CHENNAI: I've played a set of incredibly unique games in the last year, and I am so excited for the next year ahead. As is customary, the list that follows contains my personal favourites of games released in the last 12 months. A lot of these are independent games with a focus more on mechanics that are not strictly combat-based, so they might be quite friendly to beginners. So don’t be shy — you can try some of them even if you are very new to videogames!
Animal Well
Windows, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch 2-D Action, Adventure
Animal Well is the closest I have felt to what playing video games was like in the 1990s. It’s a single player game where we play as a tiny blob exploring a well. As most wells, this one is also dark and filled with secrets. The goal of the game is to navigate a labyrinth of interconnected rooms and find a way to light up all the flames. It’s a single player game with the advantage of a very engaged community online. Apparently, completing the game is still only halfway to its “hidden” ending. And we still have gamers figuring it out over the last few months. There’s nothing I dislike about this game — and it did feel very relaxing to explore and discover things without ever worrying about health, stamina, and other stats.
Balatro
Android/iOS, Windows,PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch Type: Deck-building
I know there are too many games on this list. You have time for just one of them. And it would be super convenient if it was on your phone, and if you could play it while on the commute or during an incredibly boring work meeting. This is that game. A million people would agree with me when I say that Balatro has fundamentally enhanced the idea of poker, and created a rogue-like game that is infinitely replayable and insanely fun (all with no real-world money involved at all). It does this buy creating card modifiers, and upgrades in the form of different types of joker cards. It’s a very special game, and I see it being one of those legendary once in a decade game that lasts forever — like Minesweeper, or Spider Solitaire, or Candy Crush.
Turnip Boy Robs a Bank
Windows, Nintendo Switch Type: Roguelike
If you are getting tired of serious multiplayer games, and need to switch your brain off to play something fun — look no further. In the game you play as a young turnip, armed with a weapon, with the sole focus of executing the perfect bank heist. He has just three minutes, you see, before the swat team is set out after him. It’s rogue-like, so you have infinite attempts of the same run before you get it perfectly right. And to help you out along the way, if you make a semi-successful run — into the bank, take some money (but not all of it), and rush out within three minutes you get to keep the cash. This can get you upgrades and better weapons.
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation Type: Adventure, Puzzle
Walking about an abandoned hotel solving a murder mystery is as exciting as you think it is. “Lorelei and the Laser Eyes” has a lot of exposition through random notes, letters, and diaries that you find — and most of this is hidden in complex codes and puzzles. Everything you see and read is important. The last time I remember doing this much math for fun was when I got really into Sudoku when I was about 10, and I don’t ever think I’ve got so much enjoyment from jotting down notes and codes on a little notebook.
Echoes of Wisdom
Nintendo Switch Type: Adventure
I am convinced that the creators that work on the Legend of Zelda series are just incapable of creating a game that isn’t wonderful. Echoes of Wisdom is just a simple spin-off of the series, like a side-gig. It’s one of the very few games where you play as Zelda (and not Link) who waves her magical staff to conjure powerful “echoes” to travel across Hyrule. Hyrule is large and filled with danger — and she makes simple echoes like tables to cross over steep ledges, or stronger echoes that help her fight moblins and their allies. I must say that I much prefer this to crafting elaborate weapons like Link does in the recent games.
Ghost of Yotei
PlayStation 5 Action-Adventure Release: 2025
Set in feudal Japan, this game is a sequel to the famous Ghost of Tsushima series. Considering how beautiful and well-structured the last game was — I am quite excited for this game. In this game, we play as a female warrior in Hokkaido, 300 years after the events of Tsushima.
Assassins Creed Shadows
Windows, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox
Action-Adventure, Stealth
Release: February 2025
Yet another game set in Japan — Shadows is set in the 1400s. Shadows is rumored to be as big as earlier games like Origins, has eagle vision, and two character options to choose from. I’ve played every Assassins Creed game that exists — and I am quite excited for the release of this game.
GTA 6
Windows, PlayStation, Xbox
Action-adventure
Release: Fall 2025
I don’t think any of us can truly believe that the game is expected to release next year, after years and years of waiting for it. It is set in a fictional imagination of a city in Florida (including Vice City) and follows the lives of a criminal duo. The only trailer out so far features contemporary society — with the social media apps and livestreams galore. Are you excited about this one too?
Are you looking forward to any other games in 2025?
Tell us about them. I’d love to try them out.