We’re down to the very best games of 2025. Here are the titles our staff at Twisted Voxel has put together for our overall list for the year.
2025 has been a great year for gaming, with some exceptional titles released throughout the year. Trimming our list down to the top 5 games ended up being a real challenge for our staff. Nevertheless, after days of back and forth, we present our overall picks.
5. Dispatch
Dispatch earns its place on this list by being a rare example of interactive television done right. Built by veterans of narrative-heavy studios, it blends sharp writing, heartfelt character arcs, and light but meaningful management mechanics into a tightly paced episodic experience. The story of Robert Robertson, a fallen superhero relegated to dispatch duty, uses humor and vulnerability to explore redemption and purpose without ever feeling cynical. Managing a roster of reformed villains is mechanically simple, but narratively rich, with character banter and workplace drama giving the office an authentic sense of life.
4. Split Fiction
Hazelight Studios once again proved they are unmatched when it comes to cooperative design. Split Fiction constantly reinvents itself, shifting between science fiction and fantasy worlds while introducing new mechanics at a relentless pace. Every chapter feels distinct, forcing players to communicate, adapt, and truly collaborate. Beyond its mechanical brilliance, the game’s emotional core, focused on two struggling writers trapped inside their own fractured stories, adds some additional depth. With inventive level design, unforgettable side stories, and seamless cross-platform co-op, Split Fiction stands as one of the most creative and joyful multiplayer experiences of the year.
3. Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
Hideo Kojima’s sequel to Death Stranding refines and expands the ideas of the original into a more emotional and ambitious experience. It builds on its unconventional traversal-focused gameplay while deepening its themes of connection, loss, and rebuilding. The world is more reactive, the systems more layered, and the storytelling more confident. It delivers a more cohesive and impactful experience that rewards patience and reflection.
2. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s eye-catching art direction, emotionally resonant narrative, and inventive spin on turn-based combat combined into something genuinely special. Every aspect reinforces its central themes of inevitability, sacrifice, and defiance, while its world-building feels both haunting and intimate. The game modernizes classic role-playing game concepts and recontextualizes them, delivering a tightly focused experience that feels memorable from start to finish.
1. Donkey Kong Bananza
At the top of the list sits Donkey Kong Bananza, a game with the same weight and design sensibilities as Super Mario Odyssey. By fully embracing a 3D sandbox built around large-scale destruction, Nintendo reinvented Donkey Kong for a new generation. Smashing through layered underground worlds is endlessly satisfying, with permanent environmental damage, clever level design, and meaningful rewards encouraging exploration. The sheer joy of traversing the game world, smashing nearly everything in the surrounding, and making new discoveries elevates the experience past the rest. Donkey Kong Bananza stands as our game of the year 2025.