Despite decades of technological advancements and creative innovation in the video game industry, I can’t help but be amazed by its ability to keep introducing novelty year after year.
Just when you think everything has been invented and there’s no way it can evolve any further, a game always seems to come along to prove you wrong and show there are no limits to the human imagination.
20 Games We’re Thankful For In 2025
2025 has been a sneaky good year for games. These are the ones that meant something special to our team at DualShockers.
This year alone, for example, has been full of outstanding titles that have not only stood out for their quality but have also broken away from the average, achieving feats that could help shape the industry in the coming years.
Therefore, to celebrate these potential revolutions in our medium across various fields, I invite you to read this list of eight major 2025 releases that could unexpectedly redefine their entire genres.
8 Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo
A Top-Down from the Old Days
Video game developers have proven to have good memories, as it’s quite common to see titles that try to emulate past generations, but I’d say few do what Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo does.
It’s not just because the classic top-down perspective is outdated compared to other classic variations that are more prevalent, but because the quality and technical refinement with which they approach it are worthy of being considered an example to follow.
Finding such a precise balance between emulating the specific sensations of the Game Boy Advance era and the advancements in game design in genres like Metroidvania makes me think about new ways of understanding nostalgia and using it properly.
And, I know, I’m being quite generous with the term ‘major release’ since Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is an indie game that hasn’t had a huge media reach, but believe me, it’s no coincidence it’s among the 25 highest-rated titles on Metacritic this year, and that makes it significant.
7 Despelote
Telling Stories from Experience
Speaking of being among the best games of the year, it seemed impossible to write this article without including Despelote, one of the biggest surprises of 2025 in terms of emerging game development regions.
Although the story-driven genre is absurdly broad in themes, mechanics, art styles, and more, the main impact of this gem comes from its reluctance to appeal to a generalized and primarily accessible audience, instead prioritizing the message of its story.
8 2025 Releases We Waited 7+ Years For
Every time we asked, “Where’s Silksong?”, they delayed it by another day.
Despelote is an Ecuadorian game with voices, expressions, colors, architecture, and photographs directly taken from Ecuador, narrating its author’s experience almost autobiographically and giving us a glimpse into a new culture without any filter to make it more digestible for foreign eyes.
In an industry that prioritizes ease of marketing and hegemonic culture, because it’s ultimately a business and must be profitable, Despelote connects with its roots and invites us to do the same, coincidentally demonstrating that not all football games have to be simulators like EA Sports FC.
6 Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
Embracing Classical Roots
While Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound might be here for similar reasons to those I described for Pipistrello, I truly believe its main influence will be on how major developers approach their long-running franchises.
Just like with Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, The Game Kitchen‘s work seems like an attempt by its owners to return to the roots of a series that lost its way and the community’s affection, creating a project that isn’t AAA but whose production values are still noticeable.
2D side-scrollers are extremely popular among indie studios but not so much among multinational corporations, at least for decades, but Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound‘s excellence could represent a turning point in how to revitalize forgotten IPs.
The fact that it’s a magnificent experience whose ability to bring the original Ninja Gaiden formula up to modern gameplay and audiovisual standards helps a lot, so I’m sure we’ll see more classic action titles in the coming years.
5 Absolum
A New Opportunity for Beat ‘Em Ups
-
- Released
- October 9, 2025
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco
- Publisher(s)
- Dotemu, Gamera Games
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op
- Number of Players
- 1-2 players
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Playable
- PC Release Date
- October 9, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- October 9, 2025
- Nintendo Switch Release Date
- October 9, 2025
- Genre(s)
- Roguelite, Beat ‘Em Up
- How Long To Beat
- 6 hours
- Local Co-Op Support
- Yes
This year has been one of longing for the past from an objective perspective, since there’s no point in reviving what was popular thirty years ago if you don’t adapt it to today’s world.
Absolum understands this idea perfectly in the context of beat ’em ups, surpassing its creators’ spiritual predecessor (Streets of Rage 4) by recognizing that, to appeal to today’s audience, it’s necessary to bridge the gap to new styles, in this case, using the roguelike recipe.
10 Retro Platformers That Still Hold Up In 2025
They may be old, but these retro platformers are still spry.
However, the key to its fusion is that the title knows its core identity, supported by a structure of another gameplay style that is sufficient to make it feel both familiar and novel, demonstrating how important it can be to recognize your main genre and your supporting genre.
