Wccftech’s Best Games of 2025 – Year of the Indie-ish

[UPDATE - January 20, 2026] We have now posted the final results of the staff and community polls. You can find out which title won the coveted Game of the Year award in our full Wccftech Awards '25 Winners recap.

[ORIGINAL STORY] It's finally time to discover Wccftech's five best games of 2025. But first, let's take a moment to look at what happened this year in gaming.

Sadly, it was another year of heavy layoffs and studio closures, as the industry continues to readjust to the post-pandemic world and the challenges of a market entirely saturated with game releases that often steal each other's visibility. The other major topic of the year was the use of AI, which divided opinions within the development community and culminated in the Larian controversy when the studio admitted to using it during production to expedite certain basic tasks. It's easy to predict that this subject will be discussed more in the coming years, with further controversies likely to arise.

Thankfully, many great new releases brought fun and joy to all those who genuinely love this entertainment medium. When looking closer at the most unanimously acclaimed new titles launched this year, by the way, it's hard not to call 2025 the year of the indie-ish.

Some of the best games released this year were, after all, made by smaller studios with budgets that did not even approach the dozens or even hundreds of millions that the top studios can spend nowadays. Perhaps that's not so unheard of, but the difference is, those games tended to be the so-called 'rough gems', often featuring innovative mechanics but also a lot of 'jank' somewhere in the overall product due to a lack of resources.

This time, though, these games were almost as polished as the best triple-A examples, and often outshone them in innovation and ingenuity. That said, there were also some great AAA releases this year. Without further ado, keep scrolling to read our ten best games of 2025 and vote in the community poll.

All of Wccftech's Best Games of 2025 per Category: Fighting Games, Sports & Racing Games, Role-Playing Games, Horror Games, Platformers, Indie Games, Action, DLC/Expansion, Shooter Games, Adventure Games, Multiplayer Games, Strategy & Simulation Games

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (9.5)

The poster child of the small-team revolution is undoubtedly French developer Sandfall Interactive. With a budget of less than ten million dollars for their debut game, they proved that turn-based JRPGs are absolutely vital and that small developers can punch so far above their weight that they even outshine far bigger, critically acclaimed productions, breaking the existing record for most prizes won at an edition of The Game Awards with 9.

Most importantly, they delivered an amazing, unforgettable game in the hands of fans. Here's Francesco De Meo's summary from the Wccftech review:

Sandfall Interactive’s debut shattered expectations in the best possible way. With a gripping story, a beautifully written cast of characters, and engaging gameplay that breathes new life into familiar mechanics, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a journey that leaves a lasting mark on both the mind and the heart.

Hades II (10)

Despite being an independent company of a small size (around 25 employees), Supergiant Games is no stranger to having its games celebrated far and wide. Almost all of its games (Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, and Hades) received acclaim, and the first Hades even won several game awards. This time, though, they attempted a sequel and absolutely nailed it, as mentioned in David Carcasole's review:

Hades 2 is a stunning follow-up to an already incredible game. It does everything its predecessor did right, and then expands on it in meaningful ways that add depth to the gameplay, narrative, and visual experience (which was already deep in the original Hades). It's a shining example of how a sequel can take everything right about what came before, turn it all up to 11, and even go a bit further.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Team Cherry's latest game was also a sequel to a beloved indie title. The Australian team surprised everyone with the original Hollow Knight in 2017, selling over 15 million copies in eight years and garnering acclaim as one of the greatest Metroidvania games ever made.

However, the development of Silksong was quite long. It actually started even before the release of Hollow Knight as a DLC for that game, but then it morphed into a much larger project, and the developers went quiet for a very long time. In 2023, they announced another delay, and it wasn't until the latter half of this year that we got the very first details about Silksong, just in advance of its September 4 launch.

In the end, the long wait was absolutely worth it, as Silksong received heaps of praise for the game's artistic vision and its improvements to key systems, including combat, pacing, boss fights, and narrative. Silksong is a challenging game, but it's also fair, which is another feat that's far from easy to accomplish. Thus, it earns its rightful place among the best games of 2025.

Dispatch

Whereas both Silksong and Hades were sequels to beloved indie games, Dispatch came out of nowhere with a brand new IP. Granted, many of the members of AdHoc Studio had previously worked on Telltale's successful releases, but Dispatch was still a big surprise. Who knew that having to ditch a cool mech for a desk job would be so fun?

