You know how sometimes a really dumb person gets something right for the wrong reason and it reinforces their mistaken sense of intelligence and self-importance? 2025 was that, but for the video game industry.

In the wake of COVID (yes, that’s *still* a factor) and amidst the emergence of ubiquitous “AI” (I won’t be ranting about that here, don’t worry), the video games industry has been running leaner as layoffs and union-busting became the go-to fixes for over-borrowing, inflation, and automation efforts. This was a weird, arguably bad year for the industry. Brilliant creators and studios found themselves suddenly jobless (some after having made universally beloved games like HI-FI Rush) while others merely had long-term projects canceled. Meanwhile, shareholders were giddy to see an approximately 7.5% increase in revenues, totalling around $197 billion. That’s where the first paragraph comes in.

See, 2025 was also a really good year for games. Like reeeally good. We got some awesome AAA titles and lots of incredible indie games (I have a soft spot for indie titles, as you may remember), and there are quite a few more games coming in early 2026 to be excited about. Whatever your preference, we all ate well last year.

I also struggled with my relationship to video games in 2025 more than I have for a long time - not because I was strapped for time, not because I couldn’t afford the hobby, and not because there weren’t any good games. I’m fortunate enough that none of those were true for me, and I am grateful that was/is the case. I struggled with my relationship with media in general because, as melodramatic and trite as it may sound, what’s been happening in the world is horrible and terrifying, and playing video games or watching TV feels like I am sticking my head in the sand instead of helping.

Folks I care deeply about have had a really bad time for a long time because of hateful people and policies, and that has only gotten worse lately. Folks I don’t know at all are struggling to pay for healthcare, groceries, and housing. All of us are probably at least a little scared about rumblings of strained international relations and violence on our own soil being perpetrated by paragovernment neo-Nazis (talking about the ICE assholes in case that wasn’t clear). I found myself feeling very guilty in 2025 anytime I took time to play games or relax at all, really. Constantly on my mind was what my $40-$70 of video game spending could do for someone in need or some organization that could help make things better. I did make some donations, spent lots of time on the phone with state and national representatives, and worked really hard at Extra Life (we raised a record amount of money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals), but that didn’t feel like nearly enough. It wasn’t nearly enough, because things are still dire for quite a few people. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can all do more.

BUT, on the advice of my therapist, I did work on carving out time to relax and do things I enjoyed because, as many have said, ‘you need to fill your own cup before filling someone else’s’. This rings true and makes sense in theory, but is hard to put into practice. I’m still not great at it, but I’m trying. Video games have helped. Thankfully, we were spoiled for choice in 2025 in that regard, and I am deeply grateful that creators are making cool stuff that helps us disengage, relax, and recharge, even in the midst of some scary times.

Thank you, developers, for tackling the hard, scary task of making your visions real. You are doing incredibly important work. We need you.

For a game to break through all of that baggage in 2025 and stand out to me as being worthy of my time, it had to do something really weird, cool, or impactful. Some did all three. Here are the five most important video games (to me) of 2025.

#5. Avowed

I’m so sorry I forgot this game came out in 2025. I am rectifying that.

I’ll get this out of the way first. Originally, my number 5 was going to be Clair Obscure: Expedition 33. As I have gotten further into the game, I’m finding it has LOTS of problems that preclude me from awarding it a top 5 spot after all. It’s good, it’s interesting, and I think Sandfall’s next game will be phenomenal, but it just doesn’t have the polish and technical chops I’m looking for in a top 5 game. Geoff Keighley and The Game Awards disagree, but I digress.

I forgot Avowed came out in 2025, but that’s not the game’s fault. I saw it popping up on some other year-end lists and thought it was strange, because I was sure it had come out in late 2024. I was wrong. Avowed came out in February of 2025, and that’s when I played it. It just felt like a longer time ago than that, and I completely left it out of the running for 2025. Sorry, Obsidian!

If you’ve played Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout: New Vegas, The Outer Worlds, or any game similar to those, you know what you’re getting into with Avowed, and that’s not a bad thing. Obsidian has a knack for creating interesting, lived-in, engaging, dense worlds that feel good to explore. Avowed is maybe their best yet, and yes, I’m including New Vegas in the consideration.

In Avowed, you are an Envoy, which is basically a magical supercop sent by the Emperor to investigate the Dreamscourge. If the idea of being a cop puts you off, good news: you can make choices and discoveries that change that pretty quickly. You are also god-touched, which just means you have some cool magic and your character looks like one of Davy Jones’ crew in Pirates of the Caribbean, except replace coral and barnacles with lichens and tree bark. You get to wield swords, pistols, and magic, sometimes all at once, and the combat is kinetic and fluid. The characters you meet, some of whom join your party, are interesting and generally have backstories worth hearing.

If you like RPGs with simple-ish systems, flashy combat, and lots to do with hardly any empty space, Avowed is a great choice.

#4. Promis mascot agency

Cats that love adult cinema and anthropomorphic severed fingers are just the tip of the iceberg…

Ever wondered what the day-to-day life of a yakuza was like? You’re in luck!

