I Played Over 100 New Games In 2025 - Let's Review Them All

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    I started 2025 by making the decision to play more kinds of games than I normally do. At the ripe, old age of 33 I had found myself set in my ways. I play competitive shooters, I play the shit out of mascot platformers, and I play card games... but I also used to play and love so much more. I have fond childhood memories of games like Legend of Dragoon, Need for Speed, Madden, Mary-Kate & Ashley's Magical Mystery Mall (really, I promise it was rad) but adult Noah would just brush off so many games as "That's not for me bro."     

    In an effort to expand my horizons for game genres I'd consider "my kind of game", I played over a hundred new releases this year. I came to learn many things about myself as a player and my preferences. Rather than do the SEO-optimal thing where I review them one by one and jam their name in the title, I'm going to use this page as a reference point to link out to reviews in groups.

    I ranked all the games I played as I played them and adjusted rankings multiple times throughout the year as some games grew hotter or colder for me. These rankings are loosely based on a subjective, fluid scale roughly made up of "How much did I enjoy this game?" and "How likely am I to recommend it to others?/How universal do I think its recommendation would be?"

105-84 (Click here for reviews of each game)

    My lowest ranked games of the year. Most of this group are games I considered to have flaws so detrimental that they turned me off before I could find a redeeming quality or so technically flawed that I threw them at the bottom and didn't bother revisiting them.

105. The Bazaar
104. My Wife Threw Out My Card Collection (So I Bought a Dump to Find Them All)
103. Unbeatable
102. Monster Hunter Wilds
101. Sid Meier's Civilization VII
100. Bratz: Rhythm & Style
99. South of Midnight
98. Wanderstop
97. NASCAR 25
96. Fragpunk
95. Mika & The Witch's Mountain
94. Atomfall
93. Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
92. Rogue Genesia
91. Warriors: Abyss
90. Nubby's Number Factory
89. Abyssus
88. A Game About Digging A Hole
87. Reignbreaker
86. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
85. Eternal Strands
84. Lost Records: Bloom & Rage

83-62 (Click here for reviews of each game)

    These games were generally, for myself, at least worth the time I spent playing them but were not particularly fun. There are some interesting ideas in some titles in this group but they might not have been fully realized. There are games in this group I would actually suggest to some people, if I really knew a lot about their likes and dislikes and was positive a game fit a specific niche they enjoyed.

83. Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
82. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
81. TMNT: Tactical Takedown
80. Monster Train 2
79. Islanders: New Shores
78. Letterlike
77. Koira
76. to a T
75. Herdling
74. Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo
73. Drop Duchy
72. The Outer Worlds 2
71. Shadowveil: Legend of the Five Rings
70. Rematch
69. Haste: Broken Worlds
68. Everybody's Golf: Hot Shots
67. Lost in Random: The Eternal Die
66. Deadzone: Rogue
65. The Midnight Walk
64. Ninja Gaiden II Black
63. Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny
62. Sunderfolk

61-40 (Click here for reviews of each game)

    This group is where I'd say I get to the games I genuinely enjoyed at least some aspects of. There are some games here that I have gone back to over the year even. They're generally games that are solid recommendations for people I'm less familiar with but who can say "Well I like X other game" and I can say "Oh, you should check out Y then".

61. Tempopo
60. Gears of War: Reloaded
59. Assassin's Creed: Shadows
58. Pokemon Legends: Z-A
57. Hades II
56. Fast Fusion
55. Die in the Dungeon
54. Passant: A Chess Roguelike
53. Clutchtime: Basketball Deckbuilder
52. Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders
51. Wheel World
50. Peak
49. DOOM: The Dark Ages
48. Desktop Survivors 98
47. Leaf It Alone
46. Word Play
45. Split Fiction
44. Shape of Dreams
43. Battle Suit Aces
42. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
41. Powerwash Simulator 2
40. Yooka-Replaylee

39-18 (Click here for reviews of each game)

    This group is full of games I really enjoyed, most of which I finished, and would have no qualms recommending to a fair number of people. There are some titles here that I'll be going back to years from now even.

39. Schedule I
38. Ninja Gaiden 4
37. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time
36. The Rogue Prince of Persia
35. Spongebob Squarepants: Titans of the Tide
34. ILA: A Frosty Glide
33. Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition
32. MARVEL Cosmic Invasion
31. Heroes of Hammerwatch II
30. Mario Kart World
29. LEGO Party
28. Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor
27. Strange Jigsaws
26. Tiny Bookshop
25. Wobbly Life
24. Cipher Zero
23. Echoes of the End
22. Once Upon A Galaxy
21. Despelote
20. My Little Puppy
19. Blue Prince
18. ARC Raiders

17-6 (Click here for reviews of each game)

    Standout titles that I think are all outstanding and will absolutely be revisiting over time. These are pretty easy recommendations for a lot of people and you should certainly check them all out.

17. Ruffy and the Riverside
16. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
15. PGA Tour 2K25
14. Ball X Pit
13. Hyperbeat
12. Battlefield 6
11. Dispatch
10. Skate Story
9. Sword of the Sea
8. Sektori
7. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
6. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4

5-1 (Click each game for its full review)

    The best of the best for 2025. These games are, in my opinion, masterpieces and every one of them connected with me at a deep level. Every one of these is a game I would gladly say "Hey, you should check this out." to pretty much anyone. I could talk excitedly about each of these for hours on end.

5. Lumines Arise
4. Avowed
3. Donkey Kong Bananza
2. Undusted: Letters from the Past
1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

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