My Favorite Games of 2025
These are three games that have given me so much pleasure over the last year.
3. NCAA Football (PS5, Series X/S)
I was playing in the quarterfinals of the national championship. My All-American running back wasn't playing in the game because he was hurt. My second-string back was hurt in the second quarter. Late in the fourth quarter, my third-string running back was so exhausted he had to come out of the game. 1:23 left, behind by four, on Alabama's seven yard line, my redshirt running back has to come into the game for the first carry in his college career.
He broke two tackles and scored.
Alabama came all the way back down the field (I let the CPU control all aspects of defense and watch from the broadcast view). I was helpless as they marched down the field. With ten seconds left, a running back caught a pass in the end zone, but my cornerback hit him so hard he dropped the ball.
Five seconds left.
The quarterback scrambles, buying time. A receiver breaks loose in the end zone. I'm cooked. I see it happening.
He overthrows the receiver. Game over.
This game generates so many unforgettable stories. It has flaws, but none of them are major. What it uniquely does is capture the atmosphere and gameplay of college football far better anyone else ever has.
2. Promise Mascot Agency (PC, Switch, PS, Xbox)
What a joyful game. Wacky and incredibly funny, with excellent gameplay to boot. Every time I finished a session, I felt happy. It would have been #1 in almost any other year than this one.
1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
What a ridiculously brilliant game. It was incredible in every way. A staggering achievement, and one of the best games I've ever played. It was also the closest I've ever seen to a perfect game.
I used to drink an embarrassing amount of Dublin Dr. Pepper (cane sugar) at the local P. Terry's in Austin while I was working on Gridiron Solitaire and waiting for Eli to get out of school. That version of Dr. Pepper was litigated out of existence over a decade ago, and I still think about it. Often. Clair Obscur, for me, is the gaming equivalent.
<< Home