The top games of 2025 were those that, for one reason or another, took us on new adventures. Already in the third of the year, there have been some absolutely stunning performances. Creative new episodes of long-running series like Assassin’s Creed and Like a Dragon have impressed, and complete newcomers like Blue Prince and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 have also been big hits. In 2025, a lot of new games are coming out that appear to have an impact beyond the current game.
Below you’ll find our ranked list to keep track of our favorite games of the year ahead of time. Score-wise, they’re all 4-star or above (the criteria for which you can find by looking . This means that where scores overlap, we’ve dialled deeper in to refine our ranking after heated debate (which may change in time).
The verdict is clear — the best games of 2025 are already making waves and will no doubt fuel our Game of the Year discussions. We’re just getting started, and we’re here to help you stay on top of the must-play titles. Don’t see a game listed? Explore all of our reviews to find out why..
Top games of 2025, ranked
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 / Top Games of 2025
🎮 Game Title: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
🏢 Developer: Sandfall Interactive
📅 Planned Release: 2025
🕹️ Platforms: Top Games of 2025
- Xbox Series X|S
- PlayStation 5
- PC
- Day One on Xbox Game Pass
🔥 Core Concept & Setting
Set in a fantastical and surreal world inspired by French art and architecture, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 blends turn-based RPG mechanics with real-time reaction elements and an emotionally driven narrative.
The game’s world is under the control of a mysterious figure known as the Paintress, who paints names onto a monolithic tower each year. Those named are fated to die by the end of the year. You play as Gloria, part of Expedition 33, the next group marked for death—your mission is to break the cycle and kill the Paintress.
🎨 Gameplay Features / Top Games of 2025
- Turn-based combat with real-time elements (e.g., aiming and dodging) to add skill-based execution.
- A system reminiscent of Persona, Final Fantasy X, or Child of Light, but infused with unique pacing and polish.
- Emphasis on emotionally charged storytelling and character development.
- Highly cinematic presentation, taking visual cues from Baroque and Impressionist art styles.
🌍 World & Art Style
The world of the game is dreamlike, ethereal, and layered with emotional symbolism, inspired by French culture and art.
The environment design mixes fantasy, surrealism, and art nouveau, resulting in a painterly world that mirrors the Paintress’ powers
🧙 Characters
- Gloria – The main protagonist and key member of Expedition 33.
- Expedition Members – A diverse party of characters each with backstories, motivations, and combat roles.
- The Paintress – The mystical antagonist whose art determines life and death.
🎥 Trailer Highlights
- First revealed in June 2024 at the Xbox Showcase.
- The trailer showcased:
- Turn-based combat with real-time dodging mechanics.
- Emotional storytelling and intense cinematic moments.
- Beautiful visuals resembling living oil paintings.
Watch the official trailer here:
🔗 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Reveal Trailer (YouTube)
🧩 Game Mechanics
- Combat: Party-based with elemental and tactical synergy.
- Story Progression: Linear mission structure intertwined with exploration and dialogue choices.
- Customization: Equipment, skills, and party configuration will play major roles.
📝 Developer Background
Based in Montpellier, France, Sandfall Interactive is an emerging game studio making its mark with its debut title, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Built with Unreal Engine 5, the game showcases the team’s commitment to cutting-edge visuals and smooth, immersive animation
2. Split Fiction / Top Games of 2025
🎮 Game Title: Split/Second
🏢 Developer: Black Rock Studio
📅 Release Date: May 2010
🕹️ Platforms:
- PlayStation 3
- Xbox 360
- PC
- (Later ported to PSP)
🔥 Overview
Split/Second is an arcade-style racing game set in a fictional reality TV show where racers not only drive fast — they also trigger cinematic explosions and alter the track mid-race to sabotage opponents.
Build up your “Power Play” meter by performing drifts, drafting behind opponents, and catching air through jumps.
🎨 Visual Style & Presentation
- Highly cinematic, with dynamic environments and a “Michael Bay” style of explosions.
- Urban-industrial aesthetic, like airports, power plants, and dockyards.
- HUD is built into the car, giving a more immersive feel.
🧩 Gameplay Highlights
- Single-player career mode structured like TV show episodes.
- Multiplayer: split-screen and online racing modes.
- Massive, track-changing “Power Play” events add chaos and unpredictability.
✨ Legacy
While critically acclaimed for its innovation and explosive gameplay, Split/Second did not receive a sequel due to studio closure. Today, it remains a cult classic among arcade racing fans.
