Every single year I think that gaming couldn’t possibly get better, and every single year I am proven wrong. 2025 has truly had something that everyone will enjoy, whether you’re into big budget AAA spectacles or scrappy little puzzle platformers. This year I’ve reviewed more games than ever before, and yet still missed countless games that I really wanted to get stuck into. I would have loved to wax lyrical about Keeper, Absolum and Despelote, but we’re long past the point of a single sexy human playing everything in a given twelve months.
For me 2025 was another year of handheld gaming, spread almost entirely across the Steam Deck and that wonderful new Switch 2 that I want to play everything on. There’s not a single game in my top ten that I played on an actual TV, and I’d be more than content if this trend kept up. The Switch 2 itself had plenty of exciting exclusives for those seeking that joy only Nintendo can provide, and you’d better believe a couple of these snuck onto my list.
This past year may have had something for everyone, but those of us obsessed with Roguelike randomness have eaten better than anyone else. Whether your preference is deck building, isometric combat or Survivors style auto firing, there have been dozens of games with infinite replayability, and I’ve loved so many of them. Before we move onto another ridiculous year of gaming, let’s celebrate the ones that’ve kept us sane this year. Through the good times and bad, video games have made 2025 a year I won’t soon forget.
First up then, some honourable mentions…
Battle Suit Aces
What happens when you blend Mass Effect and Gundam together with a sprinkling of card combat? You get Battle Suit Aces of course. This space epic is the total package, with loads of different strategies to use in your quest to save the galaxy. The story and characters are charming, the combat is morish, and there’s even some base building and upgrading that’ll constantly improve your mech fleet’s combat prowess. Battle Suit Aces would be an easy game to miss in this stacked year, so make sure you don’t let it slip away.
MotionRec
I’ve always loved puzzle platformers, but it’s rare they truly surprise and delight me anymore. That’s what MotionRec did, with one of the most intelligent and interesting platforming mechanics I’ve ever experienced. By recording your movement and playing it back you’ll be able to reach new areas with ease, and the game knows exactly how to make you feel like a genius for solving its environmental puzzles. It even made me cry a bit at the ending, which I wasn’t even slightly expecting.
Kirby Air Riders
After two massive and kinda boring Nintendo Directs and with two other more acclaimed kart racers releasing this year, expectations for Kirby Air Riders were pretty low. Despite this it ended up being one of the very best launch year games of the Switch 2, mainly by blending kart racing with Super Smash Bros sensibilities to create something the genre has never seen before. A few months ago if you’d told me I’d be talking about Air Riders and not Mario Kart in my GOTY list I’d have laughed in your ugly face, but that pink blob pulled out a miracle.
Lyle’s Top 10 Games of 2025
10. Fretless: The Wrath of Riffson
I’m such a sucker for an RPG that distills an epic adventure into a tiny runtime, and Fretless does that flawlessly. Despite having absolutely no interest in all the guitar YouTubers featured, this game kept me engaged with its rhythm based combat and a ridiculous amount of weapon options that I’m excited to explore more on future replays.
Playing full on Guitar Hero segments to unleash special attacks never stopped being cool, and my god the pacing of the game is absolutely breakneck. If you like the idea of playing through a turn based RPG but don’t have fifty hours free to do so, Fretless: The Wrath of Riffson is the perfect way to spend your time.
9. Time Flies
When this was first shown in a cosy games showcase years ago, I joked about it being a game of the year contender. It turns out that joke was actually a fact in disguise, because this silly game about playing around as a fly is delightful. With a bucket list of adorable tasks to complete in each stage, you only have a matter of seconds to check off everything before your tiny lifespan ends.
Time Flies is a game with heart warming moments, all wrapped up in a clever little speed running inspired package. Against all odds this game managed to make flies seem cute and relatable, force me to question my own mortality, and laugh out loud all in a two hour runtime. There’s definitely nothing else quite like Time Flies, and absolutely everybody should play it.
8. CloverPit
Last year I lost more hours than I’d care to admit to the genius creation Balatro. This year that time sink award goes to CloverPit, for very similar reasons. Instead of playing cards though CloverPit features a slot machine, a PS1 aesthetic and the constant threat of death. At first you might think that a slot machine based game would involve way too much luck, but you’ll soon realise this is much more going on here.
From the very first time I heard that lo-fi voice proclaim “let’s go gambling” I was hooked. I spent countless hours (well okay Steam has counted them but I’ll never tell) perfecting builds and pulling that lever. I’m so glad CloverPit has been such a success story in 2025, and as of this moment it’s available on iOS and Android so you’ve got no excuse to ignore it.
7. Pokémon Legends: Z-A
This year has officially marked a new highest peak in my Pokémon obsession, and a huge part of that is because of this latest game. I’ve spent the last twelve months learning about competitive Pokémon, buying Pokémon cards with my husband, and watching Pokétubers battle with all sorts of wacky and wonderful rulesets, and now I’m getting to join in the fun in Lumiose City.
Thankfully the latest Pokémon game is the best in many many years, evolving the formula in a whole host of exciting ways. Real time combat makes the battles more bombastic than ever, the new mega evolutions are incredible and plentiful, and the world feels alive with Pokémon and people thriving together. After a few shaky years it really feels like Game Freak have made a title that fans will talk about for decades to come, and I know I’ll still be hunting shinies and collecting critters in Z-A for many more hours.
6. Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo
I first played a preview build of Pipistrello well over a year ago, and after five minutes with it I knew I needed to experience the full game. After that began a long and painful period of waiting, with my own personal hype slowly building. As this Yoyovania became more and more desired, I started to worry that it wouldn’t live up to my lofty expectations. I should’ve known the team behind Dodgeball Academia could be trusted though, and right on cue another absolute banger appeared.
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo takes a lot from the classic portable Zelda games, and in many ways surpasses them. The yo-yo is such a cool weapon, and it can be upgraded to access all new areas and find all manner of secrets. There’s also a really unique loan system in place that enables you to try new perks before you can afford them, and badges to collect which enable different builds. For those looking for a nostalgic experience that builds on the classics, Pipistrello is an absolute no brainer.
5. Donkey Kong Bananza
The heavy hitter of the Switch 2’s launch year, Donkey Kong Bananza was destined to be something special. Pretty much everyone agrees that Super Mario Odyssey is one of the greatest games the plumber has ever starred in, and the idea of my man DK getting that same treatment was so damn tantalising. The end result was absolutely as good as I imagined it’d be, even with its redesigned protagonist.
I had a hell of a time smashing through various surfaces in the opening section of the game, but once Bananza opens up it shines so much brighter. The variety of layers you’ll explore in its underground world is just ridiculous, and if you like gathering shiny doodads then you’ll never want to put this title down. Donkey Kong Bananza brought that Nintendo charm better than anything else this year, and is reason enough to go out and buy a Switch 2.
4. Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor
I played a little bit of Deep Rock Galactic when it first released, but as someone who mainly plays games solo it just wasn’t for me. When I heard that the next Deep Rock title would be a survivors game I was much more interested, but was happy to wait for it to emerge from early access. This year that happened, and in many ways it’s even better than my beloved Vampire Survivors.
The addition of mining is so bloody clever, as it enables you to create paths to guide enemies through while also grabbing various gems to boost your stats between runs. There’s also the weapon upgrade system which features branching paths, and a massive selection of classes to play as across a ridiculous amount of stages and game modes. I’ll be playing Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor for plenty of years to come, and I’ll be far from the only one still chipping away at this hefty Roguelike package.
3. SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance
Against all odds, 2025, gifted us with all the ninja games a nerd could ever ask for. While Ninja Gaiden returned with three different entries for fans to enjoy, we also got the first new Shinobi game since the 3DS. After just one look at its jaw dropping visuals I was so excited to take on this action platformer, but I didn’t expect to end up giving it a ten out of ten.
There were so many reasons I simply had to give the highest possible score to Art of Vengeance. Its fluid combat that constantly added new elements and kept asking more of you for example, alongside the fact it had Metroidvania elements encouraging you to replay older levels with newly acquired abilities. It even had some wonderful nostalgia I wasn’t ready for, like the bonus stages you play between worlds. I seriously hope we don’t have to wait as long for the next Shinobi game, because I’m not sure I could cope without my ninja fix for another fourteen years.
2. The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy
My love of visual novels began long ago with Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc, a game all about teens murdering each other in a wild dystopian school. My fandom is extreme enough that one of my first tattoos is of the delightfully evil series mascot Monokuma, so naturally a new game from the minds behind both this and the Zero Escape series got me pretty giddy. I was not prepared for what came next though, because frankly there’s no world where Last Defense Academy should exist.
Upon jumping into The Hundred Line I was greeted by lots of wacky characters, plenty of murder, and even some particularly clever tactics style combat. All of this combined to create a compelling game I flat out refused to put down, but it was post credits things got really interesting. You see Last Defense Academy is far from over after that delightful first playthrough, as it’s a game with a hundred endings. Most of these require more full playthroughs, and to see everything you’d have to dedicate months to this fiendishly clever and gleefully stylish title. I’m not sure a more ambitious game has ever been created, and I promise you’ll struggle to find a more impressive narrative even in this stacked year.
1. Ball x Pit
From my very first run of Ball x Pit I knew I was playing something special, and at that point I had no idea how much more this exquisite Roguelike still had to show me. It was immediately apparent that blending Breakout with Vampire Survivors would create a beautiful madness of balls, but that’s only a fraction of what makes Ball x Pit a masterpiece. Fusing balls and watching them fire lasers and acid across the screen was immediately compelling though, and I just couldn’t quit it. In fact on my very first evening with the game I played way beyond the early hours of the morning, and it only got worse from there.
I spent actual days of my life diving into the depths and building up Ballbylon between runs. The city building side of the game was initially a bit daunting, but before long I understood how to create the perfect urban pinball machine full of upgrades for my balls. The depth of Ball x Pit only continues to grow from there, with characters and buffs that turn the entire game on its head. Playing as a character who only fires balls from the top of the screen changes the entire dynamic of the game, and when you unlock the ability to play as multiple characters at once all bets are off. Ball x Pit is masterfully crafted, effortlessly compelling and delightfully chaotic, and because of this it earns the top spot on my Game of the Year list.
