By: Ben Plessinger
Video game releases have been plentiful in the 2025 calendar. From the major studios to small independent development (indie-dev) teams’, the quality, quantity, and hype of the games released this year have been unusual compared to recent years.
From big titles to the small games from indie studios, there has not been a shortage of content to enjoy. With the Game Awards around the corner on December 11, the question is: What is the best game of 2025?
Sophomore Edward Gibson’s favorite game from this year was DOOM: The Dark Ages, released on May 15, and published by Bethesda. Dark Ages is the 3rd installment of the newer Doom games with a twist. The demon slaying this time has a medieval theme instead of the sci-fi theme of the other games in the recent three Doom games, which can be an appeal of the game. For example, Gibson said he liked the “more medieval weapons and theme” that the game offers. The only drawback is having a different composer for the soundtrack. Originally, the games have been known for the soundtrack more than the gameplay.
One game that is a very strong contender in the Game Awards Game of the Year is Hollow Knight Silksong. Silksong, the second game in its series, is a 2D Metroidvania game developed by Team Cherry and was released on September 4. A highly anticipated game, Silksong has garnered a lot of attention and praise from both game critics and individual players alike with an average 9/10 rating for the game on Steam.
Next up would be Rematch, released on June 19, 2025. Rematch is a sports game developed by Sloclap and co-published by Kepler Interactive. In this game, players control one player on their team in a soccer match from a third-person perspective. “It’s fast. No slowdown, no waiting. Just play, think, feels like real-time instinct,” senior Noah Fleischmann said.
In addition to these, there are a few of the many that came out this year that deserve honorable mention.
Honorable Mention #1: Ghost of Yōtei, a sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, takes place 300 years after the first game in the Edo period. You play as Atsu a wandering mercenary who adopts the persona of the onryō (vengeful spirt) in her quest to hunt down members of a group called the Yōtei Six, who had burned downed her home and killed her family 16 years before the game takes place.
Honorable Mention #2:Kingdom Come Deliverance II by Warhorse is a continuation of the story of the first game. Kingdom Come Deliverance II is a RPG (role playing game) thattakes place in early 15th century bohemia or present-day Czech Republic.
Honorable Mention #3: Expedition 33: Clair Obscur is a third-person turn-based role-playing game with real-time elements. It involves a group of volunteers in the video game who embark on a mission to defeat the “Paintress” and stop the “Gommage,” an event that erases people from existence. It has a focus on the story and a metric score of 9.8/10.
Honorable Mention #4: Sniper Elite: Resistance is part of the Sniper Elite series from Rebellion Developments. Players act as an allied elite sniper during WWII, who sabotages Nazi operations. There is also a possibility to have another player match make mid match who plays as a counter sniper, but this can be turned off at any time.
Honorable Mention #5: Assassins Creed: Shadows, made by Ubisoft, takes place in the Sengoku period, also known as the warring states period, that took place from the 15th century to the 16th century. Shadows includes stealth gameplay, open world, and missions, but it leaves the original formula to introduce an additional character that is not stealth based and allows players to act as a samurai along with being able to play as a shinobi (ninja).
Honorable Mention #6: PEAK is a co-op climbing game released by Landfall Studios, where players and their friends play as scouts who crash land on an island, and the goal is to reach the peak.
There are many other games that were released this year that are just as good as many of these. Have a game title that should’ve been included but wasn’t? Comment with the title and reasons in the comment section below.
The McNicholas Milestone 