2025 has been an incredibly nice 12 months for video games, however as we at PC Gamer started work on our GOTY listing, we realized that a whole lot of us hadn’t loved the identical nice video games. My tastes as a PC gamer have a tendency towards the crusty and obscure, and I at all times wish to rejoice the video games whose variety of Steam opinions are solely within the triple (and even double) digits.
To that finish, listed below are 25 nice video games on Steam I’ve liked (or wish to take a look at) from this 12 months and suppose deserve extra consideration, organized so as from most cost-effective to costliest: The most costly sport on this listing is $40, half of what they’re making an attempt to cost for a triple-A launch lately, whereas greater than half of the entries are below $20.
Free to $6
There are another horror video games on this listing that I loved as a lot or greater than The Kids of Clay, however nothing scared me fairly as a lot because the quarter-hour it took me to succeed in the top of this free point-and-click journey. The uncanny claymation of the central cursed idol, coupled with supremely eerie music and sound design, simply freaked me the hell out. It is mainly a “man who dies within the prologue of a horror film” sim.
Finest picks for you
It is a funky one: A free prequel to the standout 2023 first-person dungeon crawler, Lunacid, made with the 25-year-old Sword of Moonlight toolset, a free sport making equipment initially launched by From Software program and now maintained by a devoted fan group. Are available in anticipating haunting ambiance, indirect storytelling, and, if I am being trustworthy, so-so fight—nevertheless it’s nonetheless rad as hell.
*Free enlargement to a $25 sport
That is dishonest a bit on my half, however Echo Level Nova’s Beneath the Clouds Replace added a free enlargement pack to the Titanfall-esque, open world hoverboard shooter from 2024. It mainly doubled the quantity of sport, and the sport in query helps you to careen round at 90 MPH grinding on rails and headshotting guys in gradual movement. Echo Level Nova already felt like a steal at $25, and it is nice solo or in as much as four-player co-op.
A brief first-person dungeon crawler that is higher than it has any proper to be. It is chunky and sluggish, however intentionally so, with graphics that remind me most of Outdated Faculty Runescape. You play as an anthropomorphic, insectoid knight in a world of bugs, delving to the underside of a sprawling labyrinth. The gradual dance of fight is enjoyable in its personal means, and the vibes are immaculate.
$10 to $15
*$10 second half to a $10 sport
Cultic’s conclusion (for now) had a barely odd launch: It is a shooter marketing campaign 10+ hours lengthy following up the 6-8 hour first chapter, sharing chapter 1’s $10 price ticket, however offered as a DLC on Steam. In case you’re new to this glorious shooter, the entire thing collectively will set you again $20, however a tenner for chapter one is a pleasant, low dedication means of easing in. Cultic’s crunchy, dithered look stole my coronary heart earlier than I even performed it, whereas this autumnal FPS has a few of the sickest old fashioned firearms and satisfying headshots round.
*$10 enlargement to a 23 year-old, $20 base sport
Do not miss these
A freak pull after my very own coronary heart, DoIwD is a semi-official continuation (offered with Wizards of the Coast’s blessing) of the story from a 23-year-old BioWare sport it seems like solely me and 12 different weirdos ever performed. DoIwD has a robust design pedigree, having been made by writer, RPG dev, and outdated hand Neverwinter Nights modder Luke “Alazander” Scull, who can also be engaged on the upcoming Pathfinder: The Dragon’s Demand.
A love letter to the likes of Condemned: Felony Origins and Manhunt authored by none apart from David Szymanski, developer of contemporary traditional FPS Nightfall and claustrophobic horror breakout Iron Lung. You play as a sleazy tabloid ambulance chaser who finds himself in means over his head whereas on a quest for salacious snuff movies. Duel burlap-bemasked hillbilly serial killers with improvised weapons and a fast kick transfer that deploys your disgusting naked foot. I like the attractive, magical fantasies videogames open up for us.