In Promise Mascot Agency, you take on the role of Michi, a wrongfully exiled yakuza enforcer who is forced to hide in a small, allegedly haunted town and take over a mascot agency. Already kinda weird, right? Hang on to your butt.

In this world, mascots aren’t just high-schoolers wearing smelly, bulky costumes for minimum wage. Mascots are a race of beings who ARE the thing they appear to be. From a sentient but chronically depressed piece of tofu to an eccentric but adorable severed finger - mascots come in all shapes and sizes. And motivations.

As the new manager of Promise Mascot Agency, you are tasked with recruiting mascots and scheduling them for jobs at local businesses. The gameplay is pretty simple: you look at available jobs, match those up with the type of mascot required, agree on a salary and a day rate, and send the mascot off to work! The mascot will always need some sort of assistance, which manifests in one of several minigames, and how well you play that game determines the mascot’s performance and the final payout.

The fun of this game is not mainly in the gameplay, though, at least for me. The gameplay is fun for sure, but the story and all-out absurdity are where I found the fun. At one point, you are running a mayoral campaign for Pinky, the severed finger, because the current mayor is corrupt and unfriendly to small businesses. At other times, you might be finding arcade cabinets for a mascot that wants to open his own arcade, collecting videos for a yam-covered cat that loves the “art of adult cinema”, or shooting Pinky from your truck at spirits that are haunting the town.

If nothing else, Promise Mascot Agency is singularly strange. I happen to think it’s also quite charming.

#3. Baby Steps

If there was an award for juiciest ass…

Nate likes three things: his onesie, his Doritos, and his couch. He does not like going outside or doing things. Baby Steps, the newest game from Bennet Foddy, Gabe Cuzillo, and Maxi Boch, is about a man-boy who has failed to launch and doesn’t have much interest in trying anytime soon.

In Baby Steps, you just have to walk. That’s it. Sounds simple, right? It’s a Bennett Foddy game, so it’s not nearly that easy, but it is entertaining. The gameplay consists of successfully (or not so successfully) putting one foot in front of the other. Trekking over mysterious, fantastical landscapes, climbing treacherous mountains, crossing raging rivers, falling and losing all of your progress, and meeting donkey men are all things you can look forward to in this game. Also hats, big butts, and (if you don’t turn off the explicit setting) penises.

To say much more would spoil things that I think you should experience for yourself, but I will say this game left an impression on me that I don’t think will ever be replicated by any other game. The themes, though sometimes well-hidden by the bizarre comedy and utter strangeness bombarding you at almost all times, are worth exploring. How often and how should we ask for help? Does failure make us failures? How much blame can be put on others for our misfortune? Is there a point to trying when failure is almost certain? Baby Steps tackles those questions by way of hilarious one-liners, aggravatingly janky gameplay, and jiggly physics, but doesn’t answer them for you. That’s your job.

#2. blue prince

I know there is something in the den, Blue Prince! I will find it!

Cue that one meme of Charlie Day in It’s Always Sunny with the corkboard and red string. No game has made me feel more tin-foil-hat-y than Blue Prince. Seriously, I have an Apple Notes doc that looks like the scrawlings of a madman. Entries include things like “room placement on chessboard?” and “green + purple = yellow”. There’s a lot more, but I won’t share because it might spoil some puzzles. Or maybe it wouldn’t spoil anything, I can never tell exactly what the hell is happening, puzzle-wise.

The game itself is bonkers. You are the heir of an eccentric relative who leaves you a… unique house. Each day, the layout of the 45 rooms changes. Or is it 46? You find yourself exploring this House of Leaves-style manor, drafting rooms as you open each new door, in search of a rumored 46th room. Along the way, you’ll encounter oddities in the form of notes, devices, signs, paintings, and sculptures, making you feel as if everything is trying to tell you something. Usually it is.

If you like puzzles, conspiracy theories, and have a slightly masochistic side, Blue Prince will surprise and delight you. Be careful, or you might end up with your own unhinged notes doc.

#1. Death stranding 2: on the beach

Snowboarding on a coffin and slapping people with rubber pizzas is exactly the level of Kojima I needed.

What if I told you that there was a game that let you simulate the experience of being a deliveryman while also making grenades out of your blood and surfing on coffins? Interested?

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, the follow-up to 2019’s Death Stranding, finds Sam Porter Bridges being dragged out of a peaceful retirement in Mexico with his BB Lou to help Fragile connect Mexico to the chiral network with her new organization, Drawbridge. (To the uninitiated, this must sound wild, huh? Just wait...) It has been 11 months since the events of Death Stranding, and, although reluctant at first, the promise of a pardon for himself and Lou prompts Sam to go check out the opportunity, leaving Fragile to care for Lou at his home bunker. Sam’s hand is then forced when he returns and finds that a mysterious force has assaulted his bunker. The adventure then takes Sam to Australia, where he meets a man with a cat made out of tar, a woman who causes timefall (rain that ages everything it touches) in her vicinity, a sentient puppet, and a laser rifle guitar-wielding villain, among other things. To call this game “weird” would be a monumental understatement.

