The year 2025 has come to a close. This was another year that one could consider to be “mixed” due to the quality of the different games that have released…a lot like last year, actually. Hits like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II shared the spotlight with other high-profile but not necessarily groundbreaking games, like Assassin’s Creed: Shadows and Monster Hunter Wilds. And then we’ve got the games that absolutely bombed, such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 7…but that will be a discussion for another time (and soon). For now, we will be focusing on the games that impressed us most this year, so please join us for “Gaming Respawn’s Game of the Year 2025” and see what we found to be the big hits of 2025.
Peter Keen
Battlefield 6
I’ve honestly not really played a load of new games this year for a specific reason. I wanted to catch all the way up with the Kiryu Kazuma Yakuza story. This year alone, I’ve completed three mainline Yakuza games: Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, then finally, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. I’ve also thrown in a fourth Ryu Ga Gotoku studio game in one year by completing Lost Judgment.
Furthermore, I spent time back on some older games. Platinumed 2018 God of War, then on my Xbox 360, Driver: San Francisco and Splinter Cell: Blacklist.
The best game I’ve actually played this year was Lost Judgment. The story moved me in a way I didn’t see coming, and I thoroughly enjoyed the game.
As for 2025 games specifically, though, they are a little thin on the ground: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Battlefield 6, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Forza Horizon 5 (PS5 version), Dynasty Warriors: Origins, and Holdfast: Nations at War. Then, there was the small matter of the release of a new console, the Nintendo Switch 2 in June. A very disappointing selection of new games specifically for it arrived this year, but one did stand out for me: Fast Fusion.
So, before I list my top three games and the winner, I just had one more thing I needed to say about the utter disappointment that was Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. That game wins my award for the worst game of the year. To paraphrase Sir Winston Churchill, “Never, in the field of modern day gaming, have so many been given so little for so much!”.
My Switch 2 game of the year is really the only one I really enjoyed, the aforementioned Fast Fusion. Fantastic gameplay and really showcases the power of the Switch 2. Just a shame it doesn’t have an online feature, or I would be playing that far more.
My game of the year by far, though, is Battlefield 6. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds was the only other game I considered, but as good as that is, it just doesn’t cater to all abilities. I wish the ranking system didn’t judge people simply by how long they have been playing the game, moreover how good each driver is. Battlefield 6, though, caters to all, even old farts like me.
This game quite literally got me back into believing gaming isn’t dying in a stupor of monotonous, repetitive drivel. Multiplayer is an absolute literal blast to play. Blowing tanks up NEVER gets old! The stories the multiplayer games tell each and every match. The ebb and flow of a good online battle. The way the game actually works well online.
Okay, the single-player wasn’t the greatest, but it was still fun to play. The game delivers such an atmospheric gaming world that it’s intoxicating, and I love it and can’t get enough of it. Lastly, having just got a new gaming TV that is 120 hz fps-capable, I can play BF6 multiplayer on my base PS5 at a whopping 95 fps. This is transformative! It’s a gaming moment I’ve never experienced before, and it blew my mind when I first played it this way.
The ONLY fly in the BF6 ointment is that there is a bug that crashes the game and your console. It’s happened to me 3 times. If it happens again, I’ll stop playing the game until this bug is fixed. In short, reports are saying that the game crashes because it’s looking for a graphical feature that isn’t there.
Despite that, I’ll still give BF6 my award for GOTY.
Daniel Garcia-Montes
Ninja Gaiden 4
Having only played another handful of games this year, I have a limited number of choices for my GOTY, but my final decision still came with some difficulty. The First Berserker: Khazan was the first game of the year I played, a kickass Souls-like with a particularly high level of challenge. As much fun as that game mostly was, it was also quite the ordeal to get through (good lord, those bosses), and I felt like it shortened my lifespan by a couple of years. Doom: The Dark Ages was next, and that game was certainly more enjoyable for me since I wasn’t dying dozens of times in each mission. Each game in the newer series finds a way to innovate on the classic Doom gameplay formula, and Dark Ages did so by adding melee elements with the usual “shooting lots of badass guns” gameplay the series is known for. The story sucked, but otherwise, the game was a blast, so it was certainly in the running for my GOTY.
