4. Digimon Story: Time Stranger

A very satisfying, deep turn-based RPG. Digimon are just cooler than Pokemon and this game proves that - the team building and digivolving potential is enormous and the highlight of the game. Some great music and a solid story, despite the ending being a slog.

3. Ghost of Yotei

As a massive Tsushima fan, I had massive hopes going into this and it lived up to them. It. Is. So. Fricking. Pretty. The combat feels unbelievably good and doesn’t get old even after 60+ hours. The story isn’t groundbreaking but it’s well told. A brilliant journey.

2. Return of the Obra Dinn

I think this is the best puzzle game I’ve ever played. I’ve never felt more like an actual investigator, pinning story pieces together from random background activities that seem irrelevant on first glance. 8 incredibly joyous and satisfying hours.

1. Hades 2

Supergiant had a hard task following Hades but they kept the magic going with the sequel. Combat is just endlessly fun, the story is brilliantly drip fed and the build options make you feel like a true god. An absolute banger.

Games completed in 2026 thread
🌟

15. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles

Rounding out the year with the remaster of my absolute favourite game of all time - and it doesn’t disappoint. Beautiful art, excellent voice acting, a complex and intricate story, and challenging but fun tactical battles. A masterpiece!

Friends fear he’s down the Magic rabbit hole…

Of course I had to sneak the tat in there somewhere…

14. The Outer Worlds 2

A very silly, very fun game. Great writing, good characters, the perfect length and some genuinely impactful choices (I DID SOME BAD THINGS OK). Obsidian deliver another hit RPG that scratches the Bethesda itch with Obsidian’s own flair on top.

Why are there **checks again** FIFTY FOUR eyebrow styles…!?

13. Silent Hill 2 Remake

What’s spooky season without a spooky game? A great remake of an excellent game. The lighting, graphics and sound design make it properly intense, scary and atmospheric.

I’ve never been more stressed playing a game than I am Silent Hill 2 Remake.

Exact same thing happened to me! Except the final boss - no matter how many times I went away and came back, they still kicked my ass. Took me easily 50 attempts and I nearly quit twice 🤦‍♂️

12. Hollow Knight: Silksong

I genuinely thought the last boss might be the end of me but god, what an excellent game this is. It pushes you to the limit and makes you feel like an absolute god when you overcome it, the movement is perfect, the music is out of this world. Worth the wait!

11. Monster Hunter Stories

I don’t have any attachment to Monster Hunter but I love a Pokemon-like and this ticked a lot of boxes - excellent combat with tons of nuance and options, fun creature design, a surprisingly effective story. I’ll definitely dig into the sequels!

10. Monster Train 2

When I say this game has taken over my life for the last month… a deck-building tower-defending roguelike with endless (honestly endless) replayability, hundreds of different builds to play and an utterly addictive gameplay loop. It might even surpass Slay The Spire…

9. The Plucky Squire

What a gloriously fun adventure! Strong concept, adorable art, interesting and varied gameplay and a great sense of humour. A wonderful way to spend 10 hours!

8. Minami Lane

Well this was an adorable little management game. A lovely chill one night experience with a cute, boppy soundtrack and more raccoons than you can shake a stick at.

We did it, we survived Monday!

😅😅 I played the first one a couple of years ago and to be honest totally forgot I hadn’t played the second too!

7. Ori and the Will of the Wisps

What a stunning, emotional and deeply satisfying metroidvania! It makes you feel like an absolute boss when you nail a difficult platform of challenge, delivers a standout soundtrack and packs a surprisingly emotional punch.

Name YOUR GOTY for the last 5 years!

2020: Ghost of Tsushima
2021: Tales of Arise
2022: Xenoblade Chronicles 3
2023: Baldur’s Gate 3
2024: Unicorn Overlord
2025 (I’m already calling it): Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

6. Doom: The Dark Ages

My 2025 run of excellent games continues. A crunchy, thumping shooter that’s constant fun, with a ridiculous and utterly brilliant range of weapons and a metal soundtrack that never misses. My kind of shooter, and a real blast in every sense of the word.

Thirty-three days ago, we released Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Since then, we’ve sold 3.3 million copies.

Seriously. As of today.
We couldn’t make that up.

Another entry on the long list of surreal moments that your support has made real.

Thank you ALL.

The more I reflect on it, the more I enjoyed The Veilguard - it’s not perfect, but it’s a fun modernisation of DA and the characters are great (Taash ❤️). Sad to see it get such a lukewarm reception - is there a way back is for DA at this stage?

5. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Instantly one of my top 5 games of all time. Incredible world building, excellent writing, a killer soundtrack and the best turn based combat system ever made. A true masterpiece - I actually feel bereft having finished it. Play this god damn game right now.

4. Avowed

It took a while to hook me, but once it did, I hugely enjoyed Avowed. Exploration is constant fun, characters are great and the plot is compelling. Combat feels pleasingly weighty and never gets old (especially a mage build). I’m excited to see what they can do next!

Switch 2 Direct thoughts:

- the design is super slick and I love the mouse functionality
- exclusive FromSoft is a legit system seller
- first party line up is a bit… meh?
- they spent a long time on chat… which every other console has had for decades

I’ll be skipping at launch!

That’s my verdict coming out of it too - I’m lucky to have other consoles so I’ve played 90% of the third party titles that I’m interested in already. The Duskbloods is the only thing I feel I NEED a Switch 2 for and that’s a year away!

3: Split Fiction

Hazelight have done it again! A fun, creative co-op platformer with constant new ideas, no filler and one of the most inventive closing levels I’ve seen in ages. A blast - and we didn’t even break up playing it!