The 10 Best Video Games of 2025: ‘Metroid Prime 4,’ ‘Hades II,’ and More

10.Call of Duty Black Ops 7

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software

Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Windows

Release Date: November 14

The Black Ops 7 multiplayer is uncommonly well-designed and executed, in the same manner that any legacy game is honed to perfection over the course of decades. Continuing the omnidirectional movement piloted in Black Ops 6, the latest installment adds wall jumping, which adds an entire axis of movement to what was a fairly lateral game.

Black Ops 7 has a bizarre single-player campaign that leans into the ridiculous and grotesque. A direct sequel to Black Ops 2, this game's single player campaign is fun, but narratively speaking, it is a step back from how far the series has come. Still, no one plays Call of Duty for the storyline, in the same way that no one played Grand Theft Auto V for the tennis simulation, and it feels obtuse to judge it by those terms. Besides, everyone will be too busy shooting each other in multiplayer to give a good damn. - Kevin Wong

9.Donkey Kong Bananza

Developer: Nintendo EPD

Platforms: Switch 2

Release Date: July 17

Donkey Kong Bananza's premise is simple: you punch. You punch bad guys to descend levels, punch through mountains for shortcuts, and punch down to find treasure. It's a simple mechanic for a straightforward character (Shigeru Miyamoto intended "Donkey Kong" to mean "Stupid Monkey"), but it works. The haptic feedback is oddly soothing and addictive, though progress slows when you're punching every dirt pile for gold.

The game starts slowly but accelerates at the midpoint, once you unlock transformative superpowers. Play through to the end—the final boss fight is a real spectacle, one of Nintendo's finest—with significant implications for the Mario universe. -Kevin Wong

8.Ghost of Yotei

Developer: Sucker Punch Productions

Platforms: Playstation 5

Release Date: October 2

A revenge tale starring a young woman with a samurai sword and a hit list—but this isn't Kill Bill. It's Ghost of Yotei, the sequel to 2020's Ghost of Tsushima. Set three centuries later, characters now wield muskets alongside traditional samurai weapons.

Yotei improves on Tsushima with a revamped loadout system and new battle mechanics like your wolf companion, who holds down opponents for killing blows or saves you when dying.

Like its predecessor, Ghost of Yotei is stunningly beautiful. The wind that guides you to missions streaks through your hair poetically. This is a game Photo Mode was made for. -Kevin Wong

7.Doom: The Dark Ages

Developer: id Software

Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Windows

Release Date: May 13

The Doom franchise was once a shooting-based adventure with a little melee thrown in. In Doom: The Dark Ages, it's now a melee-based adventure, with shooting relegated to retreating or finishing weakened opponents. The melee enables aggressive, proactive gameplay—to get the most out of it, you have to throw yourself into the action, shield in hand, and start cracking heads rather than waiting for hell demons to eat you.

If you want a game that perfects cartoonish, over-the-top shooting gameplay, we already have that with Doom (2016), which remains peerless. This is a change of pace; Doom: The Dark Ages is a slower, more deliberate, and more purposeful assault, with all the ultraviolence you could ask for. -Kevin Wong

6.Metroid Prime: Beyond

Developer: Nintendo, Retro Studios

Platforms: Switch, Switch 2

Release Date: December 4

After 18 years, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond proves the wait was worth it — mostly. Retro Studios nails the fundamentals: atmospheric exploration, tight combat, terrifying bosses, and the series' signature alien discovery. And while divisive additions like talkative Federation companions and a sparsely designed overworld sometimes undercut the excellent biomes, this entry into the Prime franchise is one worth celebrating. Metroid Prime 4 is an ambitious game and reminds you why this series remains unmatched in first-person exploration. - Marc “Spidey” Griffin

5.Blue Prince

Developer: Dogubomb

Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Windows, macOS

Release Date: April 10

And now, for something completely different. Blue Prince is an exploratory puzzle game, where you play as a young boy who inherits his eccentric great-uncle's mansion—an ever-shifting labyrinth where rooms randomly generate behind closed doors. To claim your inheritance, you must discover the secret 46th room of the 45-room mansion. You have limited steps each day before resetting. Each reset wipes your items and progress, forcing you to start over armed only with knowledge from previous attempts. It feels, at times, like a game of Clue gone rogue.

