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December 19, 2025
The 20 best video games of 2025
A family classic reborn in a wide open world, a satirical adventure through teenage life and a mystery puzzler for the ages – our critics on the year’s best fun More on the best culture of 2025
TL;DR
- Wanderstop is a joyful game of mindfulness and social interaction set in a teashop.
- Expelled! is a satirical mystery set in a 1920s all-girls private school that critiques British class politics.
- Hades 2 features Melinoë, daughter of the underworld, battling the titan Chronos in a stylish return to Greek mythology.
- Grunn blends gardening simulation with horror adventure in a Dutch village with ghostly figures.
- Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders offers a minimalist skiing experience on pristine mountain landscapes.
- Donkey Kong Bananza is a wild take on the classic platform adventure with Pauline's shapeshifting powers.
- Monster Hunter Wilds presents a vast world for spectacular monster battles.
- Split Fiction is an interactive buddy comedy where two writers get trapped in each other's stories.
- The Alters involves cloning oneself to survive on a hostile planet and exploring themes of life choices.
- Despelote is a semi-autobiographical adventure about a boy's obsession with football in Ecuador.
- Two Point Museum is a management sim where players gather and display exhibits.
- Ghost of Yotei is a beautiful samurai action game about a female warrior on a revenge quest.
- Death Stranding 2 returns Sam Bridges in a visually astonishing and eccentric sci-fi sequel set in Australia.
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a French role-playing game about a band from Paris hunting a supernatural painter.
- Consume Me is a satirical slice-of-life game about teenage dieting obsessions in the 00s.
- Mario Kart World is a family gaming staple with a wide open landscape exploration element.
- The Seance of Blake Manor is a detective sim and folk-horror game set in 19th-century Ireland.
- Silent Hill f infuses feminist themes into the classic Silent Hill formula in 1960s Japan.
- Hollow Knight: Silksong is an extremely challenging action-adventure game set in the decaying realm of Pharloom.
- Blue Prince is a clever puzzle game set in a mysterious mansion where the layout changes daily.
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