The Boar’s ‘Games of the Year’: 2025 Edition

Another year has passed, and we are back with our topic gaming picks for 2025, be it games that have come out this year, or old classics rediscovered. Join us as we dive into the games that made our 2025.

Theo Millard (Writer’s pick) – Hades II

Hades is a wonderful game, with satisfying gameplay filled with options and variety every time you try it. It has fun (and oh-so-hot) characters, beautiful art and music, and a compelling story about family that takes full advantage of the medium. The second game is better in every single way.

The witch Melinoe serves a different fantasy from her brother, able to cast grand spells and take advantage of a whole new host of godly boons. Progression accompanies each attempt to reach Chronos, as a new build is constructed from what the game randomly offers, making it unpredictable and requiring planning as you go. Supergiant Games saw fit this time to experiment more with enemy types and map layouts, making for a new experience on a familiar base.

I played this game to death. And then played it all over again

Then, you unlock the second half. There is a whole new route to take, doubling the content, which allows Melinoe to traverse the mortal realm. This is all enabled by progression on a wider scale, meaning that, eventually, victory becomes easier. Every run adds a bit more to what you have at your disposal.

It’s an addictive formula. I got to the end credits by spending 30 hours on the game within a week. Endgame content is a whole other story. Art, music, voice acting – it’s all at the stellar level that Supergiant have set as their standard. No notes.

Whether using casts in tandem with a pet cat to blast an area with lightning, or using a power suit to freeze demons with missiles, or even summoning previously killed enemies to fight for you, there’s so much to be done in Hades II. It completely changes every time a run ends, whether that’s in victory or defeat.

I played this game to death. And then played it all over again.

Alex Timbrell (Writer’s pick) – Donkey Kong Bananza

The Switch 2’s first year has been far from an unmarred success for Nintendo, who made several cynical moves that soured fans and dominated the discourse. Even their flagship launch title, Mario Kart World, was met with mixed reception. At one point, it seemed impossible that an unambiguous win would come out of the console’s debut – but, in my eyes, Donkey Kong Bananza ended up being just that.

As impressive as the trailers looked, my expectations were in check. How, I thought, could a collectathon, which encourages you to smash through and climb over carefully-planned level design, feel rewarding? Surely it would need heavy limitations… but wouldn’t that defeat the point?

The way the developers managed to reconcile this may just be Bananza’s greatest asset. DK is just strong enough – and the world just breakable enough – to make you feel powerful and free, without removing the challenge or making the environments seem flimsy or temporary.

Even better, every single element of the game works together to make your destructive endeavours that much more satisfying.

For example, you’re hard-pressed to find an enemy that doesn’t interestingly interact with the environment. They launch into cliffsides and explode to reveal secrets, burst from the walls and the earth, or – in the case of my personal favourite – blast off into the sky, leaving behind a rainbow bridge that helps you achieve new heights.

Evokes the simple design genius that made the early 2D Mario games so resonant

And that’s to say nothing of the other fun and original characters, the intuitive radar mechanic, or the visually and conceptually dynamic locales.

The way each idea builds upon itself and combines with others, all stemming from a basic yet innovative premise – “What if a platformer had smashable ground?” – evokes the simple design genius that made the early 2D Mario games so resonant.

As frustrating as Nintendo’s business practices can be, Bananza serves as a reminder why so many of us, perhaps despite our better judgement, keep coming back: they still house a team of very talented creatives, who know how to make a phenomenal game.

Cianan Sheekey (Deputy Sub-Editor’s pick) – Deltarune

As if I didn’t gush enough about Deltarune in my review back in July, I’m back to sing its praises once more. This year, Deltarune finally received its full commercial release, and despite three of its chapters still to come, it stands night and day above the rest of 2025’s gaming offerings (though this is in part because metroidvanias are exasperating – sorry, Silksong). 

