Recreation of the 12 months is subjective to style. And, while we’re positive all you pricey readers watched the official GOTY awards, right here on Gamezebo, we wish to host our personal. So, with out additional ado, allow us to welcome you to our Gamezebo 2025 Video games of the 12 months picks! Right here, you’ll discover some surprising titles, and possibly even one thing new to play over the vacations.
This implies our picks aren’t picked primarily based on consensus, however on what we performed and completely loved this 12 months. So, anticipate the surprising! You received’t see apparent titles akin to Expedition 33. Not less than, not from our employees who like summary and area of interest video games.
This additionally isn’t our first rodeo with yapping senselessly about our favorite titles, so we encourage you to step again in time and have a browse of our Favorite Video games of 2024.
Gamezebo 2025 Video games of The 12 months
Adele’s GOTY
Horror girly popping in to gush about my favorite recreation of 2025, Silent Hill F. As somebody who has develop into infatuated with the franchise, it was apparent that I used to be ecstatic to check out the brand new entry.
For starters, it’s the primary Silent Hill recreation to happen in Japan, and to prime it off, it’s set in a quiet and serene city impressed by the real-life location of Kanayama within the Gifu Prefecture.
Silent Hill F largely takes place within the fictional city of Ebisugaoka, with visits to the Darkish Shrine within the otherworld. Very like when the protagonists of the earlier video games enter the decrepit and downright creepy variations of the city of Silent Hill.
Following Hinako as her world turns the wrong way up, she should go on a journey of rediscovery, for those who may even name it that. She goes by means of a reckoning of kinds, the traumatic experiences taking a toll on her as you progress by means of the sport.
Whereas many followers have been nervous about this contemporary iteration not feeling like Silent Hill, I feel F has proved that the franchise is properly and actually again.
It nonetheless seems like a Silent Hill title, however with updates to already-existing mechanics and new ones alike. Regardless of not being set within the city of Silent Hill, Ebisugaoka embodies the horrifying and uncomfortable ambiance of the psychological horror collection.
Sho’s GOTY
My true GOTY must be Deltarune CH 3+4, regardless of not having performed it myself. Sure, I do know, I do know, the video games journo hasn’t performed a recreation. Har har.
To be clear, I’m godawful at bullet hells, so I dwell vicariously by means of fantastic streamers who give me the story and playthrough with out me having to do something. Snapcube, if, for some purpose, you’re studying this, thanks a lot.
Nevertheless, as that isn’t a good selection, I’ve as an alternative needed to assume exhausting about what video games launched this 12 months that I’ve completely loved. As somebody who is usually fashionably late to video games and loves plenty of historic releases (like Minecraft, Portal, Atlyss, and many others), this leaves me with one clear winner.
The OFF Remaster
I used to be so excited once I heard concerning the OFF Remaster. This recreation meant rather a lot to me once I was youthful, regardless of not absolutely greedy the intricate undertones. OFF is an easy puzzle recreation with a really distinctive artwork type. The world itself is richly colored, but not overly detailed.
In distinction, the character sprites are monochromatic however extremely detailed. Nearly grotesquely so.
You comply with The Batter, a bloke dressed as a batter who’s self-aware that he’s a mere puppet of the participant. He appears detached to this, as long as you help his conquest to expel spectres from every zone.
While reliving this recreation, I realised simply how genius the worldbuilding and intentions of OFF are. I can’t spoil the plot, however I’ll say for those who select to play, maintain a pocket book available for the puzzles and be able to have incoherent passages simply as insane because the very characters you meet.
The fight can be fairly enjoyable, as it’s important to be careful for cooldown timers and attempt to assume forward of your enemies. I particularly beloved reliving the Zone Guardian boss fights. Japhet is, and all the time has been, my favorite.
For me, the OFF Remaster is my GOTY selection as a result of it seems like a love letter to my youthful self, who beloved this recreation, even when she wasn’t completely positive what the plot was. It’s nostalgic, but has a breath of latest life because of the newly composed soundtrack with the assistance of Toby Fox and Camellia. My goats.
Rachel’s GOTY
Admittedly, plenty of the video games I performed in 2025 didn’t launch this 12 months. Nevertheless, I do have a favorite (other than Deltarune Chapters 3 and 4… sure, I’m with Sho on this one!), which is Hunter x Hunter Nen x Affect. I had the privilege of having the ability to evaluate the sport, too. Whereas it has a number of small points when enjoying on-line, I don’t thoughts that, as I hardly play on-line anyway.
As a fan of Hunter x Hunter, it was plenty of enjoyable creating my excellent group of characters to take into battle. There are a selection of recreation modes to play in, and I normally make buddies seize one other controller to play with me. This was my first ever combating recreation, too (I’ve by no means performed Smash Bros, felony, I do know), and I had plenty of enjoyable with it.
There are scenes main as much as battles which can be like watching the anime, and through fights, every character has distinctive talents that resemble their Nen within the present.
