2025 had some great video games, and I went into the year determined to play all of my most-anticipated titles… until the one that came out in April turned out to be such a long game that I’m still playing it. Still, I managed to play a number of new releases, and these are the ten that stood out to me the most.
10. Asylum
Eons ago, back in 2013, I backed a horror adventure game called Asylum on Kickstarter. It was the first Kickstarter campaign I ever contributed to, and I never anticipated it would be 2025 before the game came out. But Asylum finally did come out, and I enjoyed it. It has a great sense of atmosphere and some story moments that still linger in my mind. It’s hard to live up to a 12-year wait, but despite a somewhat confusing ending, Asylum is the game I hoped for when I backed the campaign all those years ago.
9. Iwakura Aria
The visual novel Iwakura Aria caught my attention back when it was announced, mainly because it has some aesthetic similarities to another certain visual novel I love. When I finally played it, I found it to be strange and beautiful, with a haunting story. Although its side stories contain one last twist with such major ramifications for the ending that it feels bizarre to be hidden away like that, I still enjoyed it enough for it to make this list.
8. Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition
Ever since I played Xenoblade Chronicles X on the Wii U, I’ve wanted a sequel. Even though I often don’t enjoy open world games, something about exploring the vast planet of Mira just clicked with me. I wanted to see more of it. I wanted to get answers to those lingering questions the first game left us with. Once we got deep into the Switch era, however, I started hoping for a remaster of the original. The Wii U game getting a second chance at life through a Switch release felt like the only way a sequel would ever happen. After 10 long years, I finally got my wish with 2025’s Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition. It’s still as fun as ever, and the new quality-of-life improvements are great, even if I miss some aspects of the original experience lost as a result. I’d have given it a higher spot on this list if not for the new epilogue chapter. I didn’t like the answers to those lingering questions, and I didn’t like its resolution. I still love the rest of the game, though, so I have to include it among my top 10 nevertheless.
7. No Sleep for Kaname Date
AI: The Somnium Files is one of my all-time favorite games. I love its sense of humor and mystery, and I adore the way its story comes together. And while I didn’t enjoy its sequel as much, I still found it to be a good game. As a result, I was pretty excited when they announced No Sleep for Kaname Date, a shorter game set between the main two. As you can see from my review, I enjoyed it overall despite it falling short of its predecessors. The story feels a bit inconsequential in the long run, but it has some tricky puzzles and is a nice addition to the series. I can’t forgive it for that fireworks line that sent my theorizing into overdrive for no reason, however, so it’s staying right here as #7 on my list.
6. Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved
I’d been following Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved for a while leading up to its launch, and I’m happy to say that this indie game turned out great! It’s a mystery adventure game in the style of the Famicom Detective Club series, about a woman who vanishes on a train while everyone claims she was never there at all. While fairly linear and straightforward, it has a good story that kept me questioning the truth up until the end, as well as a polished presentation that took me by surprise. On top of that, there are a lot of fun moments and bits of humor. Overall, it’s one of those games that leaves me hoping the developers will make a sequel in the future.
5. Ever 17: The Out of Infinity
I had always been curious about Ever 17: The Out of Infinity, and 2025’s remaster gave me a chance to play it for the first time. While it has a slow start and an unfortunate number of typos, the story ended up really gripping my attention as I got deeper into the game. The twist and the way it was handled especially stand out to me. There were many points leading up to the reveal where I was turning over every clue, trying to figure out what it all meant, and the payoff was great. It’s a classic that lives up to its reputation, and I’m happy I got to play it. Definitely a high point of 2025.
4. Silent Hill f
I held my breath leading up to the release of Silent Hill f, because it’s one of my favorite series that’s struggled the most in recent years. I was confident in the story after reading Higurashi, but that’s only one part of the picture. Would it live up to the Silent Hill name or not? Well, I can’t say I enjoy everything about Silent Hill f–the limited inventory system is restrictive enough to drive me crazy, for example–and I have mixed feelings about whether or not the drastically different setting still feels like Silent Hill. However, I have a feeling that if it wasn’t part of the series, I’d be pointing toward it as a game that captures the Silent Hill feeling, so that’s a point in its favor. If nothing else, it’s a great horror game with some fantastic moments and excellent monster design.
3. Routine
If the 12-year wait for Asylum was long, even that gets beat by the 13 years between the announcement and release of Routine, a survival horror game set on an abandoned lunar base. After waiting for so long, I played and reviewed Routine when it finally came out, and I loved it. It’s tense, terrifying, and atmospheric, with solid puzzles and intriguing mysteries. There are times when I wish we got more from it, especially when it comes to the story and lore, but I can’t be disappointed in what’s there. It’s the sort of game I hoped for when it was announced all those years ago… and that’s impressive on its own. It seems 2025 was the year of good games finally coming out after a long, long wait.
2. Shuten Order
You’re trying to solve your own murder by investigating the leaders of a strange cult awaiting the end of the world, each of whom has a route with a different gameplay genre, and it’s developed by Too Kyo Games? It’s like Shuten Order was designed to appeal specifically to me. I loved my time with this game, and Teko’s route alone could have earned it a spot on this list. The fact that I enjoyed all the other routes as well means it gets a very high spot… so close to being #1. My only real quibble is with the numerous translation issues, which I discussed in my review, and I believe they’ve been fixed through patches since then. Combining five genres into a single game is such a wildly ambitious idea, and even if they didn’t all shine as much as they could have, they came together into a surprisingly coherent and delightful package.
1. The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy
Speaking of wildly ambitious games, how about a visual novel strategy RPG with 100 different endings? Yes, Too Kyo Games gets another entry on this list, because The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy is my personal GOTY. It’s the game I alluded to at the start of this list, one of my most-anticipated releases that came out in April and took over the rest of my year. I’m 100 hours into it, I’ve seen 28 endings, and I don’t intend to stop until I’ve seen all 100. I do take breaks for other games, though, because I don’t want to burn out and ruin my experience. The ambition behind the game, the story, the twists, the different routes, and the characters are all excellent, and having a solid combat system on top of that makes it stand out even more. It also gave me Yugamu, one of my favorite characters in a while. Yugamu would have put the game on my top 10 list all by himself, and the 100 hours I’ve played land it squarely in my #1 spot. I could hate all the remaining endings and still be satisfied overall (although I certainly hope that doesn’t happen). The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy is easily my favorite game of 2025, and I keep hoping they’ll announce DLC even though I still have plenty of the game left to play.
