Video Games of 2025
I finished 2025 feeling like I'd barely played anything this year. I think it's because the middle of my year basically disappeared into a fugue, and I stopped streaming (not permanently, I hope!!). Nevertheless, Backloggd says I marked 23 games as "done" (finished, abandoned, etc.). That's a pretty good number, with some pretty good games! Let's take a wander through them~
The Games I Finished*
*or abandoned, or otherwise
Pikmin 4
This was a replay, and almost certainly not the last one. I adore Pikmin. I adore everything they did with Pikmin 4. It is probably, objectively, the best Pikmin made, if only because it basically bundles the first 3 games into one. It also exploded the franchise's population, so I can only assume we'll get a 5th. I can't wait.
Silent Hill 2 (2024)
I started this one in 2024 as a streaming game, which slowed its completion until this year. When Bloober was announced as the developers, I was extremely skeptical that Silent Hill was about to have a Resident Evil style renaissance. It's been said a lot, but they pulled it off. Silent Hill 2 (og) was never my favourite, but this remake gave me every sense of returning home that I'd hoped while giving me so much more. We're in an era of remakes and sequels that are about the thing that they are (eg. FF7 Remake, Matrix 4) and Silent Hill 2 comfortably joins them.
Ratshaker
I don't really remember much about Ratshaker, except that it's the exact kind of sicko indie game that I love to see. It's short, weird, and does exactly what it needs to do. Everyone should buy at least one game like Ratshaker every year. They deserve it.
Fear the Spotlight
This should have been exactly the kind of game for me, but I found it to be solidly ok. Lesbian teen crushes, haunted school, grainy PSX graphics. Mostly my dissatisfaction comes from the "hide-and-sneak" gameplay that's unfortunately (imo) super common in horror games. I think compared to all the other PSX style horror I've played in the last few years, this just didn't hold up as well.
Citizen Sleeper 2
One of my most anticipated games of 2025. Both Citizen Sleeper 1, and the dev Jump Over the Age's previous game In Other Waters, represent some of my favourite video game story telling, wrapped in beautiful art styles. Citizen Sleeper 2 holds up just as well, feeling familiar and new. I don't think it affected me quite as intensely as the first game, but the stories of community and the intensity of the scenarios will stick with me for a long time.
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Aesthetically, this game was absolutely my shit. Gameplay wise, I am SO BAD at puzzle games. I cheated my way through this game (mostly the back half), and while I could probably expound on my thoughts about "cheating" in single player games another time, I have no regrets. Lorelei is a gorgeous game, with an incredible sense of style. The puzzles I WAS able to solve on my own were satisfying and beautiful in their own right. It was hard, but worth every second.
The Longing (Shelved)
This game has been on my radar for ages. A slow, mostly idle game about a long dead kingdom and a sleeping king. At times it's more like a virtual pet than an adventure/exploration/puzzle game. Unfortunately, I've never been good about sticking to virtual pets. Maybe I'll return to it, some day, some time. But for now my little Shade will have to continue idling in the dark.
Wanderstop
Wanderstop didn't wind up being what I expected, but it certainly didn't suffer for it. A slow, meandering game where nothing is permanent and there is no "progress" in the typical game-y sense. Instead we progress through main character Alta's story, her insecurities, her fears. It's upsettingly relatable, but it finds a lot of hope in rest and a cup of tea.
Animal Well
I will never be able to go as deep into the puzzles and secrets of these kinds of games as I'd like, but that doesn't stop me from loving the hell out them. Animal Well is strange and mysterious, and while I may never know how deep the well goes, I enjoyed every second with it.
Pathologic 2
This is another game that I've had on my mind for ages. I tried playing it years ago, but bounced off in minutes. The game is brutal and uncompromising, to the extent that it often feels like it desperately doesn't want you to play it. I finally did get a chance to play though, live with another streamer friend Stumblynn, and I'm so glad I did. Once this game clicks, it clicks hard. It never gets any easier, but the difficulty and hard choices start to feel better and better the further it goes. I can't wait for the 3rd game to release, I might have to replay 2 in the meantime.
Creeper World IXE
Creeper World remains one of my biggest guilty pleasure series. I'm terrible at them, I'll never show up in a meaningful place on the leaderboards, and I'll never care to. IXE fulfilled some of that craving, but the change from top down tower defence to something closer to a slow RTS didn't hit as well for me.
