Every year, there are always a few excellent new games that get a little overshadowed. While the likes of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Donkey Kong Bananza and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach have enjoyed their (deserved) moment in the spotlight, plenty of great video games didn’t get the same level of attention.
To ensure you don’t miss out on a must-play experiences released in 2025, I asked the Tom’s Guide staff to pick out their favorite games this year that you (probably) missed over the last 12 months. I got plenty of worthwhile suggestions from a game best described as Journey meets Tony Hawk, to an RPG that mixes a farming sim with fast-paced combat. There are games that will fit pretty much all personal tastes below.
So, if you’ve already played all the Game of the Year 2025 contenders, then make sure to check out these games that flew under the radar.
Best new game you missed in 2025
Lego Voyagers
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Much like Dark Souls birthed a new whole genre (Soulslikes) in 2010, it’s clear to see that the success of 2021’s It Takes Two is inspiring numerous developers. Did you see how many co-op games were announced at this year’s The Game Awards? Of the several games inspired by Hazelight’s acclaimed multiplayer title, Lego Voyagers is most definitely my favorite so far.
In this charming adventure, you and a partner (it’s a mandatory co-op experience) play as 1×1 Lego bricks with an added googly eye for extra personality. Your mission is to roll, jump and build your way through a series of gentle puzzles and breezy platforming sections. The graphics are gorgeous, giving the appearance of stepping into a plastic diorama.
However, what I enjoyed most about Lego Voyager is its accessibility. While I had a blast with It Takes Two and spiritual follow-up Split Fiction, each requires at least some degree of gaming familiarity, whereas Lego Voyager is perfect for even novice players. This allowed me to experience the game with my gaming-newbie partner, which was a real treat. — Rory Mellon
System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
System Shock 2 remains one of my favorite games, and the long-awaited 25th Anniversary Remaster from Nightdive offers the best way for new and old fans to enjoy this incredible horror sci-fi experience.
Staying true to the original, System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster merely upscales visuals and polishes gameplay. The same 1999 feel is present throughout, but it’s built into the body of a 2025 experience. Nightdive went above and beyond in polishing off some of the more egregious problems still lingering within the shadows, fixing several bugs, adding controller support, and even enhancing co-op.
I know we bemoan the multitude of remakes and remasters flooding the gaming market, but if any title needed a hefty polishing, System Shock 2 would be it. If you’re a big Doom fan or love horror sci-fi like me (a la “Event Horizon” and “Pandorum”), this remaster needs to be on your radar. — Ryan Epps
Sword of the Sea
Platforms: PC, PS5
Elevator pitch: how’d you like to play a beautifully rendered narrative adventure that you could inelegantly sum up as what would happen if you crossed Journey with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater?
That’s sort of what you’re getting with Sword of the Sea, the latest title from Giant Squid (the team behind Abzu and The Pathless). This adventure arrived over the summer and casts you as the Wraith, a mysterious figure tasked with restoring the world’s ocean. You do this by roving across a series of stunning landscapes astride your Hoversword, surfing at high speeds across shifting sands, snow drifts, and waterways.
Moving through the world and leaping into strings of tricks and maneuvers is satisfying enough in its own right, but the brilliance of Sword in the Sea comes with combining that satisfying movement system with the game’s gorgeous presentation and another all-time video game soundtrack from composer Austin Wintory. It also sprinkles in hidden secrets and challenges along the way.
Sword of the Sea only takes a handful of hours to see through, but those few hours are among the best of what I played this year. — Martin Shore
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance expertly melds the old and the new thanks to its classic gameplay and modern hand-drawn graphics. Levels brim with secrets to discover and hordes of enemies to slice apart. That mix of exploration and combat keeps things lively as you fight your way to one seriously tough final boss.
Though the game can be very challenging, the skills and combos you acquire as you progress make even the most daunting challenges manageable. If you like “Metroidvania” games, you’re in for a treat, as new abilities give you access to previously inaccessible areas. I always enjoyed going back to levels to see what I missed the first time around.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is yet another stellar game from developer Lizardcube, and easily in my top three games of 2025. Though it hasn’t gotten the attention that other titles received, it’s an overall phenomenal experience for fans of pure action games. If you haven’t played Art of Vengeance, you need to check it out. — Tony Polanco
Islanders: New Shores
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
One of my favorite game genres is city building, but often they’re intimidatingly complex. That’s where the “minimalist” city builder comes in, a sub-genre that strips down the mechanics to their absolute simplest and it’s what makes Islanders: New Shores a relaxing but rewarding experience.
