Now that our Game of the Year Awards are out of the way, it’s time to take a much-needed rest and…ah, who are we kidding? We might have just said goodbye to the best of 2024, but we’re already excited to check out the best of 2025. As such, we’ve put our heads together to come up with our top ten most anticipated games of 2025. While many of the games on this list have had limited gameplay shown, it’s hard not to be impressed with their unique style and concepts. Please note that the games are listed in alphabetical, ascending order.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Right off the bat, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 gets points for its premise alone. Once a year, the mysterious being known as the Paintress goes and paints a number on their giant monolith, wiping out everyone of that age, with that number ticking down each year. What exactly is it counting down to, if anything, and what are the Paintress' motives? Who knows right now, but the people of the land have had enough death regardless, and that’s why Expedition 33 is heading out to stop the Paintress. It sounds like the setup for a Logan’s Run-inspired thriller, except here it’s in a fantasy world inspired by Belle Époque France, with a gorgeous style and inspired monster designs that immediately catch one’s eye, all with gameplay said to be a unique blend of real-time and turn-based combat elements and a cast that includes the likes of Charlie Cox, Ben Starr and Andy Serkis. So needless to say, Sandfall Interactive have the makings of one impressive tale on their hands.
Doom: The Dark Ages
This one is for the history books! Doom: The Dark Ages is a prequel to 2016’s Doom and will bring players to the Dark Ages…literally. While we have only seen a trailer for the title during the Xbox Showcase in June, the fast-paced gameplay and guitar-shredding soundtrack is enough to get fans bloodthirsty for more gory goodness. id Software and Bethesda are taking a page from their own history books with their ingrained bloodline of the Doom franchise, while also writing their next chapter. The gothic backdrop differs from the traditional hellscape, but doesn’t hold back on the hordes of undead. Let’s be honest here..the medieval times have never looked this good before, especially for our main protagonist Doom Slayer. It’s a shame that the outfit will be soaked with the blood and guts of hundreds of demons. With a whole new set of weapons and a new batch of enemies, we are all in for a skull-crushing good time. For the Dark Ages, it’s looking to be a bright future for the Doom franchise.
Ghost of Yōtei
Sucker Punch Productions, best known for their whimsical platformer Sly Cooper and superhero romp Infamous, turned a lot of heads in 2020 with Ghost of Tsushima, an open world game set during the real-life Mongol invasion of Tsushima in 1274. A complete tonal shift from their previous franchises, Sucker Punch ended up delivering thebest game of 2020. A strong mix of fun and varied gameplay, a great story peppered with wonderful characters, gorgeous visuals and animations, and the blending of historical and fantasy elements all came together splendidly. Following a PS5 release, single player expansion and a free multiplayer mode, it was only a matter of when we would hear about a sequel. Back in September, Sucker Punch Productions formally unveiled Ghost of Yotei, a sequel set 400 years later around Mount Yotei in Japan. The game puts players in the shoes of Atsu (it has not been made clear if she’s a descendant of Jin) who adopts the persona of The Ghost as she seeks vengeance. Though Sucker Punch is keeping a tight lid on details right now, the previously-released trailer provides a tantalizing look at how the game will evolve. Dual-wielding katanas, new weapons like the kusarigama and new options for ranged combat like rifles all make an appearance. Meanwhile, the studio appears to be taking advantage of the PS5 to deliver a more varied, beautiful world to explore. Ghost of Tsushima was one of the PS4’s best games and we can’t wait to see if Ghost of Yotei emerges as one of the PS5’s best games.
Grand Theft Auto VI
It’s been over eleven years since Grand Theft Auto V came out. Let that sink in for a second: eleven years. Yet even now, the game remains current. Putting aside Grand Theft Auto Online, gamers who have never played the game before (if they even exist, with 205 million copies of GTA V being sold) would still have a blast playing through it and be impressed with all it has to offer even now. That’s probably part of the reason why it’s taken Rockstar over a decade to release a follow-up, but it looks like that wait is almost over and Grand Theft Auto VI will storm the world in 2025. With its debut trailer having over 200 million views on the official channel alone, we really don’t even need to bother making the case for why it’s so anticipated. Taking place in Leonida (a riff on Florida; perhaps the most perfect place to set a GTA game in), not much is even known about the game yet, but its criminal duo setup seems intriguing and have you seen the visuals? Actually, our previous statement was correct, we don’t need to bother making the case for this being on our list. 2025 can’t come soon enough.
