Despite the main gameplay loop being reminiscent of a Milgram experiment, it justifies its ickiness through “but zombies!” as so many more violent and exploitative games did in the past. Maybe I’m just getting too old for this shit. I’ll just go back to chunking people into giblets with my boltgun in Darktide like a respectable person. But Quarantine Zone: The Last Check is ultimately a janky, buggy mess of a game that happened to nail down the feeling of a zombie apocalypse

When Metroid Prime 4: Beyond finally did hit store shelves, its negative buzz kept me away. Did I really want to ruin my mental image of Samus and the Metroid series with annoying Federation NPC allies and a useless open world? I mean, look at the damage Other M did to the Metroid series. The early buzz practically made it sound like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will be the last Metroid game we’ll see in a while–and probably the last Prime game ever.

It’s been a crazy rollercoaster for Hytale. This Minecraft-meets-RPG style game was declared dead in June 2025, when Riot Games dissolved the studio. Despite its trailer on YouTube getting 60+ million views, Hytale has been mired by changes in focus during development, and eventually stalled out altogether. Then, in November of last year, original founder Simon Collins-Laflamme bought the rights back from Riot Games to save the project he started.

StarRupture takes the automation base building concept and throws it into a world that’s fun to explore. The extra layer of lore has made me really invested. That being said, the Early Access roadmap promises more wildlife, new buildings, new locations and points of interest and much more, including new exploration mechanics.

he Pitt is great because it’s great TV, and it’s great because it’s spectacularly put together. It’s a clockwork of vignettes each with perfect timing and just enough intrigue, a whole deck of face cards with obvious chops acting their faces off, and the ability to say something intelligent and somewhat novel about it all. 

Listen, we've been through the Game Awards, we've seen the announcements, and we've perhaps even finally gotten some new gear for Christmas to work with in the New Year. It's cold (maybe? Sometimes?) and, if you're anything like us, you're out of money to go out. What's that mean? Well, it's a great time to go back and play some of the best games of 2025 you just didn't have time to. We're choosing our favorites while we gear up for what's to come in 2026