In Islanders: New Shores, you don’t have to worry about starving villagers or running out of resources: your only action is adding one building at a time from a “hand” of buildings you slowly earn as you play. You only need to be concerned with your score since you have as much time as you need to place your structures. Each of those buildings earns or loses you points depending on what it’s placed next to: fountains and parks love being next to homes, while woodcutters are best placed next to trees and lumberjacks, etc.
You also place your buildings wherever you want. There’s no grid in this city builder. But the scoring system organically pushes you to place buildings in synergistic combinations, and it’s not long before you have a charming little village on a brightly colored island.
You can only undo your previous move, keeping focus on each building placement and then moving on to the next, and as you earn points, you’re rewarded with a new “pack” of buildings: earn enough on one island and you can move on to the next. It’s a relaxingly, chill experience but rewarding enough to play for hours, and trust me, I’ve poured nearly a hundred into my little island escapes! — Clayton Ashley
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
I put 125 hours into the farming sim/RPG Rune Factory 4 Special in 2023, and I’ve since been looking for something that would really capture my interest in the same way. I had mixed feelings towards the last entry in the Rune Factory series, but Guardians of Azuma is a true leap forward.
In addition to Rune Factory’s usual farming and action RPG combat, you also need to rebuild and repopulate entire villages; then you can assign the villagers to do some of your work for you. That gives you time to focus on whatever you find the most fun — socializing with NPCs, gathering materials or fighting monsters.
There are lots of improvements to the somewhat iffy farming experience from Rune Factory 5, too. My favorite is the ability to raise the camera overhead and freeze time while you plot the layout of your fields.
Developer Marvelous has recaptured the secret sauce that makes farming sims truly addicting. I genuinely struggle to put this game down at the end of the day! Mix that with gorgeous, colorful visuals and a memorable, fully voice-acted story to tie it all together, and you have an absolute winner. — Millie Davis-Williams
Promise Mascot Agency
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
I’ve never gotten much of a kick out of management sims, so I’m shocked by how much fun I’ve had with Promise Mascot Agency, an open-world management/crime drama with bags of personality, compelling core loops, and an intriguing, frequently hilarious story that’s had me hooked from the jump.
Conveying its charms in such a small amount of words is difficult, but you play as Michi, a disgraced yakuza lieutenant who is shipped off to a cursed, rundown town to try and turn a failing mascot agency into a lucrative business.
To do so, you’ll be driving around town in your upgradeable truck, finding and recruiting new mascots and putting your weird and wonderful roster of new pals to work. They go out, earning you cash to level up the agency, to help pay off a massive debt (no spoilers here), or to reinvest in town.
Along the way, you’ll get to know a roster of unique pals, tackle side missions, hunt down collectibles, and regularly get called up to help your employees out of on-the-job scrapes like getting stuck in a door, tripping, or knocking over poorly stacked boxes. — Martin Shore
Cronos: The New Dawn
Platforms: Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
EA broke my heart when it was reported that my beloved Dead Space franchise is effectively on ice due to the underwhelming sales of the phenomenal 2023 remake (shame on you if you skipped it). But thank you, Bloober Team, for teaching me it’s okay to love again with Cronos: The New Dawn.
This original sci-fi survival horror from the team behind last year’s also excellent Silent Hill 2 remake wears its Dead Space inspiration on its sleeve, and I’m absolutely fine with that. You play as a protagonist known as The Traveler, who arrives on a ruined Earth to find their missing companion and to extract vital information that could save the future.
The survival-horror fundamentals are all here, from limited resources to grotesque enemies that can easily overwhelm you even in smaller numbers. The sense of spooky atmosphere is exquisite, and the audio design is some of the best of the year. While the bosses are a weak point — funnily enough, much like the original Dead Space — Cronos: The New Dawn is at its best when you’re faced with a horde of mutating foes and a rapidly dwindling ammo count. — Rory Mellon
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