Seriously, though, the game is incredibly well-made in every regard, from the gorgeous comic-book-inspired art style to the witty dialogues, iconic characters, and engaging story that is as far removed from traditional superhero fare as you could imagine. At its budget price, it is practically a must-buy.

Split Fiction (8)

Hazelight Studios is another team that started small and slowly carved itself a niche for split-screen co-op exclusive games with interesting settings and stories. Their new game, Split Fiction, is every bit as enjoyable as A Way Out and It Takes Two, and even more refined in some areas. Critics and fans alike loved it; the game became a million seller in just two days and surpassed four million units sold in two months. There's even a movie on the way with Sydney Sweeney set to star (in all likelihood, as Zoe Foster). If you have someone else who enjoys playing this type of game, getting it for co-op is a no-brainer.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (10)

Warhorse Studios was once an independent studio as well. The first Kingdom Come: Deliverance was crowdfunded via Kickstarter, after all, but following that game's successful release, the Czech developer was acquired by THQ Nordic (now Plaion). With a much larger budget at their disposal, they were able to create a much bigger, not to mention more refined, open world RPG that fully realizes their original vision. Chris Wray gave it a perfect ten and commented:

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is a resounding success, delivering one of the most believable game worlds ever, layered with compelling quests, small and large alike, and enhancing the already interesting systems introduced in the original. With multiple systems layered to immerse you in the game, as well as an intriguing story and excellent polish, it makes for one of the more captivating open world RPGs.

Ghost of Yotei (8.8)

Sucker Punch struck gold with Ghost of Tsushima, 2020's excellent action/adventure game. Their new IP sold exceptionally well, prompting Sony to get John Wick director Chad Stahelski to direct a movie adaptation and, of course, fast-tracking a sequel at the Bellevue-based studio. With Ghost of Yotei, the studio retained the same formula, refined it, and presented it with another great story that every samurai fan won't want to miss. Here's an excerpt from my review:

Ghost of Yōtei is a worthy sequel to the already excellent Ghost of Tsushima, building upon that game's foundation with an equally interesting (albeit quite different) plot and select improvements to combat and open world exploration. It may feel a little too familiar, not to mention similar to the previous game, but that sensation is quickly forgotten amidst all the fun you'll have in Ezo.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Hideo Kojima has returned this year with the second chapter in the post-apocalyptic adventures of Sam (Norman Reedus), this time set in Australia. The gameplay of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is much more varied than the first 'strand game', and there's also a vastly improved combat system. The presentation is simply unparalleled, and the performances of the whole cast are fantastic.

It may still not be for everyone, but Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is nonetheless undoubtedly worthy of appearing in our best games of 2025 list.

ARC Raiders (9)

If you told most people a year ago that ARC Raiders would not only be in this list but also one of those with the best chances to win, they would not have believed it. Embark stunned everyone with how refreshing ARC Raiders turned out to be, not to mention incredibly well-balanced between its PvE and PvP elements. In Wccftech's review, Kai Tatsumoto wrote:

All in all, ARC Raiders is a phenomenal entry in the growing loot-and-scoot genre, or extraction shooter if you want to be more technical about it. While the gunplay suffers in the early stages with inferior tier one weaponry, it shines through once you start developing squad tactics and learn the ins and outs of besting the array of lethal ARC threats throughout Toledo. I wanted to wait until the first major content push from Embark Studios before finalizing my thoughts, and the inclusion of Stella Montis has brought a new flavor of psychological warfare to escalate this extraction shooter to greater heights.

Battlefield 6 (8.5)

Out of all the games on this list, Battlefield 6 might have been the most anticipated in terms of sheer fanbase size coming into 2025. The excellent news for Battlefield fans is that their beloved military shooter franchise is back with a new installment that understands what made the best games in the saga so great. The natural outcome was for Battlefield 6 to become the best-selling game of the year, with estimates placing it near the 24 million units sold milestone.

In Wccftech's review, David Carcasole stated:

Battlefield 6 is an incredibly strong return to form for the series, with a multiplayer experience that is finely tuned with huge potential for what it could build into, destruction mechanics that bring a level of immersion back to the series that it was missing, and a more than solid visual and sound design package tying up how endlessly fun it is to play.

Honorable Mentions

While those above were our ten best games picks for 2025, we do have at least another ten recommendations in case you're looking for more suggestions on what to buy:

• Donkey Kong Bananza
• Avowed
• The Outer Worlds 2
• Ninja Gaiden 4
• Silent Hill f
• Elden Ring Nightreign
• Mario Kart World
• DOOM: The Dark Ages
• Blue Prince
• Peak

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