10 Best Games of 2025: Top Released Titles Worth Playing

So far, 2025 isn't disappointing. From the return of fan favorites to fresh ideas that push boundaries, it's shaping up to be another year of must-play gaming experiences. We're keeping a close eye on the best of the best — that’s why we created this list. There's a ton of fun to be had in 2025 and the list will only grow as the year progresses.

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Here’s a table for your convenience to jump directly into the game that interests you the most:

Why Are These the Best Games For 2025?

We chose these games because they have high Metacritic score (higher than 80), present a great modern experience for respective genre and have been a part of videogames’ discussion in recent months and years. We also focused on games available to play on PC because we believe the PC platform offers the most versatile and accessible way to experience these titles.

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They didn’t necessarily come out in 2025, but they are a part of the industry: some of them are getting new DLCs, some of them have been released to PC for the first time and so on. We wanted to highlight things that we consider essential, especially if you like the video game medium. Some of them are even among the best games of 2025!

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All clear? Now let’s see what games we have on our list!

Highlights of 2025's Game of the Year Contenders 

It’s worth mentioning that this list is all about the hottest games that have already landed by 2025. Sure, things might shift by year's end, but trust us, we'll be keeping our finger on the pulse of all the new releases and updating our picks for the best games of 2025 as we go. 

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – A Surprising Take on JRPGs

Genre: Action | Developer: Arrowhead Game Studios | Metacritic: 88 | Release Date: 2025

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A surprise hit that came out and impressed almost everyone, Clair Obscur is a JRPG made by Western developers and they have nailed it – it’s one of the 2025 RPG game highlights for sure! Set in a beautifully surreal, France-inspired fantasy world, this game blends art nouveau aesthetics with rich character drama and intense, timing-based combat.

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Players take on the role of the final members of Expedition 33 — warriors on a desperate quest to end the deadly ritual of “The Paintress,” a mysterious figure who erases people from existence every year.

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Key Features:

• Painterly visuals: A stunning hand-painted art direction reminiscent of oil paintings and French romanticism.
• Timing-based combat: Combines classic turn-based battles with real-time reflex elements (think Paper Mario meets Persona).
• Emotion-driven narrative: Heavily focused on memory, mortality and identity with a mature, emotionally resonant storyline.
• Character customization: Unique skill trees and dynamic character synergy options across your party.
• French cultural influence: Deep lore, music and design inspired by Belle Époque-era France.

Balatro – A Roguelike Card Game

Genre: Action | Developer: Arrowhead Game Studios | Metacritic: 90 | Release Date: 2024

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An indie hit of 2024, Balatro still impresses people who decide to give it a try since “everyone is talking about it”, remaining one of the most popular games in 2025. 

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What is Balatro? Well, it’s a mix of high-stakes poker matches and the classic roguelike spirit that fuse so well in Balatro that it quickly became a cult hit and won several awards in 2024. It’s a game that challenges strategic thinking, rewards creative deck-building and keeps you on the edge of your seat with its roguelike elements. 

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Key Features:

• Poker… but not quite: Form winning poker hands to score points and progress through a series of challenging antes.
• Build your ultimate deck: Collect and upgrade a diverse variety of cards, each with unique abilities and synergies – it’s crazy what types of combinations you can pull off!
• Tough blinds: Occasionally, you have to deal with increasingly difficult challenges as you face escalating blinds and boss encounters, to keep you on the edge!
• Hidden bonuses: Discover secret bonus hands and decks to improve your strategies and gain advantage – it’s so fun when you manage to legally cheat on the game by using its own rules!
• Endless replayability: Each run presents a fresh, generated challenge, leading to captivating and unpredictable experiences for hours and days.

Helldivers 2 – One of the Best Online Games of 2024 (and 2025!)

Genre: Action | Developer: Arrowhead Game Studios | Metacritic: 82 | Release Date: 2024

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Helldivers came out in 2024 and quickly became a popular game thanks to its Starship Troopers-inspired lore and gameplay – you bring “democracy” to bugs by killing them. Tons of fun!

