When I look at 2025 so far, I’d honestly say that this year has fallen just a touch short of 2023 and 2024. That isn’t a big knock at all. I thought 2023 and 2024 were historic, and 2025 is just a little behind. Despite this, I still constantly feel overwhelmed with the number of games out there to play. It’s amazing. I’ve played a game this year that is definitely in my top 10 of all time, and one that I think is probably the best co-op game ever made, and I’ve already played many other awesome games as well. We are spoiled here!
And when I look ahead to the rest of the year, that might not be stopping. With Summer Game Fest in the rear view mirror, we now know a lot of games that are for sure coming out this year, and still many others that are slated to drop this year. When compiling this list, I easily could have put 20 or more games that I’m looking forward to, but I decided to take it a little easy on myself.
Here are the 15 games I am the most excited about for the rest of 2025. If I missed one you are pumped about, make sure to let me know in the comments or on social media. I’ve always got my eyes open for new games!
15. Mina the Hollower
Release Date: October 31st
The last IP from this developer was Shovel Knight, which felt inspired by Mega Man and other 2D action games. I enjoyed Shovel Knight a lot, but I much prefer old Zelda games over old Mega Man games. This time around, Yacht Club games are going more into the Zelda direction with Mina the Hollower. The trailers I’ve seen make the gameplay look quite varied, deep, and fun. It looks like this is going to nail the formula, much like Shovel Knight did. With Yacht Club’s track record, there is no way that this isn’t at least very good.
14. Hollow Knight: Silksong
Release Date: TBD
IT IS HAPPENING. While we still don’t have a release date, Silksong has essentially been confirmed as for sure coming out in 2025, finally. I like to make jokes about expecting it to shadowdrop at every showcase, and I’m a huge metroidvania fan, but oddly, I would not classify myself as a “Silksong bro” (I think I made that term up). I thought the core gameplay of Hollow Knight was excellent, but the long stretches of backtracking slowly became too much for me, and I dropped it. If Silksong is even a touch more generous with its fast travel points, that will probably be enough for me to absolutely love this one.
13. Crimson Desert
Release Date: TBD
Crimson Desert is weird because this could be as high as #2 if I’m just going off what I’ve seen. The open world looks phenomenal, and apparently, the game’s engine was designed specifically for open world gameplay. So the draw distances are crazy and it looks stunning. The gameplay also looks pretty dang solid based on what I’ve seen.
But it’s tough still not to be a bit skeptical. This is from an MMO developer, so sometimes that can lead to annoying game design in some ways (I love FF16, but a lot of its flaws felt like they came from the developer’s MMO background). Also, I have no idea if the story or writing will be worth a damn. Either way, based on what I’ve seen, there’s almost no way I don’t at least give this one a look when it comes out.
12. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
Release Date: August 26th
I really haven’t seen all that much gameplay of Snake Eater that has really impressed me. But I still am really excited about this one. Mostly because I quit on MGS3 a long time ago, and as time has gone on, I’ve been too afraid to go back, as I felt like it would feel way too dated. But I’ve heard countless amazing things about this story, and I love a lot of other MGS games, so I’m ready to experience it.
Also, developers have been on fire with their remakes lately, so that also gives me a lot of faith that they will be able to modernize the graphics and gameplay while keeping the same great story. That is exactly what I want. I hope they don’t blow it somehow.
11. Mafia: The Old Country
Release Date: August 8th
Yes, Mafia: The Old Country is on this list, despite my only experience with the series being abandoning the first game after a few hours. It’s important to note that I abandoned that game almost exclusively because I found the open world mechanics to be incredibly boring. I’ve heard great things about the story, and I’ve wanted to give it another try the past few years, but I just haven’t had the time with everything else I’ve been trying to play.
Mafia: The Old Country seems to fix this by taking out the open world this time. This will be a much more linear game with more of an emphasis on the narrative. Considering that is the main thing I see people talk about with these games, this seems like a smart switch. If the core gameplay is at least decent, and the story is very strong, this could bring the franchise to new heights and be the future for it. I truly hope the gamble they have made pays off big time
10. Donkey Kong Bananza
Release Date: July 17th
As much as the Switch 2 showcase underwhelmed me, Donkey Kong Bananza immediately had some juice for me. The very destructible environments seemed like a fun gimmick. Excitement built even more when it was discovered that the Super Mario Odyssey team was the main devs behind this one.
I don’t own a Switch 2, but I need to experience this one so badly that I am borrowing my brother’s for a few weeks and buying this game for him as payment. That is devotion! I’m very skeptical on how long it’ll be until Nintendo has an exclusive Switch 2 lineup that truly makes the system worth owning for me, but if I didn’t have this arrangement, Bananza alone might have been enough for me. Hopefully, it lives up to my personal hype for it.
9. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance
Release Date: August 29th
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is a 2D action game from the makers of Streets of Rage 4. I didn’t play Streets of Rage 4, but it is highly touted. The art looks lovely, and the animations, combat, and platforming all look very well executed. This also appears to be more of a linear game instead of a metroidvania. That is kind of a rarity for games like this, and I’m kind of happy to see it. I think this looks fantastic.
8. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
Release Date: July 31st
That’s right. We have TWO action-oriented 2D ninja games from famous franchises that have an acclaimed indie developer making them. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a 2D action game from the makers of the Blasphemous games. I love the action in Blasphemous 2, but the metroidvania elements kind of fell short for me. The idea of those devs being much more focused on the action seems perfect to me. Ragebound also looks significantly more fast-paced than the Blasphemous games, and I kind of like that, too. Every clip of the gameplay that I’ve seen looks so fast, furious, and crisp. I think this is like a guaranteed 8.5/10, and I can’t wait to experience the intensity that this one seems sure to deliver.
