Dexerto2025 has been full of surprises. Don’t forget that it was the year that GTA 6 was supposed to come out, but instead we’ve been enjoying experiences that arrived without huge amount of hype but have been the games that everyone is talking about.
Yes, there have still been blockbusters like Ghost of Yotei and Death Stranding 2, but indie darlings like Clair Obscur: Expedition, Ball x Pit, and Umamusume have been every bit as thrilling. So, with such a stacked calendar of game releases, what is the best game of 2025?
Throughout the year, our specialist writers have thoroughly tested new releases and scored them from one to five. If they were among our highest-rated of the year, they’ll be in this list.
20. Umamusume: Pretty Derby
Cygames- Release date: March 31, 2025
- Developer: Cygames
- Platforms: iOS, Android, PC
- Genre: Racing / Simulation
What is it? Umamusume: Pretty Derby is a character-driven sports sim where famous Japanese racehorses are reimagined as anime girls chasing championship glory. You train your chosen runner through a loop of stat-building, daily events, bonding moments, and high-stakes races that play out like full-blown sports dramas. Every run takes your horse girl from rookie hopeful to potential champion.
Why we like it: Umamusume delivers sports drama so intense that it has you pacing like a Premier League manager. Training arcs quickly turn into mini soap operas filled with rivalries, meltdowns, surprise breakthroughs, and slice-of-life moments that make it hard to put down. One moment you’re casually boosting stats, the next you’re yelling at your phone as your star sprinter fires off a clutch ability and steals a photo-finish win.
Its charm comes from how much personality each horse girl brings. They aren’t interchangeable units, but characters with quirks, insecurities, ambitions, and story beats that shift with every run, creating a loop of chaos, comedy, and emotional investment. It’s a gacha game that somehow becomes a full sports anime you’re actively directing, and that’s exactly why it’s so hard to walk away from.
19. Ball x Pit
Kenny Sun- Release date: October 15, 2025
- Developer: Kenny Sun
- Platforms: Switch, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X / S, PC
- Genre: Roguelike
What is it? Through a series of increasingly difficult stages, you send out a roster of unique characters to fire balls at enemies who dare stand in your way. Some balls deal fire damage, others spawn baby balls – regardless of your choices, the screen will soon be filled with dozens or hundreds of damaging balls in a symphony of mayhem. Between runs, you’re building a city to inhabit new characters, upgrade their stats, and unlock new mechanics for your next run.
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Why we like it: Ball x Pit is one of the best roguelikes of the year. The thing that’s so good about it is that no two runs ever feel quite the same as you can always pick new balls, new passives, and build towards new evolutions with game-changing effects. The bite-sized 10-15 minute runs are perfectly paced and with constant upgrades rolling out, you’re enticed to jump back in whenever you can spare the time.
What makes it so rewarding is how each run can swing on a single decision. Bounces behave in surprising ways, synergies form quickly, and sudden power spikes push you to adapt on the fly. Then there’s the city building layer, which becomes just as absorbing as you plan new layouts and long term boosts that feed directly into your next attempt. Even when you step away, you end up thinking about the next build or placement you want to try.
18. Megabonk
Vedinad- Release date: September 18, 2025
- Developer: Vedinad
- Platform: PC
- Genre: Roguelike
What is it? Another roguelike, Megabonk is quite similar to Ball x Pit, and clearly wears its Vampire Survivors inspiration on its sleeve. You drop into a procedurally generated map and have to survive against increasingly tougher waves of enemies as long as possible. The twist? You can’t manually attack; every action is entirely automated. Your input comes when picking from a list of new weapons, abilities, or upgrades. Building the most powerful character is what keeps you coming back, to see if you can push the limits and set a new personal best.
Why we like it: Vampire Survivors became a smash hit in 2022 for a reason. Its simplistic approach to game-design – effectively a one-hand bullet hell where you merely control movement – helped draw millions in, and in 2025, Megabonk did the same, just from a different perspective. Trading out the top-down view for a third-person camera, we get to experience the same frantic action just with a new level of intensity.
The adrenaline rush of saving an all but doomed Megabonk run is unlike anything else. It’s incredibly satisfying and one of the most endlessly replayable games of the year.
