John’s Top Ten Games of 2025

In what has been generally accepted as a “pretty bad time”, 2025 was in fact an excellent year for Gamesline. We brought new folks on, got into a better rhythm of posts, and started live streaming the podcast. I would like for us to continue to grow, and I would like for our articles to get more attention!

Please, if you read this, read other articles by our staff. Share posts and dig deeper into the author’s work. We have been around for a long time, and we have a body of work beyond what you see when you click on the article you got posted onto your Bluesky feed. That’s all I can ask of you, and that’s all I will say. Besides the following, which is my cool badass list of video games that I played and thought were good.

10. Digimon Story: Time Stranger

I told you I liked it!!!!! I told you there were aspects that I enjoyed!!! People on Reddit were freaks to me about this game but who cares. I don’t. Anyway dang, they made a Digimon game that you don’t have to be a JRPG pervert to like. I am a JRPG pervert and this was still easier to get through than the previous games. There were a few fun characters and the combat was enjoyable to interface with! I got to ride around on Diaboromon’s back! I feel more hopeful for the future of Digimon than truly in love with this game, but I still had a good time. The DLC is still a huge letdown so far though. 

9. Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army

I will always love interacting with the Shin Megami Tensei universe in all of its forms. A noir-esque detective story set in the Taisho era of Japan? With SMT’s coolest protag of all time (at least top three, Flynn and the Strange Journey Marine are up there)? I’m seated. The combat’s a bit of a mash-fest, but it’s far better than the original PS2 version’s, since it’s based on the updated form it took in the sequel.

Even though its gameplay is a bit lacking compared to other action games, Raidou stands out by telling a story about having pride in your country and not your nation, in which you believe in the people living around you. Going into this, I didn’t know that Raidou was a hero of the people, and that made me love him far more than seeing him in Nocturne and going “woah cool outfit” even though the outfit is REALLY cool. I’m hopeful for another remaster, but I truly want a sequel, to polish what’s here and to tell a new story about why community is worth protecting.

8. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter

Speaking of community, the Trails series is famous for feeling so alive. I remember starting the demo for this remake of the original Trails game and speaking to an NPC. He was ruminating on asking his crush out, and when I returned to him after a bit of progress, he was in the process of proposing a date. I was able to chart their relationship blossoming and evolving as Estelle and Joshua begin their career as peacekeepers. The duo’s adventures across their home country of Liberl introduce them to a variety of people, and the writing supports that their lives continue to exist outside of their interactions with them. 

I enjoy softening up enemies with overworld combat before shifting into turn-based tactics! I love seeing how Estelle and Joshua mature in such a short time as heroes! I love the pacing of the plot that slowly expands the world for both the characters and the player. I need to finish this game completely still, and we need the remake of 2nd at the end of the year to put a bow on the story, but what’s here is strong and I can tell why so many people I know are obsessed with the Trails world. I’m on board now!

7. Donkey Kong Bananza

I have seen a lot of my fellow critics wrestling with their feelings on this game. It’s not deep in the slightest. It’s kinda dumb, honestly, when you think about it for a few minutes. You’re a big ol ape crushing rocks and punching things. You are jumping around and picking up bananas. There’s barely a plot, there’s a ton of nostalgia-bait, and it’s an exclusive on an overly-expensive console released right when America’s economy took a downturn that is only getting worse. Donkey Kong Bananza is a game of excess. But excess rules sometimes. I don’t want a world where people are harmed for the benefit of the elite. I do want a world where people can do dumb shit like buy a game like Bananza without worry. I want the people who make big games like Bananza to be compensated well for their efforts and not rushed. And I want to indulge in a lil nostalgia pandering here and there. JUST SOMETIMES!!!! 

Bananza feels good to play, that’s the long and short of it. Running, punching, digging, surfing, every movement option is a joy to use and a blast to master. What was established by Mario Odyssey is improved with Bananza. I know buying a Switch 2 is a hard ask at the moment, even if you have the money, due to lack of exclusives, but damn does this one make a great case for it. This should’ve been the pack-in instead of Mario Kart.

6. Umamusume: Pretty Derby

I am going to skip the diatribe about how evil gacha games are. I know it, you know it, I will still drink that garbage etc etc etc. There is also the layer on top of this that is horse racing, an often inhumane institution that is based around gambling. I would not blame you if you’re unable to divorce any of this from the goofy horse girl game, and it’s good to be aware of it all even if you are, but hey, I still love this game!

