TECH
2024 was a banger year for gamers. Sure, the largest developers in the industry may have faltered due to ballooning budgets and grossly-unpopular game releases, but there were still no shortage of absolutely awesome games—just check out our post about the top 11 games that came out this year.
The thing is, it might just be the case that 2025 is even better. Not only are we anticipating new PC hardware targeted at gamers (including new GPUs from all three major vendors), we also expect to see Nintendo's "Switch Successor" in whatever form it finally takes. That's arguably the biggest "gaming release to look forward to" for 2025, but we're going to focus on game software in this post.
Without further ado, let's get to it:
#7: Death Stranding 2: On The Beach...If you didn't play Death Stranding, you might be confused as to why this game is highly anticipated, and if you did play Death Stranding you might be miffed as to why it's so low on our list. Well, it's simple: the game is going to be a PS5 exclusive on launch. However, Death Stranding's bleeding-edge visuals and typically (for series creator Hideo Kojima) enigmatic storytelling are one of a kind, and the original game truly provided an experience quite like any other in gaming. Death Stranding 2: On The Beach looks to up the ante over the first game, with more action, more memorable characters, and crucially, more fascinating lore and setting details that might shed new light on the events of the first game.
#6: Sid Meier's Civilization VII...Civilization is a series that started with a DOS game released in 1991, but the second game is really where the franchise blew up, making Sid Meier a household name—at least, among strategy game fans. A few missteps aside (like the console releases of Civ 4), the series has been going strong ever since, and Civilization VI was a major hit, selling a million units in less than two weeks after its launch. Naturally, folks are excited for the next title, which promises to streamline the progression mechanics while multiplying the depth of the sim by allowing players to choose different leaders in each age of their civilization. This one's headed to basically all current-gen platforms as well as the Switch.
#5: DOOM: The Dark Ages...If there's one video game that needs no introduction to an audience of PC hardware enthusiasts, it's probably DOOM. Now, while the reactions of classic DOOM fans to the 2016 reboot were largely positive, the 2020 release of Doom Eternal did meet with some criticism due to a schizophrenic tone, an excessive emphasis on unnecessary world-building, and a move to more-restrictive rock-paper-scissors combat. No news about whether Id Software has heard those criticisms for The Dark Ages, but even a bad DOOM game is better than most titles, so we're still totally stoked for the next generation of demon slaying action.
#4: Pokémon Legends: Z-A...Did you know that Pokémon is the most profitable media franchise in the history of humanity? It's true. Whether you're a fan or not, a new Pokémon game is a big deal, even if this one is a spinoff title. The original Pokémon Legends: Arceus introduced open-world 3D exploration and real-time battles to the franchise, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A looks to carry forward those innovations into a modern-day setting inspired by Paris, France. It's coming to Switch, but it might just make a great launch title for the Nintendo Switch 2, too.
#3: Monster Hunter Wilds...Monster Hunter is another storied franchise with many, many game releases under its belt. Wilds will be the next main-line entry in the series, starting the sixth generation of Monster Hunter games. There are a great many gameplay innovations in this title, first and foremost being the presence of a mount that can be used to rapidly traverse zones, as well as the ability to bring two different weapons into hunts and swap them on the fly while mounted. This title is coming to current-gen platforms, including the PC.
#2: Elden Ring: Nightreign...Elden Ring sure is fun in multiplayer, but it can get tedious having to resummon your buddies (and get summoned yourself) for every new area and boss fight. Hey, what if there was an Elden Ring Rogue-like dungeon crawler where you could team up with two buddies in non-stop, procedurally-generated combat encounters against enemies both new and old? Well, here you go. The very concept of Elden Ring Nightreign is bizarre, but it sounds like a ton of fun and we can't wait to face off against revised versions of classic enemies from the other FromSoftware games, confirmed to cameo in this title.
#1: Grand Theft Auto VI...There's really no other video game that has ever been as anticipated as this one. Something in the future might outdo it, but at this time, there's just no comparison. Grand Theft Auto V is one of the most profitable video game releases of all time, and for good reason; not only does the single-player portion of this open-world extravaganza tell a story both hilarious and surprisingly rich in emotional depth, but the multiplayer part, GTA Online, has seen over ten years of continual updates to offer an experience you really can't get anywhere else. GTA VI is coming to current-gen consoles only late next year; a PC release will probably follow some months later.
mundophone
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