Games of 2025
A small time capsule of games I completed in 2025 and quick micro-reviews of how I played them. Any full reviews will be linked.
Hall of Fame
Games I can safely say I "completed" this year.
| Game | Platform | Micro Review |
|---|---|---|
| Alien Isolation (2014) | Steam | A well designed stalker horror game. I played on Hardest Difficulty, No Human Enemies run. It was quite a challenge. |
| Amnesia: The Bunker (2023) | Steam | My second favorite Amnesia game. I enjoy replaying through this one and speedrunning it. |
| The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2025) | Steam | It's almost as literal a remaster as possible. Most of the old mechanics are still present, and the few changes that I noticed were either quality-of-life changes or more modern upgrades to earlier systems. They changed the console, though, given the new engine. I hate the new console. And Oblivion keeps the old game's glitches, so you'll need the new engine a fair bit. |
| The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition (2016) Lost Legacy Modpack |
Steam | It's a fun modpack. It's a large modpack, though. Requires a supercomputer to run. Well balanced, but breakable if you dedicate time to figure out how. |
| The Elder Scrolls Online (2014?) | Steam | It's an MMO. I don't play MMOs often, and I played this one solo. It's easier to play on your own than I expected, but it didn't feel as fleshed out story-wise or mechanically compared to other Elder Scrolls games. I only played through the main campaign and some of the side quests. I'll go back to do the rest eventually, I presume. (Also, I played this before they announced a sequel to the main campaign - I own the sequel missions but haven't played it yet) |
| Minecraft | Java (Windows PC) | It's Minecraft. What do you want me to say? Either you like it or you don't. Side note, what do you put for the release year here? |
| Mouthwashing (2024) | Steam | A very dark, metaphorical game. Short, playable in a single session. Only issue is that there's no save feature; you have to play in one session. Also, check the content warnings. |
| Pokémon Legends: Z-A (2025) | Nintendo Switch 2 | Significantly better than I expected (and I already expected to enjoy it). I'll admit I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy the new combat system, but it was a blast. |
| Pokémon Red (1996) | Gameboy (Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console) |
Never been a big fan of the first two generations of Pokémon. Used the speedrun route to beat the game so I can get a Shiny Ditto for Shiny Hunting. Nidoking's neat, I guess? Mine had awful DVs, though (13/9/11/3/0). |
| Resident Evil 2 (1998) | GOG | Technically I played the JP version so I could add some HD mods. Different discussion. One of the best Resident Evil games. Even after all this time, it doesn't lose its touch. It was fun reliving this game, replaying all four scenarios and getting that top ranking on each. Fourth Survivor mode sucked, though. |
| Resident Evil 4 (2023) | Steam | Definitely a remake of Resident Evil 4. Loses most of the campy humor in place of a darker, even more combative experience. Good if that's your type of thing. Mechanically, a great game. I liked playing the game, don't get me wrong, I just miss the humor in the original. Assignment Ada was a blast. Best Mercenaries mode, too. |
| Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse (2016) | Nintendo 3DS | Fun Megami Tensei. Hard Megami Tensei. Worth it Megami Tensei. |
| Silent Hill 4: The Room (2004) | GOG | Wanted to play this game for a while, jumped at the chance to buy it when I saw it was on sale. Fun, simple game. Movement took a bit of time to get used to, but nothing too bad. |
| Silent Hill f (2025) | Steam | This is certainly a Ryukishi07 story. Take that however you will. For me, that's a great thing. Not sure how I felt about combat, though. Puzzles were great, I played that on highest difficulty, the combat just left me frustrated at times, more than normal for action games. |
Hall of Shame
Games I've stopped playing for one reason or another. Hopefully I beat them in time for 2025...
| Game | Platform | Source of Shame |
|---|---|---|
| Pokémon Pearl | Nintendo DS | I'm just lazy, if I'm being honest. Didn't care much for this generation, nor did I care much for the eventual remake on the Switch. I'm only playing through it because I have a shiny Manaphy on my team. |
Hall to Claim
Games I'm actively playing at the moment. Hopefully to move into the Hall of Fame sooner rather than later.
| Game | Platform | Filler Column for Cutting & Pasting Later |
|---|---|---|
| Pokémon Crystal | Gameboy (Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console) |
Honorable Mentions
Games I played this year, but feel weird putting somewhere else.
| Game | Platform | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Do You Copy? | Windows PC (Available on their website or on GameJolt.) |
Short, creepy game where you help a hiker through the woods over a radio call while some creature tries to hunt them down. It's fun, but really short; I completed my first playthrough in less than half an hour. This was made during one of those forty-eight hour game dev competitions. Apparently a ton of YouTubers played it when it was new? I only learned about it through a YouTube video essay. |