Hooked Gamers' Game of the Year 2025
Feature
The Hooked Gamers team reveal their favourite titles from 2025
2025 Gaming in Review
What a year it has been. PC Gaming in 2025 has given us a year with a huge variation in genres. It started strong with the sweeping historical realism of Kingdom Come: Deliverance II and the long-awaited PC arrival of Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, before we spent hundreds of hours chasing "just one more turn" in Civilization VII. Throughout the year, our review desk was kept busy with everything from the intense, grounded action of Human Within to the heavy-metal carnage of Doom: The Dark Ages.
But 2025 wasn't just about the massive blockbusters. We found ourselves equally obsessed with the weird and wonderful side of the industry. Whether we were navigating the surreal, crystalline world of Skate Story, dealing with the sheer absurdity of Tingus Goose, or cleaning up the streets in the high-octane Shotgun Cop Man, there was truly something for every kind of player on the Hooked Gamers team this year.
By the holiday season began, we had a new wave of heavy hitters vying for our attention. We took a trip back to the Roman Empire with the intricate city-building of Anno 117: Pax Romana, explored the shadows of feudal Japan in Assassin's Creed Shadows, and taking a chaotic, high-seas detour in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. The visually stunning Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and the gritty atmosphere of Mafia: The Old Country only made our final decisions even more difficult.
While we'd love to present a unified front, the sheer variety of gaming experiences in 2025 made finding a single consensus nearly impossible. Rather than debating in the Hooked Gamers' offices until well into 2026, we’ve given every member of the Hooked Gamers staff the floor to champion their own personal standout. It's a diverse list that reflects our team's eclectic tastes, and we’ll leave it to you to decide which of us made the right call.
Here are our favourites...
Borderlands 4 (William)
While I spent more time conquering empires in Civilization VII, found myself hopelessly addicted to Ball x Pit, and was captivated by the gritty narrative of Mafia: The Old Country, the time I spent in Borderlands 4 was the most pure fun I had all year. (Though, I must give a nod to the Early Access title Heroes of Valor, which would have been a serious contender had it reached full release this year).
Yes, it is "more Borderlands," but there is little reason to fix a formula that works so well. This iteration takes us to the newly discovered planet of Kairos, which boasts a distinctive look and a diverse array of creatures that feel fresh, even if the core loop remains comfortably familiar. I particularly appreciated the shift toward a less juvenile sense of humour and the introduction of seamless maps. Despite the occasional stutter when transitioning between areas, the improved traversal abilities provide a real sense of freedom. The new Digi-runner makes crossing the landscape a breeze, as does your companion, Echo-4—who essentially acts as the Borderlands version of Google Maps, expertly guiding you toward your next objective.
I have to admit, my enjoyment was amplified by the fact that I played through the entire campaign in co-op with my daughter. With four distinct Vault Hunters and deep, rewarding skill trees to explore, we have spent hours combining our abilities to take down the TimeKeepers' forces. That shared experience is what gaming is all about. For its polish, its scale, and the memories it helped create, Borderlands 4 is my favourite game of 2025.
Escape Simulator 2 (Daniel)
Pine Studio's newest escape room simulation raises the stakes both visually and mechanically. Escape Simulator 2 walks a fine line, balancing the gameplay experience to not only accommodate, but outright enthrall, both newcomers and escape room connoisseurs alike. With atmospheric locales, intricate cooperative puzzles, and vividly immersive set pieces, there is little to complain about here, save for bemoaning the currently-limited number of levels included in the core experience. However, given the developer's previous history of extensive longterm content updates, this singular drawback will likely be erased sooner rather than latter. At only $19.99, Escape Simulator 2 offers the best virtual escape room simulator on the market, at an insanely lower price point than its real-life counterparts.
Baby Steps (Jordan)
More than previous years, 2025 stands out as one where the games that "hit" with me were predominantly outside of the zeitgeist, despite there being a ton of high-quality popular games. My entire top 10, outside of exceptions Battlefield 6 and 'almost recipient of this prestigious award' Arc Raiders, looks back most fondly on games that felt like passion projects filled with the type of charm (and jank) that you usually only find in small-budget titles, many of which I had the pleasure of reviewing right here. It was also a year filled with emotional resonance, one which I'll probably look back on even further removed as an encapsulation of my life at this point in time and the things I have been focusing on. With that theme coming through as I built the unordered list the standout favorite became immediately clear.