A brief-but-sweet (~three hours) horror sport with a singular management scheme, gamepad most popular: Transfer with left stick, transfer your hand with proper stick to govern the setting, and regulate your view with the shoulder buttons (bumpers for left/proper, triggers for up/down). It really works means higher than it ought to, introducing a panicked delay between your wishes and the protagonist’s actions in tense moments. The medieval, alchemical vibe can also be killer, and you’ll learn extra in my full overview.
Pay attention, if a sport is all crunchy and dithered to hell, I am at the very least going to present it the time of day. Eclipsium’s trippy, ’90s 3D render-looking dreamscapes even have my full consideration, as do the comparisons I am listening to to final 12 months’s shock horror heater, Mouthwashing. Eclipsium is sitting in my cart as I write this, simply ready for me to drag the set off.
The opposite 2025 turn-based RPG with a Paper Mario timing mechanic and an actual mouthful of a reputation, Loopy Hyper Dungeon Chronicles has gotten considerably much less buzz than its French cousin, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. CHDC has pixel artwork with a deliberate, charming look that actually stole my coronary heart, prefer it’s a misplaced Sport Boy Advance or DS cult favourite. Its aesthetics, humorousness, and surprisingly bangin’ soundtrack undergird some enjoyable dungeon delving that is earned CHDC a spot on my Steam Deck.
A sport by perverts, for perverts: Past Citadel is a harrowing FPS that blends cyberpunk, physique horror, and uncomfortable titillation of the Yoko Taro faculty right into a sport that feels wholly distinctive. Past Citadel actually could not have been made by anybody apart from doekuramori.
A claymation shmup initially hailing from New Zealand within the distant 12 months of 2002, Platypus was about 20 years forward of the development of claymation being tremendous arch and in vogue among the many indie gaming scene—come to think about it, Platypus was about 10 years too early to there being an indie scene as we all know it now. That is all being rectified by the Reclayed remaster for contemporary techniques.
$18 to $20
It is a prime sport of the 12 months for PC Gamer’s resident wizard of caprice, Chris Livingston, so I am going to lean on a few of his phrases from his glowing overview:
“Preserve Driving is a turn-based highway journey RPG that completely captures the liberty and potentialities of being younger and having a beat-up outdated automobile, simply sufficient cash to fill it with gasoline and snacks, and solely the vaguest of locations in thoughts. Identical to in actual life, highway journeys in Preserve Driving really feel like a carefree summertime journey the place you blast some tunes, eat junk meals, and watch your troubles shrink within the rearview mirror—till that test engine mild begins blinking, your tank is sort of empty, and also you notice there’s one thing a bit odd about that hitchhiker you picked up.”
Boy I certain am a sucker for stop-motion animation, huh? Mashina is a follow-up to final 12 months’s druidic journey, Judero, however the one issues it retains are developer Talha and Jack Co.’s sense of caprice, plus co-creator Jack King-Spooner’s singular animation type. It is virtually Wall-E: The Sport. You play as a contented little robotic digging deep underground beneath a world of air pollution and rubbish, making an attempt to reconstruct a settlement of robots on the floor.
Labyrinth of the Demon King is one in all my private favourite video games of 2025: A primary-person horror sport that blends components of King’s Subject, Silent Hill, and Condemned into a superb complete. Its sense of Japanese historical past additionally feels extraordinarily distinctive, and is additional delivered to life by composer Remu Daifuku’s standout soundtrack that sampled an actual Japanese temple bell and the sounds of their outdated home creaking.
Mohrta seems like a cross between Demon’s Souls, an extended forgotten PS2 motion sport, and a boomer shooter. It borrows the hub-and-spokes world design of Demon’s Souls and has a superb aesthetic that is midway between Fullmetal Alchemist and The Fifth Ingredient. Maybe weirdest of all: Your entire factor was made on the Doom Engine.
Bloodthief performs like a lo-fi Ghostrunner, simply commerce cyberpunk for fantasy and tremendous slick graphics for one thing somewhat extra ’90s. What’s actually impressed me to date is how wild and on the market the extent secrets and techniques will be: Typically it is felt like I’ve totally clipped out of the map, whereas I’ve solely scratched the floor of what this primary individual platformer can supply.