While I don’t think beat ’em ups are going to become the next big thing in the video game industry, I am certain Absolum has paved the way forward, both by introducing the genre to so many players and by showing how to break the boundaries imposed by its heritage.
4 ARC Raiders
The Next Multiplayer Blueprint
As one of the highest-rated multiplayer games of recent years, even considered by many to be a Game of the Year contender, ARC Raiders will undoubtedly serve as an inspiration for countless online game studios.
Although The Finals, Embark Studios’ debut title, already felt innovative within the ecosystem, their latest production goes far beyond that: it’s not just a great experience, it’s one that feels like it’s aiming to redefine the genre.
The spontaneous forms of player interaction, the ability to cooperate and compete in a context that includes more than just other users, a meticulously polished AI that creates tense and high-stakes atmospheres, its technical excellence in gameplay and audiovisuals.
Listing everything ARC Raiders does well would take quite a while, and I don’t know if other studios can keep up, though the blueprint is already there. I’m not convinced about the use of generative AI for certain aspects, but the fact that this is the only time I’ve thought it might work is sufficient proof of its impact.
3 Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Authenticity Above All Else
Being revolutionary within open-world games, a genre with more entries than games I have in my backlog, seems like a practically impossible task, but Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is here to prove you wrong.
If games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt or Red Dead Redemption 2 surprised you years ago with their ability to immerse you in their worlds thanks to their narrative, technical, and sheer scale, believe me, you’re about to witness a game that will change your life.
Without forced or filler side quests or clichéd stories you’ve heard a thousand times, and with a divine technical presentation that would make any professional in the field proud, the authenticity Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 exudes makes its excellent predecessor look like child’s play.
Do you remember how you felt when you played The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim over a decade ago? That feeling of witnessing a title for the ages, one that everyone from now on will have to copy to be considered good? Well, that’s what you have here, and even comparing it to Bethesda‘s masterpiece seems incredible to me.
2 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Making the Turn-Based Formula Accessible
I completely refuse to perpetuate the opinion that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 revived the turn-based genre because I find it insulting to countless titles and series like Persona, Yakuza, Sea of Stars, or Baldur’s Gate 3, but I do believe there’s a valid point.
Unlike those mentioned, Sandfall Interactive’s creation manages to appeal to a considerably wider audience thanks to the great variety of ways it offers to approach its combat mechanics, making it accessible to virtually any player.
Because you can dodge, parry, or plan your turns instead of relying solely on your controller skills, coupled with the ability to adjust the difficulty, it manages to connect with a wide range of users: fans of classic games in the genre, FromSoftware regulars, and people who have never even touched a turn-based game in their lives.
I think that, among other things, Expedition 33‘s merit lies in the way it powerfully demystifies turn-based games in terms of mechanics, atmosphere, story, characters, music, and message, showing the world that not all titles within the genre are created equal.
Therefore, I do imagine we’ll see more games trying to follow in its footsteps, even if it’s not strictly revolutionary but a masterpiece that knew how to inherit the lessons of its predecessors and communicate them in an accessible way, which was sorely needed in such a niche genre.
1 Blue Prince
Puzzles Are Alive
Given that calm, contemplative, or reflective video games are becoming increasingly rare, as we live in an age where constant stimulation reigns supreme, games like Blue Prince are a blessing.
Not only does it take an underrepresented genre like puzzles and breathe new life into it by combining it with an opposite genre, the roguelike, but it also imbues it with a depth I dare say has never been seen before.
Without daring to claim it’s the most complex puzzle of all time, there isn’t one I’ve played that comes close to 100 hours of content where you continue to discover secrets and riddles, both gameplay-related and narrative-driven.
As far as layered games go, Blue Prince is an endless matryoshka doll where each new incursion is masterful, seasoned with its procedural mechanics that shatter the genre’s linear and premeditated expectations to generate unprecedented sensations.
In the end, it’s like combining a rhythm game with horror or a visual novel with driving, because it unites two seemingly antagonistic concepts and makes them blend together perfectly in what has to be the most important milestone for puzzlers in the last decade.
The Game Awards 2025: Biggest Game Of The Year Snubs
Give these games their flowers.
- Security Camera Installation – indoor/outdoor IP CCTV systems & video analytics
- Access Control Installation – key card, fob, biometric & cloud‑based door entry
- Business Security Systems – integrated alarms, surveillance & access control
- Structured Cabling Services – voice, data & fiber infrastructure for new or existing builds
- Video Monitoring Services – 24/7 remote surveillance and analytics monitoring
Author: 360 Technology Group
