total play time 5 hours - Completeness: 70%

Another really unique concept and beautiful art style. It was a fun puzzle game and had some really really challenging levels. It also plays like a cozy little movie. I really enjoyed my time playing it. Not much else to say than give it a go!

Hollow Knight 9/10 - Total play time 30 hours - Completeness: 60%

So I saw all the hype about Silksong and decided to try the original. Usually sidescroll jump and slash games aren’t my favorite, but Hollow Knight was excellent! Like the other games I’ve mentioned, they did a great job with the art style, the atmosphere, and the story telling. The creatures were also incredibly engaging - be it sometimes frustrating - and you really do have to “git gud”. I actually bought a controller specifically for this game because using the arrow keys just didn’t give me enough reflex for some of the elements (particularly all the down slashing). Honestly, it’s probably a 10/10 game but the other games knocked my socks off so much it’s getting graded on a curve.

Old Skies was one of my favs. It's not very long, there aren't things you really influence in the story, but it was just a nice story, well paced.

I've had a pretty bad gaming year, all things considered: only two true game "clears" over the whole year, Yakuza 0 and Shredders.

I'm also working on the Ace Attorney Trilogy on 3DS at the moment, having recently started Justice for All.

This year I've tried to cut out mindless entertainment from my life to varying degrees of success, but I'm still struggling with actually putting focus and effort into my non-creative downtime, which sucks because I feel like I'm missing out on all kinds of awesome games/films/shows etc. I picked up a PS3 recently hoping it could get me over my graphics/performance/optimization obsession which seems to take over my gaming time, so I'm hoping to work on that until the Steam Controller comes out, after which I'll switch back to gaming on my HTPC. That and a few games from the 3DS library are my goals going into 2026. If anyone has any tips for just shutting up and playing games I'd love to hear them.

Played the Golden Idol DLCs with my SO and it was a blast. If anyone here likes puzzle games and haven’t heard about it go check out Rise of the Golden Idol.

Aloha, i finished quite a few games and document my thoughts. This may be exhausting.

Stellar Blade was my favourite souls like. I do not vibe with those games, my best guess is that the timing of the parry just doesn't work with my brain. I flew through SB and i know its not an easy game. I also really like costume collection, it was one of my favourite aspects of older games (shoutout to spiderman 64) so i found the whole experience rewarding, challenging and just straight up eye candy. The graphics, obviously, what did you think i meant? Sicko.

Nine Sols did not finish but i did enjoy what i played. Ill probably restart at some point and get through it.

Chants of Sennar was fun, and the perfect amount of difficulty at times and a bit of a throwing darts at the wall experience at others. Nice little translation game thatdidnt overstay its welcome.

Alan Wake 2: DLC i finished the base game the year before and picked up the dlc when i realized it existed. I FUCKING LOVED the psychotic waitress dlc and wanted a bit more from the Lake House. It wasnt scary and the painting enemies were telegraphed and few and far between.

The Case of the Golden Idol DLC was very fun and mildly more difficult than the base game. Such awesome world building.

CoD: MW3 i cant remember this at all. Mid at best. I needed shooty games and I really liked MW1 so more was good. Nothing to write home about.

CoD: BO3 same reason as above. I needed to shoot more stuff and the MW3 story was crazy short. The large open levels change up was interesting. But i thought it really fell flat too. I am pretty sure i muted the conversations. And the set pieces were lame, bringing in zombies into the sp was really forced and lame.

Sniper Elite: Resistance played this in coop with my brother. A bit silly but still fun to shoot nazis in the genitals. Story was baaaaaad. Pretty sure a programmer's kid wrote it.

Citizen Sleeper woah woah woah, this was awesome. I had it installed for years knowing i wanted to play it and finally did and hot dog what a game. Time to install the second game and play it in a few years.

Leap Year fun little platformer that i cleared in a few hours. Not much to say, fun. Little. Platformer.

Doom: The Dark Ages jesus christ, this game... i don't know man. The simplicity of the first game was magic. The second game already threw me off a bit but stuck the landing with the difficulty. This game was so easy. The story was insane, i still dont know if i like it. It was so dumb. My brother was over for the week and we crushed it and it was fun but was it the game or was it us?

Astro Bot was excellent. No notes. Hit the nostalgia button as though it was the Staples "that was easy button. I remember just being happy for some reason this time of the year, and im pretty sure it was this game.

Promise Mascot Agency was a neat little game about a thing. I bought it because i support all indie driving games. I 100%'d it and it was fun. Im stillyet to finish the dev's previous game even though i do like the premise. Mindlessly collecting stuff then flying around and shooting stuff in a kei truck was great and the characters were so charming.

Skin Deep was fucking excellent. God what a good game. I wish there was more immersion in the immersive sim but as an indie title it was incredible. The cats were cute, the dialogue was fun and i enjoyed popping off heads then making a mad dash to flush them down the toilet. So funny. Ooh and then the "Ho ho ho i have a machine gun" moment at the end when youre decked out with new intruders on the ship but you now know the layout perfectly is chef's kiss.

Gravel neat arcadey racing game. I 100%'d it because thats what i do with racing games. I really enjoyed it and at like 3$ you cant go wrong.

Rise of the Golden Idol not as good visually as the first game and i think weaker on the overall plot. Still extremely fun but god that first game was pure joy. This is like, slightly less pure joy. I did have a hard time with a few cases, mainly the warehouse one i think. Pretty sure i had to come back to it after two weeks which didnt help either.

Sword of the Sea was a neat journey throwback but way too short. Needed more mechanics and longer or something.

Stray ooh i liked this game so much. Playing with my girlfriend's cats made me really fall in love with the movement. The robots were cute too. Im still sad about the ending not letting you reunite.

Indika was so good. What a weird god damn game. Man, games have the ability to really deliver a narrative and Indika took full advantage of that.

The Invincible!!!! Lem is my favourite sci fi author, and maybe author period. I was so sceptical but i loved this. I downloaded it at like 6pm on a work night and finished it at 3am because it was 1000% Lem in game format. The art style was amazing, the fucking ship at the end was everything i wanted it to be. I wanted a job with this studio when i finished lol, give me a Futurological Congress game adaptation!!

Children of the Sun sniper elite but you keep shooting dudes in the head with the same bullet. Its short, i liked it but i do wish that the devs explored the mechanics more. Youre just always aiming for heads cause that charges your ability to change directions. Kinda cornered themselves with that decision. Still awesome visually.

Pigface (Early Access Content) was fantastic, another single nighter finish albeit way shorter. I cant wait for more levels, the R6 terrorist hunt style levels are so much fun for me. They just click and its so satisfying to pop heads with no reticle or anything.