At first blush, another game about delivering packages might not seem appealing, especially since Death Stranding already explored this extensively. Death Stranding 2 unapologetically continues that gameplay, but adds a multitude of quality-of-life features that vastly improve the experience. I’m being cheeky saying these games are *about* delivering packages, though. Death Stranding 2, like the first game, continues exploring the ideas of connection and the role of society, while also diving into themes of grief, purpose, the price of survival, and loss. While the trappings are weird and at times zany, the messaging is well done, if sometimes less than subtle.

This game excels in both story and gameplay, so we’ll talk (no spoilers) about both. Let’s start with the story.

After the opening events of the game, Sam begins his work in earnest, connecting up Australia to the chiral network, but is constantly running into resistance from the same mysterious force that assaulted his home. The nature of this organization is eventually made clear, as is the return of Higgs (not a spoiler, he was in most of the trailers and marketing material for the game), who is apparently working with this mysterious organization. The plot takes us from Mexico to Australia to the afterlife to… pocket dimensions(?), all the while unraveling mysteries about Higgs, Sam, Lou, Fragile, and the state of the world since the event that came to be known as the Death Stranding. There were moments that had me laughing out loud, moments that made me tear up, and moments that were genuinely jaw-droppingly epic. The cast of characters is also probably the most interesting and deeply strange group of individuals in any game I’ve played. Though a bit convoluted and esoteric at times, the story consistently doled out mysteries and revelations at a pace that never felt too slow or unearned to me. The payoffs were consistently rewarding, and the intrigue was always tantalizing enough to pull me forward.

While the game may not be *about* delivering packages, there’s no denying that the core of the gameplay is. Sam starts off making his deliveries on foot, just like the first game, with the help of some tools like climbing gear and ladders. As he connects delivery points to the network, Sam meets some colorful characters who serve to both fill out the world and to provide Sam with tech upgrades that improve his survival odds and delivery efficiency. Among my favorites are The Pizza Chef, The Architect, and The Lone Commander, all of whom are interesting and give excellent rewards for increasing their connection level.

Eventually, a trike, a pickup truck, and a hoverboard coffin (yes, you read that right) become available, making traversal easier and way more fun as you go about your deliveries. The puzzle and management aspects of balancing cargo weight and size with the terrain you have to cross and the tools required could be the entire game, and I’d still be all in. It’s incredibly satisfying when you’re able to optimize your routes and make multiple deliveries of pristine cargo all in one loop. If the nerdy logistics sim part of the game doesn’t strike your fancy, though, there’s combat.

death_stranding_2_casual_sweats_goty_2025

Lotta guitar stuff in this game. It’s awesome.

Combat is a much more prevalent aspect of the gameplay this time around, and the variety of weapons offers just as deep a rabbit hole of customization as the delivery gameplay. Want to be a long-range specialist? There are weapons for that. Want to get up close and personal? You can slap people unconscious with rubber pizzas, among other things. Want to go guns blazing? Yeah, lots of options there. Unsurprisingly, the combat feels Metal Gear-esque (Hideo Kojima also wrote and directed the Metal Gear games), which means it is tactical and focused on using the right equipment for the right situations.

You also have to balance the weapons you’re carrying with any cargo or tools you might be carrying, so tough choices have to be made, and the wrong choice can get you killed. As in the first game, there are sequences that are purely combat-focused and not just incidental combat you run into when traversing enemy territory. In these sequences, the action really shines. Some of these sequences are one versus many and offer a fun mix of tactical, cover-based shooting and all-out 80’s action movie blasting enemies left and right. Some are battles against monsters ranging from slightly bigger than you to gargantuan Godzilla-sized abominations. Every second of the gunplay and combat felt smooth, responsive, and satisfyingly weighty to me, and I found myself favoring straightforward battles over stealth in most cases.

I promised not to spoil this game, so I won’t say much more about the story or even the gameplay. I will say that Kojima’s style is not for everyone, and it is a very particular flavor, but his specific brand of weirdness is exactly my jam. His specific way of telling stories through wholly unique and strange characters and settings is reminiscent of other auteurs such as David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick, Akira Kurosawa, Alfred Hitchcock, and Hayao Miyazaki. The oddity in Kojima’s stories and settings is almost never just to be odd or unique, though; it’s intentional and in service of the themes at hand. Sometimes it seems like he throws a few things in just for fun, but those are usually so cool or interesting that he gets a pass from me. Kojima is 62 and, with the modern development cycle being what it is, we may only get a few more titles from him. I intend to experience and appreciate each and every one.

Death Stranding 2 is maybe the most Kojima thing Kojima has ever made, and I think it’s his best. The decision to make this my number 1 game of the year was not a difficult one in the slightest. Thanks for being you, Kojima. And thanks for giving us this wonderfully weird, powerful, fun game. It was my favorite game of 2025.