Then came Ninja Gaiden 4. While it kept many elements of the earlier games in the series, there were enough changes added into the gameplay and combat thanks to the introduction of new main character Yakumo. He brings his own unique brand of combat by using different weapons and changing their forms through use of his Bloodbind Ninjutsu. Yakumo’s abilities help make this newest Ninja Gaiden game feel fresh and just as fun as the previous games. Yeah, it pulled a Devil May Cry 4 and had us play through Yakumo’s missions in reverse order when we’re put in control of Ryu, but for the most part, I was fine with that since Ryu’s gameplay was as kickass as it ever was. Taking control of Ryu with his different movesets using the Dragon Sword and collection of Ninpo attacks felt like slipping back into an old but familiar and comfortable pair of shoes (though Ryu still had a few new moves as well). The story wasn’t all that great, which is typically par for the course with Ninja Gaiden games anyway, and it was still slightly better than the story in Doom: The Dark Ages. Given that and the fact that this game’s combat and platforming were fast-paced, fun, and always engaging, I’d have to give Ninja Gaiden 4 a slight edge over Dark Ages, making Ninja Gaiden 4 my Game of the Year of 2025.
Ian Cooper
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance
Remember when Sega released a trailer revealing they were going to be revitalizing classic franchises that were made popular in the 1990s? Well, as a retro gaming fan, and the 90s being my favourite era in gaming, I was absolutely stoked. We had Streets of Rage 4, which was a phenomenal release, and Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap, which was half decent. But this year, we saw the return of Joe Musashi in Shinobi: Art of Vengeance. My Game of the Year of 2025.
Upon playing Shinobi, it felt fantastic. Joe’s movements were extremely responsive, he had some slick moves, and with his sword and kunai, you can whip together flashy combos to dispatch enemies. Levels consisted of tricky platforming with some light puzzle-solving but a crap-ton of combat! The most flash comes from Joe’s Ninpo attacks, which are screen-filling attacks that help you gain the upper hand, even with the game’s many challenging bosses. Between the standard platforming levels, there are bonus levels that see Joe riding upon his large dog, Yamato, running to catch up to a large monster that is seen in the background, and another bonus level sees Joe on the back of a high-tech surfboard.
With all the combat and flashy moves, they wouldn’t be as good if it wasn’t for the absolutely fantastic hand-drawn art style that brings Joe, his allies, his foes and the environments to life. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is my Game of the Year of 2025.
Matthew Wojciow
Battlefield 6
Usually when doing these GOTY submissions, it is pretty simple to choose a game that has stood out above all the rest and deserves to have the crown, but I must say, 2025 has been a pretty disappointing year for gaming in general. While some might ask, “But what about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 or Split Fiction?”, well, both of those are currently sat under my tree at the time of writing, so I obviously can’t pick those. Disappointing entries in major franchises punctured the year, though there were some honourable mentions, such as NBA 2K26, as it fixed a lot of the issues that the series has been grappling with in recent years, and Atomfall, which was the quirkiest game of the year, if that is a thing.
However, the one major franchise that truly returned to form and is my GOTY is Battlefield 6. As a staunch Call of Duty player, and a good one at that, it takes a lot for me to award a Battlefield game as my GOTY, but this game is probably my favourite FPS that I have played on the PS5. The campaign, while cheesy, is full of that usual Battlefield chaos and is a good few hours of fun, for what it’s worth. Now, onto the real meat of the game, and that is the multiplayer. It is honestly incredible to play. No matter your playstyle, you will enjoy it. Even in maps built for long-range sniper fights, I can see ways to use an SMG and vice versa. Progression is also well done and doesn’t feel like an endless grind.
Yes, there are issues around battle passes, as with anything in the modern era of gaming, but I have found the ability to just hop in and play and have a great time, no matter the game mode or map. Given how bad Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is, Battlefield 6 is the no-brainer FPS choice on PS5 and is the best Battlefield game since the oddly titled Battlefield 1.