Deltarune is the parallel story to the critically acclaimed Undertale, both of which are the work of the brilliant, if enigmatic, Toby Fox. Deltarune has it all: witty writing, feverishly fun combat, an utterly captivating narrative, and above all, a soundtrack that is, for lack of a better term, biblical. I know of several devout worshippers of this OST, myself included.

To understand just how brilliant Deltarune’s soundtrack is, listen to ‘Ruder Buster’. This is one of the game’s miniboss battle scores, and when even minibosses receive this level of auditory majesty, you know the rest of the soundtrack is beyond superb. 

The only criticism to be found across Deltarune’s first four chapters is some initial pacing issues, but these are earned because the later plot is allowed to hit all the harder as a result of this initial narrative-building. What starts as a quaint tale of friends exploring mysterious worlds turns into something far more grandiose, as they face increasingly existential threats through a range of peculiar environments, from the accurately-titled TV WORLD (it’s as flashy and colourful as you suspect) to the Dark Sanctuaries, which are found in a beautifully haunting gothic church. 

Eclectic, funny, and deeply replayable, with differing story routes and enough secrets to leave Easter egg hunters grinning from ear to ear, you may be left asking: is there anything Deltarune doesn’t have? Yes, and that’s a complete story as of now. But that’s a testament to just how brilliant this work of gaming genius is, that even without the fully finished product, it still finds itself in The Boar’s ‘Games of the Year’.  

Jack Thompson (Writer’s pick) – Blue Prince

Released in April, Blue Prince is a beautifully complex and engaging puzzle adventure game. Playing as Simon P. Jones, you have inherited Mt. Holly, following the passing of your great uncle. Importantly, there is a stipulation in his will which requires you to find the 46th room of Mt. Holly in order to inherit this manor, or else the gift shall lapse. Therefore, the game centres on the exploration of the manor and the uncovering of challenges and secrets. The manor is of your own design, as you decide out of three rooms where each door will lead, and it resets each new day. 

Managing your steps, coins, crystals, and keys – while also attempting to solve unique puzzles – creates a truly enthralling experience. Each room is visually and functionally interesting, all with different styles and traits which impact your success. The atmospheric soundtrack and constant environmental noise, from footsteps on marble floors to leaves in the wind, allows for heightened immersion. 

The game is highly detailed, with gameplay generally requiring either a physical or digital notepad to the side to record patterns and details which will otherwise be forgotten or lost. Blue Prince’s excellence is apparent as it received a range of nominations for storytelling and innovation, as well as successfully winning “Best Indie Game” at the Golden Joystick Awards. With the release of Professor Layton and the New World of Steam being delayed to 2026, Blue Prince has been able to fill the puzzle void, thus claiming a spot in The Boar’s ‘Games of the Year 2025’. 

Now lets see what the team has chosen as their GOTY 2025!

This game clearly reflects the love, talent and passion that has been poured into its creation

Gabriela Jozefowicz (Editor’s pick) – Dispatch

AdHoc Studio’s Dispatch has made a huge splash in the world of episodic adventure games, already gathering nominations for Players’ Voice and Best Debut Indie Game at The Game Awards 2025. Not only does this game have a great storyline, but it also has interesting mini-game-like sessions during each episode where you dispatch your almost superhero team.

This game clearly reflects the love, talent, and passion that has been poured into its creation. The art style is amazing, and the additional content that shows drafts of each character is so fun to flick through. The music also has a special place in my heart, as it made me discover artists such as THOT SQUAD and Bershy. The characters and the voice actors behind them are another aspect of the game that I loved. Not to mention the memes! 

In terms of the story, I am so happy that this game came out when it did, as it filled the gaping hole in my heart that was left by the Telltale Walking Dead games. The choices offered are fun and clearly shape your gameplay. True to its genre, it even has a few choices that are misleading (really reminiscent of TWD games and other decision-based games). But even this was a nostalgic factor for me. 

