Your 2025 Game of the Year

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TypeRDC5

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I do one of these each year as always like to see what others have enjoyed the most for the year.

I've actually played quite a lot of games released this year for a change and although I've put more hours into it and am still absolutely addicted to Battlefield 6 my vote has to go to Expedition 33.

The story, the gameplay, the soundtrack, all 10 out 10. Haven't been totally into such a story driven game since The Last of Us on PS3.

What is your GOTY for 2025?
 
This has been a backlog year for me, the only 2025 game I've really put much time into is Nascar 25.

I did start Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and based on the first few hours that would be my GoTY. I only bailed because I knew it would end up monopolising all my gaming time.
 
Split Fiction

Granted it was not as whimsical as It Takes Two for me, but the game captivated my wife and me from start to finish. We started it early in the morning and finished late that same night!

There's no dearth of good games this year but I always end up enjoying the ones that make me feel like a child, awed at new worlds to explore and delighted by small discoveries. One can probably see this pattern in my personal GOTY over last five years as well:
2021 - It Takes Two
2022 - Gran Turismo 7
2023 - Hogwarts Legacy
2024 - Astro Bot
2025 - Split Fiction
 
For me its Stellar Blade. Its the complete antithesis of the recent committee-designed garbage that ends up sanitised and watered down for so-called "modern audiences".

Also my racing game of the year goes to Umamusume Pretty Derby. Every time I see my horse girls winning gives me great satisfaction and the races constantly have me praying for my training to pay off.
 
Is it a cheat to say the remasters of Mario Galaxy and Mario Galaxy 2 on Switch 2? Yes? Oh well. Two of the greatest games ever made, nicely updated and rereleased for a whole new generation to enjoy. Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza are both good games, but where’s that last sprinkling of magic? For me it’s just not there. I appreciate what they’re aiming at with MKW but for me it doesn’t nearly touch the perfection of MK8 Deluxe, somehow. So both of those slightly left me disappointed even though both are objectively excellent games.

In terms of racers, there’s nothing I can vote for really. F1 25 was a pretty decent addition to the series, sure, NASCAR 25 is the best NASCAR game for years, am I forgetting anything much? Maybe Project Motor Racing can stake a late, late claim.
 
Clair Obscur easily, close second is silent hill f, I really enjoyed it a lot. And I still need to see the real ending.

I haven't finished DS2 but so far it's not a goty for me.
 
It's a tough question to answer, personally I haven't played a whole lot of new games this year, so my options are somewhat limited, and, crucially, my 'game of the year' hopeful isn't actually out until Tuesday (Project Motor Racing) and time will tell if it has enough to elevate itself to number one in 2025 for me.

So, currently, my top 3 is:

1. F1 '25
A fine return to form after a disappointing 2024 title. For me F1 '25 really delivered on some key areas to elevate itself back into being one of the premier racing experiences available. Refreshed MyTeam was much needed and well executed, which also allowed enhancements to Driver Career, a satisfying conclusion to the Braking Point story and driving physics that felt a lot more logical to the cars being simulated. All culminate in delivering the strongest F1 game in half a decade. With more than enough longevity, new modes being added and of course an expansion coming for 2026.

2. PGA TOUR 2k25
Whilst this title has dropped off for me in recent months, the impact it made from launch was big. Fully overhauled graphics engine from 2k23 made the game look fantastic, particularly the courses, with a lot of detail, good sound and a revolutionary swing system. The EvoSwing now stands alone as the best Golf swing system in video games, getting pretty close to the logic of a real golf swing, in a way no other game has managed, or been brave enough, to achieve. The career mode is solid and the game has plenty of longevity with said career mode, multiple archetypes to create players for, ranked online and societies. Not to mention the course designer.

3. NASCAR '25
FINALLY, consoles get a NASCAR game done RIGHT. leveraging the background of iRacing with the same scanned circuits, cars and sounds as the PC sim behemoth, adding in a degree of accessibility and a well thought out career mode to create the finest oval racing experience on console, arguably ever? 4 classes, livery editor, fantastic AI with good racing logic, infinitely scalable difficulty and fun overall gameplay give this a deserving spot for me.

Acutally I'm going to chuck in an Honourable Mention: Capybara Go on mobile. Surprisingly in depth, fun, and free, turn based combat, side scrolling Roguelike, 'RPG'.
 
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RX-7_FD3S
Clair Obscur easily, close second is silent hill f, I really enjoyed it a lot. And I still need to see the real ending.

I haven't finished DS2 but so far it's not a goty for me.
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Did you play Silent Hill 2 Remake? Was it as good at that? I loved the remake.
MagpieRacer
It's a tough question to answer, personally I haven't played a whole lot of new games this year, so my options are somewhat limited, and, crucially, my 'game of the year' hopeful isn't actually out until Tuesday (Project Motor Racing) and time will tell if it has enough to elevate itself to number one in 2025 for me.

So, currently, my top 3 is:

1. F1 '25
A fine return to form after a disappointing 2024 title. For me F1 '25 really delivered on some key areas to elevate itself back into being one of the premier racing experiences available. Refreshed MyTeam was much needed and well executed, which also allowed enhancements to Driver Career, a satisfying conclusion to the Braking Point story and driving physics that felt a lot more logical to the cars being simulated. All culminate in delivering the strongest F1 game in half a decade. With more than enough longevity, new modes being added and of course an expansion coming for 2026.

2. PGA TOUR 2k25
Whilst this title has dropped off for me in recent months, the impact it made from launch was big. Fully overhauled graphics engine from 2k23 made the game look fantastic, particularly the courses, with a lot of detail, good sound and a revolutionary swing system. The EvoSwing now stands alone as the best Golf swing system in video games, getting pretty close to the logic of a real golf swing, in a way no other game has managed, or been brave enough, to achieve. The career mode is solid and the game has plenty of longevity with said career mode, multiple archetypes to create players for, ranked online and societies. Not to mention the course designer.

3. NASCAR '25
FINALLY, consoles get a NASCAR game done RIGHT. leveraging the background of iRacing with the same scanned circuits, cars and sounds as the PC sim behemoth, adding in a degree of accessibility and a well thought out career mode to create the finest oval racing experience on console, arguably ever? 4 classes, livery editor, fantastic AI with good racing logic, infinitely scalable difficulty and fun overall gameplay give this a deserving spot for me.
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I did think PMR would get mentioned, its certainly getting a lot of attention. Hoping the final game lives up to the hype.
 
TypeRDC5
Did you play Silent Hill 2 Remake? Was it as good at that? I loved the remake.
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I actually played it yeah, I enjoyed it but the lack of hints on the story kinda turned me off. I was like 10 hour in but had no idea what the hell was happening.

Silent Hill F on the other hand have a story that evolve with the number of playthrough you do. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what's happening on the first time but it gets clearer with times.
 

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