Year of 2025

Less emphasis on combat and exceptional focus on rich dialogue and narrative writing - dense lore, existential themes, and a story shaped by the player’s decisions make this a uniquely rewarding and thought-provoking RPG

A warm, creative game about being a hero in unconventional ways. Joyful mechanics, storybook art style, and thoughtful themes that all come together as a celebration of kindness

Sitting on the rock-solid base of Doom (2016), Eternal expands with new mechanics, systems, enemies, and lore, resulting in an exhilarating "up to 11" experience (that can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming)

Lives up to its reputation as absorbing card-based roguelike - deep deck-building, distinct play-styles, and smart risk-reward design make this one easy to grasp, tricky to master, and dangerously addictive

A short, but mechanically engaging climbing game with beautiful environmental storytelling. A quiet, contemplative, and affecting experience

Wins points for being a tightly designed metroidvania, and for having a bold real-time death timer - the constant tension might not be for everybody, but it sure is a unique feeling. A mechanically excellent, and sometimes thought-provoking experience, even if its characters don't fully live up to the concept

My feelings on the game weren't the best when i first played it (and the dialogue might still grate even now), but something about the music, the art-style, the actually alien characters and weird ideas - just the general vibe - stuck with me for longer than other games. Maybe i'm losing my mind

A short, but very distinctive game with the most charming art, music, and writing. It simply radiates cultural character, leaving me with a strong sense of place and a deep desire for more experiences like this

Lives up to its long-awaited reputation as a culturally significant RPG. Subversive design, internet-era humour, and an endearing cast of oddball characters make Undertale uniquely resonant and easy to recommend

Beautifully crafted exploration game set in a small, intricately designed solar system. It uses knowledge-based puzzles and your own sense of curiosity to drive its existential mystery, resulting in one of the most rewarding and affecting experiences i've had in a very long time

Deep and flexible in its design, with rich table-top style skill systems and a sprawling RPG narrative, D:OS is very rewarding but requires a significant time investment

Taking the souls-like formula and adding systems-upon-systems to it for all you mechanics freaks out there, Nioh manages to hold on to the tense action core, and has some of the best level design i've seen in a while

So, so close.. The Outer Worlds is a polished, enjoyable sci-fi RPG with some nice quality-of-life improvements on the classic formulas, but it fails to step out of the shadow of Fallout: New Vegas. Here's hoping the sequel can do better (especially with daddy Microsoft looming over the company)

A genuinely memorable experience, thanks to its rich storytelling and lived-in time span. A finely crafted creature-collecting RPG whose journey left me feeling bittersweet (but in a good way... kinda..)

A visually stunning and smoothly playable sequel that refines and expands on its predecessor with new abilities, mechanics, and world-building - a heartfelt and easily recommended metroidvania experience