2026 will be remembered as a quietly transformative year for video games. Not because it delivered the most blockbusters, or because every major franchise reinvented itself, but because the medium continued its steady expansion in confidence, ambition and emotional range. This was a year in which cosy games tackled burnout, horror games explored feminism and colonial guilt, sports games abandoned traditional structures, and puzzle designers trusted players to think harder and linger longer than ever before.
From family-friendly Nintendo spectacles to deeply personal indie experiments, the best video games of 2025 revealed a medium unafraid of contradiction: playful yet political, punishing yet tender, accessible yet intellectually demanding. Below is a critical journey through the year’s finest 20 games — works that entertained, challenged and, in several cases, genuinely moved us.
20. Wanderstop
Ivy Road / Annapurna Interactive – PC, PS5, Xbox
On paper, Wanderstop sounds almost perversely gentle: a former arena warrior retreats into a forest to run a teashop. In practice, it becomes one of the year’s most thoughtful meditations on exhaustion, recovery and self-worth.
You play Alta, a fighter whose losing streak has shattered her sense of identity. The forest she stumbles into is vast, colourful and deeply calming, and the mechanics of brewing tea, chatting with travellers and tending to the shop encourage patience rather than optimisation. Wanderstop resists the usual gamified loop of mastery and improvement; instead, it asks players to sit with stillness. In doing so, it offers a quietly radical vision of what progress can look like in games.
19. Expelled!
Inkle – Switch, iOS, Mac, PC
Set in a 1920s all-girls private school, Expelled! begins as a murder mystery and gradually reveals itself as a razor-sharp satire of British class politics. Every interaction, from tense dorm-room conversations to terrifying encounters with the school matron, is steeped in social hierarchy and hidden agendas.
Inkle’s signature narrative design shines here, blending branching dialogue, deduction and moral compromise. The game’s hand-drawn visuals evoke a prestige graphic novel, and its wit is as sharp as its social commentary. Few games this year were as entertaining — or as intellectually cutting.
18. Hades 2
Supergiant Games – PC, Switch
Supergiant’s return to Greek mythology swaps Zagreus for Melinoë, daughter of the underworld, and pits her against Chronos, the titan of time. The core loop remains familiar — repeated runs, incremental upgrades, exquisite combat — but the refinements are substantial.
Melinoë’s spell-based abilities add tactical depth, while the supporting cast of immortals is as charismatic and stylish as ever. Hades 2 manages the rare feat of honouring a beloved original while confidently evolving its mechanics and narrative scope.
17. Grunn
Sokpop Collective – PC
Grunn is a gardening simulator that slowly, almost politely, becomes a horror game. Set in a Dutch village populated by unsettling figures and half-glimpsed secrets, it tasks players with mundane chores — trimming lawns, collecting photos — while dread creeps in at the edges.
The genius of Grunn lies in its restraint. The horror does not announce itself; it seeps. Churches, bunkers and hedgerows become sites of quiet terror. It is one of the most unsettling games of the year precisely because it refuses spectacle.
16. Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders
Megagon Industries – PC, Xbox
Minimalist, beautiful and brutally honest, Snow Riders distils skiing into its purest form: you, the mountain, and gravity. There is no excess here — just pristine snowscapes, simple controls and the ever-present risk of spectacular failure.
Multiplayer introduces light chaos, but the game is at its best alone, testing perseverance and precision. It is both serene and punishing, a reminder that elegance in game design often comes from subtraction, not addition.
15. Donkey Kong Bananza
Nintendo – Switch 2
Nintendo tears up its own rulebook with Donkey Kong Bananza, a platformer that prioritises destruction over precision. Accompanied by Pauline, now reimagined with magical shapeshifting abilities, Donkey Kong smashes through environments with gleeful abandon.
Instead of pixel-perfect jumps, the joy comes from pulverising enemies and terrain alike. It’s anarchic, loud and immensely satisfying — a reminder that Nintendo’s creativity remains boundless when it lets itself get weird.
14. Monster Hunter Wilds
Capcom – PC, PS5, Xbox
Monster Hunter Wilds finally gives Capcom’s legendary beasts the scale they deserve. Its open world — spanning deserts, jungles, volcanic plains and icy peaks — feels genuinely alive, with ecosystems that shape each hunt.
The main story is cinematic and bombastic, but the real magic lies in the post-game, where increasingly challenging hunts test skill, preparation and teamwork. Wilds is Monster Hunter at its most ambitious and exhilarating.
13. Split Fiction
Hazelight Studios / EA – PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox
A co-op adventure about two writers trapped inside each other’s stories, Split Fiction is both mechanically inventive and emotionally sincere. Sci-fi writer Mio and fantasy author Zoe begin as opposites, forced into collaboration across wildly shifting genres and gameplay styles.
