To kick off a new year of increased gaming coverage, The Beat is looking back at this year’s releases with our list of the Best Video Games of 2025.
Like our other Best Of lists, the following were chosen by our individual staff writers and contributors, allowing for a short but expansive list of genres, game lengths, and themes. Read on to learn about our favorite RPGs, metroidvanias, roguelites, co-op titles, and more.
Without further ado, we present The Beat‘s Best Video Games of 2025.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Developer: Sandfall Interactive
Publisher: Kepler Interactive
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
Indie RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 took home a whopping nine wins at this year’s Game Awards, including Game of the Year—for good reason. This breathtaking spin on post-apocalyptic media dominated discussion in gaming spaces throughout 2025 thanks to its unique look, sound, and approach to storytelling. Its turn-based combat mechanics allow for multiple team builds with varying strengths and its creature designs are absolutely top-tier. There are moments in its narrative that are utterly spine-chilling, while others are painful enough to evoke tears weeks or months after initial playthrough.
Traversing this world and uncovering its secrets makes for a deeply satisfying gameplay experience, with true consequences for player choices and some of the most stunning audio-visual elements of any title I can recall from the last several years. — Samantha Puc
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
Developer: Kojima Productions
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation 5
The highly anticipated sequel to 2019’s Death Stranding finally arrived this year, and it sees Hideo Kojima at the height of his powers. Taking the first game as a proof-of-concept and polishing it to be the best it can be, the sequel is truly impressive, with a scope that almost borders on ridiculous and a level of technical finesse that borders on the unfathomable.
Death Stranding 2 also improves the storytelling, giving in to the silliness as much as the melancholy, crafting an epic and human narrative that will tug at your heart-strings throughout, especially because it feels remarkably topical. It also has Tarman in it, whose likeness is George Miller of all people, and he has an oily black cat with wings. That’s pretty awesome. — Jared Bird
Demonschool
Developer: Necrosoft Games
Publisher: Ysbryd Games
Platforms: Nintendo Switch 1/2, PC, PlayStation 5
My most anticipated game of the year met all expectations. Calling it ‘Gay Persona 2‘ is selling it short. A tactical RPG made by and for millennials, Demonschool bucks genre conventions and pays homage to all the works that inspired it. Despite there being a few rough edges, it more than makes up for them with its humor, soundtrack, and boss design. A hidden gem of a game reminiscent of the days before algorithms and Metacritic review scores dominated the video game conversation. — E.B. Hutchins
Donkey Kong Bananza
Developer/Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo Switch 2
Ooooooh banana! The Nintendo Switch 2 just-after-launch title Donkey Kong Bananza lives up to its name. With my husband Ollie Kaplan, I played this game in co-op mode, which is easier than ever thanks to the Switch 2’s GameShare feature. This allowed us to play the game together across two systems with just one game card.
The story pairs the titular ape with a young version of Pauline, Mario’s future ex-girlfriend and the eventual mayor of New Donk City from Super Mario Odyssey. Their relationship is very endearing, especially when it comes to the dialogue they share before drifting off to sleep in the various recharge stations you unlock throughout the game. But the real headliner is the game’s key mechanic: smashing and crashing your way through just about every piece of scenery you lay your eyes on. — Avery Kaplan
Hades II
Developer/Publisher: Supergiant Games
Platforms: Nintendo Switch 1/2, PC
A sequel to 2020’s smash hit roguelike RPG Hades, Supergiant Games pushed the mechanics and gameplay further and polished them to create a sequel just as brilliant as its predecessor.