3. Monster Hunter Wilds / Top Games of 2025
🏢 Developer / Publisher: Capcom
📅 Release Date: 2025 (exact date TBD)
🕹️ Platforms:
- PlayStation 5
- Xbox Series X|S
- PC (Steam)
❌ Not releasing on Nintendo Switch or last-gen consoles
✅ Full cross-platform support expected (TBC)
🌍 Setting
Monster Hunter Wilds introduces a new open-world-inspired ecosystem, featuring seamless biomes with:
- Harsh desert storms
- Expansive plains
- Dynamic weather and time systems
- Evolving ecosystems that change depending on monster activity
These environments are more alive and interactive than in past entries—entire habitats can transform in real-time, affecting both monsters and hunters.
🦖 Monsters
Confirmed and teased creatures include:
- Herd monsters and pack predators reacting in groups
- Monsters dynamically engaging each other in territorial disputes
- Mountable creatures for traversal (a series first)
Capcom promises the highest monster variety at launch in the series so far.
⚔️ Combat & Gameplay
- Switch weapons instantly on the fly without having to head back to your base or loadout station
- Fluid combat that lets you react faster and customize styles
- Return of all 14 classic weapons (Great Sword, Dual Blades, Insect Glaive, etc.)
- Mounted travel and real-time tracking with scout tools
- More emphasis on dynamic team strategies
🎮 Multiplayer
- 4-player online co-op remains core
- Likely supports matchmaking, friends-only hunts, and SOS join-in
- Shared world effects—some events might influence multiple hunts
🎨 Graphics & Engine
- Built using RE Engine (also used for Resident Evil and Street Fighter 6)
- High-fidelity textures, particle effects, and realistic animations
- Stunning visuals in 4K / 60 FPS supported on current-gen consoles
🎥 Trailer & Reveal
- First revealed at The Game Awards 2023
- Teaser showed:
- Expansive desert terrain
- Massive creatures
- Hunters riding mounts while using weapons on the move
📺 Watch the Official Reveal Trailer (YouTube):
Monster Hunter Wilds – Reveal Trailer
📝 Developer Insights
Capcom has shared that Wilds is designed to:
- Deepen immersion through story, ecology, and movement
- Offer both solo and team play without sacrificing complexity
- Aims to be the most groundbreaking Monster Hunter yet, with advanced monster AI and a richly detailed world design.
4. Doom: The Dark Ages / Top Games of 2025
🏢 Developer: id Software
🏢 Publisher: Bethesda Softworks / Xbox Game Studios
📅 Release Window: 2025
🕹️ Platforms:
- Xbox Series X|S
- PC (Windows)
- Day One on Xbox Game Pass
❌ Not announced for PlayStation platforms
🧙♂️ Overview
DOOM: The Dark Ages is a medieval fantasy prequel to the modern DOOM games (DOOM 2016 and DOOM Eternal). You play as the original DOOM Slayer, fighting in a dark, brutal, ancient world where hellish forces first emerged.
“This is the Slayer’s origin story… forged in war and flame.” — id Software
The game maintains the signature fast-paced, ultra-violent combat DOOM is known for but infuses it with medieval and gothic weaponry, armor, and a darker atmosphere.
⚔️ Key Features / Top Games of 2025
🔨 Brutal New Weapons
- Flail – A heavy medieval weapon capable of crushing enemies in brutal glory kills.
- Shield Saw – A massive round shield with a buzzsaw edge, useful for both blocking and dismembering.
- Crossbow-style energy weapons and fantasy shotguns hint at a blend of classic DOOM firepower with medieval stylings.
🐉 Demonic Bestiary
- Return of familiar DOOM demons, redesigned with ancient and grotesque medieval forms.
- All-new monsters inspired by gothic, hellish, and fantasy horror.
- Larger-scale bosses and ritualistic enemies connected to the Slayer’s origin.
🐲 Mounts & Siege
- You can ride a massive, dragon-like creature to engage in aerial combat and traversal — a first for the franchise.
- Hints at massive siege battles, hinting at larger-scale, story-driven missions.
📖 Narrative Focus
- Suggests large-scale siege encounters, pointing to more expansive, narrative-focused missions.
- Deepens the mythos introduced in DOOM Eternal‘s lore tablets and DLC.
- More cinematic elements without sacrificing gameplay speed.
🧱 Visuals & Engine
- Built in a next-generation id Tech engine (likely id Tech 8 or heavily modified id Tech 7).
- Ultra-detailed character models, massive destructible environments, and dark fantasy-inspired level design.
- Gothic castles, burning wastelands, and demonic fortresses.
🎥 Reveal Trailer Highlights
Unveiled during the Xbox Games Showcase on June 9, 2024.
