Crow County

Crow County was sold to me as a throwback to 1990s era survival horror. Immediate buy for me. I've fallen for this trick before, and most of the time it doesn't pay off. (I think notoriously about a game called Back in 1995 that had game ending bugs) Every time there's a new one, I come back to suckle on that which is familiar and comforting to me. 

Crow County takes place completely in an abandoned amusement park. The McGuffin is the park owner who had disappeared and reports of some weird stuff happening at the park. Shortly after entering, you run into the first NPC that has no business being there and not surprisingly, is injured. We're officially hooked. Barry is looking at the blood on the ground and Jill is wandering into the first zombie hallway.

Game of the Year 2025 Number 1 - 5

This was a hefty year for me and video games. Probably because everything around us is crumbling and terrible and video games were one of the easier disassociation techniques. 

Now the "as always disclaimer" is that these are not games that came out in 2025, just games I played in 2025. I don't have the time to stay up to date on all the newest games. (God damned adult job)

Here's what we've looked at so far

• Games 28-18
• Games 17-6

5. Star Wars Outlaws

• Hardware: PlayStation 5
• Release Year: 2024

I think this is the only one of two games I played on the PlayStation 5 this year. That's some sort of condemnation of console game. I can't believe they are talking about a PlayStation 6, when it feels like the PlayStation 5 hasn't gotten much love. But anyway, that's not why you are here. 

Star Wars Outlaws is the game I've wanted for decades. Instead of redoing the, "down on your luck, lost, aimless, citizen to Jedi pipeline," you're just a dirtbag with a heart of gold. No lightsaber needed. This is the Han Solo game, although much less charismatic. But that's good. That makes all the trouble feel believable. 

You get to travel at high speeds across planets on speeder bikes. You get to infiltrate Imperial Star Destroyers. You get to make business deals in shady cantinas. You get to play one of three gangs off of each other, each giving you a benefit or punishment. 

This was an Ubisoft checklist game, but it didn't feel bogged down like some of the more recent Assassin's Creeds have. Many of the checkmarks were behind puzzles or stealth instead of simply climbing a thing. 

Game of the Year 2025 Numbers 17 - 6

This was a hefty year for me and video games. Probably because everything around us is crumbling and terrible and video games were one of the easier disassociation techniques. 

Now the "as always disclaimer" is that these are not games that came out in 2025, just games I played in 2025. I don't have the time to stay up to date on all the newest games. (God damned adult job)

Here's what we've looked at so far

• Games 28-18

17. Heretic + Hexen

• Hardware: Steamdeck
• Release Year: 2025

I don't know if I consider this game above Doom for real, but I've played Heretic and Hexen less than I've played Doom. 

The first person shooter revolution of the early/mid-90s was moving fast. I had the Shareware version of Heretic, but by the time I had enough allowance, we had Duke Nukem 3D and Quake. 

So this is sort of a fun time capsule for me. Something that feels familiar, but something I've never played. 

16. Elden Ring: Seamless Co-Op and Shadow of the Erdtree

• Hardware: Steamdeck
• Release Year: 2022

I bought my brother Elden Ring years ago and he was too intimidated to play it. I was looking for a reason to return. I watched the progress of Seamless Co-Op and figured I'd offer myself up as a guide to the world. 

It wasn't perfect. There were some really frustrating times on Linux where the Coop mod had an update and wouldn't find my save. So I would go through this dance of finding the save file buried on my Steam Deck, copying it somewhere else. Starting a new character. Playing until the first checkpoint. Finding the new save file. Then overwriting that save file. 

I didn't play the DLC the first time through. Shadow of the Erdtree was still weeks away when I rolled credits and frankly, I was ready to move on. The DLC is cool. It has more of a fantastical feel. The original game tries to ground the world in a reality that we can understand, ruins and castles, forests and swamps. The DLC feels like Morrowind. Like something that can't exist on this planet. 

Game of the Year 2025 Numbers 28 - 18

This was a hefty year for me and video games. Probably because everything around us is crumbling and terrible and video games were one of the easier disassociation techniques. 

Now the "as always disclaimer" is that these are not games that came out in 2025, just games I played in 2025. I don't have the time to stay up to date on all the newest games. (God damned adult job)

28. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

• Hardware: Steam Deck
• Release Year: 2024

I like a lot of the 3D Prince of Persia games and wanted to support this reboot effort, so I bought it.

I'm not into Metrovanias most the time, so I assumed this game wasn't going to hit all that hard. But it didn't just not hit hard, it barely hit at all, and it was mostly the combat. It just didn't feel good and there's a lot of combat in the game. 

Onimusha: Warlords Remastered

I consumed everything about the PS1, but once the PS2 dropped, I knew I wouldn't be able to afford it for a while. I got my first job, saved up a few paychecks, and the day the Resident Evil DVD dropped, I went to Babbages and bought both Resident Evil and a PS2. 

Two years of games had come out at the point and I was completely out of the magazine game by then. So I really had no idea what was out, what was good, what was not. 

Dishonored

I'm a sucker for a stealth game, specifically in the style of a Metal Gear Solid or Mark of the Ninja. Dishonored should have hit so hard for me. 

I apparently started a game years ago. I barely remember it, but I had a save at like the 40 minute mark. Definitely not enough to really get a good idea of the game. 

After I found Death Loop to be so surprisingly enjoyable, I wanted to give Dishonored another chance. 

I beat it this time. It was a weirdly paced game. 

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Holy crap, they did it. They made me feel like Indiana Jones in a video game. 

I've played just about every Indiana Jones game out there. All of them were either too action oriented (Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine) or too slow paced (Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis). But you can tell that the people making this game are fans of the films. 

The films always start with a really cool action sequence, taking a play out of the James Bond universe. Then there's a sort of setup scene where you see Indy interacting with some of the side characters for the story. Then a McGuffin. Then Indy has some quiet reflection on his massive encyclopedia of a brain. Then an action sequence as he has to read something in some tomb. Reflection. Action. Reflection. Action. Explosion. Dead Nazis.