My Most Anticipated Titles of 2025
2024 comes to an end and 2025 starts. With it, it's bringing a whole new slate of video games for us to get our hands on, too many to count. Here's a selection of the games I'm excited for releasing next year
Elden Ring: Nightreign
Well it was nice for the other games on the list but they were all there before FromSoftware announced a new title to be released in the next six months. Potentially infinite replay-ability, Game of the Year might have been decided before the year even started.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A
The general consensus in the community is that Legends Arceus was the big shakeup that the Pokemon series needed. Personally I liked Scarlet and Violet, as much as it didn’t want me to enjoy it but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t very excited for Z-A. We don’t know anything about it other than it taking place in near future(?) Kalos. There’s speculation on the starters including Piplup and Snivy but the reveal might not be until Pokemon day 2025. At this point, you’re probably looking at a Switch 2 launch title.
Clair Obscur Expedition 33
Coming out of nowhere and onto everybody’s radar, this JRPG already looks good with it's sharp visuals and sense of style backed up by a pretty interesting story. It's a shorter RPG too, blessed be.
Darksiders Next
I used to pray for times like these. The Darksiders games are definitely what I would consider underrated. None of them are masterpieces but the ever shifting genre combined with interesting spins of Christian creation myth as well as banging music and voice acting, it’s one of the best in the early AA space. I’ve been waiting for them to announce the sequel for ages now, finally (hopefully) moving the narrative forwards. We don’t have anything other than confirmation of its existence but for now, that’s good enough for me.
Mafia: The Old Country
I used to pray for – well not quite, but I’m still excited by the news. Linear, well written crime stories are remarkably rare since everyone wants to chase the dust left behind by Grand Theft Auto. What we have here is Mafia goodness seemingly by the way of something like Red Dead Redemption. I’m feeling something with a very strong narrative. Hopefully they stick to the summer release date.
Industria 2
Back when I played the first one in 2022, I put it in my GOTY list as the special mention dedicated to games that won’t be on traditional lists and are probably objectively not great but I enjoyed them anyways. The sequel looks to expand upon everything from the first game, so much so it makes the first look like a tech demo rather than a released game. I enjoyed the first as I said so the sequel hopefully doesn’t do away with much of the charm in the pursuit of a “Better” game.
The Alters
Part action game, part management game and full philosophical conundrum, I've been waiting for The Alters for a good little while now and I'm sure it's close to release now. The little snippet of demo I tried solidified to me that the game should hopefully be as good as the concept.
FBC Firebreak
Remedy show no sign of stopping down thanks to the success of Control and Alan Wake II. With that comes a three player co-op shooter set in The Oldest House, the setting of Control. While I'm not immediately sold I am willing to give Remedy the benefit of the doubt and give it an honest go. It does look fun, I’m just apprehensive about this kind of game.
Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra
Despite their movie dominance, Marvel haven't done a whole lot capitalise on the games front in any major capacity. Sure there's a bunch of mobile games but in terms of home console releases - Insomniacs Spider-Man is doing well but is stumbling a little for fans, no one played Guardians of the Galaxy which is a shame because that was really good and Avengers just kind of fell flat on its face. All that said, a WW2 Marvel game starring Captain America and a previous host of Black Panther (alongside a couple of soldier types) has a lot of potential. Not a lot known about it yet but could be in line for a big blow out in Summer.
Promise Mascot Agency
I find myself leaning more towards weirder games, one of them being this bizarre title that has an ex Yakuza member being put in charge of taking care of giant sentient mascots. It looks… just bizarre and I honestly can't wait.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
A franchise I’ve never actually gotten around to playing. I own the remaster collection but I figure at this point I should just wait for this remake. Once upon a time I would have recoiled at the idea but I’m getting less anal about it. Much like with Silent Hill 2 recently – that was remade because it was the most popular and also standalone whereas Snake Eater is the first chronologically. I get the feeling I’ll either bounce straight off of this game or I’ll become obsessed. Hopefully the latter.
South of Midnight
The lack of release date makes me think we might see simultaneous release on both Xbox and Playstation. Even if we have to wait, I’d be happy to do so since the game looks incredibly unique thematically. There’s not many games set in a fantasy Louisiana as far as I’m aware which may do a lot to cover for more simplistic gameplay.
Monster Hunter Wilds (28/2)
Monster Hunter is one of those series that always seemed a bit intimidating to me. Even now, I see the game and think that’s a full commitment type of game. This is the first console based Monster Hunter game I’m going to be around for the release of and I’m willing to give it a solid try. Better yet, I’m off for the day of and the weekend following.
