Gotta be Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden! Favorite game I’ve played this year and one of favorites of all time! Characters are great and voice work is top notch! Also, very compelling story.

Chrono Trigger. Hands down.

Ghost of Tsushima on PC for me as well. I also picked up Horizon Forbidden West on PC for dirt cheap, but haven't had a chance to play it yet.

My favourite new games I played this year that weren't released in 2025 are Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Demon's Souls Remake, and The Legend of Heroes: Trails Into Reverie. I also want to give a special mention to Koudelka, a hidden gem of a PS1 RPG that I had played a little over 25 years ago, but only got to finish recently.

My brother got me into Slay the Spire which I have a love hate relationship with. But probably still my favorite game I've played this year not released this year.

In terms of replayed games, I think Kid Icarus Uprising. Still super unique and clearly crafted with love. I wish the online mode was still a thing. Honestly would rather Sakurai make a sequel to this than a new Smash game.

After years of wanting it. Knowing what it was. My friend just gave me his copy for free. This game is expensive as hell.  I was flabbergasted. Finally playing it and OH MY GOD! This game and forgive the pun. GODLY! You can draw comparisons to Fist of the North Star but this is a far goofier game than that series which does take itself seriously despite how absurd it is. God Hand had a colorful cast of demon villains who are as 2000s anime as can be. You fight knockoff power rangers in one level. A man dressed in a panda outfit. a Demon Elvis.  A questionable portrayal of gay body builder demons and more. Even putting the tone aside. The gameplay is amazing. It's a 3D brawler/beat em up but you fully custom your moves. The game is pretty hard and the trickiest part s choosing the right moves for a mission.  But when you get into the rhythm it's so satisfying. Not joking when I say this game has challenge. While it is a trend to see Souls fans on YouTube struggle with Ninja Gaiden's difficulty. Let's see them try this game or Otogi which honestly makes NG look like kids mode. God Had does have an Easy mode but it's really normal and normal is hard mode. Good news tho if you don't want to spend hundreds. While they are still up and still have a PS3? You can grab it for 10 bucks on PSN. 

I will not count Remasters/Remakes released in 2025 as I already put those with my actual 2025 GoTY list thread.

Binding of Isaac

I had such a bad first impression of this with the slippery controls, 4-way shooting and weak standard attack. But once you get into the groove of it, it’s the right mix of chill and addictive and with lots of content.

I actually played a lot of older games that I missed in their time in 2025, but my favourite would probably have to be Enslaved: Odyssey to the West for its uniqueness and style.

I also really enjoyed Ace Combat 6, Stranglehold, Vampire Survivors, and Severed Steel.

Baldur's Gate 3. I put in over 800 hours into it starting from late May with three full playthroughs so it's no surprise that it's become my favourite game of all time. It's truly a special masterpiece aside from an occasional bit of jank. The wild thing is I'm not even done with it yet since I'll probably do another couple playthroughs next year so that'll be at least a few hundred more hours in 2026 alone likely making it the first game I'll have put over 1k hours into.

I guess i dont have one? E33 is my goty.

When it comes to games released previous years i mostly replayed games i love, didnt play many older games for the first time.

I guess Xenoblade Chronicles X DE? Played it for WiiU but since this is the DE it counts as a new version lol

Edit: oh yeah, I played Mega Man 11 for the first time this year and loved it.