Even if you aren’t a fan of roguelikes, Blue Prince feels much more like an elaborate puzzle box. There’s a satisfying feeling in making it further than you did before, finding clues to a puzzle, then stumbling onto another piece of that puzzle a few runs later. Blue Prince is certainly one of the most interesting games of this year. It takes a fairly novel concept in a roguelike puzzle game, adding elements of deckbuilding and base crafting. It all comes together for a gameplay experience unlike anything else out there today.
Steel Seed has everything that I love: explosive set pieces, stealth-focused gameplay and souls-like combat. Unfortunately, none of these elements work together here. Each part felt undercooked for an experience that I cannot recommend to anyone. Despite this, there’s a lot of potential there for something greater, and I hope we get to see a more focused game next.
The Last of Us Part II: Remastered is a beautiful mess. An ambitious title that had all the right ingredients, but didn’t always pan out the way it should. The excellent survival action gameplay that showcases humanity’s brutality is often let down by a story that is trying too much and has poor pacing. Thankfully, Part II’s debut on PC improves on the last game, making it the best place to play, even with its imperfections.
As a whole, Split Fiction does everything that you’d expect from a Hazelight game. And that’s an uncompromised focus on cooperative gameplay that is unmatched by pretty much anything else out there. The vast amount oft gameplay variety and exciting moments makes this a must-play; even if the story doesn’t quite hit the heights that we were expecting from other titles from the same company, the sum of its parts still makes it superior in every other aspect, and especially when compared to other outings from 2025 thus far.
As a massive fan of stealth franchises such as Splinter Cell and the excellent Shadow Tactics series, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows gave me what I wanted and somewhat feels like a hybrid of those. A fresh new stealth system is just what the franchise needed. In many ways, it goes back to the basics for the franchise that once lost that part of its identity, though does occasionally fall back into some of the recent trappings.
Monster Hunter: Wilds is a triumphant new entry. Whilst the story does have some issues with its writing and pacing issues it is one still worth paying attention to and once that’s done the game truly begins. With the same exceptional gameplay loop, we’ve come to love. There are a few rough edges but none of them stand in the way of Wilds just being my latest addiction.
Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered Collection does exactly what the previous collection did; bundles together a couple of beloved (and one not as much beloved) classics, exactly how they were years ago. With the option to play in much higher fidelity and modernised control schemes, or how it was designed originally. It’s not a perfect collection and these aren’t my favourites in the series, but it’s still nice to have more games being updated, preserved, and accessible.
DreadOut: Remastered Collection is not a perfect series, and this remaster still shows that time hasn’t been kind to it. However, I have a soft spot for horror games based on Asian Folklore, and this Fatal Frame-inspired adventure is at the very least worth a go. Full of charm and interesting ideas, but often stumbling in execution. Just be prepared for a game that is occasionally frustrating.
Sorry We’re Closed is one hell of a game. It throws a ton of ideas into a blender and comes out with a retro-action horror quite unlike anything else I played. It has such a great concept and stunning visual style that really sets it apart from the competition.
Nightdive has, once again, to no one’s shock, delivered another stellar remastering effort. Whilst The Thing is far from being considered a perfect game (for some, even a straightforward “good” game), or even something I would have personally chosen to get the remaster treatment, it’s still a solid title that did its best to recapture the essence of the movie. If anything, I am glad that Nightdive went the extra mile to remaster something that wasn’t exactly good, but surely needed to become widely available once again; it felt like finally being able to experience a forgotten piece of video game history.
As a whole, Threshold is a delightfully bizarre and engaging little game, but the odd pacing and structure might not be to everyone’s liking. The core main gameplay loop borders on tedious, and there’s a frustrating amount of bugs, however, it’s getting to the bottom of that mystery that makes it an utterly engaging experience. If you’re looking for weirdness, you should give this one a go.
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead is a better game than I expected. It’s good, but it could have honestly been a lot better, even great. The developers have, for the most part, successfully managed to translate the movie’s unique and engaging premise into game form. However, uneven level design and repetitive gameplay holds it back from being truly great. I hope we get more from A Quiet Place, as there’s so much untapped potential in bringing it to gaming form, but this is a solid enough first effort.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is a very interesting remaster, keeping the same core gameplay whilst deploying vastly better tech that allows a much greater level of detail. It’s not perfect, and I would have liked to see a few more changes to Franks’s adventure, but as the title suggests, this is still nothing more than a remaster, with not that huge of a budget. Regardless, this is a great addition to the series, and perfect for newcomers. Hopefully, this leads to some bigger Dead Rising projects at some point.
When I mentioned that Mouthwashing may be one of the weirdest things I’ve played in a while, I definitely did not meant it in a bad way. Its bizarrely unique structure pushes what would have otherwise been a bog standard horror title to a next level of unsettling. The plot is wild, the scares are effective, and the weird presentation just kept me on edge. It’s not perfect by any means, with the gameplay feeling bland and some attempts to mix things up falling flat, but I had a pretty good time with it.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is one of the best games I’ve played in the past few years. A game that calls back to the glory days of Xbox 360 gaming, being nothing more than just an absolute blast to play. Even if it is a little light on content, its core gameplay loop was addicting enough to keep me busy for many hours, never making me ever hope to reach its very end. This is straight-up a must-play and an easy Game of the Year contender. Praise the Omnissiah!
I wanted to like Hollowbody more than I did. It’s a game clearly made with a lot of passion for the likes of Silent Hill and Resident Evil. A classic-style survival horror. There’s a fair bit to like, however lacklustre encounter design and a disappointing final boss let down some excellent world-building and a really tense atmosphere that lasts throughout the whole game.
Despite the red flags, I was actually rooting for Concord. It could have been a fun new hero shooter, but it just feels lifeless and soulless. It plays well enough but there isn’t anything in here that would keep you busy for long stretches. It’s a shame as there is a solid enough core.
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail had a lot to live up to following the excellent legacy left behind by Shadowbringers and Endwalker. It doesn’t always hit the mark with incredibly slow opening hours and odd choices that permeate the entire expansion but there’s a lot to like about it as well. The battle content, soundtrack, and some impactful moments all come together to help push up an otherwise struggling expansion and this makes it a mostly excellent addition.
MudRunner VR sees a fairly successful conversion to the VR space. The Meta/Oculus Quest 2 hardware is really starting to show its age, though. It’s incapable of larger scale maps or high fidelity visuals. What MudRunner VR does exceptionally well is recapture the core into a more bite-sized look into the MudRunner gameplay. Hopefully, this is the stepping stone to a more feature-rich VR title.
Destiny 2: The Final Shape sticks the landing on a rocky saga. Just as all hope was lost with the disastrous Lightfall expansion, Bungie somehow turned it around. A heartfelt and epic story that brings a ten-year narrative to its conclusion. It’s not perfect and it certainly falls into the trappings that have plagued the franchise since it first released in 2014, but it is a good time.