Other notables that i played and havent finished, yet or otherwise.
Assassin's Creed Shadows - too long to finish
Pacific Drive - ugh i hate roguelites
Silksong - walked away for a bit and then forgot the muscle memory right at the end of act 1 so tough to just get back into it.
Roadcraft love it but theres no god damn end in sight here. Ill be passing my save down to my children.
Silent Hill 2 Remake i was enjoying it but then halloween came and went and im not in the mood for it. Its a bit long, i hear the original should have already wrapped up at the 9 hour mark im at?
Death Stranding i like it but theres no way im gonna finish a game about walking places unless i find an amazing new podcast with a 1000 episode back cat.
Old School Rally playing this now and enjoying it a lot but theres a fair amount of content and im not sure ill get through it by nye.
Gran Turismo 7: Power Pack DLC woah this is awesome and what i wish the base game racing experience was more like. So much fun and the sophy ai is beyond dope, first good use of ai!!

I think I only did Bloodborne PC + DLC and Outer Wilds + DLC this year, both 10/10 games. I also started Expedition 33 but didn't got very far with it. I think I'll stick to my strategy of playing games way after their release date.

this was the year of Death Stranding for me. i picked it up for iOS at the end of 2024 just because i thought it was technically impressive (and to justify my xmas present to myself, a Backbone controller). after making it past the "tutorial" area, it really just made me want to play it on a big screen, so i put 60 hours in shortly after new year's. 5-starring first prepper and veteran porter were 10 hours on their own!

of course DS2 came out mid-year, and i did back-to-back playthroughs starting on regular and bumping up to very hard difficulty, which kept me busy all summer. when i decided to be finished, i celebrated by recycling all my gear, save for boots, and walked from Sydney-ish, to Perth-ish, back through the portal, and back home to Sam's shelter. i tend to min max my routes and that was the first time i really just walked and appreciated the landscape.

a week ago, a friend i've been begging to play the first one finally committed so…i started a new DS1 run the next day.

i never got into Metal Gear Solid although i am aware of most of the tropes, twists, and general facts via cultural osmosis, so DS was my first Kojima game, and i found it incredibly surreal. the attention to detail, the world building, the straight up wackiness, the 4th-wall breaking, the emotion that one can generate from a piece of media dismissed by some as a walking simulator…it all hits just right in a way that few other games have for me.

for any existing fans of the series, the most fascinating bit of my playthroughs was my second DS2 run, where i also turned off all social features. don't get me wrong - i love when the social strand system puts a good chunk of resources into a road, or drops someone's zip line or vehicle charger exactly where i need it. however, DS2's soundtrack and immediate access to the music player was ruined for me every time i passed through the signs people love to place going into a distro center, or on a built road. so a very hard run, plus i had to build out my own infrastructure was an excellent challenge.

however, it made playing the game feel less like i was part of the world and more a traditional 1P game "hero" type. like i couldn't unburden myself with the game, like i was truly alone instead of sharing it with my fellow PS5 owners. i really enjoy experiencing it all through the tiny interactions like the mushrooms marking…uh…"claimed" territory (or maybe you just wanted to make a clingy BT disappear!) or the shared lockers having just the right gear/materials when i need them.

so here i go again with DS1, dragging my buddy along who gets legit paranoid at some of the more cinematic BT sequences, just so i can relive it with him and get him to the more cozy parts like drop-kicking MULEs and soaking in a hot spring with BB.

In 2025 I set my record for most game completions. I've finished 43 games across 10 different platforms. 10 of those 43 games released this year. One thing I have found helpful in completing games only having one game active per console, but allowing myself to jump between consoles depending on what my mood is. I also try to focus on shorter experiences, about half the games I beat are 5 hours or less.

2025 Highlights:

• Playdate season 2: I find the Playdate to be a simply delightful device with a passionate community. The device game with a season of games that unlocked week by week the fist 12 weeks you owned the device. This year they launched a second season, releasing 12 games over 6 weeks. I really enjoyed the week by week releases, forcing you to spend time in a game you might give up on too early as well as sharing in community discussion. My favorites of the season were "Dig Dig Dino!" and "The Whiteout".
• Blue Prince: One of my favorites of the year. I don't think I have every had more notes playing a game.
• Skin Deep: I'm disappointed in how little Skin Deep has come up in game of the year discussions. The game just oozes with personality like the delightful song that plays everytime before you enter cryosleep. You have so much agency in tackling each level.
• Donkey Kong Bananza: I waited way longer that anticipated to pick up a launch Switch 2 at Best Buy. Mario Kart World is fine, but Banaza was the game I was truly excited for and it did not disappoint.
• Death Stranding 2: On The Beach: The first Death Stranding is one of my all time favorites. I platinumed the game on my first play through and had so much fun exploring this strange world. I liked DS2 quite a bit, but something felt absent. The story seems to be a bit of a retread and I didn't like the return of Higgs. Vehicles felt way too powerful and I started forcing myself to stop using them as they make the game too easy even on the hardest difficulty. Also, was not a fan of the two day early release for the Collectors and Digital Deluxe Edition. As someone who tries to buy physical, there was no way to play early as even the collectors edition has no physical game.

Older Releases:

• Picross e3 - e6: I'm continuing to work through the Picross games on 3DS. I find the games to be perfect to play in short bursts. I'm not sure what I will do when I'm through with the 3DS games as a stylus feels like the best way to play Picross. I am glad to see Jupiter's latest Picross adds Switch 2 mouse controls.
• Professor Layton 1 and 2: Glad I finally got around to these.
• Psychonauts 2 and Rhombus of Ruin: Rhombus of Ruin was a short but fun VR experience connecting Psychonauts 1 and 2. I had a great time with Psychonauts 2. It was a little more grounded than what I was hoping for, none of the levels quite reached the wackiness of the first.
• LEGO Dimensions: This game is brilliant and it's an absolute shame how it and other toys-to-live games are becoming lost media. I bought the Portal set when it originally came out just for the minifigures and got the base set on major sale when they discontinued it. But I never ended up playing the game until I learned about the toypad emulator. I just have a Pi Zero W plugged into my PS5 which creates a local website that emulates what figures are on the toypad. Dimensions has become one of my favorite Lego games, the Portal and Sonic packs in particular are a blast to play through.
• Driver: San Francisco: I normally steer clear of racing games, but the shift mechanic in this game made me curious to try it out. I had so much fun shifting into opposing traffic during a race and using this random car to crash into opponent racers. It also has one of the best examples of a 2nd person camera during one of the final missions where you are running from the villain, but are doing so while watching from the villains car.
• Concrete Genie: This game reminded me of Okami in the best kind of way. This rundown town becomes beautiful as your paintings fill all the walls of every building. It really is tragic the way that Sony no longer invests in games like this being made. PS1 - PS4 had so many delightful smaller first party games.
• Nintendo Labo - Variety Kit: I picked an unopened Labo 1 off facebook market place for $5. Like Lego, the process of assembling it is a huge part of enjoyment. The instructions are thoughtful, clear, and full of bad puns. The design is really thought out, it's so impressive having a functioning cardboard piano that works using reflective tape seen by an IR sensor. I really wish Labo was a success, but I totally understand why it wasn't. The games are quite simplistic and feel aimed at a younger audience. But the building itself is a bit more complicated for a younger child. Add in the fact that the cardboard is bulky and takes up a bit of space, it makes sense that it didn't do too well. I would love to see Nintendo revisit the concept again though.