Tasha Quinn
Peak
As a big fan of story-driven games, my pick for Game of the Year is usually the title with the narrative that has stuck with me the most. In past years, I’ve chosen games like Metaphor: ReFantazio, A Plague Tale: Requiem, and Persona 5 Strikers – all solid, story-heavy games. This year, I’m going for a game that doesn’t really have a story: Peak. I’ve talked about this game before in one of our Gaming Respawn Plays articles, and here I am talking about it again. Developed by Landfall and Aggro Crab, it’s a cooperative climbing game for up to four players, but you can extend this number through mods. It’s a damn good game, one that I never seem to get tired of playing. I think the Steam reviews speak for themselves. The premise is simple enough. After an ill-fated flight courtesy of Bing Bong Airlines, players find themselves stranded on an island. If you want to escape, you’ll have to survive five distinct biomes to reach the peak of the mountain. The mountain is pre-generated once a day, so every day benefits from a fresh map. To make it to the top, you’ll need to make use of the ever-growing array of tools that can be found scattered about in suitcases across the map, find food that’s safe to eat, and navigate the hazards specific to each biome.
Peak can be played solo, but it’s definitely better with friends. Not only are there a number of achievements that require cooperation, but having a friend to give you a boost or pull you up a ledge makes the climb easier. Plus, it’s chaotic fun. One of the things I love the most about Peak is how committed the developers are to delivering content. Since the game released back in June, they’ve implemented a number of updates, including free new biomes, new tools, and more. Considering the game costs less than £7, there is a whole lot of content and endless replayability, and I hope the amount of content only continues to grow. I’ve currently sunk over 92 hours into this game, and that number is only going to go up. Honestly, I can be exhausted after work, but if one of my friends asks if I want to play Peak, nine times out of ten, I’m going to boot up my PC.
Jack Shaw
Once Upon a Katamari
While I can’t deny how impressive Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Ghost of Yotei were, if I’m being truly honest, this year the game that delivered to me pure, unadulterated happiness was Once Upon a Katamari. It was the perfect return to form that fans of the series have been desperately waiting for. Look, I grew up playing the original Katamari Damacy on repeat on PS2. That game was a chaotic, brilliant mess, but its simple genius made it endlessly fun, and it had what I would still today call the best soundtrack of any game I’ve played. Over the years, the sequels have been hit-or-miss, sometimes feeling floaty or not quite landing the tone that made the original such a hit.
What makes Once Upon a Katamari a success is that it took that formula and absolutely polished it to perfection. They got the aesthetic exactly right, returning to that crunchy, angular, low-poly style that maintains its nostalgic charm while adding in tons of content for extra replayability, new game modes, and plenty more humor. The controls are tighter and more responsive than ever, letting me cause chaos rather than be a victim of it and wrestling with the sticks. Some of the level designs were particularly hilarious, with my favorite replacing the normal Katamari with an awkwardly shaped boy tasked with eating everything he can to bulk up.
The soundtrack, which is always half the experience, is back to its infectious best, with a bizarre mix of J-pop, bossa nova and synth-jazz that I’m listening to on loop even when not playing. Once Upon a Katamari is one of the best reminders that brilliant game design can be found in simplicity and pure, unbridled fun. It’s the best, I think, I could’ve hoped for from a sequel.
Will Worrall
Ruffy and the Riverside
My Game of the Year for 2025 is Ruffy and the Riverside, a game with its own share of problems but certainly a game I remembered fondly when looking back at the games I played this year. I am willing to acknowledge that this game only really hooked me in because it was similar in visual style to a PS1 game from my youth, but honestly, it’s my GOTY, not “the best game of the year”, so I can do what I bloody-well like.
Ruffy is a 2D bear cartoon that walks around a brightly coloured cartoon world, swapping textures on everything that he can see and talking to various other 2D cartoon animals (mostly bears and moles). It’s more than a little bit like Tombi! (the European name for Tomba!), and that similarity is most of the reason that I wanted to play it, but it’s also a cracking 3D platformer that manages to pay homage to classics without just being a shoddy “fan game”.
It’s a game chocked full of stuff to do and different gameplay elements, and the world and characters are charming, colourful, and fun, and in this grey, drab modern world, this is a little bit of something that we need way more of. Personally, if the only way I can get through the day is by wallowing in my comfortable and colourful nostalgia, then you can find me in Dave Gilbert’s 90s zone eating some Pokemon Marshmallow Cereal, poorly caring for a Tamagotchi, and playing my old 3D platformer favourites.