There is an interesting India series in 2025. It's an evergreen statement, except you have to change the number, so I don't think so. The point is that there are many (advertising) games. Unfortunately, there are a lot of (expletive) games out there. There are so many that I don't know what to do with them. But what if you knew what to do with them?
Indie games rely on word of mouth, but if your circle only plays a handful of the biggest blockbusters and live service giants like EA FC, Fortnite, and Call of Duty, those mouths have no words for your ears to signal to. you send Thumb is hard to know where to start. So why not start here?
While I'm sure there are a few great Indians who will define the rule of 2025 that we haven't heard of yet, several interesting ones have already broken cover. Let's take a look at which of the best combined with this year's biggest triple-A hits.
Black Legend: Wukong – Hyper Light Breaker
While Hyper Light Breaker is a procedural cheat, it shares a lot of DNA with Black Myth: Wukong. Both pride themselves on their difficulty, featuring a series of consecutive boss battles that test your mettle in a way that's never been tested before, forcing you to stop and ask questions like “whatever What is good?” ask You can also play as a raccoon in Hyper Light Breaker. I probably should have led with that.
Astro Bot – Bye Shirin Carol
There are plenty of indie platformers coming out next year that I could compare to Astro Bot, and I'll take this opportunity to suggest Henry Halfhead, The Eternal Life of Goldman, and Earthblade. In fact, they'll all probably have more platforming than Bye Sweet Carole, which is more of a metroidvania. But with Disney-inspired visuals, even if it uses them as a backdrop for scares, the closest thing to nostalgia seems to work in Astro Bot's favor.
A straight one here. Metaphor: ReFantazio is this year's best JRPG, building on Atlus' best-in-class formula. Clair Obscur isn't Japanese, but it's heavily inspired by JRPG classics (let's not get into “what is a JRPG” again), and is the obvious next step for anyone who fell in love with Hulkenberg – I mean, Metaphor: ReFantazio in 2024 played .
Star Blade – Tenjutsu
Tenjutsu is a hell of a game – the trailer starts with a great 80's anime vibe, then when the gameplay kicks in, it's a pixelated shooter that draws on Hotline Miami (albeit not entirely top-down). Coming from the designer of Dead Cells, it doesn't bring the visuals of Stellar Blade, but rather a stylish hero in a fast-paced action splatter fest, which is when Stellar Blade was at its best.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – Berlin Apartment
I really wanted Indiana Jones to be on this list because it was amazing at the end of 2024. Good or bad, this game is not what anyone expected. That's why I'm taking it to the Berlin apartment. Both are first-person games with a historical crossover, and feature Nazi-dominated items in their story. Berlin Apartment has less action, but sometimes similar puzzle-based gameplay, and the two make a good pair.
EA Sports FC 25 – Despelote
I don't have much to say about it – I just think it's good that there's a standalone soccer game that isn't just an arcade sim coming out soon.
Silent Hill 2 – Reanimal
It comes from the team behind Little Nightmares and Little Nightmares 2. Silent Hill 2 is a very “feel-based” horror that's more about scares than jump scares or scary monsters (Pyramid Head), and if you're looking to recreate that feel, Reanimal might just hit the spot in 2025. it is located
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth – Wheel World
With the great indie JRPG on Metaphor's arrival, I had to get creative. And to me Rebirth is all about exploration, which immediately led me to Wheel World and Crescent County. However, the former seems to correspond to the speed of rebirth, while the latter is about speed and fast navigation. You ride a bike to save the world, which (when you consider bikes a very green mode of transportation) is basically the plot of Final Fantasy 7. If you stare too much. For example, too much
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 – Mouse: PI For Hire
Mouse: PI For Hire wears its BioShock inspirations on its rubber sleeve, but we haven't really had a BioShock-esque game this year that makes that connection. However, like every year, we've had another Call of Duty. I'm told this one is pretty good. But I'd love to see shooter fans (who are often just fans of a particular shooter) branch out into the indie world. For CoD fans looking for something that might speed them up, Mouse: PI For Hire should be the first stop.
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