With one other stellar 12 months of gaming squarely within the rearview mirror, the employees right here at PlayStation Life-style determined to make a journey down reminiscence lane, tally up what new video games we performed over the previous 12 months, and see which of them obtained sufficient votes to land a spot on our coveted record of finest video games from 2025.
Curiously, in what may be an all-time file low, solely 5 Sony first-party titles launched this 12 months (discounting ports and rereleases), so a overwhelming majority of our record is comprised of indie and AAA titles from different publishers. Likelihood is, you’ve heard of or performed many of the video games that made the reduce, however a few our inclusions may take you without warning.
And with out additional ado… the record!
10. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Displaying simply how loaded this 12 months with nice video games, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 barely managed to put declare to the quantity 10 spot. Nonetheless, there’s no denying the sheer artistry on show with Sandfall Interactive’s debut title. Most RPG followers value their salt are on the very least conversant in Clair Obscure, but when this one handed you by completely, we’d like to know what rock you end up residing beneath.
9. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
We wouldn’t blame you should you forgot that Kingdom Come: Deliverance II even got here out in 2025, seeing as the way it launched on the very starting of February. That is the second, and ultimate, European-developed RPG to make it onto our record, however in contrast to Clair Obscur, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II trades within the linear, darkish fantasy Belle Époque setting for a really beautiful recreation of Fifteenth-century Bohemia. If an unmatched sense of freedom, an enormous open-world that’s begging to be explored, and the unforgiving, harsh realities of medieval life and warfare pique your curiosity, you shouldn’t move this one up.
With a handful of Metallic Gear followers on employees, it’s no shock that Metallic Gear Strong Delta: Snake Eater has slithered its manner onto our record. Despite the fact that collection creator Hideo Kojima parted methods with Konami a decade in the past and had zero involvement with the event of this remake, the unique PS2 model was (or quite, nonetheless is) such a outstanding recreation, that its success was all however assured. With a handful of high quality of life enhancements, a modernized management scheme, and a next-gen coat of ray-traced paint, Metallic Gear Strong Delta: Snake Eater appears to be like and performs like a correct remake; anybody claiming that it’s a easy, by-the-numbers money seize is woefully mistaken.
7. Lumines: Come up
Very like the earlier entry on our record, Lumines: Come up doesn’t precisely reinvent the wheel in relation to its moment-to-moment motion. The truth is, apart from the newly-added Burst mechanic, Lumines: Come up’s gameplay is sort of similar to the unique PSP model that launched over 20 years in the past. In fact, if you understand something in regards to the collection, the gameplay is barely part of the magic. From its entrenching, mesmerizing visuals to its stellar soundtrack, Lumines: Come up is a feast for the eyes and ears, and can be a sight to behold when taking part in in VR.
6. Cut up Fiction
Having laid out the inspiration with A Means Out and upping the ante with It Takes Two, it’s hardly a shock that Cut up Fiction was a smash hit proper out of the gates. Developer Hazelight Studios has perfected its craft of making compelling co-operative gaming experiences, and with Cut up Fiction, it has even managed to upend our expectations as soon as once more. Whether or not you’re taking to the skies on the again of a dragon or keeping off cyber-ninjas, there’s loads of enjoyable available right here. If we have been to make one suggestion, should you give this one a go, attempt to discover a co-op buddy who can play on the sofa subsequent to you if that’s in any respect attainable.
5. Blue Prince
Like a number of different titles on this record, Blue Prince form of took us without warning when it launched, and as soon as it sank its roguelike hooks into us, we couldn’t get sufficient of it. Granted, a few of its puzzles border on cruelly obscure, and a minimum of one author on our staff misplaced hours of progress to the dreaded (and fortunately, fastened) save bug, however Blue Prince efficiently wormed its manner into the interior recesses of our brains, maintaining us hooked on its addictive loop of drafting new rooms, uncovering extra lore, and peeling again extra layers of its seemingly endless puzzle. It’s an onion lover’s dream! Or, parfaits, should you choose.
4. Battlefield 6
After a string of middling releases and years of dropping floor to its rivals, Battlefield is lastly again, and child, it’s nearly as good because it’s ever been. Positive, there are dozens of different shooters, aggressive and informal alike, which might be always vying for our consideration, however Battlefield 6’s objective-focused, squad-centric taste of working and gunning presents an expertise that few different video games come near matching. The environmental destruction and sheer variety of autos and weapons to grasp are simply the icing on the cake.
3. Ghost of Yotei
Despite the fact that its story is a quite typical revenge story that doesn’t precisely break the mildew, Ghost of Yotei remains to be a top-tier expertise from begin to end. Constructing off the inspiration specified by Ghost of Tsushima, developer Sucker Punch is firing on all cylinders this time round and pushes the PS5 (and PS5 Professional, for that matter) to its restrict. It’s one of the crucial beautiful video games we’ve seen so far, and with a handful of visible filters and audio mixes to select from, it’s virtually begging to be replayed a second (and even third) time.
2. Sword of the Sea
2025 noticed the launch of a handful of various skating video games, however none of them got here near matching the sense of surprise and awe that Sword of the Sea manages to evoke. It strikes an incredible steadiness between providing up platforming challenges and puzzles, and letting you discover a ravishing world that’s chock-full of surprises which might be simply ready to be found and skilled firsthand. In the event you loved Journey, or both of developer Big Squid’s earlier titles (Abzû, The Pathless), this one’s a no brainer.
1. Dying Stranding 2: On The Seashore
Positive, its detractors can be fast to label it as a glorified strolling simulator, however Dying Stranding 2: On The Seashore is a lot greater than that. It’s a mirrored image on our present society, a world through which everyone seems to be extra related than ever, however concurrently, extra remoted and alone. It’s a surprising achievement on a technical degree, serving up among the finest visuals and most lovingly crafted cutscenes we’ve seen so far. And, for a handful of us staffers and contributors, it’s one other alternative to take a peek into the thoughts of Hideo Kojima, an absolute juggernaut of a recreation developer who’s been reinventing genres and subverting expectations for 4 a long time at this level. However, above all, it’s a recreation about sticks. And ropes. Oh, and chiral networks. And don’t overlook Timefall. Plate gates too!
