The Best Games of 2025 (So Far) Revealed!

 The first half of 2025 has already delivered some incredible titles to the gaming world. Metacritic, the leading review score aggregator and industry barometer, has evaluated new video games released between January 1st and June 30th. This exclusive ranking focuses solely on original productions, intentionally omitting remakes and remastered versions. Out of the 20 games that earned a spot on this prestigious list, a remarkable 16 managed to achieve a score of at least 85 out of 100.

Top-Rated Games of 2025: Metacritic's Picks

Leading the charge at the very top of the list is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, boasting an impressive 93 points. This makes it the highest-rated title to emerge in the first six months of the year. Following closely in second place is Blue Prince, with a strong score of 92 points, while Split Fiction secures the third position, earning 91 points.

Kojima Productions' highly anticipated sequel, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, secured the fourth spot with a solid 90 points. Entering the list at number five is despelote, with a score of 89 points, a rating matched by The Talos Principle: Reawakened, which followed closely behind.

The latest installments in popular series, Monster Hunter Wilds and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, both earned 88 points, entering the list at seventh and eighth places respectively. They were closely followed by Monster Train 2. Sharing the same rank with 87 points are The Roottrees are Dead, Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders, and StarVaders. Rounding out the high scores, Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo along with Mario Kart World each received 86 points. Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector also made the list with the same commendable score.

Closing Out the Top List and Notable Exclusions

In the final section of the list, The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy secured a spot with 85 points. Meanwhile, Two Point Museum, The Alters, Keep Driving, and Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist found themselves at the lower ranks with 84 points each.

It's worth noting that the new The Legend of Zelda game released for the Nintendo Switch 2 was explicitly excluded from this evaluation. This decision was due to Metacritic's strict criteria of only including original productions, thus leaving out remakes or remastered versions from this particular ranking of 2025's top games.

The Power of Originality in Gaming's First Half

The first half of 2025 clearly demonstrated the significant impact that titles developed with entirely new concepts can have. According to Metacritic's list, the number of games released in the first six months of the year that managed to score at least 85 points reached an impressive 16. The inclusion of these particular titles signals the emergence of a high standard in the gaming world, both in terms of diversity and quality.