Baby Steps still feels like an illusion, even after a handful of completed runs. Not only were my concerns about difficulty overblown, but my expectations for its actual content were completely blown away. I found the difficulty of its gimmick-adjacent walking system to be expertly-tuned to allow me to master the game's physics and momentum without pushing myself too hard. At some point I was no longer even thinking about the steps I was taking, and occasionally that bit me in the butt, too. I found it refreshing that I could get those little reminders of my complacency as I slowly tumbled or slid down a mountain, because those reminders in games often come in combat scenarios where additional variables make up the difference in success and failure, not my own hubris. In Baby Steps, it's more focused on your own abilities, and staying within your own bounds by not trying to move too quickly, even as the terrain does change and offer slightly differing variables. It moves so far beyond the initial gimmick. I enjoyed every minute of the challenge and felt constantly rewarded for getting better with new landscapes and mysteries, even as I'd walk by optional challenge puzzle after option challenge puzzle until I felt truly ready to turn and face them. I was able to take the game as meditative as I wanted in each particular moment, and dial up the difficulty essentially as I saw fit. It's also the first time in a very long time, possibly ever, where I made the game more difficult for myself with no promise of reward outside of personal satisfaction. I took a relatively early game item that changes the game to first-person up the mountain, transforming mildly-challenging spots into extremely-challenging ones, and I now stand at the foot of the infamous "Manbreaker" with additional stories to tell. Rest assured this first-person man will not be broken, but in all honesty I've been standing there for almost two months now.
While the gameplay has that baseline level of challenge that I enjoy, its story is packed with so much more heart and value than I ever expected. On its face the story is about putting one foot in front of the other, the sheer act of moving forward to overcome obstacles through tenacity and perseverance. It's a basic moral that applies nearly everywhere. But dig deeper (climb higher?) and you get to ruminations on depression, anxiety, personal identity, accepting help, and so much more. Baby Steps disarms you with its goofy, often deeply hateable characters while having "real conversations." I'd be a liar (and I think most people would be, too) if I didn't say that not asking for help has made mountains out of mole hills in my own life. Likewise if I didn't say that there were times where I deeply wanted to give up at any number of things. Baby Steps knows those feelings and conveys them outward in a way that elicits a "yeah, that really is silly that I did that, isn't it?" response. The ultimate self reflection. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that Baby Steps surprised me more than anything else I can remember. It's this piece of gaming that I hold in high regard, that held up a giant mirror to my own character flaws, past and present, and did so with grace and affirms a "you got this" attitude. It's my favorite game of the year because it feels tailor-made to me, but, of course, everyone will receive it differently. That's the beauty of art. And Baby Steps is art.
Hollow Knight - Silksong (Samuel)
The long-awaited sequel to one of the greatest Metroidvanias of all time surpasses its illustrious peer in nearly every dimension. A larger world, a bigger roster of unique enemies, a huge number of intense boss fights, and a plethora of unique environments. Moreover, everything here has been rendered in loving, exquisite detail. Silksong is Hollow Knight on steroids. Though where the game really shines compared to its illustrious predecessor is in the reworked combat system, which gives you a huge number of distinct options for tackling the game's many demanding fights. It's unbelievable that Silksong managed to live up to 8 years' worth of hype, and even more unbelievable that they are only charging $20 for this masterpiece.
The only reasonable quibble that someone could have with the game is that perhaps the developers are a bit too keen on trolling their player-base with insidious traps and fake-out safe havens. Personally, I don't mind it at all, but then again, I'm the kinda weirdo who unironically loves Sen's Fortress in the original Dark Souls.
Dispatch (Quinn)
As I mentioned in my full review, Dispatch might not be a perfect game, but it's perfect for me. Superhero video games are nothing new, but Dispatch stands out for eschewing constant action in favour of a surprisingly poignant, well-written, and beautifully acted tale of redemption with a corporate twist. The lack of much "game" isn't going to work for everyone, but the characters are just so darned memorable that it doesn't matter.