Éalú was stop-motion animated in essentially the most classical, painstaking that means of the time period: Each body of gameplay was captured on a bodily set within the lead developer’s backyard shed. The tip result’s a unusual point-and-click journey with a vibe that is half-Myst, half-Wallace and Gromit.
Heretic/Hexen followers had another excuse to be completely happy this 12 months: The fantasy FPS Wizordum lastly left early entry. Whereas Wizordum generally additionally replicates traditional Raven’s degree design sensibility of “the place the hell am I speculated to go now?” The sport’s brilliant fantasy seems to be and ingenious ranges at all times received me again.
$25 to $40
I discover it exhausting to get away from bed for sidescrolling beat-em-ups lately, however Absolum has my consideration. It boasts some stellar voice and musical expertise, together with Samantha Béart of Baldur’s Gate 3 fame and Doom composer Mick Gordon, whereas PCG strategic director Evan Lahti praised its Hades-like construction and surprisingly deep fight in his overview.
There are such a lot of sidescrolling platformers on Steam, however my late millennial coronary heart yearns for the 3D collectathons of my youth: Mario, Spyro and, dare I say it, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger. Simply kidding, if you happen to really feel sturdy feelings about Ty the Tasmanian Tiger in any means, please e-mail me and likewise search counseling. Anyway, The Knightling suits the 3D collectathon invoice to a T, even boasting its personal mascot gimmick like Mario Odyssey’s hat or Spyro’s glide: An enormous defend you should use as a skateboard, wind sail, fight device, and extra.
System Shock 2 is not precisely an obscure sport, nevertheless it seems like I reviewed the remaster ages in the past, whereas one in all Nightdive’s best works but truly solely simply got here out over the summer time. I do not suppose I’ve to “promote” the PC traditional beneath, however Nightdive’s remaster units itself aside with stellar gamepad and Steam Deck help, in addition to a masterclass in “the way you keep in mind it” up to date graphics. That is the way in which you need to play System Shock 2.
I really feel like I am going loopy: There was a brand new Double Positive sport this 12 months, it is apparently glorious, and it is barely gotten any buzz. “Keeper is an excellent instance of how a smaller, targeted imaginative and prescient can nonetheless dazzle, no ray tracing or roguelike components or battle go required,” PC Gamer contributor Tyler Colp wrote in his overview. “Double Positive video games are at all times gems, however Keeper is among the brightest but.”
I’ve gave the impression of a damaged document about stop-motion animation already, however here is yet one more sport with a hover/skateboarding ingredient, child. Sword of the Sea is like Journey or Sable injected with somewhat little bit of Tony Hawk angle. As an alternative of skating by way of concrete jungles to the tune of pop punk, Sword of the Sea has you hoverboarding in breathtaking ruins and not possible fantasy landscapes. It is a visible feast to not be missed, simply hold properly conscious of one in all senior guides author Sean Martin’s largest gripes from his overview: A $30 price ticket stings extra on a sport with a four-hour runtime.
PPR is the costliest sport on this listing, nevertheless it’s properly value it: A mix of Deus Ex/Stalker-style immersive RPG with mech fight, letting you hop out and in of your “V-Stalker” at will. PPR boasts the anarchic, abrasive, and surreal presentation you’d anticipate from Cruelty Squad creator Client Softproducts, whereas a dizzying depth of interlocking RPG techniques invitations experimentation, buildcrafting, and audacious stratagems. Certainly one of my favourite moments: Getting stymied by a brutal enemy gauntlet in an indoor space earlier than realizing I might simply take the grenade launcher off my mech and stroll by way of the constructing overencumbered and at a snail’s tempo, blasting each enemy from across the nook earlier than they might even see me. I’ve discovered PPR definitely worth the cash in early entry already, however that is additionally an funding within the full sport to come back.
