I'd liked to have done a top 10, but I haven't had the chance to play that many games this year, so I did a top 3 instead. I haven't played Arc Raiders, Metal Gear Solid Delta, or Hollow Knight: Silksong, but here's what I thought about some of the games I did play.

1. Hades 2

This was my best game of 2025. I liked the original, but the sequel had a bit more—more dialogue and a better story. I didn't like Chronos being the God of Time (a common mistake), but other than that, it's definitely worth playing.

2. Where the Winds Meet

The best thing about this game is that it's free. Diablo Immortal is 'free', but you have to pay $400,000 to get the endgame content. There's no hint of anything pay-to-win in Where the Winds Meet, and it even has a story mode difficulty. Certainly the best value game of 2025.

3. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

The last game I bought for the Xbox Series X. It's an almost Souls-like, Final Fantasy-style game—or a Final Fantasy with parrying. It's set in an original, His Dark Materials-esque French-like parallel world. The problems are like most Final Fantasy games: the world map's a bit crap, and the game's art has an AI blur to it. But other than that, it's worth it.