The weather’s getting colder, the Game Awards are near, and websites are listing their top games of the year. That means it’s time to give you a guide of what to get the gamer in your life for the holidays.
Let’s start with the big addition to the gaming sphere this year. The Nintendo Switch 2 plays on your TV and in handheld mode just like the original Switch. It also has backward compatibility for almost all the first Switch’s games and a few killer apps to help sell it. Mario Kart World spices up the classic racing game to include an open world to explore between heats. Donkey Kong Bananza gives the titular gaming gorilla a giant underground world to explore and destroy. And for both systems, there’s Pokemon Legends Z-A, featuring more open-world creature catching, and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, bringing back bounty hunter Samus for more first-person action and exploration.
Now, other game companies weren’t content to let Nintendo make all the money. Sony added some nice, new exclusives to the PS5’s library, with Ghosts of Yotei filling gamers’ samurai open-world craving, and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach for more open-world trekking and combat in a post-death world. And the remake wave continues with Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater, letting you relive the third entry in the estimable series.
And still trudging along is the ol’ Xbox series X and S. Times have been hard for Microsoft’s console, but it still has a few must-plays. Doom: The Dark Ages continues the demonslaying FPS fun, while South of Midnight offers a mythical adventure in the Deep South. Finally, Avowed gave players a unique fantasy realm to roam.
Outside the realm of console exclusives, 2025 offered plenty of games for everyone. Open-world gamers had a wide array to choose from. Monster Hunter Wilds (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) served up large areas to cooperatively hunt its titular creatures. Atomfall (PS4/5, Xbox One, Series X/S, PC) gave a Fallout fix with its post-apocalyptic Britain. The Outer Worlds 2 (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) launched with a wry take on space exploration. Meanwhile for historical gamers, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) set forth in 1400s Bohemia, while Assassin’s Creed Shadows (Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, macOS, iPadOS) sneaked along in 16th-century Japan. And mixing open world with FPS, Dying Light: The Beast (PS4, 5, Xbox One, Series X/S, PC) gave players a new open world to parkour through and kill zombies in.
And speaking of the FPS player in your life, there’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 (PS4/5, Xbox One, Series X/S, PC), which saw more praise for its multiplayer modes, less so for its campaign, as well as Battlefield 6 (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC), bringing its massive player battles to a more serious modern world. And Borderlands 4 (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) delivered more looter-shooter fun to the planet Kairos.
Those wanting more straightforward challenges had a lot to look forward to. Ninja Gaiden 4 (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) brought the hardcore hack ’n’ slash series back after 13 years, and co-op gamers got Split Fiction, a sci-fi/fantasy two-player game from the makers of It Takes Two. Horror fans got Silent Hill F, (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC), delivering otherworldly frights in 1960s Japan.
This was also another year when indie games proved they can hit as hard as AAA titles. Blue Prince (macOS, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) built acclaim with its roguelite mansion-building and exploration. Stretching what could be considered an indie game was Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC), an RPG with unique turn-based combat and a fantastic story that may sweep the Game Awards this year. Hollow Knight: Silksong, the hotly anticipated sequel to 2017’s bug-themed metroidvania, finally launched this year on everything from macOS and Linux to the Switch 2 to great acclaim and fan hype. Hades 2 (macOS, Switch, Switch 2, PC) came with more hardcore, Greek myth-filled roguelite action.
And all these titles are just the start of what 2025 offered. Basically, if there’s a gamer in your life, there’s a game out there ready to light up their holidays.