17. Mario Kart World
Nintendo- Release date: June 5, 2025
- Developer: Nintendo
- Platform: Switch 2
- Genre: Racing
What is it? The iconic Mario Kart series returned alongside the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, bringing more wacky races, charming characters, and ever-so frustrating items (no more Blue Shells, please). It also boasts the best visuals yet, a phenomenal soundtrack, and even the series’ first open-world.
Why we like it: While Mario Kart’s empty open world is disappointing, the racing is as fun as ever. The cast of characters is more expansive, the tracks are fantastic, and driving has never been this satisfying with new wall-riding and grinding techniques evolving the formula. With such a high skill ceiling, it’s the type of racer you could play for hundreds of hours as you master every turn.
Knockout Tour proved to be a revelation as well, as Mario Kart’s take on an elimination-style mode delivered plenty of thrilling moments. The further you make it into the 24-player race, the smaller the group gets. When you make it to the final lap, with just one other player to beat, it’s heart-thumpingly thrilling.
You can read our full Mario Kart World review here.
16. Where Winds Meet
NetEase Games- Release date: November 14, 2025
- Developer: Everstone Studio
- Platforms: PS5, PC, Android, iOS
- Genre: Action RPG
What is it? Where Winds Meet is a free-to-play open-world action RPG set in a mythic version of ancient China. You play as a disciple searching for your missing swordmaster, a journey that pulls you into a web of conspiracies tied to your own past. Along the way, you’ll master over-the-top martial arts, take on brutal Soulslike boss fights, explore vast regions filled with secrets, and unlock a wide range of inventive weapons and skills.
Why we like it: Where Winds Meet feels like a Chinese fantasy brought to life, letting you dash across water, soar through the air with a paper fan, and sprint up mountains with effortless grace. Its world delivers this same sense of spectacle, offering beautiful locations that rival Ghost of Yotei, from lantern-lit city streets to sweeping grasslands and dense bamboo forests packed with secrets.
Combat carries that same momentum, with a Sekiro-style parry system that turns duels into fast, frantic clashes that get your heart pumping. The game’s wild arsenal only heightens fights, letting you breathe fire, flatten foes as a giant frog, launch enemies with Tai Chi, glide into battle behind a petal-firing umbrella, or even summon spectral rats with a Rope Dart. It’s this that makes Where Winds Meet shine amongst the open-world crowd.
15. Dispatch
AdHoc- Release date: November 12, 2025
- Developer: AdHoc Studio
- Platforms: PS5, PC
- Genre: Adventure
What is it? As a failed superhero working in a call center, your job is to send former villains turned wannabe heroes out on jobs to protect and serve the city. Over the course of eight episodes, you choose how the story unfolds, whether it is small things like hurling hilarious insults or bigger moments like managing major relationships. Whatever you choose, you end up bonding with this cast of misfits in a dazzlingly animated adventure that lands both its comedy and emotional beats.
Why we like it: Episodic adventure games are back. After enjoying a peak with the likes of The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us, Telltale collapsed following poorly received releases such as Game of Thrones and Guardians of the Galaxy. Now, a group of ex-Telltale developers have produced Dispatch, one of the best examples of a choose-your-own-adventure game in years. It is simply kick ass, as lead character Robert Robertson the Third would say.
Dispatch pairs a stacked voice cast with a narrative that pulls you in from the first episode. The dispatch system gives you something fresh to enjoy as you juggle calls, direct your heroes, and watch the consequences ripple out across each chapter. Even when you’ve rolled credits, you’re eager to check the stats, see what other players picked, and jump back in to explore the alternate paths. We can’t wait for Season 2.
14. Donkey Kong Bananza
Nintendo- Release date: July 17, 2025
- Developer: Nintendo
- Platform: Switch 2
- Genre: Platformer
What is it? Donkey Kong makes his debut on the Nintendo Switch 2 with an exceptional platformer broken wide open by its destructibility. Just about everything you see can be smashed, allowing you to make new pathways to golden bananas and creatively solve any objective you come across.
Why we like it: Donkey Kong Bananza is so much fun as each level is a new playground to experiment with. Where you go and what you do is your choice, and no two players will end up having taken the same path. You can truly slam your way to success, and what’s more fun than that?
Vibrant visuals and rock-solid performance make it a smash hit on the Switch 2 – it can be mindblowing to look back upon your destruction and witness the scope of it all on a handheld device.
You can read our full Donkey Kong Bananza review here.