Last year I finally got a steam account, which led me to discover smaller / obscure indie games. I usually play puzzles, visual novels or smaller rpgs (think RPG Maker / Wolf RPG or similar engines), which are very common in this space. Some highlights:

• Epigraph: It is a language puzzle game about translating some archeological remains to unlock an strange artifact. There is hardly any hints beyond some known names and some images. Took me +10h to complete but it was fairly enjoyable.

• Anode Heart: An open world creature collector game which the reviews say is very similar to digimon games. You go around the world looking for people to help and monster to collect and raise. There are lots of unlockable subsystems like breeding, equipment, a battle arena, a collective card game, etc. Recently completed the main quest and I'm trying some of the post game. There are also lots of challenge modes.

• Final profit: A shop management RPG in a fantasy world but it is very different from recetear and the likes. You are a fae that is trying to infiltrate the business world of a ruthless empire that is threatening your kingdom. That is the premise, but the moment to moment is full of absurdities like animal civilizations, fruit cults and weird haircuts. I played to the end of the current content and it was fairly enjoyable, although the endgame is a bit less great. There is a sequel in the works in a different part of the world.

Another big discovery this year was touhou fangames. Touhou is a long running series of bullet hell shooters set in a fantasy world (so you are a magician/priest fighting fairies or weird demons instead of spaceships). The interesting thing about it is that the developers allow others to use their characters / setting in their own games, so there is a wealth of fangames in lots of genres, from other bullet hells to strategy games, rpgs, plataformers, etc. Again some highlights:

• Artificial Dream in Arcadia: SNES-era Shin Megami Tensei where you capture touhou characters. It is fairly well done and is very enjoyable even if you do not know either franchise. I got one of the three endings and I'm going for the second one.

• Mystia's izakaya: You manage a small foodcart and serve dinners all around the touhou world. You befriend famous characters by completing quests and preparing custom dishes they like. The dinning sections can get a bit hectic but it is otherwise fairly laid back.

• Fantasy Maiden Wars: Super Robot Wars but with touhou characters. This one released recently in english. In SRW fashion, the story is a mishmash of other touhou games. Liking it so far.

Its been a pretty tough year and I sort of retreated into games to take off the pressure. Also my kid is the same age I was when my mom let me play Tetris on her clunky old gameboy. So I'm hoping she remembers sitting with me on the couch and playing Slime Rancher on the clunky old Steam Deck.

I also made a point of not replaying any old games. Mostly because I've noticed a lot of my friends get sucked into nostalgia traps and all they talk about and play is the same handful of old games. There's only so much Quake 3, L4D2 and TF2 I can play.

The biggest highlights for me were Blue Prince and Silksong. (Major spoilers obviously)

Blue Prince combines my love of mazes, design, mystery and worldbuilding into a neat little package and even sprinkled some smooth jazz in for good measure. I wish I could have saved the physical conspiracy board I made in my office or recorded my reaction to every breakthrough panning out. It took nearly 170hrs over 4 months to finally find the true ending in The Drafts and realizing that it had a red herring door was just a beautiful ending to the whole saga. There were also times I just take a few rounds to draft a house for the fun of it. I remember at the time being frustrated that the game lacked a lot of conventional design sensability like more permanent upgrades or in-game note taking but it hardly mattered for me in the end.

My grand theory of this world is that it is a simulation within a wider narrative, simply because the month names make no sense in the context of the world and the The Drafts exist. I can let suspend disbelieving in the modular house for a while, but The Drafts existing is a whole other thing. Also Christmas. My brain doesn't trust that they also have it on December 25th.

Blue Prince is also where I started taking notes when playing games and I think it paid off when playing Silksong.

I was "lucky" enough to break my foot a week after Silksongs release and it was bitter-sweet playing one of the most agile characters in gaming while relying on crutches. But I got to enjoy a lot of time in bed just fully getting into the game and it is so good to celebrate developers just delivering excellence. The last time I was so surprised by such ambition and scope was Hollow Knight and I'm glad that this game can stand next to it on its own merits. And I have little notes to remind myself of just how it all came together. There's half page dedicated to "2 MASK DAMAGE IN THE FIRST HOUR!!"

There was a lot of frustration and WTF design at first. But like Blue Price, I just stopped judging the game by what it wasn't. And it did work out better to play on the devs terms sometimes. Some of my favorite fights were First Sinner while using Beast Crest and the second Savage Beastfly after all the hell it gave me the first time. I don't think the game ever uses the "get good" voice line, but its very much implied when Hornet is the only character in this situation that thinks this is easy. Seriously, everyone is so adamant that this is a hopeless quest, and she's like "You should see the last god I dealt with." It's nice to play a character with such a strong personal identity and I was constantly motivated to adopt a more acrobatic play-style. Not just force fit the brute force tactics from the Knight.

On that note, the most unexpected surprise was the scope of characters in this game. Hornet being able talk and share opinions really opened up the social part of the narrative. Even just her enjoying the job board while seeing communities grow and improve because of that is a lovely touch. But the other bugs you meet are just fun in their own ways. It's best seen in the parallel journey of hornet cutting her way to the top of that tower and Sherma getting there on pure vibes. Frustratingly good writing. Don't think its intentional, but its very fitting that the little guy never resorts to violence, but Hornet needs to learn to play an instrument to open doors. Also, I'd love to have even a short DLC (that hopefully doesn't become another 8 year wait) where you play as Shakra. She's such an interesting character and I'd love to know where they go next. It's a far more complex character design and there's so much potential for cool animations with different weapons. I still get surprised by how dynamic hornet is and it comes from a that massive library of unique movements.

Also Bellheart might just beat Majula in my list of "chill spots in games". And I love fundamental UI elements changing. And Hornet facing down Grandmother Silk the same way the Knight did the The Radiance. And all the hints of other civilizations in this world. And the big flea. And Bilewater music. And the Pinstress fight on top of the mountain. And the Zero Suit Hornet level in The Slab. And Trobiooooo. I really want Trobio to be a failed juvenile from the Grimm Troupe.
I could genuinely gush about this game for hours.