Since 2013, the distinct lack of a BioShock title has become more and more apparent. After the closure of Irrational Games, a new title has been in the works, yet nothing has come of it. Still, in 2014, the director of the BioShock series, Ken Levine, began Ghost Story Games on the ashes of its predecessor and got to work. Finally in 2022, we saw a glimpse of the fruits of his and the team’s labor in Judas, a frenetic FPS set on a space station holding the future of humanity. As Judas, you’ll face off against deadly existential robots as you make crucial choices on what to do before reaching Proxima Centauri, your new home. While not connected to BioShock or System Shock, Judas does look to be a title that fans of said franchises should pay heavy attention to and one that may be the sleeper hit of 2025 if all the pieces fit where they should.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
The original Kingdom Come: Deliverance carved out a unique place for itself in the gaming industry. Set in Bohemia in 1403 and striving for realism, the game built a solid foundation based on its story and attention to detail, though the small studio’s ambitions did result in a number of bugs and technical issues. Still, it was a good foundation from which Warhorse Studios could build a sequel. In 2025, we’ll get to see what the studio has been working on when Kingdom Come: Deliverance II finally launches. Dubbed the game that Kingdom Come: Deliverance was meant to be, Warhorse Studios is pouring all their experiences developing the original title, as well as far more resources, into building a worthy sequel. As in the original, players take on the role of Henry from Skalz, a blacksmith from Central Bohemia who becomes embroiled in a civil war against Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund. The sequel aims to build upon the successful and praised mechanics of the original, including the sense of realism. NPCs and society will naturally react to how players tackle missions and behave in the world, sleep and food are necessities for survival, and combat can be just as thrilling as it is deadly. It’s also going to be fun to use the newly-added crossbows and firearms at range. With more resources at their disposal, hopefully Warhorse can eliminate many of the technical issues that plagued the original. Kingdom Come: Deliverance came out of nowhere in 2018 to deliver a good, but flawed, experience. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II looks set to take that foundation and truly deliver a stellar experience.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
For those craving the taste of dirt, danger and the whiff of gunpowder, look no further than Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. While the title is a remaster of the 2003 game, this installment is considered to be one of the best video games of all time. Tasked with the mission of bringing that nostalgic feel of traversing the jungles of the USSR to a new generation of players, Konami has taken on the challenge. This is no easy feat, mind you, but it is one that the team are well aware of. The stealth genre has grown since its original debut, but if anyone knows how to hit the target, it’s the title that started it all. The return of Naked Snake and Ocelot is one that we have been waiting for since 2015’s Metal Gear Solid: Phantom Pain, and to get the opportunity to witness them back in action within the modern age will be a sight to behold. When it comes to delivering the package, it’s starting to look like we are all in for a special surprise (!).
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
Well…it still exists, thank goodness. After years of silence met with growing public concern on what platform it would even appear on (if at all), Metroid Prime 4 finally re-emerged this year: new subtitle, new setting and a firm confirming Sylux of Metroid Prime: Hunters fame would be Samus Aran’s main antagonist in this post-Phazon, fourth entrant to the Prime sub-series. We still know little of the narrative backdrop, let alone any and all suggestion of how Beyond will hope to differentiate itself from its Prime brethren. But if the already commendable-looking utilization of the Switch’s hardware are any sign – on the back of the much-praised Remaster of the original Prime – Retro Studios look to be doing this entry – let alone many a fans' patience – justice with what will likely be one of the Switch’s final original titles, as Nintendo’s next system looms ever closer.
Monster Hunter Wilds
While the series is well known for releasing new titles every few years at this point, a brand new Monster Hunter being right around the corner is still exciting every day we get closer. Monster Hunter Wilds is bringing with it a more cohesive world, new ways to hunt and of course a multitude of brand new monsters with it. The truth of the matter is that we crave the hunt, the glory of a challenging success against a monster the keeps beating us down during a fight and the satisfaction of getting to craft its carvings into armor and weapons. There’s nothing else out there quite like Monster Hunter, and Wilds is setting us up for a large-scale adventure that will take players into an entirely new land as everything it has to offer is uncovered while hunting alone or with allies across the world like never before. Capcom is always looking to improve their second most popular franchise, and we can’t wait to dive in and spend hours upon hours discovering every last thing it has to offer while enjoying the wonderfully-crafted experience they’ve made.
South of Midnight
For the longest time, the majority of South of Midnight remained a mystery, just that it was coming from Compulsion Games, was described as a “modern folktale” in the Gothic South, and that it apparently featured a unique visual style similar to that of stop-motion. Intriguing, but still not much to go on. But then came the first gameplay reveal at this year’s Xbox Games Showcase, and it almost immediately rocketed up our list of upcoming games to look out for. True enough, it already does appear to perfectly capture the feeling of a modern folktale, and its Louisiana setting and influences shine through. But then we got to see impressive, swift, melee combat, fun bits of traversal and rather imposing yet beautiful creature designs. All of which makes for something rather tantalizing, as well as something that could easily wind up as one of 2025’s best Xbox exclusives.
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