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Lore-wise, you have to fight to save the galaxy from intergalactic threats. Helldivers 2 remains one of the best coop games of 2025, even though it came a year earlier. It still manages to be popular, thanks to big new updates, regular patches and a vast community full of passionate players. It’s a game that will test your teamwork skills, strategic thinking and resilience – give it a go if you haven’t already! 

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Key Features:

• Intense and fun coop: You can gather up with up to 4 friends and fight side-by-side against hordes of aliens – perfect for chill evenings and podcasts in the background.
• Wide weaponry arsenal: Utilize a range of weapons and tools, including pistols, machine guns, flamethrowers, turrets and call in airstrikes, to achieve glorious victory.
• Live-service fun: Progress your class, unlock new abilities – in Helldivers, the meta game is on point.
• Unpredictable missions: Embark on diverse missions across hostile planets, facing new challenges each time.
• Endless fun: Helldivers 2 offers endless hours of gameplay thanks to procedurally generated missions and a constant stream of content.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown – Reimagined Classic Adventure

Genre: Metroidvania | Developer: Ubisoft | Metacritic: 86 | Release Date: 2024

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For a long time, the Prince of Persia series has been in deep sleep. Up until recent times, it has finally come to life with a 2D platformer with metroidvania elements. In this fresh new take on classic games, you should become Sargon and dive into a captivating action-adventure platformer set in a mythological Persian world. 

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The game invites you to an epic quest to reclaim the lost crown and unravel the mysteries of a forgotten past. It’s a fun game that feels passionate and has tons of content for both newcomers and old-school fans of the PoP franchise, definitely among the top 10 video games of 2025.

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Key Features:

• Master acrobatic combat: Utilize Sargon's agility and precision to perform maneuvers, execute deadly combos against enemies and overcome tricky obstacles.
• Manipulate time and space: Gain the power of time to rewind your mistakes, solve puzzles and gain an edge in combat.
• Explore a mythic world: A stunning game world filled with ancient ruins, heaps of secrets and menacing bosses.
• Unravel a captivating story: Uncover the truth behind the lost crown and Sargon's lineage as you engage in a tale of betrayal, redemption and self-discovery.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 – Bigger and Bolder Evolution of a Cult Classic

Genre: RPG | Developer: Capcom | Metacritic: 86 | Release Date: 2024

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Dragon’s Dogma 2 came out in 2024 and was a highly anticipated sequel to a fan’s favorite game that redefined the open-world action RPG experience back in the day. Rise from the ashes of defeat, confront a formidable new Dragon and forge your own legend in a world teeming with danger and wonder. 

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The original used to be a cult classic and its sequel made sure that the game finds a new audience as well as makes the old fans pretty happy.

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Key Features:

• Unleash the power of the arisen: Once again, you are the Arisen, a being marked for greatness. Wield your immense strength and abilities to battle fearsome foes and uncover the secrets of a world teetering on the brink of chaos.
• Explore a vast and living world: Delve into a breathtaking open world brimming with diverse landscapes, ancient ruins, hidden treasures and thrilling encounters.
• Customize your Pawns: Create your own AI companion, known as a Pawn and share it with other players worldwide. Your Pawn will learn from your actions and decisions, becoming an invaluable ally in your quest.
• Engage in tactical combat: Master a deep and visceral combat system, strategically utilizing a variety of weapons, skills and magical abilities to vanquish formidable foes.
• Unravel a gripping narrative: Uncover a captivating story filled with intrigue, betrayal and the struggle for survival in a world threatened by the resurgence of dragons.

Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth – Epic Sequel to the Beloved Remake

Genre: JRPG | Developer: Square Enix | Metacritic: 92 | Release Date: 2024 (2025 for PC)

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Rebirth is the second, epic installment in a great, long-awaited return to Midgar and beyond in Final Fantasy VII Remake. It reimagines the iconic story with stunning visuals, a dynamic combat system and a deeper exploration of the characters and themes from the original game.

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In January 2025, Rebirth has finally made its way to PC, allowing PC gamers to enjoy one of the best games of 2025.