Key moments include:
- Slayer walking through an infernal cathedral with fire-glowing runes
- Aerial dragon combat sequences
- Melee-focused demon slaying with gritty close-up finishers
- Epic orchestral-metal score with medieval choir elements
📺 Check out the official reveal trailer:
DOOM: The Dark Ages – Debut Trailer on YouTube
🎮 Gameplay Style / Top Games of 2025
- Still first-person, ultra-fast and aggressive
- Greater emphasis on close-quarters combat and heavy weapons
- Possible larger combat arenas, sieges, and even mounted action
📝 Developer Statement
“DOOM: The Dark Ages is the story behind the helmet — where the legend began. We’re going deeper into lore, darker in tone, but bloodier than ever.” — id Software, 2024
5. Assassin’s Creed Shadows / Top Games of 2025
🏢 Developer / Publisher: Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft
📅 Release Date: November 15, 2024
🕹️ Platforms:
- PlayStation 5
- Xbox Series X|S
- PC (Ubisoft Connect only)
- Mac (Apple Silicon)
- iPhone 15 Pro (via Ubisoft+)
❌ Not available on PS4, Xbox One, or Steam
🎮 Day One on Ubisoft+ Premium
🗾 Setting
Set in 16th-century Japan during the late Sengoku (Warring States) period, Assassin’s Creed Shadows brings players to a land of:
- Samurai dynasties and civil war
- Espionage, betrayal, and political instability
- Beautiful yet dangerous regions such as Kyoto, castles, forests, villages, and snowy mountain passes
👥 Dual Protagonists
🔹 Naoe – The Assassin (Shinobi)
- A stealth-focused female ninja from Iga province
- Agile, fast, uses blow darts, kunai, and the hidden blade
- Can hide in shadows, extinguish lights, crawl through tall grass and under floors
- Inspired by classic Tenchu-style gameplay
🔹 Yasuke – The Samurai
- Loosely based on the historical African samurai who was a retainer of Oda Nobunaga.
- Heavy, armor-wearing powerhouse with brutal katana and kanabo attacks
- Can tank hits, break defenses, and wield a wide range of weapons
- Uses honor-driven, open-combat tactics
🧠 You can switch between them based on mission style or strategy.
⚔️ Gameplay Mechanics
- Dynamic open world: Seasons change, weather alters stealth (e.g. mud, snow leaves trails)
- Real-time lighting: Shadows and light affect visibility; stealth plays are deeper and more reactive
- Destructible environments: Smash doors, walls, and floors to alter combat flow
- Customizable hideout: Build relationships with allies, upgrade tools and train recruits
- Expanded parkour with new Japanese architecture (shrines, castles, rooftops)
🎨 World Features
- Large open regions connected by fast travel and horse riding
- Diverse terrain: bamboo forests, coastal villages, urban districts, and war-torn battlefields
- Seasonal shifts impact how and when you approach missions
🎮 Combat & Stealth
- Naoe’s stealth abilities include using distractions, poison, ceiling and floor concealment, and a grappling hook for silent movement.
- Yasuke’s combat: brutal samurai duels, wide AoE attacks, parrying-heavy gameplay
- Encouraged to adapt approach: stealth, loud force, or a combination
Yasuke – The Samurai
Inspired by the true story of the African samurai who served under Oda Nobunaga.
Heavy, armor-wearing powerhouse with brutal katana and kanabo attacks Can tank hits, break defenses, and wield a wide range of weapons
uses honor-driven, open-combat tactics
📖 Story Themes
- The clash between order and chaos, honor and secrecy
- Oda Nobunaga’s rise and his ambition to unify Japan
- Hidden Ones and their early roots in Japan
- A deeper emotional story of loyalty, revenge, and identity
🧰 Editions Available
- Standard Edition – Base game
- Gold Edition – Includes Season Pass (2 expansions)
- Ultimate Edition – Adds bonus gear packs, hideout decorations, and a digital art book
- Collector’s Edition – Physical statue, steelbook, map, katana replica
🎥 Trailer
Unveiled on May 15, 2024, featuring both cinematic and gameplay trailers.
📺 Watch the Official Trailer:
Assassin’s Creed Shadows – World Premiere Trailer
📝 Summary / Top Games of 2025
- Genre: Action RPG with stealth and historical exploration
- Playable Characters: Naoe (Shinobi), Yasuke (Samurai)
- Focus: Dual play styles, historical drama, evolving world
- USP: Assassin’s Creed meets feudal Japan with seasonal stealth, brutal combat, and deep customization
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