This game is the work of one designer, and that singular vision shows. Hours fly by as you puzzle through interconnected challenges: to enter one room, you must first pass through another, disable security in a third, and hit the circuit breaker in a fourth. It's never boring, and the game never punishes you for experimenting. It wants to be solved, and it's so satisfying when you finally do. -Kevin Wong

4.Hades 2

Developer: Supergiant Games

Platforms: Switch, Switch 2, Windows, macOS

Release Date: May 6

To paraphrase Linus from Peanuts, there's no heavier burden than great potential. Supergiant Games, which launched Hades in 2020 to universal acclaim, must have felt that weight when starting work on Hades II — the company's first sequel.

How do you match, let alone top, one of the greatest games of the past 20 years? By following a proven formula: extensive audience participation. Hades was so polished because it underwent a lengthy early-access period where playtesters refined it. The team put Hades II through the same trial by fire.

Hades II doesn't quite reach its predecessor's level—the narrative isn't as strong. The gameplay is actually better, though it's not a reinvention. Hades II isn't groundbreaking, but it's still one of the best games of the year, delivering hundreds of hours of deep gameplay and a difficulty curve that somehow feels fair, even when it's kicking your ass. -Kevin Wong

3.Split Fiction

Developer: Hazelight Studios

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, Windows

Release Date: March 6

Josef Fares has built an incredible career designing couch co-op games. Complex named his last game, It Takes Two, the Game of the Year in 2021. Split Fiction is even better and in a weaker year, it might have claimed that title again.

The premise: two writers, one sci-fi and one fantasy, experiment with technology that transforms them into avatars in their own created worlds. To escape, they must work together to overcome platforming challenges and defeat massive enemies.

Both characters play asymmetrically. One might drive a bike while the other rides on back, taking out enemies in their path. If either fails, they both die. One player works a lever manipulating an obstacle course while the other runs it. Communication is paramount to success. So play this with someone you love. Or hate, for extra fun. -Kevin Wong

2.Hollow Knight: Silksong

Developer: Team Cherry

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Switch, Switch 2

Release Date: September 4

Team Cherry, the developers behind Hollow Knight, built the hype for Silksong through strategic silence. Over six years of development, they offered infrequent updates followed by radio silence. By the time they finally announced the launch, players were desperate. When reviews dropped, fans and critics united declaring this game was a masterful follow-up to Hollow Knight.

In Silksong, you play as Hornet, a nimble fighter exploring the mysterious land of Pharloom, armed with a large needle. Using the needle generates Silk, which Hornet can spend to heal or perform specialized moves. In the tradition of Super Metroid, the more moves she learns, the more areas she can access.

Fair warning: this game is brutally difficult. It uses an unforgiving checkpoint system, and beating bosses requires Cuphead-level twitch reflexes; you must read and react to every attack pattern without falling into lava or eating a fist. Your weapon's short range forces constant close-quarters combat, amplifying the danger. There's no clever strategy to victory. The strategy is simple: get better, practice harder. -Kevin Wong

1.Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Developer: Sandfall Interactive

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

Release Date: April 24

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 presents an existentially horrifying world where an unknown entity exterminates people based on an ever-decreasing age. You play as a party of expeditioners attempting to destroy the entity and restore balance.

The gameplay blends real-time and turn-based combat, fusing elements of the Final Fantasy titles with Persona. The mechanics are beautifully realized, with unique playstyles and synergies between characters. But the story lingers longest, carried by compelling vocal performances and character depth.

For years, games have chased cinematic experiences with clunky results: cutscene, gameplay, cutscene, gameplay. Clair Obscur achieves something closer to seamless integration, where gameplay and story reinforce each other. Andthe game is short, under 40 hours, perfect for people struggling to fit hobbies into their lives.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a turn-based action RPG, which is by no means my favorite genre. But I know greatness when I see it, and this is the epitome of what the genre should and could be. -Kevin Wong