2025 is shaping up to be a great year for video games, with tons of big budget and indie games on the horizon. Here are five games (plus a couple of honorable mentions) I’m looking forward to this year — I hope you all feel the same way.
Honorable Mention #1: The First Berserker: Khazan
Khazan is my honorable mention only because it’s coming out the Thursday after I’m writing this article. I couldn’t put down the demo and I’ve been waiting patiently for the full release.
For the uninitiated, The First Berserker: Khazan is a difficult third-person action RPG in the vein of other “Souls-like” games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring, but with an anime-inspired aesthetic.
You play as Khazan, a betrayed former general who was banished to the snowy outreaches of his kingdom. Along the way, he becomes possessed by a demonic spirit and now serves as its vessel. Khazan and his new demonic powers turn their attention to those who have wronged him with only one thing on their minds — revenge.
If you haven’t yet played the demo, I implore you to do so. You can download it now on Steam. This is going to be one of the best games of the year, so get on the ground floor and give it a shot.
Honorable Mention #2: ZPF
ZPF makes the honorable mentions list because I already covered the demo earlier this year. Check out my early thoughts here, where you can find the demo link for Steam as well.
#5: Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
The remake of the third Metal Gear Solid game kicks off our list of most anticipated titles and for good reason. The game’s new graphical style is reminiscent of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, one of my favorite games of all time. I enjoyed Snake Eater the first time around and on the 3DS, but this contemporary remake looks like it could take the game to new heights.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is slated to release on August 28.
#4: Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
I need a new fighting game to learn like a hole in the head, but Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves scratches that old-school SNK itch like no other game out right now, even King of Fighters XV. The game brings Terry, Mai, Rock Howard, Tizoc, Billy Kane, B. Jenet, and more into 2025, with new outfits, moves, and battle mechanics to learn.
The fighting system revives the S.P.G. system from Garou: Mark of the Wolves and adds the REV System, a new high-octane system reminiscent of Street Fighter 6’s Drive Gauge, allowing players to string together impressive combos and setups. Also returning are classic SNK fighting mechanics like Combination Attacks, Just Defense, Braking, Dodge Attacks, and Feints.
Unfortunately, it seems like the beta didn’t go too well, if a video from fighting game content creator jmcrofts is any indication, to the point where he called on SNK to delay the game to fix its many issues:
SNK hasn’t announce any sort of delay, so we’ll see it on April 24 in whatever state it’s in.
#3: Digimon Story: Time Stranger
I am presently in my fourth playthrough of Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, and when I saw the news that we’d be getting a new Digimon Story game, I nearly jumped out of my chair.
Yes, the game has a ton of dialogue that takes forever to get through, yes the game sends you to all different corners of the world, including plenty of areas you’ve already visited, to progress the story, but there is nothing like raising and battling your own Digimon in full 3D, especially when your full team of Megas is ripping through enemy Digimon towards the end of the game.
The “unlimited power fantasy” at the end of games is always one of my favorite parts and Cyber Sleuth made me feel like the world heavyweight champion of the Digital World with how my team could obliterate enemy Mega Digimon like Piedmon in the final dungeon of the game.
A more in-depth trailer dropped during DigimonCon that revealed we’ll be getting new Digimon, including Armor Evolutions like Pegasusmon and classic Digimon like Tapirmon and Centarumon
Digimon Story: Time Stranger has an unknown 2025 release date.
#2: Capcom Fighting Collection 2
Capcom vs. SNK 2 is probably my favorite fighting game of all time. To be able to easily play it against other people again is something I’ve wanted for years. I cut my teeth playing the original Xbox port of this game on the first iteration of Xbox Live, playing random people with my little controller, thinking I was hot stuff.
Of course, the other games in this collection are a blessing to have, like both Power Stone games, Project Justice, Plasma Sword, and more, but for me, CvS2 is the game of the collection by far. The collection drops on May 15.
#1: DOOM: The Dark Ages
If you know me, you know how much DOOM 2016 and DOOM Eternal impacted me. I have spoken about both games extensively on my podcast, Party XP, where I recommended the games to my friend Lakan, who also loved them. You can listen to both episodes below:
DOOM: The Dark Ages brings us back to a medieval version of the DOOM Slayer, who will use a new razor shield to batter, dismember, and eliminate the enemies of mankind.
There is nothing like the combination of unbridled aggression and significant challenge that makes my blood pump. No other game has the combination of visuals, music, gameplay, and gore that the DOOM remakes have. They truly exist as the gold standard of single-player first-person-shooters and I have no doubt DOOM: The Dark Ages will follow suit.
DOOM: The Dark Ages is slated for a May 13 release date.
That’s my list! Please consider subscribing if you made it this far and let me know either in the comments or on BlueSky what you’re looking forward to this year!
GameOni 
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