The gameplay itself reminded me a little of other dispatch sim games, but I loved the hacking that you got to do as Robert, putting his superhero skills to good use. I also enjoyed that you could choose how cutscenes played out, by either being a passive viewer or having to pay attention and use your mouse during them. This made them more engaging, as some are a bit long. 

For anyone who has yet to play this game, I recommend it highly. It’s also perfect for any beginner players.  

Sunehar Aneja (Deputy Editor’s pick) – Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is a game that was released nearly ten years ago, but it still retains its incredibly enjoyable, yet hilariously frustrating, gaming experience. It’s a puzzle-solving, co-operative indie game that is deceptively simple at first glance. The premise of the game is that one person is seated in front of a bomb and they need to deactivate it using instructions given by a second person who has a manual. The only catch is the person with the bomb can’t see the manual, and the person with the manual can’t see the bomb. 

What makes this game so enjoyable is the way it perfectly balances teamwork and tension. Every level also has a different bomb, with an increasingly difficult set of puzzles, which makes each level unique and forces you to find more effective ways to communicate with each other and make faster decisions under pressure. 

The game truly shines as a social experience. The frantic back and forth communication, the yelling to outrun the timer, and the quick thinking, all come together to make sure that every session is memorable and fun. Even miscommunication that leads to spectacular failures heightens the intensity and fires up the competitive edge in everyone to try and beat the timer in the next round. 

The visuals of the game are simple but strangely effective. The minimalistic and clean graphics ultimately add to the game by making it more immersive and helping you focus on the task at hand: finding the right colour wire to cut. Despite the simplicity, elements like the fluctuating lights, primary-coloured wires, and the blinking Morse code interpreter add to the game’s distinct charm and reinforce the pressure-filled atmosphere.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes isn’t just a game – it’s a fantastic way to spend time with people (even though you will probably end up yelling for the entire evening). At its core, it highlights the co-operative nature of video games as a shared experience, while also testing your wits under pressure. I found myself reaching for this game every game night since, and if you’re looking for a chaotic and intense addition to yours, you should definitely check this one out. 

Zara Siddiqui (Sub-editor’s pick) – Mouthwashing 

This section references topics such as suicide, sexual assault, and alcoholism.  

Released last year, the narrative mastery, complex characters, and moral messages of Wrong Organ’s Mouthwashing remain hauntingly resonant.   

The game revolves around a space freighter crashing, resulting in Captain Curly being on the brink of death, and the rest of the crew members slowly wasting away – a “sci-fi meets Lord of The Flies”  type of scenario, framed as an unsettling psychological trip.  

The symbolism, emerging from the dialogue and visuals, is my favourite detail of the game

My deepest appreciation for Mouthwashing is for its thoughtful exploration of heavy topics, including mental decline and suicide, alcoholism and self-sabotage, sexual abuse, and the toxicity of labour. All characters and their stories, even the most downright immoral, dissect the desperation, senselessness, and moral ambiguity of the human condition in all its broken pieces.  

The dual-perspective and jumbled timeline, jumping between playing as pre-crash Curly and post-crash co-pilot Jimmy, juggles questions of who is to blame for the crash, the emotional aftermath, and even life on the cargo ship before.  

Perhaps it’s the literature student in me, but the symbolism, emerging from the dialogue and visuals, is my favourite detail of the game. Every little scene, bit of subtext, and image is incredibly intentional, from the visuals of ladders or eyes, to nurse Anya’s talk of a “dead-pixel” (which alone is one of many scenes that, with its full context, I could write essays about), to recurring sounds in Jimmy’s mindscapes. 

Mouthwashing is a tragic masterpiece of psychological horror, surfacing the dark, complex underside of humanity. It reminds us that games, like art, like stories, are powerful tools for considering our own sense of moral responsibility.  

To quote Anya, “our worst moments don’t make us monsters” – but are good moments, good words, or good intentions ever enough to make us “good” people? I’d recommend playing and forming your own answer – or lack thereof.