Following Melinoe, Princess of the Underworld, as she aims to kill the titan of time, Chronos, her quest will take you from Olympus to the very pits of Tartarus and beyond. Featuring brilliant voice acting, frenetic and engaging combat, stunning artwork, and a beautiful soundtrack, sometimes the best thing a sequel can be is more of the same. Hades II delivers that in spades. — Jared Bird
He Is Coming (Early Access)
Developer: Chronocle
Publisher: Hooded Horse
Platforms: PC
A bite-sized RPG roguelite that is easy to pick up and hard to master. In He Is Coming, you have a set amount of time to run through the map and get items and weapons to prepare for a boss that can only be defeated under certain conditions. I dropped almost 90 hours into this thing in the same way I dropped hundreds of hours into Balatro. At time of writing, there are three modes: Woodland, Swamplands, and Kingmaker. The first two are single-player and the third one is now co-op. Trust me—by the time you finish your first run, you’ll be begging others to join you. — E.B. Hutchins
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Developer/Publisher: Team Cherry
Platform: Nintendo Switch 1/2, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
A triumph of a sequel, Silksong is a metroidvania for lovers of the genre. Its difficulty may not be for everyone, but the story more than makes up for it. From the soundtrack to the boss and area design, it seems like everyone at Team Cherry was bringing their A-game. For $20, you’ll be a different kind of gamer after you finish it. Also, there’s tons of cute bug designs. They might kill you multiple times, but they’re just little guys (except The Savage Beastfly. F*** the Savage Beastfly). — E.B. Hutchins
Lies of P: Overture
Developer: Round8 Studio
Publisher: Neowiz
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
A prequel expansion to 2023’s Lies of P, “Overture” is a remarkable step forward for the team and a fantastic elaboration on the original game’s themes and mechanics. By placing the player in Krat before its complete collapse, you get a glimpse at the once-great city in its prime, solving mysteries that elude you throughout the main game and enrich the narrative and characters wonderfully.
With fantastic level design, beautiful art direction, and remarkable boss fights that will push the player harder than ever before, Lies of P: Overture is a great experience all around. Heartbreakingly sad, punishingly difficult, it’s a fantastic step for the relatively new Round8 team, and I can’t wait to see what they do next. — Jared Bird
Mario Kart World
Developer/Publisher: Nintendo
Platforms: Nintendo Switch 2
So I don’t know what people are talking about. Mario Kart World is a fantastic game. Is it the same as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe? No, but that game was originally released 11 years ago, and most didn’t even play that one for the first three years it was out on the Wii U. It’s an unfair comparison, but MKW on its own is a game that I’ve gotten a ton of replay out of, driving around the open world and playing online. Especially playing with friends online with random people is a great and tense time.
It’s a chaotic game experience with a lot of fun characters and creative tracks. “Knockout Tour” is one of the best additions to the series. It’s like having a Mario Kart version of Cannonball Run. I feel this is just the beginning, and the game is going to continue to get better and change as the years go on. — Julian Lytle
Megabonk
Developer/Publisher: vedinad
Platforms: PC
Sometimes, imitation is not only just the sincerest form of flattery but also a great start to making a great game. Megabonk might just be a 3D version of Vampire Survivor, but that’s all it needs to be. As much as the latter game is visually an homage to the 8-bit era and Castlevania games, this one takes that homage to the 32-bit PlayStation/Saturn/N64 era with very blocky and spikey polygons.
Moving in a three-dimensional space and jumping adds so much to a game where all you have to do is direct the character and just survive as much as you can while upgrading your abilities. Each character looks fun, and the first stage keeps you playing for tens of hours easily. I lost so much time to this without even trying. — Julian Lytle
South of Midnight
Developer: Compulsion Games
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X/S
After a hurricane devastates her hometown, Hazel Flood learns that the folklore of the American Deep South is not just real, but deeply rooted in decades- and centuries-old trauma, waiting for a Weaver to resolve its haunting energy. This southern gothic action-adventure game has incredibly fun combat mechanics, gorgeous storytelling, stop-motion cutscenes that significantly ratchet up the tension, and some of the most beautiful character, creature, and scenery designs of any title released in recent memory. The music is also phenomenal. I was stoked for this title from the first announcement trailer and it blew my expectations out of the water.
For Nintendo Switch 2 and PlayStation gamers, good news: South of Midnight is slated to hit both platforms next year, which will widen the playing field (literally) for more folks to experience its magic. — Samantha Puc
Wanderstop
Developer: Ivy Road
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
Platforms: PC
Wanderstop is something of an anti-management sim that both draws on its predecessors and flips them on their heads to tell a story about identity, connection, severe burnout, and cataclysmic grief. There are no time constraints and tasks are largely optional. Rest, relaxation, and reflection are encouraged. The story moves forward at the player’s behest and the idyllic setting is a visual feast that subtly changes as the narrative progresses. Wanderstop is wildly unique and painstakingly detailed, setting a new standard for storytelling in cozy games. — Samantha Puc
Don’t miss all of our Best of 2025 lists:
Anime | Comics & Graphic Novels | Kids Comics | Manga & Manhwa | Movies | TV Series | Video Games | Webtoons & Webcomics