7. Mixtape
Release Date: TBD
Mixtape really wasn’t on my radar at all until Summer Game Fest a few weeks ago, and now I’m all in. I did not realize that this was the next game from the makers of The Artful Escape, which is a musical narrative game that I really adored. Mixtape looks like it’s going to focus on its music just like The Artful Escape, and it has some pretty big names involved with its soundtrack. But it seems like Mixtape is going to be a bit more grounded in its storytelling and with more emphasis on a group of friends instead of just one character. The gameplay shown also seems kind of fun and varied, like a nice way to mix things up in between the story and music. If this is around the level of The Artful Escape, I will be very happy. I have a sneaking suspicion that it might end up being even better, though.
6. The Outer Worlds 2
Release Date: October 29th
I really enjoyed The Outer Worlds, but it was that kind of experience for me that I really enjoyed, but never really thought about after. It was just that perfect 8/10, as I tend to view many Obsidian games.
Then, I played Avowed, which I also viewed as an 8/10, but the combat in that game really stood out to me. Obsidian had clearly leveled up with combat in that game, and that isn’t something I really expected from them. All the clips I’ve seen from The Outer Worlds 2 make me feel like the combat here has leveled up as well. That alone is pretty exciting. Add in that apparently the world is significantly bigger, and now I’m really excited. This basically looks like it’s going to give the base of what The Outer Worlds did, but bigger and better. You can’t ask for much more than that. I think this is set to be my favorite Obsidian game since Fallout: New Vegas and Obsidian games are consistently solid, so that is very exciting.
5. The Eternal Life of Goldman
Release Date: TBD
This is up there as one of the prettiest games I have ever witnessed. This is a hand drawn metroidvania game being published by THQ Nordic, which seems random but good for them. The art is so lovely, and the combination of the art and animations feels on the level of Cuphead. There also seems to be a pretty interesting story attached to it, which isn’t the most common thing in a metroidvania game. A few clips of the combat don’t look amazing to me, but the platforming does look really strong, and that appears to be the main focus. If this plays even close to as good as it looks, this is going to be a big surprise hit this year. I just really hope it drops this year, as we don’t have a release date yet.
4. The Rogue: Prince of Persia
Release Date: August
I’ve had my eyes on this one since the first trailer last year. The Rogue: Prince of Persia is a roguelike from one of the developers from Dead Cells. The platforming and combat both look so freaking smooth, as you would expect. I think people were really hyped for this one when the trailer first dropped, and then that excitement faded a bit when it dropped in early access. Reviewers universally seemed to enjoy the game but complained about the lack of content. The game currently sits at a 79 on Opencritic because of this.
More often than not, early access games don’t get review scores for this exact reason. Yes, people are paying for it, but reviewing an unfinished product is just weird to me. The developers confirmed that The Rogue will be having its full 1.0 release in August. It has been well over a year since the reviews that loved the gameplay, but complained about progression and content. I have to assume that the game is in a much better place in both of these aspects now. If it is, this is about to be a surprise indie banger. I just hope the critics update their review scores when that happens.
3. Ghost of Yotei
Release Date: October 2nd
It’s funny for me to have Ghost of Yotei this high because while I really enjoyed Ghost of Tsushima, I’m not all that high on it compared to most people. But that can also be an exciting thing, as I feel like Ghost of Yotei has a lot of room to take its game to another level, and if it does so, this might be the game that I personally consider an all-timer.
Based on my experience with the Infamous series, I would say Sucker Punch has a track record of getting better on sequels. We still don’t know all that much about Yotei, but if this game has more consistent storytelling and a better open world, that alone will make this one really special. After the showcase that is planned in July, this could very easily be my most anticipated game for the rest of the year at that point (since Death Stranding 2 will be out by then).
2. Dispatch
Release Date: TBD
I’ve been very excited about this one since the initial trailer last year. My only question at this point is if this one actually comes out in 2025. Dispatch is a narrative game with writers from Wolf Among Us, which was easily my favorite Telltale game. It’s a new IP where it seems like you are a 911 dispatcher of sorts, but for superheroes. The graphics look like a very high budget cartoon that could be on Netflix. The voice acting has a lot of star power, and the story hooks and small bits of writing that I’ve seen also looked impressive. Obviously, there is also a strong track record here, which also gives me optimism.
There is a demo out already as well, and the reception I’ve seen to that demo is very strong. If this comes out, I think this is set to surprise people and make some waves. I really hope it hits this year.
1. Death Stranding 2
Release Date: June 26th
This was my #2 most anticipated game of the year before it started, and with my #1 now out (Expedition 33), this easily slots in as my new #1.
Simply, I can’t wait for this one. I absolutely loved Death Stranding when I finally played it last year, and just giving me more of that is exciting. I can’t wait to see what they do with the story, and I love the core package deliver gameplay loop.
But that doesn’t mean I thought the original game was perfect. I actively hated combat scenarios, as I thought they were clunky for a variety of reasons. The boss fights were epic but also kind of annoying. Preview events make it seem like for a few different reasons, this all works much better than last time. The plot pacing is also apparently better. Jumping in should also be exciting immediately, as I won’t have the sort of learning curve that makes the start of the game in particular, not quite hit from moment one for me.
I gave the original game a 9.5, and I honestly will be surprised if this doesn’t end up as a 10 for me. I think Death Stranding 2 vs. Expedition 33 is set to be one of my most intense game of the year battles ever. So obviously, I’m really excited about it.
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