Rewinder Game of the Year 2025

Here we are, at the end of our first calendar year as a website. And while we're mere days away from Editor-in-Chief Henry Stockdale leaving us, it's been a pretty good year. Thank you to everyone who has supported us so far, and we hope we've made it worth it between the site, our podcast, and now our big Game of the Year blowout.

For our GOTY we've compiled a top 10 list of our favourite games of 2025 as a site, as well as giving out extra awards for Performance, Music, Visuals, and Best non-2025 game (whether that be a Remake/Remaster or something we played this year).

You can watch how we came to the decision for each of these categories by watching our Rewinder Game of the Year special podcast, in which we debate over these five categories with minimal amounts of hands being thrown (the Mario Party stream was a trial run).

And without further ado, Rewinder's Game of the Year for 2025 is...

Donkey Kong Bananza

Donkey Kong Bananza redefines what a platform game can be, with its phenomenal destruction mechanics that let you literally destroy and rebuild a level to your leisure, which is an even riskier move when the level design there is brilliant by itself.

On top of that, it has a surprisingly great story for a Nintendo game. Sure it's quite Disney at times, but DK and Pauline's relationship is genuinely lovely for the entire runtime, and holy shit that final act is one of the best finale's of any game ever.

It's been a fantastic year for games, which makes the fact that there wasn't really much of a discussion that its best game (per our site standards) was Donkey Kong Bananza.

Here's our full top 10 list, to find out how we came to this conclusion, the video podcast is where you want to be.

Rewinder's Top 10 games of 2025:

1. Donkey Kong Bananza
2. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
3. Consume Me
4. Silent Hill f
5. Hades 2
6. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
7. Mario Kart World
8. Digimon Story Time Stranger
9. Birdcage 
10. Megabonk

Best Performance

Jennifer English – Maelle – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Look. There's a reason Jennifer English is pretty much sweeping every single award show this year. In a game filled with incredible voice performances, her role as Maelle is by far the strongest.

Runners-up:

• Jenny Kidd – Pauline – Donkey Kong Bananza
• Konatsu Kato – Hinako – Silent Hill f

Best Music

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the easy choice for a winner in this category. Not only does it have an impressive range of tunes from funky sax battle themes to Devil May Cry-esque rock ballads, but it nails every single one of them.

Runners-up:

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Skate Story

Best Looking

Despelote

As Lex noted in our podcast, not many games can convey a feeling and time through their visuals quite like Despelote has. But its nostalgic look pulls you right in. And while our runners-up included one of the best technical marvels of all time visually, and a stylish hand drawn look, Despelote is a step above.

Runners-up:

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Shinobi: Art of Vengeance

Best Old Game / Remake / Remaster

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is number three on my (Scott, hello I'm writing this) Game of the Year list. A game I've bounced off of many times, the Ivalice Chronicles' new visuals, QOL features, and especially the incredible voice acting (we had six in our best performance long list) made it one of the games I could not put down.

Plus, the fact that the original game was also remade on top of it and is available within the same package is something to applaud.

Runners-up:

• Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
• Trails In The Sky 1st Chapter