Special mention courtesy of the Mrs: Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. She plays just a handful of games per year, and @kingdomcomerpg.bsky.social took her from April till November to finish – and she _still_ talks about it. Even I didn't get that much attention. I guess it's really good!

Keeper. This is hands-down the most breathtakingly beautiful and gorgeous game I've played in a very long time. It also surprised me in many ways: in its story, gameplay, aesthetics and more. Fever dream of a game, and I couldn't get enough of it. God bless @doublefine.com.

Doom: The Dark Ages. I see Doom = I like. Feel like it went underappreciated, and there's some clusmly, bloated parts indeed, but single-player FPS, and done with such prowess, sense of style and excellence, are an endangered species nowadays. Hoping for Quake to follow next.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. I mean, what else to say? I guess what makes me happy the most is that this game and this studio is an inspiration for all who want to make games on their own terms and following their own vision. Triumph fully deserved.

Split Fiction. Finished it with my wife and two of us had more fun than with 90% of movies and TV shows we watched together in 2025. @hazelightgames.bsky.social is a rare breed of game studios that must be preserved and well financed no matter what.

And Roger. Subtle small game that's part visual novel, part puzzle that packs such a strong emotional punch you'll be feeling it for some time. Probably the biggest surprise of the year. Damn...

Donkey Kong Bananza. This game alone is enough to justify buying Switch 2. Nintendo at the top of their game, again. Besides being a technological marvel, it's an endlessly fun, loud and gorgeous game that keeps getting better with every level.

Also damn I miss meaty manuals in the box. Not so much for the “usefulness”, but more for visual design and additional tidbits of lore. This GameCube booklet for example gave a neat succinct story recap which is somewhat absent form the game itself.

What stroke me most this time is the delicate balance between a feeling of haunted desolation and loneliness, and a sense of adventure where you’re basically a sci-fi Indiana Jones looking for hidden artifacts, scanning abandoned temples for clues and spelunking. True classic.

Not sure tbh. Played it on Switch and kept the app running when putting the system in sleep mode.

And Foundation too!

Glad to see you here, chef 😊