Jan 012025
Yesterday, I talked about my favorite games that I played in 2024. Now it’s time to look ahead toward 2025 and the upcoming games I’m looking forward to the most.
2025 doesn’t seem quite as packed with must-play games for me as last year – which is a relief, since I still haven’t finished most of those. It’s definitely got some heavy-hitters, though, so here are my top 5 most-anticipated games of 2025!
5. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
The announcement of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was a highlight of this year’s game announcements, and everything we’ve seen about it so far looks great. Its dark fantasy world, what little we know about the story, and the turn-based combat all have my attention.
We still don’t know a lot about it, so maybe I shouldn’t have it among my top 5. But still, a new turn-based RPG with what looks like a pretty high budget is enough to intrigue me, and its reveal trailer was so good.
There’s no release date yet, but it’s set for 2025, and I’m really looking forward to it!
4. Professor Layton and the New World of Steam
Despite my worries about Level-5 lately, I can’t have a year where a new Professor Layton game is coming out and not put it on the list. I’ve loved every Professor Layton game except for Layton’s Mystery Journey, but even my thoughts on that one aren’t enough to dampen my enthusiasm.
Professor Layton and the New World of Steam looks like it should be a return to form, with the gameplay previews and puzzle samples both seeming promising so far. I have high hopes that its story will be a return to the usual Layton insanity, too.
Of course, I do have doubts about whether or not it will actually come out this year… but Level-5 still says it will, so for now I’ll have faith.
3. The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy
A few weeks ago, I found myself realizing that I miss Danganronpa. Those games have a particular style that just isn’t found anywhere else (not even in Rain Code). Well, we might not have a new Danganronpa game coming out, but we do have The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy from Too Kyo Games.
Any game from the creators of both Danganronpa and Zero Escape is going to catch my attention at least a little, and a lot of what’s been shown so far looks very similar to Danganronpa. The biggest exception is the gameplay, because it’s… a strategy RPG.
Sign me up!
In short, Last Defense Academy has a ton of ingredients I love, and I just hope they come together into a satisfactory whole. It’s definitely one of the games I’m looking forward to the most this year.
2. Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition
I still can’t believe it’s real.
So many years I spent hoping Xenoblade Chronicles X would make a return on the Nintendo Switch, to give it a second chance at life and pave the way for a sequel. I’d given up and started hoping it would be remastered for the Switch’s successor instead, but here it is as a Nintendo Switch game after all!
I loved Xenoblade Chronicles X despite it being an open world game. Something about it just really made it click with me. Now it’s getting a second chance at life, and since I’m now caught up on the series thanks to finishing Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and Future Redeemed, I’m looking forward to starting a new adventure in Mira after all these years.
That leaves just one game that I’m looking forward to even more than Xenoblade Chronicles X, and you might be able to guess what it is…
1. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
I know what you’re thinking. “Come on, Sam, weren’t you saying the premise is too silly?” Yes, I have some misgivings about the direction for the story of this game. But… it’s Like a Dragon.
The Yakuza / Like a Dragon series has yet to let me down. Even my least favorite entry is still one I have to praise as a great game. Besides that, everything I’ve seen about Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii has me excited for what looks like a fun-filled adventure.
So yo ho ho, I’m ready to set sail with Cap’n Majima anytime! …As soon as I finish Infinite Wealth, that is.
Conclusion
There are many more exciting games coming out besides these, like Tales of Graces f Remastered, Fantasy Life i (which was on my list last year), Death Match Love Comedy, Pokémon Legends Z-A, and lots of others. However, when I looked at them all, these five are the ones that ended up at the top of my list.
Which 2025 games are you looking forward to the most?
Wait wait wait, is Pirate Yakuza the official translation now? Are they completely giving up on having the games be numbered like they are in Japan? 🤣
Of games that have not come out yet (aka ignoring my backlog), the main differences for my list are Wanderstop and Hades 2, in place of Yakuza and XCX. I liked XCX but can’t see myself playing it again, and still have not gotten into the Yakuza games.
Wanderstop is the upcoming cozy game from one of the makers of The Stanley Parable, and Hades 2… I am counting because it is still early access and I am resisting playing until it goes into full release. So I count that as potential 2025.
Pirate Yakuza is a side game, not the 9th main game. Its Japanese title is Like a Dragon 8 Gaiden: Pirates in Hawaii. (But they already dropped the numbers for the English titles of 7 and 8, anyway.)
Ooh, I forgot that Hades 2 might be getting its full release this year. That’s one I’m looking forward to for sure!
I’ve heard of Wanderstop, although I don’t know much about it.