Lost Records: Bloom and Rage (18/2, 18/3)
Its Life is Strange but instead of it being about teenage lesbians it’s about 30-something year old Lesbians. That might seem like a facetious description but there’s little else we know about the game, save for the oddly specific time frame given in universe being the same as that in IT. It’s coming from the original Life is Strange developers so you can get a good idea from there. The choice to split into two parts is interesting, if part 1 doesn’t do well then part 2 isn’t going to do well but the reverse is also true
Donkey Kong Country Returns (16/1)
I’ve already played DKC Returns back on the Wii and I’ve played its sequel on Switch. I look forward to playing both this and Tropical Freeze back to back in a double billing of 100%. You’ll be hard pressed to find better 2D Platformers than these two (Save for maybe the originals which I still need to get around to).
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (April?)
Out now on XBOX but not until Spring 2025 on my platform of choice, the PS5. The game seems to have reviewed incredibly well which is great to see. I’m still not 100% sold on it being first person but it’s not a deal breaker by any means. I’m avoiding footage where I can as it’s something to look forward to.
Showa American Story
I had no idea this game existed until it appeared on IGN Japan’s IGN FIRST news coverage and now that I know about it I can't wait. You play as a Stunt Woman who has been assassinated and revived in a world where Japan and the US are linked nations with a lot more shared culture. The concept seems fittingly bizarre and intriguing and I can't wait to see more.
GHOSTS
While they may not have the budgets of AAA games, Indies are granted the benefit of not having corporate lords to please. Indie games can be niche and different, maybe even exclusionary in this case. The game is playable obviously playable but isn’t ~really~ playable until 22:00 local time to add to the spookiness. The concepts there in do sound interesting so I hope the game doesn’t squander it with somewhat of a gimmicky restriction.
Reanimal and Little Nightmares 3
It's very amusing Tarsier Studios decided to move on and make Reanimal which is very Little Nightmares like while the publisher has given Little Nightmares 3 to another studio. Both games feature co-op and both will be releasing near enough to each other. No matter which game is better, me and Jade are winning either way.
The Midnight Walk
If Little Nightmares and Reanimal aren’t quite what your thing but you still want something that strikes a similar vibe then maybe The Midnight Walk will take your fancy. Instead of big cities and bizarre humans hunting down small children, you’re a little burning pot fella in a world of monsters. I don’t know if the game is VR with optional flat or vice versa but it’s nice to have both options.
Split Fiction (6/3)
The next game from Josef Fares and Hazelight, the masterminds behind Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, A Way Out and It Takes Two. It’s a classic mix of Sci-Fi and Fantasy which seems like a perfect setting for the type of games these are. Having it come out so soon after announcement is a big bonus too.
Stage Fright
While there was only a reveal trailer at The Game Awards, I’m already looking forward to trying it out. Escape room by the way of Luigi’s Mansion already sounds charming, hopefully it’s not an exercise in frustration like Overcooked – the developer’s previous game which they humorously pointed out in the trailer.
Dispatch
Telltale makes a Superhero Dispatch game is quite the sales pitch. Mix it with an all-star line up of voice actors and you've got a pretty stellar sounding project. Since Wolf Among Us 2 is AWOL (Maybe it will release next year, ha), this looks to be your choice based narrative game of choice. Bonus if you like superheroes.
Exodus
From the creators of Mass Effect comes… Mass Effect. Just from a different studio. Given the long development times of games and the apparent failures of Mass Effect Andromeda (I’ve not played the series), it’s up to the original creators to make new studios and develop old ideas. All that is kind of irrelevant to the fact the game looks really interesting and fun.
Mixtape
While I didn’t like the first game from these developers – The Artful Escape - that much, I’m still excited about this one. It’s another game in the kind of Life is Strange vibe if Lost Records doesn’t do it for you. There’s no supernatural element here other than the magic of 80’s music and the power of friendship.
Cronos: The New Dawn
Hot on the heels of the good will garnered from Silent Hill 2 Remake, Bloober announced their next title - Cronos: The New Dawn. Despite the generic title, the game is looking really interesting. Visually a slightly grimier Dead Space, the plot involves time travel and the like. Interesting to see how it all goes.
The Stone of Madness (28/1)
From the developers of Blasphemous comes a stealth tactics game about escaping a monastery housing the insane in 18th Century Spain. The concept alone is pretty intriguing and the fact each of the five characters has mental peculiararities that can alter things makes this one to watch out for.
