On: PlayStation 5

This wasn't the best game I played in 2025, nor was it really my favorite. So why at the top of my list? Well, I adored it nonetheless, so it isn't as if I placed it on here just because. But the things this game does with puzzles and the rougelite genre I can't say I've ever seen done before. Tons found this a frustrating experience, and I can totally see that. Especially for folks that only have so much time and money to devote to this hobby. But it's been so long since I've really, TRULY used a journal to jot down thoughts and notes while I was playing. Like TUNIC, but without the need to worry about weapons and skills. All pure brain power, much more reminiscent of a Myst-style game (though MUCH less obtuse!).

On: PC/Windows

There isn't much to this gameplay-wise, but this is an amazing bit of presentation for a horror experience. I can't say that I ever fully was "scared" while playing the game, but the story is intense with interesting character relationships that I adored, and you can tell others did too as there's a large community still making fanart of this one. I don't even go searching for it, it just shows up on my feeds.

On: PlayStation 5

As of writing this, I'm only about a third of the way through the game I believe, but I'm having a ball and am enjoying it just as much as I did the first one. There was a massive falloff of people playing, unfortunately, and I think that's in part due to the fanbase building up unnecessary hype for a follow-up that the developers were just having fun making. But it isn't "harder" than the first game, I don't care what folks say, it's just structured differently. Movement feels different, attacks and skills ARE different, and of course the game provides tons of new biomes and enemies to explore, with things still managing to feel the same as they once did. That's exactly what a sequel is supposed to be!

On: PlayStation 5

It's been a hot minute since we received a fully-fledged new "Silent Hill" that wasn't a remake. And while I enjoyed "Silent Hill 2 Remake" immensely, this was something I was able to go into completely blind and fresh, which is something that was new for me with "Silent Hill" as a franchise, by the time I got into this series it was all pretty much already there (except P.T. I suppose, but that only tangentially counts). This was a great game with a compelling story set in an era I have almost no familiarity with, and the layers here that compound upon the story are able to keep itself interesting and engaging without just aping the style of "Silent Hill 2" specifically.

On: Nintendo GameCube

I did a whole write-up for a blog post I wrote (https://www.completionator.com/Blog/View/147), so I won't go too in depths on my thoughts. I'm just glad I finally got to experience this one for myself!

On: PlayStation 5

Can we please get more stopmotion horror landscape games like this one, please? This was tight, I loved it so much. I even played the VR iteration for a little bit, but had to duck out because I was getting too freaked out by the landscape. It inhabits that smudgy style of perfection-less stopmotion art so well, and the game glides through because of it, being carried primarily by its story, characters, and environments as opposed to any gameplay. It sags a bit in the fourth area, a dilapidated city with a giant roaming around, I wish there was a bit more going on here. But still an A- experience for me.

On: Nintendo Switch 2

I've seen folks lauding this as a prime 2025 game of the year contender online, and I can see where they're coming from. I did have fun with it, and it was a welcome break from the struggle that was "Mario Kart World", if the two real Nintendo Switch 2 games are my only comparison points. But still, the game is a bit too bloated for my tastes, a problem which Nintendo tends to have when its launching consoles specifically. "This will tie them over while they wait for games" they say, and that kinda was the case. As of writing, "Metroid Prime 4" isn't looking too good, and "Hyrule Warriors 2" I'm sure is good (I haven't seen complaints), but it isn't pushing consoles. This is still the best thing there is on the Switch 2 and I spent a lot of time with it, so it deserves a spot here.

On: PC/Windows

I've never quite seen a game with this sort of concept before. The world is dark, completely absent of anything. Then, through a 3D, voxel-esque pointillism projector, you give life to your surroundings so that you can find your way. I'm a little confused at what story the game is trying to convey, which is one of the reasons it isn't higher. It could've just been a series of stranger landscapes with odder artifacts and animals to scan, and with the alien planet area it starts to reach those heights. But it ends up at a place that feels like its trying to say or imply something about the person in the game (or the character PLAYING the game?), but I can't for the life of me decipher it. Still a ton of fun, all things considered.

On: PC/Windows

This was a short one too, with little behind it and no real replay value. But the vibes, the story, the soundscape, the grasping around in total darkness; this very well might be the scariest game I've played in quite a while, I dreaded continuing forward.

On: PC/Windows

A short little experience that I dug, horror in that it reflects past struggles in communities that feared witches. Well, and the visuals do a lot to show you that horror as well. But the speaking style being that Scottish/Gaelic dialect of the time makes it hard to read and understand (which I loved, that's intentional), and the visuals really painted disturbing pictures of things that probably aren't really happening, just being dreamt of by the villagers. There's no real end state to this game, as you can play over and over with different outcomes, and none of them are any good.