1: What is your personal Game of the Year?Hard choice between a game that did not come out in 2025, but I think
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 EASILY takes this spot. There’s a reason it sweeped the real game awards lol. It’s combat, characters, story, soundtrack…
OMG everything is just amazing. It is one of the most beautiful games I have EVER looked at and I can say that with genuine sincerity. I was stunned by the visuals, music, and insane story. It’s melancholic at times, silly when it wants to be, and just an overall amazing ride. I haven’t actually finished it because of my study abroad trip, but I picked it back up as soon as I returned home. I’m currently endgame right now and can’t wait to see how it ends!
2: If different, what is your favorite game that came out in 2025?Obviously this doesn’t apply to me, but my other pick was Lost Judgment, a game that came out in 2021. It’s combat is crazy and I enjoyed modding it lol.
3: Most innovative?I will TRY to keep myself from gushing over Expedition 33, so I’ll put
Sonic Racing Crossworlds here. I consider it innovative because of its twist on racing mechanics. Every race, you go through a portal mid-way and switch tracks entirely. This gimmick really got me back into the racing game scene. I really enjoyed it.
This combined with slick mechanics, a system where you can mod your kit to have certain upgrades/items really assisted in making it feel fresh.
4: Best community / multiplayer function?I’m not really big on multiplayer games, but I guess
Marvel Rivals was really fun to play early on this year. I actually have a decent amount of hours on the board for this one and I really enjoyed playing with all my friends. The community support from the devs seems really great, too!
5: Best soundtrack?CLAIR OBSCUR: EXPEDITION 33Here are some tracks that have been living rent free in my head.
- Monoco
- Gestral Merchant
- Dualliste
- Gestral Summer Party
- Reverence
- Gestral Market
- Beneath the Blue Tree
- We Lost
Since I haven't fully finished the game, I have yet to have seen the final BANGERS. But from what I hear there is MUCH more to come.
6: Best design?I think I’ll give this to an indie called
Unbeatable.
It has this grindpunk asthetic that goes INSANE. It reminds me of Jet Set Radio, Gachiakuta, that type of stuff. It is a rhythm game that gets really fun despite its simple mechanics. I spent HOURS playing it one night just on the arcade mode. Definitely check it out if you like rhythm games and good music!
7: Best PC gameplay?I think I’ll skip these lol since I have fully moved to PC at this point. But everything runs pretty well on my PC.
8: Best console gameplay?N/A.
9: Best remake / remaster / adaptation?This is so sad lol. I thought about all the adaptations that came out this year and I hated them ALL. Uhhh…
I guess I played
Resident Evil 4 Remake this year! That was pretty peak. It’s gameplay, story, and overall mechanics are amazing and I love to go back and play it’s endless wave mode from time to time!
10: Best game streamer / Let's Player?Not EXACTLY a game streamer. But very game adjacent.
8 Bit Drummer drums along to songs live on his youtube. I even like to listen to him while writing or brainstorming since he’s just over there having a good time and drumming.
11: What genre do you feel had the most hype this year?I think there is a lot of hype this year overall, but the RPG side of things has seemed pretty lively.
12: What games are you most excited for in 2026 (pls list up to three ^^)? Oh god so MANY.
My biggest game is a game from Grasshopper Manufacture. I am a big fan of their work and the owner of the studio who directs many of its games. It’s
Romeo is a Dead Man! This is gonna be a crazy romp through space after we get killed by an alien and then get revived by our uncle’s super technology. Romeo becomes recruited by the space-time police force. This game takes a lot from it’s seeming predecessor No More Heroes 3, which was held back by COVID struggles. I hope that we get to see the mechanics of that game get used to their extreme here. This studio is known for being the “punk rock” of the game industry. Their stories, gameplay, and characters are off-the-wall but have loads of depth when looking into them.
Obviously
GTA 6 is in there. But I’m going to wait a moment to make sure that it is all it’s cracked out to be before buying it. Games confirmed for 2026 that I am excited for are
Yakuza Kiwami 3, which remasters the third game in the franchise.
Carin, which is a game by an indie studio called The Game Bakers. I’ve played every game they have released and they have never MISSED. Of course,
Resident Evil Requiem.
I’m sure there are some titles I’ve missed. But I can’t wait to see what comes out next year!
