TIME’s top game of 2025 is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, followed by Death Stranding 2: On the Beach and Ghost of Yōtei. That is TIME’s editorial ranking, not an industry-wide consensus. And while these ten games offer plenty of cinematic material, the movie angle is wishful thinking: the sources cited here do not establish that any of them has a film adaptation announced.
TIME’s 10 best video games of 2025, ranked
TIME published its list on December 6, 2025, calling the selections its favorites. It does not disclose a scoring rubric or aggregation method in the material available, so the order should be read as an editorial judgment—not as a ranking derived from sales, player votes, awards, or review averages.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Minecraft - Nintendo Switch | $29.83 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - US Version | $52.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Mario Kart™ World (Nintendo Switch 2) | $79.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Super Mario Galaxy™ + Super Mario Galaxy™ 2 | $64.99 | Buy on Amazon |
The countdown below preserves TIME’s order and summarizes why each game stands out in its description of the list.
- Marvel Rivals — A team-based multiplayer game built around a broad roster of Marvel characters. It launched in December 2024, but TIME argues that it needed a full year to show its potential, making it a notable inclusion on a 2025 list. TIME’s ranking
- Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds — A kart racer that changes courses during races, with transforming vehicles, customization, Sonic characters, and additional downloadable characters and content. TIME’s ranking
- Doom: The Dark Ages — A medieval-set prequel in the Doom series. TIME highlights its first-person shooting, new weapons, and a greater emphasis on narrative and lore than in earlier entries. TIME’s ranking
- Lost Records: Bloom and Rage — Don’t Nod’s two-part narrative adventure moves between 1995 and 2022, weaving branching dialogue, friendship, memory, and horror together. TIME’s ranking
- Hollow Knight: Silksong — Team Cherry’s sequel follows Hornet through Pharloom, expanding the original’s 2D action-platforming and exploration. TIME describes it as broader and more difficult than Hollow Knight. TIME’s ranking
- Silent Hill f — A standalone story set in 1960s Japan, following Hinako in a village overtaken by fog and frightening transformations. TIME singles out the Japanese setting and close-combat horror. TIME’s ranking
- Split Fiction — Authors Zoe and Mio are pulled into their own fantasy and science-fiction story worlds. Cooperation between both players is central to making progress. TIME’s ranking; Game Informer’s 2025 list and game details
- Ghost of Yōtei — Sucker Punch’s standalone follow-up to Ghost of Tsushima follows Atsu on a revenge quest in 1603 Ezo. TIME calls attention to its samurai-film-inspired visual modes. TIME’s ranking
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach — Hideo Kojima’s sequel sends Sam to reconnect Australia after the first game’s events. TIME emphasizes the story’s questions of connection, purpose, and human bonds. TIME’s ranking
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — TIME’s top pick is a turn-based RPG from French independent studio Sandfall Interactive, set in a Belle Époque-inspired fantasy world. Its story centers on the Paintress, the Gommage, grief, and morality. TIME lists PlayStation 5 among its platforms. TIME’s ranking; TIME’s platform information
Why rankings of 2025 games do not all mean the same thing
TIME’s list is useful as a snapshot of one editorial outlet’s favorites, but other year-end selections use different methods and boundaries. Compare the process before treating two lists as competing measurements.
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#1 Best Overall
- Minecraft is a game about placing blocks and going on adventures
- Explore randomly generated worlds and build amazing things from the simplest of homes to the grandest of castles
- Play in creative mode with unlimited resources or mine deep into the world in survival mode, crafting weapons and armor to fend off the dangerous mobs
- Play on the go in handheld or tabletop modes
- Includes Super Mario Mash-Up, Natural Texture Pack, Biome Settlers Skin Pack, Battle & Beasts Skin Pack, Campfire Tales Skin Pack; Compatible with Nintendo Switch only
- Staff deliberation: GameSpot says its staff votes on its list and discusses the results; its eligibility approach can include some late-December releases from the prior year and updated live-service games. GameSpot’s method and eligibility
- Industry-member selection: BAFTA’s 2026 Games Awards longlist is alphabetical, not an ordinal top ten. BAFTA says more than 1,700 Games members selected 64 games from 255 considered, under a stated release eligibility period. BAFTA’s longlist and process
- Public platform vote: Sony Interactive Entertainment reported nearly 1.5 million votes across 19 categories for its PlayStation Blog awards. That is a reader vote associated with PlayStation, not a measure of how TIME selected its list. PlayStation Blog award results
When comparing any two lists, check who chose the games, what release window counted, which platforms or genres were eligible, and whether the result represents editorial preference, an award category, or public popularity.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Would these games make good movies?
Several entries have premises or visual identities that invite cinematic speculation: the story-world collision in Split Fiction, the period horror of Silent Hill f, or the revenge narrative and film-inspired presentation of Ghost of Yōtei. That is a matter of creative potential, not production news. The sources reviewed do not establish an announced film adaptation of any of TIME’s ten ranked games.
Rank #2
- New stages and fighters are joined by the combined rosters of every past Super Smash Bros. Game
- Challenge others anytime, anywhere, whether you're on the couch or on the go
- Play any way you want—locally, online, in TV mode, Tabletop mode, Handheld mode, or even with GameCube Controllers
- Fight faster and smarter with new and returning techniques, like the perfect shield and directional air dodge
- Face off in 2-4 player battles, or play against the computer
There were real video-game adaptations in 2025, but they were based on other properties. TIME reported a worldwide box-office run of $957.9 million for A Minecraft Movie, and reported $54 million in receipts against a $15 million budget for Until Dawn. Those figures are TIME’s reported figures, not a complete or independently reconciled box-office dataset. TIME’s adaptation coverage
The Game Awards’ 2025 Best Adaptation nominees also show how broad the category has become: A Minecraft Movie, Devil May Cry, Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, The Last of Us: Season 2, and Until Dawn. The award page names The Last of Us: Season 2 as the winner. These examples are separate from TIME’s top ten. The Game Awards: Best Adaptation
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Rank #4
- Journey through space in two Super Mario adventures, now improved for the Nintendo Switch system!
- Travel the stars with enhanced resolution, improved UI, and additional content
- Learn more about the Lumas from additional Storybook chapters, groove to a bit of additional music
- Get additional Health and fall recovery in Assist Mode
- Join Rosalina and the Lumas to restore the Comet Observatory and rescue Princess Peach in Super Mario Galaxy.
Rank #3
- Race from one course to another through interconnected paths that span the world
- Traverse mountains, forests, cities, and more—with shifting weather patterns and a day/night cycle
- Ride on rails, jump off walls, skim across water, and more as you race for the finish line
- Take on the adrenaline-packed Knockout Tour—a fierce 24-driver elimination mode
- Explore courses at your own pace and wander the world to discover fun surprises in Free Roam
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