13. Monster Hunter Wilds
Capcom- Release date: February 28, 2025
- Developer: Capcom
- Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X / S, PC
- Genre: Action RPG
What is it? The latest game in the long-running Monster Hunter franchise has you gearing up to take on a slew of increasingly tough terrors in combat, with abundant materials to collect and new gear to craft as you tackle bigger bosses.
Why we like it: Fighting monsters, returning to camp, upgrading, eating, and going back out into the wild has always been an intoxicating loop. Here in Monster Hunter Wilds, that loop is as good as it’s ever been. Combat feels punchier no matter your choice of weapons; enemies are far more intelligent, and the world is more alive and richly detailed than in past games.
It all combines to establish a world you want to be a part of, one you want to continue exploring and evolving in. The more powerful you get, the bigger targets you can hunt down. Nothing is quite as rewarding as seeing a larger-than-life creature finally felled at the hand of your sharpened blade.
You can read our full Monster Hunter Wilds review here.
12. Elden Ring Nightreign
Bandai Namco- Release date: May 30, 2025
- Developer: FromSoftware Inc.
- Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X / S, PC
- Genre: Multiplayer roguelike
What is it? Nightreign distills the Elden Ring experience into a three-player, three-day arc. Together, you rush through The Lands Between, battling increasingly tougher enemies from a number of FromSoft games, not just Elden Ring, all before time runs out. Each new run starts from the very beginning, forcing you to find new gear, level up again, and prepare for a conclusive battle against a randomized Nightlord.
Why we like it: Elden Ring is Dexerto’s best game of all time for good reason. The sense of exploration and the thrill of overcoming seemingly impossible odds combine to make one of the most memorable gaming experiences ever. With Nightreign, we get to relive that experience over and over again, and better yet, we can team up with friends to tackle some monstrous bosses.
Riffing on the Roguelike formula, Nightreign gives you every reason to jump back in for another run. Perhaps you’ll make it to the third day, or maybe you’ll find a piece of gear to radically change your strategy. The unpredictable nature makes every run equal parts challenging and exciting.
You can read our full Elden Ring Nightreign review here.
11. Hollow Knight: Silksong
Team Cherry- Release date: September 4, 2025
- Developer: Team Cherry
- Platforms: Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X / S, PC
- Genre: Metroidvania
What is it? The highly anticipated follow-up to 2017’s Hollow Knight has players venturing through the mysterious lands of Pharloom as the far more agile Hornet, who we battled in the original. Pairing brutally difficult combat with punishing platforming, the sequel has players learning new mechanics as they explore uncharted territories.
Why we like it: Whether or not Silksong lived up to lofty expectations over the eight-year wait is up for debate, but noone can deny it delivered exactly what was promised. Team Cherry crafted another gorgeously detailed world in Pharloom, packed full of fascinating characters, intriguing quests, and extremely tricky boss battles. The narrative is stronger this time, and the new abilities you gain open up fresh ways to play that drive you on, no matter how tough things get.
It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but when you get in the flow state to topple an enemy that’s been halting your progress for hours, it’s hard not to feel on top of the world.
You can read our full Hollow Knight: Silksong review here.
10. Battlefield 6
EA- Release date: October 10, 2025
- Developer: DICE, Ripple Effect Studios, Criterion Games, & Motive Studio
- Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X / S, PC
- Genre: FPS
What is it? A return to form for the series, Battlefield 6 drops us back into a modern setting with a well-rounded package featuring a fully-fledged campaign, a wealth of multiplayer game types, and even a creative toolset in Portal to build your own experiences. Paired with Battlefield RedSec, the free-to-play component housing a Battle Royale, and it’s an incredibly feature-rich shooter ready to provide countless nights of entertainment.
Why we like it: Battlefield 6 finally got the series back on track by honing in on over-the-top destruction and exciting gunplay. While the campaign is by the numbers, the multiplayer is astounding. No two matches feel identical thanks to the wealth of vehicles, weapons, and opportunities for chaos in every map. With post-launch support already delivering plenty of new content, it’s great value, too.
You can read our full Battlefield 6 review here.
9. Blue Prince
Dogubomb- Release date: April 10, 2025
- Developer: Dogubomb
- Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X / S, PC
- Genre: Roguelike Puzzler
What is it? Your great uncle has passed away, leaving you his mansion on one condition – you have to reach a mysterious 46th room in an incredible building that changes with each passing day. Do so, and the property is yours. That task is far easier said than done, however. It’s your choice which rooms get placed where in this puzzler and how the mansion takes shape on a given day. With limited time on your side, every step is crucial.