Sniper Elite Resistance (28/1)
Must be easy to be a Sniper Elite fan considering new games come out every two weeks or so. There's not that much narrative connection between the lot so now’s as good a time as any to jump into the series.
Two Point Museum (4/3)
Jade is quite a fan of Two Point Hospital, the first in this renewed version of the franchise. I've not played any of them and did consider going through Hospital and Campus first but then thought ah hell, why not just play from the newest one instead. The others may feel simplistic by comparison if I ever play them but that's the price you pay.
Atomfall
Perhaps less Fallout in England and more like Atomic Heart perhaps. Regardless this is what Rebellion has been working on instead of Sniper Elite and I'm cautiously optimistic about it thanks to it's cool setting and /obvious/ design inspirations.
Hotel Barcelona
Not every game needs to be a hotly anticipated masterpiece in the making, sometimes a game can be schlocky and lower budget but still be a ton of fun. That’s the vibe I get from Hotel Barcelona which is a game about going to a hotel populated by killers based on movie tropes.
Terminator: Survivors
I'm a big fan of Terminator and RoboCop from these developers but the move to a multiplayer style game does have me a little worried. This is a kind of bite the bullet and see how it goes kind of pick for me.
Ghost of Yotei
I did wonder how they'd manage a sequel to Ghost of Tsushima given the very specific setting but it seems the solution was to make a new protagonist in a new setting. I'm happy to see where things go when we get further information beyond reveal. Supposedly coming in 2025 but I doubt it.
Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road
Why am I interested in a Japanese football RPG? I don’t know, I might not be but there’s just something vibey about it. There’s a demo I could try but I’m weird about demos at times. Chalk this one up as a maybe for now.
GOTHIC Remake
Cult classic RPG getting a million delays and having developmental trouble? It's more likely than you think. Between this and KOTOR, there's been a lot of waiting. I could play the original Gothic but the setting is so up my alley that I can't wait to sink my teeth into it. Provided it ever comes out.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
I'm interested in this one purely for the momentous occasion of it's launch. It's been stuck in a development purgatory for a good while now. The game will either be a disaster or it'll beat all odds and be a fantastic release that does remarkably well. I personally hope for the latter as I am definitely interested in playing.
Judas and Bioshock 4
A bit like the aforementioned Reanimal and Little Nightmares 3, there's probably going to be a bit of a race to see which of these two will be out first. Bioshock is Ken Levine’s baby but he won't be involved in the long gestating development of Bioshock 4 which is rumoured to be set in 1960’s Antarctica. Meanwhile Ken Levine’s game Judas is meant to be out in the next 3 months. It's a sci-fi more Rogue like title than traditional title. Time will tell what comes out on top.
Silent Hill f? Silent Hill Townfall?
As part of 4Gamer’s interviews with 15 different Japanese developers, Motoi Okamoto made allusions to having updates on these two projects in 2025. Whether or not that means they’ll both see release next year is another matter entirely. If I had to make an optimistic guess – announcement in Spring, Townfall in the Summer and finally Silent Hill f in October to round out the year.
Next Grasshopper Game
In the same set of interviews as above, the next title from Grasshopper Studios is set to be both revealed and released next year. We don’t know anything about it but studio pedigree demands attention and it’ll probably just be good anyways.
Grand Theft Auto VI
Whether you’re actively excited for the game or not, there’s no denying that upon release and the months following, Grand Theft Auto VI is going to absolutely dominate any and all video game discussion so you may as well get on board. I wouldn’t say I’m hyped for the game, honestly if this list was tiered it’d probably be near the bottom but there’s no denying the cultural impact this series has. It’s an event you want to be around for.
Nier 4?
This might have come about in the twice aforementioned interviews but regardless it seems like this is the closest to official confirmation that something else is coming for the Nier franchise (more than the recently shuttered mobile title Nier Reincarnation, which is technically Nier 3). I bounced of Automata originally but loved Replicant so I'm looking to try Automata again to fully prepare myself.
Any number of Switch 2 games
As sure the sun will rise tomorrow, there’s going to be a new 3D Mario, a new Zelda game – the long gestating Wind Waker and Twilight Princess ports perhaps. A new IP like Splatoon or Arms could very well be on the table, or perhaps just an evolution on the Splatoon IP. Even knowing when they were going to talk about Switch 2 would be nice.
Of course there's more I could have talked about, a range of PC titles, potential ports I think are due, mods for the Souls game. Save for any delays, you can see all of these games on the site next year!
