Game of the Year 2025: Donkey Kong Bananza Takes the Crown

Top Games of 2025

• 🏆 CNET editors, along with ZDNet, PC Meg, Lifehacker, and Mashable, voted on the best games of 2025, with only one earning the title of Game of the Year.
• 💡 The year offered a diverse range of titles across platforms, catering to various player preferences from shooters to platformers.

Hades 2

• 🏛️ The follow-up to a critically acclaimed 2020 game, Hades 2 features a new twist on Greek mythology with players as Melaninoi, daughter of Hades.
• ⚔️ It expands on the original's combat and roguelike structure with additions like spellcrafting, deck building, and animal companions.

Split Fiction

• 🤝 A cooperative platformer where players must perfectly sync jumps and attacks, featuring constantly changing characters and abilities.
• 🌍 One player navigates the world while the other controls it, creating platforms and obstacles to aid progression.

Ghost of Yōtei™

• 👻 The sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, this samurai ninja revenge tale follows Atsu hunting down his family's murderers.
• 🐺 Players can unlock new weapons, team up with a wolf companion, and engage in combat across various environments.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

• 🦋 The highly anticipated sequel to Hollow Knight, starring Hornet, introduces harder bosses, deadlier environments, and improved gameplay mechanics.
• 🎯 The game demands split-second precision in its platforming challenges, often leading to intense live-streamed attempts.

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

• 🚚 Sam Bridges returns to connect Mexico and Australia, partnering with a baby that can detect supernatural threats.
• 🌟 Praised for its compelling narrative, great performances from stars like Norman Reedus and Elle Fanning, and impressive visuals.

Dispatch

• 🦸‍♂️ A choose-your-own-adventure game where Robert Robertson III, a superhero, must manage a team of soup-powered heroes from an office job.
• 🎭 Features a touching found-family story with excellent voice performances from Aaron Paul, Jeffrey Wright, and Laura Bailey.

Monster Hunter Wilds

• 🐉 The next evolution of the Monster Hunter franchise, featuring larger bosses and more dynamic hunting mechanics.
• ⛈️ Weather plays a significant role, adding environmental challenges and unpredictability to hunts.

Blue Prince

• 🧩 A puzzle adventure game set in a shifting mansion, described as a blend of Myst with logic-based problems and complex enigmas.
• 📝 Players will need to take notes to keep track of clues and solve intricate puzzles.

Clair Obscur Expedition 33

• 💀 A fast-paced, turn-based RPG where a team journeys across a wasteland to stop an evil paintress who kills people based on their age.
• ❤️ Features a heartbreaking story underscored by strong performances from Charlie Cox, Andy Serkis, and Jennifer English.

Donkey Kong Bananza

• 🍌 The official Game of the Year 2025, this whimsical adventure features Donkey Kong and Pauline collecting bananas.
• 🧱 The ability to dig into almost any terrain offers broad options for platforming challenges, making it accessible to a wide audience.

Metroid Prime 4 Beyond (Honorable Mention)

• 🌌 An honorable mention due to its late December release, Metroid Prime 4 Beyond is a masterful maze with environmental puzzles and atmospheric extraterrestrial artwork.
• 🧠 Samus gains new psychic powers, adding a fresh spin to classic weapons and encouraging players to "open their third eye" to find the path forward.