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Key Features:

• A deep dive into the retold story: Following Cloud Strife and his companions as they escape Midgar, Rebirth goes deeper into the lore and expands upon the narrative of the original. 
• Evolved combat system: Rebirth provides a refined combat system that blends real-time action with strategic elements. Master materia, unleash devastating attacks and strategically utilize unique character abilities to overcome foes.
• A vast and vibrant world: A beautifully rendered, dream-like world full of unique locations. A lot of hidden secrets, side quests and experiences that combine to create the overall picture and create a truly rich tapestry of life beyond Midgar.
• Fan-favorite characters return: Rebirth provides you with an opportunity to meet with beloved characters like Cloud, Tifa, Aerith and Barret.
• A breathtaking visual presentation: FFVII’s world is brought to life with stunning visuals, featuring detailed character models, breathtaking environments and dynamic visual effects.

Ways of Alchemy – Alchemic Sim Card Game

Genre: Alchemy Sim | Developer: RocketBrush Games | Metacritic: TBA | Release Date: TBA

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Ways of Alchemy is a unique take on alchemy, simulator games, card games and narrative-driven experiences. You play as the alchemist who inherited a shack and is on a mission to discover the secret of the philosopher’s stone. It’s a long way you have to make, but it’s definitely an interesting one. You can brew and sell potions, encounter authorities, collect artifacts and venture into adventures.

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What makes Ways of Alchemy so special is that it’s a unique alchemic setting blended with gorgeous 2D visuals and lots of content to play around with. Not a lot of games allow you to be an alchemist and do stuff like bribery, poison making and other types of fun, partially illegal activity. This hidden gem may not be on everyone’s radar yet, but it’s quietly establishing itself among the 2025 RPG game highlights.

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Key Features:

• Variety and replayability: Play as you want and however you want: it’s a non-linear narrative with endings influenced by the choices you make.
• Tons of secrets and rewards: Hire adventurers and mercs and send them to expeditions, uncovering treasures and mysteries – who knows what you will find?
• Flexible gameplay: The game allows you to play how you want — no pressure, just curiosity. A criminal or a loyal obedient citizen, assisting townsfolk with their tasks? It’s totally up to you. 
• 15 subclasses to choose from: Tailor your experience to your preferred playstyle—master the art of alchemy or delve into the dark secrets of necromancy.
  Five pillars of reality: Ways of Alchemy has a deep alchemical system with five alchemical pillars, each representing a distinct aspect of the world. This is perfect for players who love diving into intricate mechanics and worldbuilding.

Doom: The Dark Ages – Power Fantasy’s Third Installment

Genre: Shooter | Developer: id Software| Metacritic: 85 | Release Date: 2025

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Doom: The Dark Ages marks a bold and brutal evolution of the iconic franchise, renewed in 2016, transporting players to a medieval setting where steel meets hellfire. This is not your typical run-and-gun Doom — developers reimagined the Doom Slayer as a mythic, powerful warrior going to fight demonic forces in a world of dark fantasy and ancient ruins.

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Set centuries before the events of Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal, this prequel changes sci-fi corridors for crumbling castles, epic battlefields and infernal catacombs, but retains the series' hallmark intensity, while slightly toning down on speed. This great turn of the franchise might just earn its place among the top 10 video games 2025 for shooter fans

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Key Features:

• Grimy medieval setting: A gritty, dark-fantasy world filled with dungeons, war beasts, siege engines and knights – feels like an Army of Darkness-esque take on the Doom formula!
• A unique take on combat: Still fast and fluid, but with added weight — this new Doom installment features brutal melee weapons like a massive flail, a demon-splitting shield and even mounted dragon combat!
• Slayer lore deepened: The Dark Ages allow players to dive into the origins of the Doom Slayer with a narrative that ties mythic prophecy to familiar bloodbath.
• Epic battles: Deal against armies of demons in large-scale, almost cinematic encounters.
• New bombastic soundtrack: A bone-crushing new score blending choirs from hell with medieval instrumentation and metal.

