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We've not yet finished out 2025, and already it's been a wild year for gaming. Arguably, the biggest story of the year is what didn’t come out, with Grand Theft Auto VI being pushed back to 2026. That left the door wide open for some great games to fill the void, but, in our opinion, indie games were the highlight of 2025.

The year isn’t over, and there are still plenty of big games coming – plus some games that we haven’t played yet because the Switch 2 is really expensive still – but these are the games that have captured our attention so far in 2025.

Best Games 2025: Wanderstop

If this had just been a cozy game about running a tea shop, I still would have played it and probably would have loved it. Wanderstop is something so much more, though. It is a story about loss, burnout, and anxiety. It is about the intense pressure we put on ourselves. More than anything, it is about learning to be kind to ourselves. I didn’t go into this game expecting to feel so emotional by the end, but Wanderstop is full of surprises. - Trent Cannon, Popverse Senior Contributing Writer

Best Games 2025: Magic: The Gathering x Final Fantasy

The massive MTG x FF set is everything I could realistically (we'll get to that in a second) want in a crossover like this. Built into the long-running MTG game series, this set really embraces the best bits of Final Fantasy lore and mechanics and brings it in with a functional and creative zest that is admirable - and better than some of Wizards of the Coast's previous iterations. Pulling in some of our favorite characters, making the Fire/Fira/Firage type magic mechanics work, and making me hear the FF fight song in my head each time I play? You got me, you spoony bard. The only thing missing is more from FF4 and FF9, but I say that about a lot of things in my life. - Chris Arrant, Popverse Editor-in-Chief

Best Games 2025: Blue Prince

This indie game has got layers, folks. The more time you spend with it, the deeper the mystery goes. It has been a long time since I got so thoroughly sucked into a rogue-lite game, but I’ve found myself spending hours upon hours working on the perfect layout for the mansion. We can’t talk too much about it or we’ll be in danger of spoiling some of the twists, but it's safe to say Blue Prince doesn’t end where you think it does. - Trent Cannon, Popverse Senior Contributing Writer

Best Games 2025: Clair Obscur Expedition 33

I never realized how much I missed great AAA-level RPG games until I played Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Mixing the aesthetics of French-style game design like early Assassin's Creed games with deep love for '90s and early '00s style JRPGs like Final Fantasy and Suikoden, Clair Obscur mixes classic elements with the ability to still get weird. This is a game that never becomes old, all the way through beating it - and lack of mini-maps aside, it's a map towards a future franchise and major new game studio, I hope. - Chris Arrant, Popverse Editor-in-Chief
 

Best Games 2025: Hollow Knight: Silksong

We waited seven years for the sequel to Hollow Knight, and the Metroidvania darling didn’t disappoint. This is a brutally hard game - so hard that the devs had to nerf the early game bosses within a week of launch - but the way it incorporates music and sound into the gameplay is nothing short of gorgeous. This is one of the few games that is absolutely worth the wait. - Trent Cannon, Popverse Senior Contributing Writer

Best Games 2025: Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time

After years of small-sized cozy games for me, Fantasy Life i brought that with a bit more action like you'd expect from a full-fledged game. While some elements like combats are simple, I prefer to think of that as a positive, not a negative, giving a rounder sense of life and not just a fight game. The time travel bit is revelatory for me, adding to the engrossing level of crafting and skills cultivation I was able to do. - Chris Arrant, Popverse Editor-in-Chief

The gaming industry has come a long way since Pong blew all our minds in the 70s. We've got everything you need to know about the next big thing in games. Of course, Grand Theft Auto VI is going to be the big game of 2026, but there are plenty of other games coming out between now and then. Here is our starter guide for every gamer:

• All upcoming games in 2025 and beyond
• Gamify My Life, our weekly gaming column designed
• Popverse Picks: The best Assassin's Creed protagonists
• How to play every GTA game in order
• Why the GTA 6 budget isn't as crazy as you think
• The Magic: The Gathering x Spider-Man crossover set wouldn't exist without the Spider-Verse

And be sure to check Popverse regularly for the latest gaming news.