Best of 2025: The Games That Defined the Year
2025 was a rare “everything year”: prestige single‑player blockbusters, co-op obsessions, long-awaited sequels, and indie breakthroughs all landed with barely any breathing room. The ultimate capstone is The Game Awards 2025, where Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won Game of the Year in a stacked field that also included Death Stranding 2, Hades II, and Hollow Knight: Silksong.
Below is our complete Best of 2025 feature—built to be useful: a fast Top 25 list, a month-by-month timeline of key drops, and a simple “what should you play next?” guide to match your taste.
2025 Game of the Year (Official)
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the official Game of the Year winner at The Game Awards 2025.
It didn’t just win the top prize—it showed up across major categories (Direction, Narrative, Art, Music), which is exactly what “defining the year” looks like.
The Top 25 Games of 2025 (Our Complete List)
These are the games that shaped 2025 through awards impact, critical reception, cultural reach, and player attention across the year.
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — The year’s defining RPG and TGA 2025 GOTY winner.
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Hades II — GOTY nominee and Best Action Game winner at TGA 2025.
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Hollow Knight: Silksong — GOTY nominee and Best Action/Adventure Game winner at TGA 2025.
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Death Stranding 2: On the Beach — GOTY nominee and one of the year’s biggest “prestige sequel” releases.
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Kingdom Come: Deliverance II — GOTY nominee and a huge win for hardcore RPG fans.
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Donkey Kong Bananza — GOTY nominee and Best Family Game winner at TGA 2025.
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DOOM: The Dark Ages — A blockbuster FPS and a TGA 2025 winner for Innovation in Accessibility.
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ARC Raiders — The year’s standout multiplayer hit and TGA 2025 Best Multiplayer winner.
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Wuthering Waves — Won Player’s Voice at TGA 2025 (community’s loudest pick).
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Split Fiction — A big co-op adventure that also appears among The Game Awards nominee lists (notably in direction-related lineups in coverage).
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Ghost of Yōtei — A major fall release and a frequent presence in TGA 2025 nominee coverage (including Best Game Direction lists).
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Monster Hunter Wilds — One of the year’s biggest co-op ecosystem games (Feb 28 in major release calendars).
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Assassin’s Creed Shadows — A major open-world pillar in the 2025 release calendar.
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Civilization VII — A defining strategy release in the 2025 calendar (and a time-sink for the whole year).
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Avowed — A notable RPG launch featured in 2025 release schedules.
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Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii — A major franchise drop highlighted in early‑year release calendars.
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Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PC) — A big PC release featured in 2025 release calendars.
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Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (PC) — A major PC port listed in 2025 release calendars.
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Forza Horizon 5 (PS5) — A notable platform moment included in 2025 release schedules.
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Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition — A significant Nintendo release listed in 2025 calendars.
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Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater — A major remake release that also appears in top 2025 discussions and platform “best-of” lists.
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Silent Hill f — A top-tier horror release that was also present in major award-category nominee coverage (Best Narrative lists in winner roundups).
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Blue Prince — A standout indie that also appears directly in The Game Awards 2025 nominee/winner coverage (notably as Best Debut Indie winner in listings).
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Dispatch — A notable indie presence in TGA listings, including being part of the Player’s Voice nominee set in winner roundups.
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Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist — A notable early-year release appearing in major 2025 release calendars.
2025 Timeline: The Year in Big Drops
This is the “feel” of 2025—how the releases actually hit across the months (based on major 2025 release calendars).
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January: Big PC momentum kicked off with titles like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PC) and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (PC) showing up in release calendars.
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February: An absurdly stacked month including Civilization VII, Avowed, and Monster Hunter Wilds appearing in 2025 schedules.
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March: The calendar stayed hot with major releases and long-running franchises continuing to drop new entries.
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April: The spring window kept pressure on backlogs with continued “main event” releases throughout the month.
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May: Big AAA energy continued—this is where the year’s action crowd stayed fed.
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June: A major mid-year surge in releases hit across platforms, keeping multiplayer and single-player audiences busy.
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July: Summer releases kept the pace, with more notable drops listed in schedules (and no real downtime).
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August–September: The runway to fall filled with heavy releases and genre variety as schedules stayed dense.
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October–December: The late-year push delivered the prestige season, feeding directly into The Game Awards narrative.
What to Play Next (Pick Your Mood)
Use this as a quick selector for readers who didn’t keep up all year.
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Want pure action loop perfection? Hades II or DOOM: The Dark Ages.
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Want co-op with friends? ARC Raiders or Monster Hunter Wilds.
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Want a “prestige” cinematic ride? Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.
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Want the long-awaited indie legend? Hollow Knight: Silksong.
Ready to play these 2025 hits?
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That’s it—see you in the backlog, and congrats in advance to everyone finally starting their “GOTY catch-up run.
Tia