An Honourable Point out!
It’s solely honest so as to add my honourable point out, because it’s my all-time favorite recreation that I’ve performed this 12 months, regardless of it not having been launched in 2025. It’s no secret that I like Assault on Titan, and I had no thought there was a recreation on Nintendo Swap till a number of weeks in the past.
You may absolutely customise your character and their outfit initially, and then you definately’re thrown into the Scouts. The sport follows the canon storyline, beginning with you in Shiganshina when the Titans first attacked. You then enter coaching, which is once you learn to use ODM gear. I’ll admit, it’s exhausting to get used to. However there are completely different coaching periods you’ll be able to attend along with your squad (stuffed with characters within the present) to get higher.
If you aren’t coaching or on missions, you’ll be able to stroll across the barracks talking to characters. As your friendship degree will increase, you unlock bonuses and boosts with that character. It took some time for me to succeed in the half within the story the place Hange was obtainable, however I ran straight to them and boosted it as excessive as attainable.
This can be a must-play for those who’re a fan of Assault on Titan. I like having the ability to converse to all my favorite characters, regardless of no Yelena being in it. Extra Yelena content material in 2026, please!
Meriel’s GOTY
Am I being a bit fundamental? After this RPG wiped the ground with most titles this 12 months at The Recreation Awards it looks like a little bit of a cop out to say it’s my favourite… however I’m additionally not one for mendacity.
Now, I’m not going to say the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is for everybody. When you don’t benefit from the typical trappings of JRPG gameplay there’s an excellent likelihood it received’t resonate with you. Personally, as somebody who grew up the style I acquired into it with no downside, and I discovered the fight system made turn-based battles much more thrilling and really feel much less like menu-based combating. As somebody who performed plenty of Fromsoft video games and nonetheless by no means actually acquired parries down, I nonetheless managed to carry my very own. Audibly shouted ‘YEAH’ a number of instances when managing to efficiently maintain all my squad undamaged from a barrage of enemy assaults.
When you benefit from the style although, or in all probability even for those who’re impartial to it, then you definately’ll discover hundreds to take pleasure in within the very good ambiance, imaginative setting, top-notch voice appearing, and story that genuinely caught me greater than most RPGs do. I used to be already tearing up earlier than the tip of the prologue.
It’s a genuinely fulfilling recreation that feels each nostalgic and contemporary.
Simon’s GOTY
My GOTY is a title I’ve waited years for – my complete grownup life in actual fact, Blood Contemporary Provide. I grew up watching my Dad play quite a lot of creaky DOS-based boomer shooters on our previous Home windows 95 PC, however there was all the time one title I by no means acquired to revisit in my grownup years. Till now.
Within the final twenty years, I’ve performed Doom to dying and gone by means of Duke Nukem 3D till the one-liners have grown previous and tiresome, however Blood was the title I noticed my Dad play again within the day that has all the time caught with me. The oppressive but nonetheless lighthearted B-movie horror ambiance, the brutal violence, and sky excessive problem degree made it a recreation that was as fascinating to look at because it was to play.
Or so I assumed. Now, because of the sport lastly coming to Swap, I’ve revisited and acquired to play it myself. And it’s higher to play than I might have ever hoped for. It’s a shooter which you don’t get a lot of these days, with a very different and difficult enemy set, easy degree design and move, and extremely satisfying motion. Throwing a bundle of TNT round a nook and sending a complete stack of cultists flying by means of the air screaming, is what video games have been made for.
It additionally goes to say I’m significantly better on the recreation than my Dad was again within the day. I don’t assume he even acquired previous the second degree. Sorry Dad.
Rob’s GOTY
It’s typically mentioned that sarcasm is the bottom type of wit, however the individuals who say this are unsuitable. The bottom type of wit is the pun, and individuals who make puns are the bottom type of life within the universe.
Blue Prince is a uncommon exception to this rule. Though the title is a pun – and a deceptive one at that, implying the presence of a unusually pigmented prince who by no means really seems within the recreation – it’s exhausting to be essential of something about Dogubomb’s masterful tackle the roguelike method.
In case you don’t know, Blue Prince sees you trying to say your inheritance – an unimaginable mansion – by returning to it day-after-day and looking for the elusive forty sixth room. You do that by opening doorways and selecting from a choice of blueprints for rooms that you simply create as you go. If you run out of steps or accessible doorways, your try is over for one more day.
It’s a Groundhog Day mechanic that sounds boring however isn’t. Whereas a lot of your makes an attempt are doomed to lead to frustration, with you failing to get any nearer to your purpose and dropping all the pieces that you simply’ve collected, occasionally, some breakthroughs make the going simpler on subsequent days.
Blue Prince steadily opens up like a flower as you discover its ever-changing panorama, uncovering secrets and techniques, unlocking new options, and studying extra concerning the mansion that you simply fairly probably won’t ever inherit.
Downloads