Hades II – A Roguelike Action Game

Genre: Action | Developer: Supergiant Games | Metacritic: 93 | Release Date: 2025 (2024 for Early Access)

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Just like the first game in the series, Hades II came out of Early Access in 2024 and is expected to be one of the biggest games of 2025 with its full release.  

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Building on the acclaimed formula of the original, this roguelike action game draws players back again and again with its fluid combat, rich storytelling and constantly evolving world soaked in curious Greek mythology. Liked the first game? Its sequel is obviously a must-play. Missed the hype train but want to see what all the fuss is about? Give Hades II a go! It offers an experience that's both rewarding and relentless.

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Key Features:

• Fast-paced combat: Gain powerful weapons and dark magic as Melinoe, the Princess of the Underworld, and deal with tons and hordes of enemies in beautifully drawn arenas.
• Perfect roguelike loop: No two runs are the same: each journey into the Underworld presents new challenges, surprises and opportunities for mastery. Along with Balatro, it's as perfect as roguelites get - no wonder it’s considered one of the most popular games of 2025.
• Bond with gods and allies: Meet and grow relationships with a new pantheon of Olympians, chthonic allies and mythical foes — each with their own stories to tell.
• Craft and upgrade your build: Utilize powerful incantations, Night Magic and divine Boons to match your playstyle.
• Endless Replayability: With rich narrative progression and evolving gameplay systems, Hades II keeps players coming back to uncover its many secrets and dominate the Underworld.

Split Fiction – Another Coop Gem

Genre: Action-Adventure | Developer: Hazelight Studios | Metacritic: 91 | Release Date: 2025

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Hazelight Studios, best known for It Takes Two, has once again created a memorable co-op gameplay with Split Fiction. This wildly inventive and constantly fun narrative adventure drops two players into the role of rival writers who become trapped within their own unfinished stories — a world where fiction and reality blur and every decision rewrites the plot. A pretty interesting take on authorship, don’t you think?

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Rather than simply cooperating through puzzles, players must shape their own story’s outcomes as it unfolds in real-time during action-driven game sequences. Every chapter switches between genres — noir, sci-fi, romance, fantasy — and adapts to the players' dynamic choices, tone and dialogue. The result is a game where no two playthroughs are the same and emotional resonance is as important as puzzle-solving or platforming.

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Recently released for Switch 2, Split Ficiton is one of the best coop games of all time by developers who know how to do it and still a worthy contender for best 2025 games.

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Key Features:

• Genre-hopping narrative: A multiverse of literary styles where gameplay, visuals and tone morph based on the chapter, jumping from detective noir in one act to space opera in the next.
• Story-driven Co-op: Each player controls a separate character with unique perspectives and goals. Their dialogue choices, ethical stances and problem-solving styles directly rewrite the plot as it progresses.
• Curious dialogue system: An ever-changing script reacts to player emotions, tone of voice and timing, giving the game a theatrical, improvisational feel rarely seen in gaming.
• Variety in gameplay: Expect mini-games, genre-specific mechanics, fast-paced set-pieces and heartfelt storytelling all seamlessly woven into the campaign.
• Metafictional depth: Explores themes of authorship, creativity, regret and control.

What Made These 2025 Games Stand Out (and Why We Loved Them) 

2025 continues to prove that gaming has a lot to offer in different genres: from indie darlings like Balatro to AAA spectacles like Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, there's incredible diversity in what's capturing players' attention – and more amazing stuff is on the way. Even though GTA VI has been delayed to next year, there are many other titles to have fun with. Playing the games we mentioned has been great fun and the sheer fact that a complex development cycle can create memorable experiences like this still feels unique, considering how genuinely hard it is to make games!

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Creating Ways of Alchemy and The Unliving allowed us to greatly appreciate the immense hard work and craft behind each of these titles: the countless art iterations, complex creative decisions and collaborative effort that goes into bringing these experiences to life.

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If you’re currently working on your own games, we'll be glad to help with art and development needs at hello@rocketbrush.com. Our portfolio includes work for different genres, styles and scope: from casual mobile games to zombie survival games and pixelated 2D roguelites.

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‍Have fun playing the games, that's what matters the most!

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