Every 20 minutes, the game reinvents itself — from action-heavy space battles to absurd puzzle sequences involving sentient hotdogs. It’s funny, heartfelt and, crucially, demands communication and empathy from its players.
12. The Alters
11 Bit Studios – PC, PS5, Xbox
After crash-landing on a hostile planet, Jan Dolski clones himself to survive — but each clone represents a different life path he could have taken. The Alters blends survival mechanics with existential drama, forcing players to manage not only resources but relationships between alternate selves.
It’s a fascinating exploration of identity, regret and choice, asking uncomfortable questions about who we might have been under different circumstances.
11. Despelote
Panic – PC, PS4/5, Switch, Xbox
Despelote is a sports game without matches, scores or trophies. Instead, it is a semi-autobiographical memory of childhood in Ecuador during the country’s qualification for the 2002 World Cup.
Through small moments — kicking a ball through neighbourhood streets, listening to adults talk — the game captures how football weaves itself into national and personal identity. It is gentle, intimate and quietly profound.
10. Two Point Museum
Two Point Studios / Sega – PC, PS5, Switch 2, Xbox
The Two Point series continues its winning formula with museum management. Players must source exhibits, design galleries and keep visitors entertained, all while juggling staffing, finances and the all-important café menu.
The humour is broad but effective, and beneath the cartoon visuals lies a deeply satisfying strategy game that rewards careful planning and creative layouts.
9. Ghost of Yotei
Sucker Punch / Sony – PS5
Ghost of Yotei wears its samurai tropes proudly, delivering elegant, accessible action in a stunning open world. Atsu’s revenge quest unfolds amid falling leaves, burning bridges and serene moments of reflection.
It is unashamedly familiar, but executed with such polish and confidence that it becomes a joy to inhabit. Sometimes, mastery lies not in reinvention, but refinement.
8. Death Stranding 2
Kojima Productions / Sony – PS5
Hideo Kojima doubles down on strangeness in Death Stranding 2, relocating the action to an apocalyptic Australia. The narrative remains opaque, but the world-building is extraordinary, blending haunting landscapes with deeply tactile traversal.
It is a game to sink into slowly, one that rewards patience and curiosity. Few developers create worlds as singular as Kojima’s.
7. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Sandfall / Keplar – PC, PS5, Xbox
This extravagantly French RPG follows a band of melancholic survivors attempting to kill a supernatural painter who erases a generation each year. It is surreal, melodramatic and often self-indulgent — but also bold and strangely hopeful.
Its willingness to embrace emotional excess makes it stand out in a crowded genre.
6. Consume Me
Hexecutable – PC
Consume Me is a darkly funny, deeply uncomfortable satire of teenage life in the 2000s. Balancing school, dieting, family pressure and social expectations becomes a juggling act of mini-games and internal monologues.
Its absurd presentation masks a sharp critique of body image culture and adolescent anxiety. Few games capture the feeling of being overwhelmed quite so vividly.
5. Mario Kart World
Nintendo – Switch 2
Mario Kart World expands the beloved series into a semi-open world, connecting 30 circuits with explorable highways. The result is both familiar and fresh, retaining the series’ accessibility while adding a sense of discovery.
With a superb soundtrack and endlessly replayable design, it is destined to become a family classic.
4. The Seance of Blake Manor
Spooky Doorway / Raw Fury – PC
Part detective mystery, part folk horror, this 19th-century Irish ghost story is rich in atmosphere and ideas. As you investigate a disappearance, the game slowly reveals themes of class, belief and colonialism.
It is chilling without excess, thoughtful without preachiness — a rare balance.
3. Silent Hill f
NeoBards / Konami – PC, PS5, Xbox
Set in 1960s Japan, Silent Hill f reimagines the franchise through feminist horror and folklore. Written by Ryukishi07, it delivers disturbing imagery and emotionally charged storytelling.
It honours the series’ legacy while pushing it into unsettling new territory.
2. Hollow Knight: Silksong
Team Cherry – PC, PS4/5, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox
Silksong is brutal, beautiful and uncompromising. Its decaying world of Pharloom is filled with despair, danger and moments of transcendent triumph.
Its extreme difficulty will repel some, but for those who persist, it offers unforgettable discoveries and hard-earned victories. A masterpiece that demands everything — and gives just as much back.
1. Blue Prince
Dogubomb / Raw Fury – PC, PS5, Xbox
At the top of 2026’s list sits Blue Prince, an almost endlessly inventive puzzle game set in a mansion that changes layout daily. Each room is a choice, each path a risk, and every run deepens your understanding of its mysteries.
As notebooks fill with sketches and theories, Blue Prince reveals itself as one of the most intelligent and atmospheric puzzle games ever made. Even after dozens of hours, it continues to surprise. It is unforgettably clever — and the defining game of the year.