Umamusume has an overwhelming amount of personality. A problem with gacha games is how often you can miss out on a character’s writing and inclusion in the story beyond their introduction if you don’t pull them. Uma does a great job of weaving each character into multiple events and into the stories you actually do play so the cast feels consistently full. If you have a favorite, they will keep showing up, interacting with new additions and the original cast in unique ways. The raising sim gameplay is a nice reminder that we need more Monster Rancher in modern times, and I’ve been having a lovely time connecting further with my friends by cracking jokes about dumb things we imagine the horses doing. A gacha game is obviously carried by its cast, and Uma has one of the best in the business.

5. Blade Chimera

Team Ladybug has finally made a Metroidvania without an outside license, and they did a fantastic job. I wrote a whole dang review about this one, and I ate it up like I have every previous game they’ve released. The pixel art is gorgeous and emotive, there’s a ton of flavor in each gameplay interaction, and the weapons are slick and fun to use. There are a lot of mechanics, but they blend very well and don’t feel overwhelming. Blade Chimera is a new classic that I push everyone to check out. I feel a bit bad that I didn’t get around to Shadow Labyrinth this past year, but you all didn’t talk about Blade Chimera, so I’ll call that even. 

4. Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition

I only kinda enjoyed Xenoblade X for most of its runtime. I would’ve had it on this list, but we wouldn’t be talking about it in the top five if the new chapter wasn’t there. There’s a lot to love here that was in the Wii U version. Customizing your mech is a blast no matter what console you’re doing it on, and the evolving politics of the various alien races on planet Mira lead to thought-provoking, funny, and heartwarming events. By the end of the original story, there’s a slight feeling of emptiness, a feeling of “where does this story go, was the battle this group of people fought worth the effort?” Luckily, the new chapter answers that question in a big way, introducing a new character, Al, who pushes things forward in ways that feel similar to what I loved about Xenoblade 3. As I was playing X, I initially felt interested in a sequel for more mechanical reasons, but now I am truly excited to see what happens with the characters.

3. DELTARUNE Chapters 3+4

Deltarune is hitting the middle of the story, and normally stories can lack standout events in these sections. Deltarune bucks that trend, introducing characters and concepts that have recontextualized everything you’ve experienced so far. Toby Fox and co. made me feel emotions about a television set. One of the coolest characters this year is a Hammer Bro from Mario but old. The high quality Deltarune has set in the past was easily met with the new chapters, and the rest of the story is going to be difficult to wait for. 

2. of the Devil Episodes 0-2

I played episode 0 in 2025, and episode 2 released in 2025 technically. I am going to shout it all out together. Who cares….I do care about how flawless the worldbuilding is in of the Devil. There are articles spread through the environments, and usually these are created to give background to events that aren’t essential. of the Devil expects more from its readers, not only giving you extra points for picking up on the point of articles, but uses the articles actively in the main story. Current events affecting the day to day lives of citizens? It’s like real life!! 

I don’t think a single line of text is superfluous in of the Devil. Character beats are built on while exploring environments. Dumb references are used to humanize someone during stressful moments. I don’t want to claim this will 100% be an all-timer off of a half-released game, but so far I am…”all in”!!!!! Like cards. Because they have poker stuff in this one. 

1. Pokemon Legends: Z-A

I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SO SO SORRY THAT IT’S A MONSTER COLLECTOR I’M SORRY
What else could it have been? It’s always good when Pokemon does new things, and I think Z-A is the perfect experiment with the formula. More active combat with cooldowns instead of turns is a fun choice, especially for me as a Xenoblade fan. Similar to Xenoblade, I appreciate how well a sense of community is formed within Lumiose as time goes on. The player character’s rise up the ranks not only proves their worthiness to wield Mega Evolution, but also brings perhaps Pokemon’s best cast together. I adore that someone like Tarragon, the local game streamer’s construction worker grandpa, has interactions with the ex-criminal barista Grisham that make sense and add onto both of their characters. I will always, ALWAYS love a game that makes me feel at home with its cast, and Z-A does that every time I run into one of the main crew. It also helps that it retroactively patched up some (not all, you can’t fix everything wrong with X/Y without remaking them or going back in time and not cancelling Z) of gen 6’s story issues. Game Freak is getting better and better at making the Pokemon world feel less like a fake place that exists for RPG mechanics to happen in and more locations that human beings would live in lately, and Z-A is the best example of that.