2025 delivered an unprecedented year for gaming excellence. Major award ceremonies remain pending, but critical consensus has emerged around leading contenders based on Metascores and industry recognition. This article presents verified data on top-rated games, their scores, release dates, and positioning ahead of November and December award announcements.
Highest-Rated Games of 2025
The gaming industry has produced exceptional releases this year, with multiple titles exceeding 90 Metascores. Current critical rankings establish clear tiers of excellence across genres and platforms.[1][2][3][4]
| Rank | Game | Metascore | Release Date | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hades II | 95 | September 25 | Multi-platform[5] |
| 2 | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | 92 (PS5), 91 (PC/Xbox) | April 24 | Multi-platform[5] |
| 2 | Split Fiction | 92 | March 6 | Multi-platform[4] |
| 2 | Blue Prince | 92 | April 10 | Multi-platform[6] |
| 5 | Hollow Knight: Silksong | 91 | September 4 | Multi-platform[7] |
| 5 | Donkey Kong Bananza | 91 | July 17 | Switch 2[8][9] |
| 7 | Death Stranding 2 | 89 | 2025 | PlayStation 5[10] |
| 8 | Kingdom Come: Deliverance II | 88 | February 4 | Multi-platform[11] |
| 9 | ARC Raiders | 87 (Meta), 94 (OpenCritic) | October 30 | Multi-platform[12][13] |
| 10 | Ghost of Yōtei | 87 | October 2 | PlayStation 5[14][15] |
Critical Frontrunner Emerging
Clair Obscur Expedition 33 has maintained consensus as the leading Game of the Year candidate throughout 2025. Despite Hades II ranking highest by score, Expedition 33 retains stronger industry momentum and sustained critical recognition.[16][17][18]
Why Expedition 33 Leads the Conversation
The French-developed action RPG from Sandfall Interactive has generated exceptional player engagement and critical praise. The game released April 24, establishing early dominance that persisted through subsequent high-rated releases. Multiple gaming publications describe it as generationally significant.[17][19][20]
Hades II and Competitor Positioning
Hades II achieved the year’s highest Metascore (95) but faces debate over whether it innovates sufficiently beyond its predecessor. The roguelike sequel introduced Melinoë as protagonist and expanded combat depth, though critics note evolutionary rather than revolutionary advancement.[21][22][1]
Platform-Exclusive Performance
Nintendo Switch 2 surpassed 10.36 million units sold in four months, establishing the fastest hardware launch in company history. Donkey Kong Bananza (91 Metascore) shipped as the console’s flagship title, achieving immediate GOTY consideration despite arriving mid-year.[8][9][23][24][25][26]
PlayStation 5 received two notable entries: Death Stranding 2 (89 Metascore) continued Kojima’s experimental direction, while Ghost of Yōtei (87 Metascore) matched its predecessor’s PS5 score but improved over the PS4 version (82 Metascore).[10][14][27][28]
Aggregator Variance and Alternative Recognition
ARC Raiders presented scoring disagreement across platforms: Metacritic recorded 87 (PC 87, PS5 88), while OpenCritic reached 94 as an extraction shooter. The TIGA Awards named Ghost Town (Fireproof Games) as their 2025 GOTY on November 4, demonstrating award body variation based on voting criteria.[12][13][29][30][31]
Kingdom Come and Secondary Contenders
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (88 Metascore) generated strong player advocacy, with community members organizing discussion to prevent its overlooking by major award bodies. Split Fiction (92 Metascore) succeeded the 2021 Game of the Year winner, It Takes Two, maintaining critical acclaim despite competition.[4][32][33]
Upcoming Awards and Context
The Golden Joystick Awards takes place November 20, 2025, with twelve nominees listed across genre categories. The Game Awards ceremony follows in December 2025, completing the major award season. Grand Theft Auto 6’s delay into 2026 permitted this year’s diverse releases to establish simultaneous critical momentum without competing against the franchise’s cultural dominance.[18][34][35][16]