There's also Expedition 33. That I haven't finished yet. I'm not the biggest fan of how Act 3 was presented but I've got two more side activities and I'll fun the last story mission. It's an amazing game and trumps anything AAA from the last few years. But to me, it doesn't seem any greater than the sum of its parts. Sort of like Metaphor Re Fantazio. A game that I'm also sitting at the last few chapters. A game that's also very inspired by Persona. Another game where I haven't finished the final chapter.
It feels like there's something happening there but I don't know what it is.

One thing I didn't expect to enjoy was canceling GamePass and other pointless subscriptions and putting some of the money towards any interesting small projects I came across. Honestly, its so much better than being spoiled for choice but not playing any of it. And it may actually go towards helping a small team or solo dev.

Highlights here would be
Metal Garden: A 90min FPS adventure that's a mix of Halo and Half Life. Feels like a proof-of-concept that could flesh out into something interesting.
Nitro Express: A fun little side scroll shooter with more guns than playable levels.
Receiver 2: An FPS where you need to intentionally manipulate every control of your firearm. Very forward with the message of responsible gun ownership and themes of suicide.
Missile Command Delta: Mix of escape room and a retro puzzle game that's published by Atari and makes for a fun afternoon.
Turbo Overkill: Probably the best Boomer Shooter next to Ultrakill.

It's also the third year running where I've not gotten any AAA game from a western studio. I honestly can't see myself getting GTA6 after the whole union busting situation there. There are so many cool things to play and none of it needed hundreds of millions of dollars or excessive AGI to develop. I gifted 6 copies of
Silksong for less than the price of some cosmetics in other games.

Hollow Knight: When I saw Silksong about to release I just had to know what the hype was for this game, saw it, kinda liked the idea, and got hooked. I'm not quite done yet (need to beat the three guardians, etc), but it's a great game. Kinda like a Souls-lite, with the death cycle at benches, recovering your shade, etc. I've managed to avoid major spoilers for Silksong so I can enjoy it much the same, and playing mostly through HK has made me want it more. I'm willing to put this up as my GOTY, just for what I've played.

Hades: Another killer game with a sequel leading for GOTY (with Silksong). After Balatro I fell in love with the roguelite genre after realizing it isn't all Binding of Isaac or Vampire Survivors (Love the second, have bounced off the first for a decade). Satisfying progression with enough challenge and fairness to make losses not feel bad, pulls its punches with the death mechanic to keep things fun. I've almost beaten the game once after two months, which I think is great.

Megabonk: Vampire Survivors-style game, collect items to try to power up as much as possible and auto-kill stuff as you run around. It feels 1:1 to VS, despite the smaller scale, but dominated my gameplay through most of November.

Avowed: Somehow was exactly what I wanted it to be, but not my perfect game. I love it, and need to go back to finish it (probably next year), as I'm through a good chunk of the second act. Really well made, feels phemomenal on gameplay and the story is really great.

Dispatch: Every streamer I watch on Twitch played this and I tried not to have it spoiled in case I wanted to play it. I sorta like this sort of superhero media that considers alternatives of organized superhero policing in society, and their place in a greater context. The story was interesting in a similar way to My Hero Academia or One Punch Man's approaches, and it was funny that the whole thing took place in Torrance, only 30 miles away (and has a dumpster referencing Long Beach band Fartbarf, who are a favorite of mine). The story, and the outcome I got, both made me want to go back for more to find the other ending possibilities I've seen people talking about, and to game the mechanics to get there (maybe with "unlimited hacking attempts" on, because some of those are just brutal with no explanation).

Favorites

• Overall, I'd say Escape from Duckov is my GOTY. I find it perfectly balanced, with an excellent sense of progression, and enough quests for 40+ hours of enjoyment. I'm hoping for more content, and maybe even maps and quests from the community if the devs open their tools.

• The Slormancer is a neat distilled "numbers go brr" ARPG, but it got too repetitive after 50 hours. Still, for that price I'm more than satisfied.

• ARC Raiders strikes the right balance between exploration/looting (definitely my favorite genre at this time) and PvP. I'm surprised I'm enjoying it, though I need to be less trusty of other players.

• R.E.P.O. is a joy to play if you manage to gather 3+ people. It's even funnier when you fumble and get stupidly killed.

Disappointments

• ZERO Sievert. I wanted more of Duckov, I got sweaty top-down S.T.A.L.K.E.R. with too much micromanagement, an ugly inventory, and 72 different kinds of ammo that all have the same name. Probably good if you have enough time to invest. The UI is also absolutely awful on the Steam Deck.
• PEAK. A single game can easily last 2 hours uninterrupted, and it is just too long for me. It's also not a "funny" game despite its childish looks, and is actually quite difficult.
• Last Epoch. Bought it last year, but I was expecting more for 2025. The 3 seasons so far have just been super disappointing, the game is still unfinished, and its future doesn't look good.

Surprises

• ARC Raiders. I went it expecting sweaty PvP à la Hunt Showdown, I got what is IMO an excellent middle ground between PvE for the fun, and PvP for the thrill. Play solo to hoard stuff, play duos or trios to empty your stash.
• STRAFTAT. A free and incredibly ugly 1v1 FPS, and it's just so fun to play and talk shit with a friend for half an hour. Never tried to play with randoms, and I don't intend to.
• Minecraft Dungeons. Yet another ARPG that is perfect for short sessions on the Deck, while looking good and running at 60fps.
• Project Diablo 2 is your good old D2 with tons of improvements, online play, trading, and controller support. A truly great surprise, that runs well on the Steam Deck too.

Memorable moments

Discovering new maps on ARC Raiders and Duckov. It always brings me joy and takes me back to my teenage years when I was exploring maps on Half-Life mods and finding new nooks and crannies. I love feeling lost in a new game.

Self-reflections

The only games with a story that I've played this year are Lies of P and Mouthwashing, and I found them both forgettable. Actually I only remembered them when looking at my purchase history. So for the last 2 years, most of my games have been loot-based with short gameplay loops for quick dopamine hits.

I also managed to get a group of semi-regular gaming friends, which is neat, after nearly 20 years of only playing with randoms. It's been nice for my mental health.

The least amount of gaming I've ever done in a year. I've only played and completed one so far: Bokura.

My gaming time got swapped with watching anime.

Games I played this year:

Jagged Alliance 3 - Tried it to scratch the XCOM itch. It's quite good, but XCOM is still the best turn-based tactics series ever.

Sword of the Sea - Short but gorgeous and transporting.

Keeper - Same as above.

South of Midnight - Beautiful to look at and well voice acted, but the combat and platforming are forgettable.