Why we like it: You’ve never played anything quite like Blue Prince. The first few days can be confusing as you come to grips with the unique puzzle elements and room-building mechanics, but before long, you’ll be utterly hooked. Not only do you need to pick the right rooms for your current situation, but also place them in the right order, and navigate them at the right times. In the span of a few weeks, you’ll have grown, not thanks to in-game stat boosts, but thanks to the knowledge you’ve acquired.
Sit down, grab a notebook, and do your best to solve the mystery in one of the most rewarding experiences of the year.
8. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Warhorse Studios- Release date: February 4, 2025
- Developer: Warhorse Studios
- Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X / S, PC
- Genre: Action RPG
What is it? Set amid a civil war in 1403 Bohemia, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a richly detailed first person RPG. Henry’s actions genuinely shape how the world responds, from who trusts you to which paths even become available. The focus on realism creates a slower pace that gives the game a distinctly grounded, authentic feel.
Why we like it: Kingdom Come: Deliverance stood out for its slower, more methodical approach to not only combat, but storytelling too. Every slash of your sword has to be considered before you let loose, just like every choice of dialogue has to be pondered before you shape the world around you.
Top notch performances and stunning visuals bring 1403 Bohemia to life. You feel the struggle of the time and find motivation to help your fellow person whenever possible. Whether it’s the main path or a quick chat with a local, it’s all delivered with impressive consistency, making this one of the most convincing medieval worlds in years.
You can read our full Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 review here.
7. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Kojima Productions- Release date: June 26, 2025
- Developer: Kojima Productions
- Platforms: PS5, PC
- Genre: Action-adventure
What is it? Hideo Kojima’s follow up to Death Stranding takes Sam Porter Bridges (played expertly by Norman Reedus) from reconnecting America to reconnecting Australia. It still tasks you with making deliveries on foot in what is the purest walking sim of them all, but it’s now bolstered by more aggressive gunplay, more tactile melee combat, and improved driving.
Why we like it: Death Stranding 2 is the perfect sequel. It takes everything that made the original shine and expands the formula in new and interesting ways. Walking shouldn’t be this captivating, but if exploring on foot is your thing, nothing delivers it better, while driving through the outback proves just as satisfying thanks to drastically improved vehicles.
It features an all-star cast delivering career best performances in some of Kojima’s most emotional work yet. You’ll be engrossed from start to finish not just by the satisfaction of delivering packages without a scratch on them, but by the twisting storylines and unexpected turns along the way.
You can read our full Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review here.
6. Silent Hill f
Konami- Release date: September 25, 2025
- Developer: NeoBards Entertainment
- Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X / S, PC
- Genre: Survival Horror
What is it? High school student Hinako Shimizu is left alone to wander her Japanese hometown after it has been overtaken by a mysterious fog. What she uncovers in the thick of it is enough to give even her voice actress nightmares. It is grotesque, discomforting, and deeply morbid, yet it is the kind of third-person horror experience you cannot look away from.
Why we like it: The Silent Hill franchise has ebbed and flowed over the years, with some games becoming all-time horror classics while others faded quicker than the fog. Despite its unusual setting and cast, Silent Hill f falls firmly into the former camp.
While combat is nothing to write home about and often something you will want to avoid altogether, the narrative’s dive into the psyche of a traumatised high schooler is more than enough to hook you. Add in sickening monster designs and stomach-turning environments, and you are left with an unsettling experience that is difficult to shake off.
You can read our full Silent Hill f review here.
5. Ghost of Yotei
Sucker Punch Productions- Release date: October 2, 2025
- Developer: Sucker Punch Productions
- Platform: PS5
- Genre: Action-adventure
What is it? Ghost of Yotei swaps out Jin Sakai for a new lead, Atsu, a mercenary driven to avenge her murdered family. Set in 1603 Japan, it spans a vast open world packed with bounties to track, bosses to duel, and, of course, foxes to pet.
Why we like it: Ghost of Yotei builds on what Ghost of Tsushima established but shifts the focus to a far more direct and aggressive lead. Atsu’s fighting style is faster and more brutal than Jin’s, giving combat a very different energy without changing what people loved about the original. The world is larger, too, with more varied terrain that naturally pushes you to explore beyond the main story.
