Last year brought many games worth playing, and it is not easy to choose among them. This selection covers eight releases from 2025 that are already out. We relied on Wikipedia pages checked on October 15, 2026, above all the results of The Game Awards 2025 ceremony, held on December 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. We don’t invent our own scores or ratings: we describe what each game is, which platforms it came out on and what made it stand out.
One clarification about the awards: according to Wikipedia, the winners were chosen by a jury from 154 media outlets (90% of the vote) and by viewers (10%). So this is not a verdict on the “best game,” just one more reference point.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
A role-playing game in dark fantasy inspired by the Belle Époque. An expedition sets out to destroy the Paintress: because of her, the “Gommage” happens every year, and people of a certain age vanish. Combat is turn-based but has real-time elements, such as pressing a button at the right moment. The game received 13 nominations at The Game Awards 2025 and won 9, a record for the ceremony. Among the awards was Game of the Year: Clair Obscur became the first debut game to win it.
Who it suits: fans of story-driven RPGs with turn-based combat.
Hollow Knight: Silksong
A metroidvania and the sequel to Hollow Knight (2017). The heroine Hornet is captured and transported to the kingdom of Pharloom, where she fights enemies, overcomes platforming challenges and completes quests. At The Game Awards 2025, Silksong won the award for “Best Action/Adventure Game.” Wikipedia notes that opinions on the game’s high difficulty have been divided.
Who it suits: players who like exploring a large world and aren’t afraid of tough combat.
Hades II
A roguelike in the action RPG genre and the sequel to Hades (2020), the studio’s first sequel. The heroine Melinoë, a princess of the underworld and the sister of Zagreus, sets out to defeat the time titan Chronos, and Olympian gods help her. The game entered early access in May 2024. At The Game Awards 2025 it won the award for “Best Action Game.”
Who it suits: players who like short runs and repeated attempts.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
A first-person open-world action RPG and the sequel to the 2018 game. According to Wikipedia, the world is twice as large as in the first part, and in combat you choose the direction of your strike and your block. There are swords, maces, bows and crossbows. The game was nominated for Game of the Year, Best Narrative and Best RPG, but it did not win any of them. A Switch 2 version is planned for 2027.
Who it suits: fans of open-world RPGs with melee combat.
Split Fiction
A co-op game for two players only: the game is built for split screen, so you have to play it with another player, locally or online. Writers Zoe and Mio find themselves inside their own stories, a fantasy one and a science-fiction one, and must act together. The studio previously made It Takes Two, and the director of Split Fiction is Josef Fares. The game was nominated in four categories, including Best Direction and Best Multiplayer Game.
Who it suits: couples and friends who want to play through it together.
Ghost of Yōtei
A standalone sequel to Ghost of Tsushima (2020). The story takes place in 1603 on the island of Ezo in Japan: the mercenary Atsu seeks revenge on the six men who killed her family sixteen years earlier. At The Game Awards 2025 the game was nominated in all five main “craft” categories, and at the D.I.C.E. Awards it won “Adventure Game of the Year.”
Who it suits: PS5 owners who enjoy adventures with a self-contained story.
Donkey Kong Bananza
A platformer in which you can destroy almost the entire landscape. The gorilla Donkey Kong, together with the teenager Pauline, sets out for the planet’s core. According to Wikipedia, this is the series’ first 3D platformer since Donkey Kong 64 (1999) and the first original game about Kong since 2014. At The Game Awards 2025 it won the award for “Best Family Game.”
Who it suits: Switch 2 owners and the whole family.
Mario Kart World
An open-world racing game. Up to 24 players compete in races, twice as many as in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The game came out alongside the Switch 2 console. At The Game Awards 2025 it won the award for “Best Sports or Racing Game.”
Who it suits: people who play in a group on one screen or online.
Other Winners at the Ceremony
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best Multiplayer Game | ARC Raiders |
| Best Fighting Game | Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves |
| Best Simulation or Strategy Game | Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles |
| Best Ongoing Game | No Man’s Sky |
| Best Audio Design | Battlefield 6 |
| Innovation in Accessibility | Doom: The Dark Ages |
How to Choose Where to Start
| What you’re in the mood for | What to pick |
|---|---|
| A big story-driven game | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II |
| A tough challenge and exploration | Hollow Knight: Silksong |
| Short runs you can repeat | Hades II |
| Playing through together as two | Split Fiction |
| An adventure in historical Japan | Ghost of Yōtei |
| A game for the whole family on Switch 2 | Donkey Kong Bananza, Mario Kart World |
Tip. Before you buy, check the game’s page in your platform’s store to confirm it is available there. For some games, versions for other systems came out later, and Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza came out only on Switch 2.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which game won “Game of the Year” in 2025?
At The Game Awards 2025, this award went to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. According to Wikipedia, it is the first debut game to be named “Game of the Year” at this ceremony.
Does the list include games for two players?
Yes. Split Fiction is built for two-player co-op: you play it locally or online. In Mario Kart World up to 24 players compete, and Donkey Kong Bananza supports single-player and multiplayer modes.
Did these games come out on other platforms later?
Yes, some of them. Split Fiction came to Switch 2 on June 5, 2025, Hades II arrived on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on April 14, 2026, and a Switch 2 version of Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is planned for 2027.
Are there games here that didn’t come out on every console?
Yes. Ghost of Yōtei came out only on PS5, while Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza are Nintendo Switch 2 games. See the list of platforms under the title of each game.
Sources
- The Game Awards 2025 (Wikipedia)
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Wikipedia)
- Hollow Knight: Silksong (Wikipedia)
- Hades II (Wikipedia)
- Ghost of Yōtei (Wikipedia)
Data was checked against Wikipedia on October 15, 2026.
Discussion