Reid Main

According to social media, 2025 was one of the best years ever for video games. But when I look back nothing really leaps out at me. I spent ludicrous amounts of money on new releases but derived more enjoyment by replaying games from previous years. That's not to say 2025 was bad only that, to me, the games were effectively empty calories. A vice used to kill time which could have been replaced with any number of other non-physically destructive activities. I hate to think of the sheer number of Gundams or LEGO models I could have built if I spent all of my time and money on them instead.

But just to make sure that we are on the same page, I do not think video games are a waste of time. I love them and will continue to use them as one of my primary ways to relax and release stress. It just feels like the industry is in a bit of a rut. Development costs are skyrocketing and user attention is harder to both grab and maintain. It is difficult to build something truly ground breaking when you are trying to support everything from the Nintendo Switch to GeForce RTX 5090 so you can reach the largest userbase. It will be interesting to see if Grand Theft Auto VI breaks the trend in 2026. But until then you can read about the single game released in 2025 that I really enjoyed.

1. Monster Train 2

The first Monster Train was my third favourite game of 2021 and funnily enough both games ahead of it also released sequels in 2025. But this time around it came out the victor as Monster Train 2 easily grabbed and held my attention over Monster Hunter Wilds and Hades II.

From this point onwards Monster Train 2 is going to be my goto example of the perfect iterative sequel. When the vast majority of developers release a hit they feel like they need to completely rethink what their game is for the sequel. That isn't an inherently bad thing but those moonshots sometimes break what made the game enjoyable in the first place. The developers at Shiny Shoe simply took everything great about the first Monster Train, sanded off all of the rough edges, and added just enough new mechanics to make things feel fresh and entertaining without becoming overwhelming and daunting. While playing Monster Train 2 you basically unlock the ability to play Monster Train 1 so it is even one of those sequels where I would say you can just jump straight into it without playing the first. These are the exact opposite feelings I had for Hades II where, in my opinion, Supergiant Games pushed things too far and created a grindy mess that made me yearn for the first game.

The best praise I can give Monster Train 2 is that it is now in the top 10 of my most played games on Steam. There is also a really good chance I'll boot it up again on my Steam Deck in 2026 and move it even further up that list.

2. Ball x Pit

After I had drafted, edited, and published this article I remembered I played 45 hours of Ball x Pit on my Steam Deck in December and it was some of the most fun I had all year. Not exactly a glowing recommendation when I somehow forget but I swear it is good. A rogue-like that is effectively brick breaker crossed with XCOM's geoscape, it makes great design choices that allow the player to mitigate the inherent randomness of these games.