Atsu’s journey is intensely personal, and Erika Ishii delivers a performance strong enough to place her alongside PlayStation heroes like Aloy, Kratos, and Ellie. The Yotei Six deserve everything coming to them, but Ezo is so striking that you will often pause to take it in before closing in on your next target.
You can read our full Ghost of Yotei review here.
4. Split Fiction
EA / Hazelight Studios- Release date: March 6, 2025
- Developer: Hazelight Studios
- Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X / S, PC, Switch 2
- Genre: Action-adventure
What is it? Hazelight Studios’ It Takes Two won the 2021 Game of the Year award, so the pressure was on to follow it up. The team delivered with another all-time great co-op game starring a pair of writers – Zoe and Mio – who are sucked into their own works of fiction and have to work together to break out into the real world. This is achieved by platforming, puzzle solving, and creatively fighting to resolve each story’s unique threads.
Why we like it: Split Fiction once again proved that any new game from Hazelight Studios is an instant must-play. Each stage is an opportunity for the devs to flex their masterful game design chops as we jump from one mind-bending setpiece to another, all with a partner right at our side. The sheer variety on display is amazing from beginning to end with every aspect being built with two players in mind.
You can read our full Split Fiction review here.
3. Arc Raiders
Embark Studios- Release date: October 30, 2025
- Developer: Embark Studios
- Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X / S, PC
- Genre: Third-person extraction shooter
What is it? Arc Raiders is an extraction shooter where both humans and AI enemies are your threat. The goal is simple: drop in, take out some ARCs (AI robots), and make it out safely within a 30-minute window. Easy, right? Think again. These AI are no joke, and when other human players are on the map, it can all kick off in the blink of an eye, leaving you down and out with nothing to show for your hard work. But the thrill of escaping with rewards is what keeps you coming back.
Why we like it: Even with Battlefield returning and a new Black Ops in the mix, Arc Raiders stole the show as the year’s standout shooter. Its visual design is bold, the audio work is superb, and the ARC machines are genuinely intimidating to face. Most importantly, the whole experience is thrilling moment to moment.
Even though extraction shooters can strip you of everything the moment you slip up, Arc Raiders still makes every run feel fun, even if some pesky players double-cross you moments before extraction. You’re always making progress in meaningful ways, so that eventually, perhaps you can be the one to double-cross another team, maybe even right after they’ve taken out The Queen. Not that we’ve ever done that, of course.
You can read our full Arc Raiders review here.
2. Hades 2
Supergiant Games- Release date: September 25, 2025
- Developer: Supergiant Games
- Platforms: Switch 2, Switch, PC
- Genre: Roguelike
What is it? Hades 2 is the long-awaited sequel to Supergiant’s award-winning roguelike. This time you play as Melinoë, Princess of the Underworld, on a mission to stop Chronos, the Titan of Time. You dash and slash through distinct biomes with a wide arsenal of weapons, picking up new abilities and powerful upgrades that reset with every run. Bit by bit, you grow stronger until you’re ready to face Chronos himself.
Why we like it: Hades was a near-perfect roguelike, and Hades 2 gives us more of what made it special. As Supergiant’s first sequel, it doesn’t try to reinvent everything, but it doesn’t have to. That means we get a charming new cast of characters, a range of deadly weapons, and more abilities and combinations than you can count.
After your first few runs, you’ll understand Hades 2’s qualities as no other roguelike drives its narrative forward after each attempt quite like this. No matter how far you make it, or what characters you mingle with along the way, you always feel as though progress is being made. Blink and three hours have vanished just like that.
You can read our full Hades 2 review here.
1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Sandfall Interactive- Release date: April 24, 2025
- Developer: Sandfall Interactive
- Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X / S, PC
- Genre: Turn-based RPG
What is it? In this dark fantasy version of late 1800s France, humans are forced to contend with their mortality far more explicitly than in our world. A mystical being known as The Paintress decides when everyone at or above a certain age is to be executed in one fell, genocidal swoop. We lead the charge against her as part of Expedition 33, fighting tooth and nail to reach them in frantic turn-based battles.
Why we like it: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a triumph. Its storytelling and character work are exceptional, pulling you deeper into its world with every chapter. The turn-based combat stands out too, using timing-based actions to make each encounter feel active and engaging even hundreds of battles in.
By the end, you feel genuinely attached to the people and places you have fought to protect. The writing, voice acting, and animation all work together with remarkable consistency, delivering an RPG that stands as the best game of the year.