V Rising
I started playing this solo, then promptly switched to co-op with my partner. It's an immensely satisfying climb from a baby wretch of a creature to Dracula killing monster. This is also the first survival crafting game to make me care about the aesthetics of my base, when my partner as offline I spent hours decorating and organizing our lesbian castle.
Slitterhead (Shelved)
Still such a gross name. It held such promise. Gorgeous creatures, rad music, the Silent Hill pedigree. But after a few hours, I honestly couldn't be bothered anymore. I'm not sure what exactly put me off, maybe the time was just wrong.
Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour
Really not much to say about this one. It's a tech demo more than a game, honestly shouldn't be of interest to people who aren't curious about the assembly and capabilities of the console, most of which are just trivia. I am still pretty enamoured by the rumble motors being used as audio outputs though.
Donkey Kong Bananza
I've been craving another Mario Odyssey since the game came out, and Bananza has enough of the DNA to satisfy. The joy of smashing straight through terrain to approach a goal never really got old. The game definitely had trouble with its puzzle design, which is understandable when you can usually approach them from any angle, but that didn't put me off from playing every bit that I could.
Pokemon Legends Arceus
Pokemon and I have had a very weird relationship this year. I was very into the TCG at the beginning of the year, playing regularly at local game stores. But the scalping got worse, the prices got higher, and I got so resentful of it all I quit cold turkey. Despite this, my enjoyment of Legends Arceus was only moderately tainted. It's not a great game, and is often horribly tedious, but it brought something new to Pokemon, and that's pretty admirable.
Pokemon Legends Z-A
Despite the above, my Pokemon journey continued. This one occupied a weird place for me. I got it a few weeks before going into surgery, and it went on hold while I recovered through the worst of it. Once I had the brain space again, it was a lovely companion through my early recovery. I'm still not entirely sold on the new battle system, but this game had so much to discover in a genuinely interesting (and smartly compact) setting.
PowerWash Simulator 2
While prepping for surgery, I had this big list of narrative and puzzle games ready to occupy my time. Turns out, recovery takes a lot more brain space than I expected. Powerwash Sim was the exact thing I needed to idle the time between physio and to take my mind off of how miserable I felt. It doesn't do much more than the first, but that's exactly what I needed.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
It's such a shame, to wait so long, and be so disappointed. It's not a terrible game, but it never does anything especially well. The gunplay is fine and familiar, but the exploration has been utterly neutered. I could feel so many ideas at play that just never got their chance to breath. Maybe Retro will get another chance in the future.
Demonschool (Abandoned)
This game caught my eye ages ago and I was excited to see it finally released. But despite the incredible art style, and the promise of a story at least somewhat interesting, I just couldn't bring myself to care. I think I realized after a few hours that the battles weren't really going to change, and I just wasn't interested in a few dozen more hours of the same.
Halo 1-3
I bought the Master Chief Collection after forgetting that BDS had called a boycott on Xbox products. This was a mistake, but I can't undo it now. I've made a donation to the Palestine's Children's Relief Fund. It doesn't offset the error, but I hope it will still do some good. If you've made it this far, and are able, consider donating to the PCRF as well.
Other Mentions
I have a long list of in-progress titles, some started last year, some even longer back. I won't go into all of them, but I think a few are worth highlighting.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
There's really no good reason I haven't finished this. I'm basically at the final boss (at least, the first final boss), but I've just stalled out. The game is absolutely worth going back to though. It's stylish as fuck, the music kicks ass, and I can't wait to see what happens next to my motley crew.
Unbeatable
Speaking of stylish as fuck, this game is oozing style. It's just so cool. I was obsessed with the White Label demo when it released years ago, and I'm excited to get into the full release. I started a few days ago, but I haven't had much access to my computer, and my laptop isn't quite up to the task.
Satisfactory
I've been playing this game for nearly a decade. I'll probably still be playing in a decade. Will I ever "finish" the game? Who can say. But I'll be fiddling with my factories for hours longer.
The End
I get a little dejected when I see other people's year end wrap ups, or when the various games showcases come around. Despite it all, dozens of new, amazing games are releasing all the time, and I'll never have the time or energy to play them all. It's overwhelming. But seeing my list laid out like this, I've made pretty good progress. I played a lot of games this year, and a lot of those are going to remain important to me for many years. Maybe I'll play more in 2026, maybe I'll play less. Either is ok, if I get a few more hits like these.