Ball x Pit - Addicting, and not in a good way. Felt like I was playing out of habituation not desire. Uninstalled it.

Cities Skylines II - For all its faults and shortcomings (and they are numerous), it's still the best city builder.

Red Dead Redemption - I loved RDR2 so I had to try its predecessor, and while it doesn't hit the rarified air of the sequel, it's still an absolutely excellent game. Rockstar rarely misses.

Frostpunk 2 - The original is wonderful, and while the follow-up is by no means bad, it doesn't live up to it.

Star Wars Jedi Survivor - Really enjoyed the platforming in this one. It has a Metroidvania style where you continually gain abilities that open up new areas of the map, which I generally like.

Cocoon - A must play puzzle game for people of all ages. Tremendously inventive. I haven't this much satisfaction from solving a puzzle since the Portal games.

Jusant - Not a long game, but it went underappreciated. I've always enjoyed games with "verticality" and this climbing challenge epitomizes that.

Lonely Mountain Snow Riders / Downhill - Surprisingly challenging skiing and mountain biking games that be thrilling or relaxing depending on how you choose to play.

In no particular order (actually the order of my most recently played Steam games):

Monster Hunter Wilds: It's hard not to feel resentful of Worlds and the shifting community, as the old lady shouting at clouds who has been enjoying Monster Hunter since high school on the PSP. Not that I am upset at all these youngins comin' in and ruinin' my game or anything like that! But in between vocal folks whose only MH games have been Worlds into Wilds, and complaints about performance or graphical fidelity, and consistent issues with running the game on my own hardware (which, NGL, only seemingly went away after the last set of performance patches + graphics drivers which was a few months ago...)... I'm just reminded a lot of why I don't like discussing AA/AAA video games too much, because the importance of Presentation gets crossed with the importance of Gameplay.

Sorry, that was an unnecessary rant. I enjoy Wilds. I don't enjoy it the same way I enjoyed 3U and 4U over a decade ago - as in, I don't go out of my way to play it solo. Friends and I get together every title update and spend maybe two or three days completing the new content and farming things, then scatter again. I think the FF14 collab fight was great and that's the one thing I would actually get on to try and solo, if other life things were not much higher in priority for me currently.

SILENT HILL f: Eh... I thought the first playthrough was fine, great even. I'm not a horror game buff and unfortunately I've only ever watched old Silent Hill game playthroughs (mostly because the classics are from a bit before my time - I didn't get an interest in getting spooked until after young adulthood). Clunky combat feels a bit of a non-issue to me; what really was the issue was how the ending sequence involved a lot of unavoidable, trapped-in-closed-arena-with-mobs moments and THAT did feel tedious.

I stopped playing maybe a third of the way into the second playthrough, because while the changes were interesting, I realized they just weren't interesting enough to warrant playing through the game again. Slightly changed puzzles, slightly changed jumpscare moments and enemy placement (HATE this one), all of it just isn't rewarded enough compared to just watching a Youtube video. For that matter I haven't even watched a Youtube video on the rest of the endings yet; that's how much that second playthrough, brief as it was, soured me on the entire thing.

Higurashi no naku koro ni, one of the writer Ryukishi07's previous horror visual novel works, was one of many formative pieces of media for me as a kid. It was probably one of the first actual horror media works I've experienced on my own, actually, next to Carrie from Stephen King. Unfortunately it isn't even just that the "multiple playthroughs" aspect is easier on a visual novel than in a traditional video game - Higurashi retelling events through a "question arc" and "answer arc" felt a lot more satisfying, whereas Silent Hill f's multiple playthroughs just involve drip feeding information we didn't have before that have little to do with whatever mystery is being presented on screen.

Deltarune Ch. 3 and 4: I love the music and the writing. Not much to add on here.

PEAK: I love this game. There aren't many "purchased because it seemed like a fun occasional party game with friends" games where I feel compelled to play solo occasionally. I'm really not deep into it, I'm not very "good" at the game, and I haven't finished even a base run solo yet, but I really like trying, sometimes failing, sometimes succeeding in parts of the climb on my own.

I've played chunks of a bunch of other games in 2025... Rain World, the new Fantasy Life, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Project Zomboid... I didn't get anywhere close to finishing the story based ones like Yakuza, or near enough hours to really talk about them like Rain World. I put 3 hours into Expedition 33 and I don't know when I'll ever touch that game because I started it just before a breakup (bonus points for it being my ex's GOTY).

I put 79 minutes into Shenzhen I/O and it was the first of the several Zachtronics games I acquired over the summer. I thought it was really cool but never got back into it. Think that'll be somewhere on my goal list for 2026 (puzzle games really - I famously am not very good at puzzling but it's really satisfying when I can figure something out).

I have played so much Arc Raiders! I’m absolutely enamored by it. It scratches the itches that DayZ and Hunt Showdown scratched without being nearly as sweaty or time consuming as either of them. The PvPvE works really well and the community (on PC at least) is really good. Having days (usually weekends) where everyone shoots on sight or lies about being friendly can be quite demoralizing, but I think that risk keeps the game interesting. My only complaint is the gear management is still a bit wonky right now. I’d really love to see them make crafting and re-gearing after a wipe more seamless. In other extraction shooters I struggled with gear fear, in Arc I struggle with “regear fear”; I have plenty of gear/materials I just don’t want to take the time to craft and equip it again!

Very productive year for gaming-wise. If gaming could ever be called "productive!" I've been trying to track game finishes the last couple of years because sometimes I'd forget that I finished a game. Even though it doesn't happen all that often.

Except for this year, where I've finished thirteen of them so far! A few of these games were really short. Like finished in a few hours short. And at least one -- Cobalt Core -- needs to be played several times to really complete the game, but I did complete a full run without getting destroyed for the first time last month. Which I think counts.

If you followed the Backlog Bingo posts and read my progress, this shouldn't surprise you...but 8 of the 13 were detective games. I don't watch true crime TV shows, podcasts, and such. Just don't really care for the genre, even find it a little distasteful, but somehow detective games were my jam. I guess it's because these aren't actual real criminal cases.

My one goal for the year, that I probably won't achieve, was to finish Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero. This is a JRPG that's part of a multi-JRPG universe that's technically one gigantic story. I started and mostly played in May, but haven't gone back. I just needed a break and wanted to play other things. Hoping to get back into it before the year is over, but I doubt I'll finish it by the end of the month.

My favorite game that I completed in 2025 is probably Frostpunk. It was actually someone here on Tildes, I think cfabbro, who, a few years ago, suggested that I give it another shot. So I did. And I'm glad I did. It was pretty challenging, due to often being under the gun timewise, while having to figure out which residents or factions have to be prioritized. And people die in that game; there's no saving everyone. Which can be detrimental and stressful when trying to rush some project or whatever. But it was incredibly satisfying once I did complete the missions and the game overall, including the DLC. I need to go back and try Frostpunk 2 again.

