2025 will probably be remembered as the year that perhaps betting on an Unreal Engine funded remake of a Dot Com bubble maybe not be the right call in a year’s time.
Prices are up for everything computing, and the feeling of hopelessness from the prices ever recovering to its once was, looking like a pipe dream. All set in a backdrop of the less informed spreading misinformation to make a quick buck, from stating about game sales to even how it’s made.
But, as one fictional F1 driver once said: “What do you care what they say? It’s just noise”.
And really, I’m more incline to follow, since my journey this year is filled with much learnings and travels that I will always be grateful for. Just tuning out the noise and do what you feel is right, and sometimes, everything will work out.
The games that I’ve listed as my personal favourite, are once again, an interesting mixed bag that didn’t even include the big guns of 2025, because these listicles are usually subjective and I like playing stuff that I like, be it something new for the first time or something I loved for a long time.
As Reggie Fills Ame said: “If it’s not fun, then why bother”?
Umamusume: Pretty Derby![]()
My new found interest for this year, somehow leads me towards the Japanese Racing Association Building in the middle of Tokyo, Japan. On one a random Saturday, all to find a horse plushie of the coveted stallion and major goofball, Gold Ship.
That’s the pull of Cygames’ homage to their horse-racing scene. The simple gameplay that’s reminiscing of older titles like Tokimeki Memorial (yeah, I’m that old), and even some stuff by the folks at Kairosoft. with how it plays the managing of the game’s mechanics, really blends together well for a mobile and desk gaming experience.
Like, the trials and retribution to get your favourite Uma to victory by the power of friendship and rigorous training, is something cathartic to experience. And at the end, you get to see the trophies in your cabinet, stacked together like you would see in real life at that same JRA building.
It might be a flash in an pan moment for the series in general, but to see fans now all around the globe helping to improve the livelihoods of horses all across the world is a neat outcome, I reckon.
Meck also makes a good point on the game here.
Borderlands 4![]()
To some, this series is gunning (pun intended) towards a downward spiral, but I feel like familiar is good. Like just getting to catch up with a group of old acquaintances after another life arc has commences and while we probably are more refined that before, one joke will lead to another.
Borderlands 4 is basically a new coat of paint put over its familiar gameplay, with some new mechanics, a more open map that’s lets you choose which Boss you would want to take out first, and bazillions of guns, as per usual. But man, it still compels me to play it without fail, just like its previous few instalments.
Really, sometimes you might need a few games that you know could turn off the brain and just enjoy the finer things in life, and that is mowing down enemies for funsies.
Civilization 7![]()
I’d always admire the tenacity of the Strategy game genre. It’s not as bombastic as many other genres, but you would know that it’s there by the scale of how one of their series reaches beyond the horizon and onto the public gaming sphere, think Gandhi and his early game’s bugs making him somehow a nuclear warlord in disguise.
And while this edition of Civilization didn’t like light the world on fire, it’s still just a game that does its fans justice. A 4X game with a branching gameplay that spans decades, all in a race for victory, with foibles scattered across the lands at times, before prosperity hit.
Plus, it’s fun to basically dunk on Napoleon to the point of him losing everything. And that’s all I need convincing.
GM’s review of Civ 7 also here.
Tokyo Xtreme Racers (2025)![]()
There’s always something rebellious about going above the speed limit on the expressway. The winds gushing all around you, the roads reacting to your car as the chase goes on.
But really, the return of Genki and its old-school racing game series is a welcome re-introduction to racing that’s all about the duel on the streets, creating a legend in your wake.
Building your car of choice into a winning machine, is always memorable and will once again, stand the test of time quite well, should the devs decide to go support mode once more.
Our Nyooms thoughts are parked up here.
MLB The Show 25![]()
My love for this series is quite unwavering at this point, even as the honeymoon period is well and truly over, with this being my second time I’ve bought on full price. And yet just keep coming back to it, sometimes replacing the void that my other “Ball” game, that I have a love/hate relationship with, leaves behind.
Because nothing comes close to the tension of trying to score a home-run with the bases loaded, before doing a Yoshinobu Yamamoto and closing up the match by just striking out the suckers at the end. Its career mode is basically what I want and expect Sports RPGs to be, sans the pay-to-win aspect, with the endgame being your player being in Baseball’s Hall of Fame.
More of its rivals needs to get to their level of play really and perhaps, we could see a resurgence of better “Ball” games, I reckon.
Here’s what you’re missing by not playing MLB The Show.
As a treat, here are also some games that I’m looking out for in 2026:
- Funi Raccoon Game – Have you seen its gameplay? Its bonkers enough for a mention.
- 007 New Light – A new James Bond game is a good enough replacement for a new instalment of the movie franchise that keeps dragging its feet for a new James to be bonded with, coming this May.
- Grand Theft Auto 6 – This could be the best thing since the invention of open world games, or rivals the downfall of Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, there is no in-betweens.
2026?
The hopeful in me is positive about the outcome of this year, despite everything within this industry counting against themselves. We still need to keep being kinder to each other, and somehow not let big private equity take over.
Because unlike them, I will actually gush about my two new protagonists in GTA 6, and how dorky/lovable they will be, but not those Corpo suits at middle management. They only care about their lines that aren’t going to be bottom anytime soon.
BUT, in any case, have a lovely rest of the year, folks.