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Tomas is the Gaming Lead at XDA and writes news, features, and reviews based on the latest releases and exciting developments within the video game industry. Previously a Staff Writer at Digital Trends and Games Author at Android Police, Tomas is passionate about sharing game developers’ stories, analyzing video game history, and contextualizing those things within the modern video game industry. Tomas’ byline has also appeared on GameSpot, ComicBook, Noisy Pixel, MMORPG.com, Palette Swap, Inverse, and DualShockers. In his spare time, Tomas also loves watching movies and reading comic books.

I play a lot of video games for work, way more than any normal person should. I use a service called Grouvee to track what I play each year, and in 2025 I tracked 86 games. Considering it’s likely that some games fell through the cracks and I forgot to list them, that number is likely closer to 100 games played this year. Having given so many different games a shot over the course of 2025, my perspective on what my favorite games do well is unique.

Looking at my favorite 20 games of the year, a few different patterns emerged. Many of my favorite games of 2025 had one of the following three things in common. These shared strengths will resonate with me beyond 2025, as most of my favorites share these same positives.

Innovative game design

While I love a good narrative-driven video game, I am the kind of gamer who prioritizes gameplay above all else. Something with gameplay as simple as Dogpile can engross me much in the same way that Death Stranding 2: On the Beach does. As such, I truly value games that offer me an interactive experience I have never had before.

Multiple games in 2025 delivered on that front. The most prominent example of that is Donkey Kong Bananza, XDA’s Game of the Year. There have been amazing 3D platformers and great games that emphasized destruction, but never one that did both before. That novelty makes Donkey Kong Bananza instantaneously fun, and quickly cemented it as my favorite game released this year.

Other notable examples include Sword of the Sea transforming surfing and skateboarding-like gameplay into a Journey-like experience, and Ball X Pit combining mechanics from Vampire Survivors and Breakout to create one of the most pleasing-to-play games of the year. Gaming is an interactive medium, and individual games tend to benefit when their developers remember that.

Here are some more games that share this strength that I recommend you go out and play:

• Lego Voyagers
• Baby Steps
• Sunderfolk
• Blue Prince
• Skate Story
• Date Everything
• Atomfall
• Hell is Us

Systems

Released July 17, 2025

ESRB Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases

Developer(s) Nintendo EPD

Publisher(s) Nintendo

Genre(s) Action, Adventure, Platformer

Masterfully iterating on a known franchise

While I like games that take bold game design risks, I also enjoy games that iterate on a winning formula. At this point, so many amazing games and game franchises already exist that it isn’t too rare for developers to directly find one to bring back. For example, Lumines Arise is an outstanding audiovisual experience based on a cult-classic PSP puzzle game, while Hollow Knight: Silksong built on an already amazing Metroidvania to create something even better.

A better-known example is Hades II, which is similar to its predecessor in quite a few ways but, of course, offers lots of new narrative content. It’s also underdiscussed how Melinoë, its main character, plays just differently enough from Zagreus to make it feel like a whole new game. While I rarely used ranged attacks in Hades, those were the character builds I was drawn to in Hades 2. When a sequel has me thinking differently about a formula I love, that’s a good sign.

I’d also put amazing spiritual successors or reinterpretations into this category. *Avowed *transformed the CRPG Pillars of Eternity games into a Skyrim-like first-person RPG to great success. Meanwhile, the torch for Life is Strange was carried on by Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, which showed that the character-driven, choice-filled narrative game still has plenty of juice.

If you’re looking for even more games that this label applies to, I’d recommend the following:

• Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
• Mario Kart World
• Kirby Air Riders
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Ghost of Yotei
• Doom: The Dark Ages
• Sid Meier’s Civilization VII
• Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders
• *Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment *

Systems

Released November 11, 2025

ESRB Everyone / Mild Fantasy Violence

Developer(s) Enhance, Monstars Inc

Publisher(s) Enhance

Genre(s) Puzzle, Rhythm, Casual, Arcade

Emergent, dynamic, and reactive gameplay

This may seem obvious, but games are at their best when they’re very reactive to what the player does. Some games sacrifice that emergent feel for narrative or tighter narrative design, but more often than not, that just leaves me yearning for a more interactive gaming experience. Thankfully, 2025 was full of games that let players make their own fun.

A personal favorite of mine from this year is The Outer Worlds 2. In classic Obsidian RPG-style, even more so than Avowed, The Outer Worlds 2 felt truly tailored to me throughout my playthrough. Not only are there a vast number of options for players to modify their character build at the start of the game, but the Flaw system and several really impactful choices made me feel like I left my mark on the game’s world.

The Alters also cleverly has a similar strength. While it is narrative-driven, the ways in which I decided to assign my alters and build out my base made my playthrough of that game feel custom and unique. I feel like I’m getting something back from games that truly feel like they are accounting for every action that the player can potentially take, and they often quickly become favorites of mine as a result.

These are some other games of this ilk I’d recommend checking out if you have the chance:

• Arc Raiders
• Peak
• RV There Yet
• Dispatch
• Atomfall

Systems

Released October 29, 2025

ESRB Mature 17+ / Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Strong Language

Developer(s) Obsidian Entertainment

Publisher(s) Xbox Game Studios

Genre(s) RPG, Shooter, Adventure

Games can be great in a lot of different ways

While I boiled down some of my favorite games from 2025 into three types, the point I really want to get across is that there are many ways a game can be great. You can offer a gameplay experience I’ve never seen before, make me feel like the game world is reacting to my choices, or just deliver a more refined version of a formula I love.

There’s a lot of overlap between the two, and there are games that don’t cleanly fit these labels, like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, that I still find to be fantastic. As someone who plays significantly more games than a normal person, I’m constantly reminded that there are so many amazing games of all kinds being released every week. I don’t recommend playing upwards of 100 games in a single year, but doing so will give you a much deeper appreciation for good game design.