Gamers, while Im sorry to say that everyone was right about Grand Theft Auto 6 not arriving in 2025, Im also happy to announce that 2025s slate of video games has easily made up for it. Who needs to steal a car and whip it around Vice City when Mario Kart World has rail grinding now? Id like to see GTA 6 include Cow as a playable character, or maybe Wario dressed in a bumblebee costume. We dont even need GTA 6 in 2025 now. We have the Nintendo Switch 2. Good riddance, I say.
Weve spent our time this year ripping apart monsters in Doom: The Dark Ages, finally beating (a version of) Elden Ring with help from our friends in Elden Ring: Nightreign, and testing out the first major home video game console to come out in five years. Spoiler alert: We had a lot of fun. Plus, there are still some amazing titles coming our way later this year. Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3+4 and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater are almost here. Well also see sequels galore for Ghost of Tsushima, Death Stranding, The Outer Worlds, and Pok�mon Legends. Until then, we put together a list of the ten best video games of 2025 that weve played so far.
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Split Fiction
Split Fiction is the latest incredible co-op adventure from the team behind It Takes Two and A Way Out. T he two playable characters are each aspiring genre writers who fight against a tech company trying to steal their ideas. Their virtual world splits sci-fi and fantasy into distinct adventures, with clever gameplay twists that force players to work together in ways we havent seen before. Dont forget to make it to the mind-blowing final level. Bryn Gelbart

Split Fiction (Playstation 5)
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Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
Citizen Sleeper was one of my favorite titles in 2022, so Im happy to say that the sequels efforts to make the game a bit more complicated didnt completely ruin the magic of this indie strategy game. In fact, Citizen Sleeper 2s more advanced dice-rolling mechanics only made everything about this Dungeons and Dragonsinspired space adventure that much more enjoyable. Josh Rosenberg

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector (Steam)
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South of Midnight
In April, a piece of entertainment released that was deeply Black, deeply southern Gothic, and a blast from start to finish. Im not talking about Ryan Cooglers SinnersIm talking about South of Midnight. Even so, the vampire film does have a bit in common with South of Midnights stunning, musically rich journey as the player follows Hazels quest to find her lost mother. Both are in debt to folklore, and the swamp of South of Midnight is rife with haints and other creatures both friendly and deadly. The gameplay is refreshingly simple, but its the story and atmosphere that make this one stand out. B.G.
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South of Midnight: Premium Edition (Xbox Series X|S [Digital Code])
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Mario Kart World
Mario Kart World is without a doubt the best Mario Kart game yet. The Nintendo Switch 2 launch title features 24 drivers at the same time, new mechanics such as grinding and wall jumping, and a whole interconnected world to explore outside of races. Players can also select new characters such as Penguin, Wiggler, and Cowto the delight of many Nintendo fans. World might not reinvent Mario Karts wheels, but its still as chaotically fun as ever. J.R.

Mario Kart World
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Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
Just when you think the Yakuza franchise couldnt possibly achieve anything wackier, the studio announces a game titled Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii . And true to its word, this action-adventure game is about a former yakuza boss who is shipwrecked with amnesia before resorting to a life of piracy. In this spin-off game, you form a ragtag crew and control your ship in lively naval battles. If youre not turned off yet, then hear me out: Pirate Yakuza is the swashbuckling adventure you never knew you needed. J.R.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii: Standard Edition (PlayStation 5)
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Lost Records
With Lost Records, Dont Nod released its best teen drama since the original Life Is Strange. The premise is a bit like Yellowjackets. Lost Records follows a group of women who were teens in the 90s and adults in the modern day & and yes, some messed-up weird stuff happened when they were teens. The episodic adventure game was released in two parts, and while Bloom has a meandering start, Rage amps up the stakes. Its a wonderful 90s throwback in more ways than one. B.G.

Lost Records - Bloom & Rage (PlayStation 5)
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
The debut title from Sandfall Interactive is an ambitious RPG that is already turning heads for Game of the Year consideration. The game contains turn-based, party-based combat with light real-time elements (think closer to Earthbound than Final Fantasy VII Remake) and a dark-fantasy setting inspired by French Revolutionary imagery. An impressive voice cast includes Andy Serkis and Daredevils Charlie Cox. Plus, it reminds us of those classic Nintendo RPGslike Paper Mario for adults. J.R.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (PlayStation 5)
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Doom: The Dark Ages
Doom: The Dark Ages is a whole new take on the classic Doom formula, with all-new guns, a shield, and various flail-type weapons for getting up close. Theres also a mech. And a mech dragon. B.G.

DOOM: The Dark Ages (PlayStation 5)
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Blue Prince
In some gamer circles, Blue Prince is called a Metroidbrainia. I have no idea what the hell that means, but I have played enough of Blue Prince to understand its one of those games where you dont necessarily unlock new abilities. Instead, you gain knowledge and write it down in a notebook if you dont want to forget it. On its face, Blue Prince is a first-person game about exploring a procedurally generated house, making blueprints (clever), and solving environmental puzzles. In reality, its a game that turns everyone who plays it into a deranged lunatic with 70 pages of notes. B.G.

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Elden Ring: Nightreign
Before the 2024 Game Awards trailer, I could have sworn that FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki told IGN that we wouldnt see an Elden Ring sequel. And yet, Elden Ring: Nightreign arrived to make the hellish trials of dying a million times to the same boss a shared experience. The cooperative spin-off is less a full-blown sequel and more like FromSoft made everyones illegal multiplayer mods an official product. It has a bit of everything thats popular right nowbattle royale, rogue-like and, of course, its still a Souls game at its core. J.R.