Favorite game overall? Don't know if I have one since I've played a lot of good stuff this year. But most unique one is likely the browser game Corru.Observer. Someone posted it here some months ago and I gave it a go. And I got pretty hooked, ngl. The lore and story sucked me in. There were some nights I was staying up way too late trying to move forward. I'm not done with it, and I think the game and story isn't done either. It's still being actively written and worked on. And I also haven't played in a few months, but that's another I'd like to get back into soon.

There is one trend for me that I'm a little disappointed with: I haven't played that many multiplayer games this year. Other than FFXIV anyway, but that's a single player game in a multiplayer world, if that makes any sense. I did play some Barotrauma, Satisfactory, and The Headliners with friends, but that's about it. We play Barotrauma practically annually at this point, so that was fun for a couple weeks. But Satisfactory, after a few days, turned into each of us three just doing our own thing in-game, hardly actually playing together. We'd even log in at different times. And even The Headliners was only played for like 2hrs. The new hotness in the group is BF6, but it looks like just another generic shooter to me. I don't play shooters that much so I'm def not gonna pay $70 for it. Feels like I'm losing that gaming "commonality" with friends, which is a little sad. Idk, that's its own separate issue, with other deeper things, but it affected my gaming this year. That's prob why I was able to play and complete so many single player games in 2025.

Anyway, looking forward to gaming in 2026. GTA VI is finally arriving, after all!

This has been a slow year for me, with nothing new purchased despite a credit large enough on Steam Wallet to outright buy many indie or AA titles and GOTY Editions of AAA titles on Steam Sales. I play on four platforms, Steam (Linux/Mac_, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch 1, Apple Arcade (Mac/iPhone/iPad). Rather than go through every single game I've played this year, I'll go through just a few and the platforms I play them on.

Endless Sky | Steam
I don't think I can sufficiently explain this game. It's a loving homage to the Escape Velocity series by Ambrosia Software, and I love it. I mostly end up being a cargo hauler or running passenger missions, but sometimes I'm a corporate spy or spy for the Free Words, and once in a great while I'm a pirate hunter. It's such a good game it's almost absurd that it's free. Requires a keyboard and mouse, no controller support I'm aware of.

Powerwash Simulator | Steam / Xbox / Apple Arcade
Brain off, clean grime, listen to podcast. Controller supported, prefer keyboard and mouse.

Grand Theft Auto Online | Xbox
Another one I cannot sufficiently explain. For some reason the GTA series has had me in its thrall since I was about 19, back with the original Grand Theft Auto. This one has far and away my most play time, I usually manage to log 5 or so hours a week with this one, which may not seem like a lot until you realize that's like 250 hours a year, and I have to pay monthly for the privilege. But it's a place where I live in nice houses, I am a fashionisto, I drive/fly incredible vehicles, almost all of my problems can be solved with extreme violence, and pretty much all of my problems are bad people who deserve the psycho I'm about to unleash on them. The narrative of the game does not shy away from the fact that my character is pretty much unhinged and has done some awful shit to some awful people to get to where he is. It's the most honest Capitalism Simulator I've ever encountered. Controller supported, keyboard and mouse supported, genuinely just use the controller now.

Planet Crafter | Steam
This got some big updates this year, and in all honesty I haven't really played it much since the beginning of the year, but this scratches a certain itch that Minecraft does not, and it's very PvE in a way that I dig. It's from a smaller publisher and I bought it way back when it was just kind of a neat concept and watching it grow to what it has become has been excellent. There are other games that you might think "it's just like this game" but for some reason the presentation and execution just hits for me. I haven't played it in close to a year, though, but that's more reflective of me not wanting to turn on my big gaming machine due to its absurd energy consumption than anything to do with this game itself. Genuinely wish it was Mac native. Play the demo and see if you like it. Controller supported, personally prefer keyboard and mouse.

I think that's good enough for now. (No Nintendo Switch games because in my house the Switch is known as "The Zelda Machine" because guess what is the only thing I play on it?)

Seeing everyone's comments inspired to write up my gaming year too - so thank you everyone who contributed! I didn't think I had done too much but when I went back through and worked out what I had played it ended up being reasonably substantial in the end.

To start with - my favorite games of the year. Avowed is a real stand out - great world building, great characters, story line, side quests, generous loot and a real sense of exploration. I was super sad as I approached the final quests as I just ran out of things to do and what was once a glorious playground was now empty. Hopefully we get an Avowed 2!. Also Dispatch surprised me - fun game, fun interactive elements and the episodic release model helped it feel more like an event than a game. Outer Worlds 2 was also awesome - very much the game I was hoping Starfield was going to be - meaningful choices, character builds mattered, fun loot and a great sense of humor. South of Midnight was a real surprise - the actual gameplay felt kind of strained at times but the world building, characters, stories and music really stuck with me. I still remember telling my wife the back story around the giant alligator boss and how sad the whole thing was. And lastly RoboCop Rogue City on gamepass ended up also being just a really fun time. Good gunplay, good world building and a fun story (even though it did kind of get samey towards the end) but I really enjoyed it.

For indy games the standouts were WheelWorld - nice chill game with fun upgrades and levels. Keeper was I guess technically an 'AA' title but I consider it indy in scope. Amazing levels, the game really opens up the more you play it and it doesn't overstay its welcome. It is definitely a 'one-and-done' experience but it's worth playing. Sword of the Sea was also great - kept growing and evolving and the worlds get more interesting the further in you go. Fast & Furious Arcade Edition is a game that really got me to yelp out loud the first few times I played some of the levels - it's just a super fun, crazy old school arcade racer. Currently enjoying Marvel Cosmic Invasion and looking forward to unlocking more characters as I play through the campaign.