The best way to describe Dispatch is that it's like a superhero Telltale game that finally delivers on the promises of that episodic, choose-your-own-adventure genre. The comparison is particularly apt given that AdHoc Studio is made up of several former Telltale developers, and they've clearly used the opportunity of a fresh IP to deliver something special. While there are stretches of the titular "dispatch" gameplay in each of the eight episodes, in which Robert is tasked with assigning superheroes to crises around the city based on their personalities and stats, the good stuff is in the narrative and the characters that surround it.
Rehabilitated supervillains aren't a unique concept, but Dispatch's Z-Team is simply delightful. Perhaps more impressive than anything is that they're brought to life by a mix of established voice actors and new-to-the-scene internet personalities. Influencers don't always transition well to acting - voice or otherwise - but there isn’t a single character in the game who comes off as poorly acted. The more established names deliver some of their best work as well, and the result is simply top-tier.
Sometimes my opinions on a game soften with time, but when I think about the best games of 2025, I can't stop thinking about Dispatch. Whatever AdHoc has planned next - whether it's Dispatch related or not - I'll be buying it day one.
Shotgun Cop Man (James)
Back in April, I thought the philosophical remaster of The Talos Principle: Reawakened would be unbeatable. The perplexing puzzles, the introspection, the level of maturity, the worldbuilding, how could anything top this masterpiece. And yet, the one thing the remaster was missing, the one thing I craved more than anything; the absurd Serious Sam DLC that replaces the artful writing and godlike voiceover with the asinine Serious Sam.
2025 understood the absurd, from the acid trip that was Moroi through to the furniture-dating Date Everything! But I wasn't satisfied. However, there was one man who understood me. One man and his quest for justice. One man and his journey through the nine circles of hell. One shotgun, one cop, one man: Shotgun Cop Man. The precision propulsion platforming. The tight mechanics. The flow. Satan in a fishnet top. How is this not perfection?!
Shotgun Cop Man reminds me of what so many games have forgotten: fun. Everything about it is fun. There are no ulterior motives, there's no dystopian commentary, you're an untextured Blender asset and you're here to arrest Satan. Enjoy.
Farming Simulator 25 (Howie)
The most recent release in this farming franchise actually made its appearance at the very end of 2024, but missed our cut off. The basic game mechanic features the farming of grains and vegetables in locations such as North America, Central Europe and East Asia has been expanded to include other subject matter such as logging and fishing.
Even though logging was touched on in the initial release, it was never delved into in great detail. The release of the Silver Run Forest free DLC package in February 2025 made logging the main focus of the farming experience. Farming and animal husbandry were relegated to secondary interest in the new scenario. However, all of the original farming equipment and buildings are still available, but in this new scenario, the Silver Run Forest map and its accompanying content dominate the game experience. Farming Simulator 2025 marked the beginning of logging becoming the main focus in the game in that year. Now just recently in November 2025 Giants has introduced the concept of fishing as a way of doing business and that is the newest main focus. All the others, including logging have been relegated to secondary importance but they are still available on a new map in Scotland!
Farming Simulator 25 has become an evolving production and Giants - in a very insightful manner of game production - has taken the 2025 game and turned it into a franchise of its own and all in a single year! Farm Sim 25 contains massive modding possibilities with tons of user created farm machines, buildings, maps and much more. It is simply unbelievable the amount of content that is available for this game. The game presents an in-depth look at not just being able to plow a field and then wait for corn to grow, it provides the game player with the opportunity to enter into other work related occupations. Because all of it comes with an extreme level of realism in both visuals and inner game workings, it's no wonder why Farm Sim 25 has already surpassed the 4 million sales mark and the year still isn't over.
Farming Simulator 25 isn't just my best game of the year 2025 it has to be one of the best games I have played in a long time. It has been a game that I have stuck with long after my completed review. So three cheers for Giants and Farm Simulator 25, truly is a Game Of The Year in my books.
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