I spent quite a lot of time upgrading my retro gaming setup this year and had probably more fun with this than anything else. I started with a Raspberry Pi 4 and Batocera, then upgraded that to a small BeeLink mini PC, then finally migrated that to a Retroid Flip 2 with a docking station. Retro games are typically a lot smaller and shorter in scope and with emulators you can use save states, meaning taking them on the road with you is transformational. Being able to progress Tekken 6 or Chrono Trigger on the train, rather than doomscrolling, is so much more fun! Notable standouts on my Flip 2 include Super Mario Galaxy 1 with the tweaked controls and HD texture pack (I finally completed the game this year for the first time). Zelda Wind Waker on the GameCube (with Better Wind Waker and HD textures) and Burnout 3 Takedown on the PS2 which is still the best Burnout game. A super special mention to Ridge Racer 2 PSP too as just being a super fun ride - great graphics and an arcade handling model that still holds up today. I repurposed the old BeeLink into I guess what most people would call a Steam Machine Lite - it's not as powerful but still runs games great in the living room. I enjoyed playing some older remasters on it such as Fable Anniversary, Burnout Remastered, Skyrim anniversary, Bioshock Infinite Remastered, Gears of War Remastered, Outrun Coast to Coast with HD texture pack and mods and lastly Sega Rally 2 25th Anniversary

I did try quite a few games and bounce off them hard though. I seem to really not enjoy rogue lites for some reason but I thought Hades 2 would be different. I think the repetition triggers something in my brain and I just get bored. Hades 2 is amazing but it's just not for me. Kingdom Come Deliverance II I played for about 15 hours before quitting. It's so realistic it feels like real life and almost a second job. But that seems to really contrast with the bugs I found such as lack of character continuity and overall jank that can cause quests to fail or for you to lose hours of progress if you accidentally annoy the wrong person. It just felt like work to me - if I wanted to work I'd just do another hour of 'real life' is how I end up thinking about it. It's not escapism if it's too real. Oblivion Remastered was great but it really shows its age in some ways - I got about a third of the way through then fired up Skyrim to see how it compared and the comparison is really not kind - Skyrim is so much better in every way (yes, come fight me!). Special shout out to Clair Obscure Expedition 33 for being amazing but poorly timed to release right at the start of the summer, vacations and other things happening IRL meaning I never really went back to it after finishing the first few bosses.

Last of all - I sold off my PS5 after I realized I just don't use it much. I use the PC, Xbox (with Gamepass) and my Flip 2 and between them all I have so many gaming needs met the tiny handful of exclusives on the PS5 I didn't get to play I don't feel too awful about. Maybe the PS6 will change that and I'll dip back in again.

Thank you 2025 then for a great year of games. 2026 looks even stronger and I can't wait!

So I tried getting through a decent amount of games this year, especially with this being my first summer break as an instructor. Having said that, my wife and I also went on a lot of vacation this year since it was also my first year off from grad school so I didn't get to nearly as many as I was hoping. I'm not going to hit on everything but I will mention a few.

I got a Switch 2 back in August and the only game that I have really played made for the console has been Mario Kart World. This overall is a fun addition to the franchise - it's much more dynamic and chaotic than previous versions and I like the various costumes and characters you can play as. The courses overall are fun, and there are so many between the laps and the through-ways that it's taking a long time for any of them to feel stale. Having said that, the courses don't seem to stand out as much compared to Mario Kart 8. Additionally, in Mario Kart 8 they had a mechanic wherein if the player in 1st had a large enough lead they would feed items to 2nd that would help close that gap. That mechanic seems to have been removed, or at least lessened, such that if you build a good lead you're pretty much set. Not necessarily the worst thing, but it definitely makes you feel resigned to your place even when there is still much of the race left.

I finally picked up Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition for the Switch, which is a game I have been wanting to play forever since I never got a WiiU, and man do I love it. It's a great mindless, hack-n-slash where you just get to mow down enemies and feel like a demi-god. I've also played the Age of Calamity version, and I think this wins out. While the story in Age of Calamity has a lot more going for it, I think the sheer variety in characters and levels puts this one above it - because honestly, I'm not playing these games for the story. I'm hoping to get my wife to try it out because it would be lots of fun to play with another person.

This year I did my first run of *Stardew Valley with mods added on. I have played the game a few times before and it is such a gem, but it has always been on my Switch. I got PC versions on Steam for my wife and I (and this is her favorite game of all time), and we added on mods such as Expanded, Uncle Iroh's Tea, Polyamory Suite, and then some quality of life adjustments - and wow does it make such a difference. I don't think we can ever go back to playing the vanilla game. Expanded alone has so much content that it almost feels like too much! My wife has never reached Perfection with the mods, and I have a lot of catching up to do.

Very late to the party I am finally committing to finishing Oblivion. I started the game nearly 8 years ago and got frustrated with the leveling system, but now with some mods I'm coming back to it with a vengeance. I'm enjoying it a lot more now as I'm more conscience of leveling up and paying attention to my attributes and equipment. I'm excited to give it a go.

I have been circulating a few multiplayer games with some friends and we have played: Plate Up! (decent but still needs some work), Lethal Company (fun but the learning curve just felt too much for too little reward), Content Warning (more fun than the previous because it felt more silly and the recording mechanic was lots of fun, but still same complaints), For The King (big learning curve but actually really fun, the turn based game play was great for older adults with lots of responsibilities that just want to chat), Peak (this one is really fun - feels tough but fair).

Lastly, I've done some board and card games. I played Magic the Gathering for the first time with someone I met here on Tildes (shout-out to @phoenixrises)! We also played a few other table-top games, although I'm admittedly blanking on some. I got Insectarium which is a pretty low-stakes card collecting game, and I got my wife into Red Dragon Inn which is just absolutely one of my favorite card games to paly with low barrier to entry.

Second lastly, if anyone has played Metroid Prime 4 please let me know what you think! I'm definitely going to get it, but I'm wondering if I should wait out a bit and see if hard copies will go on sale.

2025 was a bit of an odd year in gaming for me. I spent the usual amount of time playing games, but I played far fewer (though I still booted up about 45 unique games at any point in 2025). I think that's maybe a good thing, that I'm content to just play and finish some longer games instead of constantly hopping around, but this was also one of the first years where I skipped a number of big releases and kind of ignored the hype for many games and just got what I knew I'd like + some older games.

Firstly, there are some big games that I started and have yet to finish. Namely, Assassin's Creed: Mirage, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (don't worry, at the top of my list), The Rogue Prince of Persia, Pacific Drive, and Ghost of Yotei (just came out and it took me a year to beat Tsushima, so probably will be the same with this). I like all of those games, so I'm hoping I can finish those over the next couple months now that life has settled down a bit for me.

My biggest disappointment is maybe more on me than the console/games, but despite getting a Switch 2 on release, I've barely played the thing. I didn't find Mario Kart World very fun past the first 10 hours and I feel like the library just isn't there yet. I did get it with the knowledge that it might take years for the library to fill up and I was afraid of it being out of stock for a year and getting FOMO. I have played a bit of Donkey Kong Bananza and it's fantastic, but the game also gave me a massive migraine at some point, so I dropped it (I think the console's HDR triggered something in me).

My next disappointment is that I was hoping that Stalker 2 would be in what I personally consider a playable state this year, and while it's gotten some stellar updates, it just isn't ready yet. I'm still watching it until it gets a few more patches as I know that I'll love the game once it's actually finished, but it's been such a long wait so far.

For surprises, I guess the first one is how far Destiny 2 has fallen this year. Last year saw the release of possibly the best expansion in the series, with The Final Shape, but then the series just took an utter nosedive this year. I'm pretty much completely done with the game now unless it completely changes again. I started Renegades and I'm just not feeling it anymore. I thought for sure the community would drop off a bit considering The Final Shape was the end of their first saga and a natural stopping point for many players, but I didn't expect it to be this bad.

My next surprise is that I was finally able to stop playing Call of Duty. I've played all CoD games besides two and over the last 10 years, I've usually put in a couple hundred hours to each CoD game ever year. Black Ops 6 was phenomenal, but I absolutely am just feeling content with the series now and just kind of stopped playing naturally and it feels good to be finally free.

In general, I've been playing far fewer online games and enjoying single player experiences more and it fits me a bit better at this stage of my life. I'd rather get a good story at my pace than queue up for endless online games. I'm still enjoying Battlefield 6 on and off, but that feels more casual than when I used to play a bunch of CoD, Counter Strike, etc.

I've also been returning more frequently to some of my favorites. I don't often play games more than once or twice, but I've returned to Dark Souls, Dark Souls 3, and Elden Ring this year and have been enjoying putting time into my 2nd and 3rd playthroughs in some of those. I'm finally able to start enjoying multiple playthroughs of some games after basically having a lifetime of only ever being able to beat most games once (the one exception is usually Mass Effect).

The biggest positive surprise for me was Lies of P. I actively loathe steampunk victorian settings. I think they're done to death, they don't excite me, and it bothers me how obsessed some people get over that aesthetic/theme (even though it shouldn't bother me, it does). I am obsessed with souls and soulslike games, so I finally gave it a try this year and it was genuinely surprising to me how much I enjoyed the setting of the game. I actually got pretty invested into the story of what was going on and the gameplay was great, to boot. I do think many of the bosses were too easy (I beat most on my first or second try on the hardest difficulty) and wish that many were on the same difficulty as Nameless Puppet, which is one of my favorite soulslike fights period. Even though many bosses were easy, this was one of my favorite games of the year as well.

Now, as far as my favorites, I played some fantastic games in 2025. In no particular order, some of my favorites were The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, Sword of the Sea, Ghost of Yotei (so far), Lies of P, Get to Work, Tokyo Xtreme Racer, Hades 2, Battlefield 6, Megabonk, but perhaps my absolute favorite game I played this year was Star Wars Outlaws. It was baffling to me how good that game is compared to the internet discourse around it. I know that it got a number of updates since the initial release, but it's really good. It feels very Star Wars and is one of the most immersive Star Wars games I've played. It very much feels like a continuation of the good early 00's lucasfilm games, in the sense that it seems the developers cared deeply about the source material and about making you feel like you're living in the star wars galaxy. The story and characters were compelling and I found the gameplay to be pretty fun, even if basic in some places. I just enjoyed exploring as Kay with Nix and playing the balancing act between the various syndicates and the empire. I don't think it's the best game I played in 2025, but it did end up as my favorite.

Here's to another great year of gaming in 2026. There are quite a few titles I'm excited for, but I'm hoping I can dedicate the next month or two to finish some of the games I'm halfway through, like Clair Obscur.

Absolutely loved Deltarune. I had heard someone say the episodes were so distinct it would be ok finishing these and then waiting for the rest. Not sure I agree with that now though(and I remembered that I stopped playing after the first chapter to wait for the rest to come out). Anyway super looking for ward to the rest and hoping I don’t need to replay everything to remember all the details and characters.

Absolutely loved Silk Song. Personally the difficulty felt just right for me. Even the long run backs didn’t bug me too much as the movement felt wonderful. Silks song felt easier than Hollow Knight to me, and much easier than Elden Ring/Dark Souls. The only thing I didn’t like was the shards for tools, but pretty much just stuck with the needle and hunters crest 95% of the game.

Had fun getting a switch 2 on launch day. After trying to get a pre order and finally getting one for delivery, I went to Target with my wife and kid the morning of as we heard they had some. Lo and behold we got one and did t have to wait for the GameStop shipping which arrived a fees days later. It felt silly and petty, but really fun getting my first launch day console since the game cube 24 years ago. Mario Kart was pretty fun, but nothing like a Zelda or the later Silk So g would be for me.

My top unexpected experience was playing Onion Delivery in UFO50 along with the Eggplant Presents podcast. The whole year long experience was incredible, but Onion Delivery was a game that I bounced off of in about five minutes the first time I tried it. The controls and map were completely unapproachable to me. But since I had a whole week of time to focus on this one game, I played it for an hour or two each night and slowly figured it out. The sensation of learning the coordination and information in a game is pretty rare for me now. I would say most games I get a sense of in twenty minutes and then gradually improve, but this felt like I was a young kid again learning how to stumble around the control scheme and map. I love counter intuitive experiences, like how going fast in Onion Deliver is the safest way to drive and heal. I love the natural fluency you gain spending thoughtful time with something. The map became a network of landmarks and signposts in my head (many in the Eggplant Discord compared this to The Knowledge London cab drivers posses. These feelings were so rewarding and the progression felt great. Even with improved skill and knowledge I still barely managed to get the basic win condition before the episode aired. I was extremely releaved and satisfied to a degree I only feel a few times a decade from games.

Steam summary would help a lot, but I can say one thing for sure - my main game of the year was Horizon Forbidden West. I have played its predecessor Horizon Zero Dawn twice last year - something I haven't done in past 20 years or so, it was that good. It was natural to play the next part in the series. I played Forbidden West for 167 hours and finished the base game and Burning Shores on my Steam Deck. It was very rough ride, Steam Deck just doesn't have enough power for this game, but since I have 10 years old desktop PC, there was no other way to play it. The game is awesome! It is just like the first game haven't even ended and just continued. I will replay the story of the game in the future and will get all achievements - the same thing I did with Zero Dawn.

After finishing Horizon, I finally started playing Kingdom Come: Deliverance. I feel ashamed to be playing it in 2025 for the first time - I'm Czech, the game background is Czech, the game takes place on Czech soil, the developers are mainly Czech people... Well, here we are, I'm over 70 hours in the game and I still have a lot to do. It is really well done game and I love it. I will eventually buy KCD2 as well.

I think there are no more games I put a lot of time into this year. I play one game at a time with some sidekicks here and there. Given there are 365 days in a year and I put around 240 hours in just two games there is not much more time to be shared between other ones.

I have yet to see my Steam summary which will tell me the truth.

Fun idea! 2025 wasn’t a huge gaming year for me, but I still enjoyed a few great titles. My favorites were ___, biggest surprise was ___, and I rediscovered ___ after a long time. Excited to see everyone else’s year-in-review!