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From ‘making deals’ to busting dealers, it’s been a wild year for gaming so far (here’s what you missed)
This year has brought quite the mixed bag, and with $80 games on our doorstep, disappointing AAA releases, and GTA 6's lengthy delay, it can be fairly easy to feel pessimistic about 2025. But in reality, this year has spoiled us. We've had a series of bangers this year, from solo indie hits to shockingly good AA titles. 2025 has blessed us with more great games than we can hope to play before the new year hits us. Now, there's a fair bit of negativity going around with looming $80 games, disappointing AAA releases, and so many YouTube videos sowing panic about "the coming gaming crash." And so, here I am to spread a healthy dose of hope and positivity. I mean, it's been one amazing year so far. Unmissable games you may have missed Image via TVGS If you've been living under a rock, you may not have heard about Schedule 1, a game all about dealing... well, happiness in small doses. You grow your own goods, mix your own products, and try to make customers of the entire town. It's a real blast with a healthy dose of humor, starting with the demo itself. It's called a free sample, for crying out loud. That's hilarious! But what really impressed me about Schedule 1 isn't the addictive gameplay, nor is it the quirky yet easy-on-the-eye art style; it's the fact that it was made by one person. It's one of the anomalies that one guy made in his basement, and it just took off, and I love to see those. Image via Kepler Interactive Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 could be one of the best games we've seen in decades, instantly blasting to the top of many gamers' all-time-favorite lists. It's on mine, too, but Final Fantasy 7 still holds the top spot for me. It'll be a while before Expedition 33 builds up the nostalgic value to knock FF7 off the personal top spot. It's a turn-based RPG that plays more like an ARPG than most ARPG's, with fast-paced combat complete with dodges and parries, and it's a blast. The art style is absolutely gorgeous, and the most surprising thing here? It was created by a small team of developers and is not AAA as you would think—but AA. Even so, it punches far above its weight and blew every single AAA release this year out of the water. It's certainly the best game to launch since Baldur's Gate 3, and looks set to claim GOTY 2025 with GTA 6's delay. But then we also have Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, which I honestly enjoyed more than Expedition 33 (I haven't progressed all that far in the latter, though). It's more gritty, more real, and just more niche. If you've been on the hunt for a game all about punishing yourself, KCD 2 is probably for you. Especially now that Hardcore mode has become available. The premise, if you're unfamiliar, is you're a former peasant working as a bodyguard to a stuck-up (yet lovable) noble. But it's not your typical hero game. You start to feel invincible at times, but then a random bandit stops you on the road, bashes your brains in, and reminds you that you're just a peasant after all. Hope you remembered to save. I haven't played Split Fiction, I'm still trying to get my partner to help me beat the toolbox in It Takes Two (helpful tips in the comments below, please!). But I've seen the gameplay, I've heard the reports from colleagues, and if you have a gamer significant other, it's an unmissable title. Now's about time I circle back to the title and make it all make sense. I started with making deals, as promised, but when do we bust dealers? Enter The Precinct. It's another small indie hit (and it's a small game). If there's one game on this list you likely missed, it's this one. Image via Kwalee Games You play as Nick Cordell, a rookie in the Averno City Police Department. It's your job to catch criminals, from gang members to vandals, and put them behind bars. Or, you know, just outright blast away at them. You'll have to follow police procedure, though, so the shotgun isn't the answer to everything. Sometimes the taser gets the job done; other times, a plain old tackle is enough. It's a high-up free-roam camera that represents GTA 3 if it retained GTA 2's camera, and it's actually quite pretty. It's a great little game, and yes, you can bust drug deals in this. So there we are, we've come full circle. So, to escape the fears that the gaming industry is about to collapse, why not sit back and enjoy some of the above titles while everything burns around us? Because one thing's for sure, once you've played the above (way under $80) games, you'll know the truth. The gaming industry isn't "dying," it's merely shifting. While some AAA studios work on figuring out more ways to grab extra dollars from your wallet, indies and AAs are hard at work actually making the games we want to play, for less. What did I miss? Let me know in the comments below. I'm especially curious to hear about sleeper hits you guys have uncovered that we'd be happy to shed some light on. The post From ‘making deals’ to busting dealers, it’s be
This year has brought quite the mixed bag, and with $80 games on our doorstep, disappointing AAA releases, and GTA 6's lengthy delay, it can be fairly easy to feel pessimistic about 2025. But in reality, this year has spoiled us.
We've had a series of bangers this year, from solo indie hits to shockingly good AA titles. 2025 has blessed us with more great games than we can hope to play before the new year hits us.
Now, there's a fair bit of negativity going around with looming $80 games, disappointing AAA releases, and so many YouTube videos sowing panic about "the coming gaming crash." And so, here I am to spread a healthy dose of hope and positivity. I mean, it's been one amazing year so far.
Unmissable games you may have missed
If you've been living under a rock, you may not have heard about Schedule 1, a game all about dealing... well, happiness in small doses. You grow your own goods, mix your own products, and try to make customers of the entire town.
It's a real blast with a healthy dose of humor, starting with the demo itself. It's called a free sample, for crying out loud. That's hilarious!
But what really impressed me about Schedule 1 isn't the addictive gameplay, nor is it the quirky yet easy-on-the-eye art style; it's the fact that it was made by one person. It's one of the anomalies that one guy made in his basement, and it just took off, and I love to see those.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 could be one of the best games we've seen in decades, instantly blasting to the top of many gamers' all-time-favorite lists. It's on mine, too, but Final Fantasy 7 still holds the top spot for me. It'll be a while before Expedition 33 builds up the nostalgic value to knock FF7 off the personal top spot.
It's a turn-based RPG that plays more like an ARPG than most ARPG's, with fast-paced combat complete with dodges and parries, and it's a blast. The art style is absolutely gorgeous, and the most surprising thing here? It was created by a small team of developers and is not AAA as you would think—but AA.
Even so, it punches far above its weight and blew every single AAA release this year out of the water. It's certainly the best game to launch since Baldur's Gate 3, and looks set to claim GOTY 2025 with GTA 6's delay.
But then we also have Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, which I honestly enjoyed more than Expedition 33 (I haven't progressed all that far in the latter, though). It's more gritty, more real, and just more niche. If you've been on the hunt for a game all about punishing yourself, KCD 2 is probably for you.
Especially now that Hardcore mode has become available. The premise, if you're unfamiliar, is you're a former peasant working as a bodyguard to a stuck-up (yet lovable) noble. But it's not your typical hero game. You start to feel invincible at times, but then a random bandit stops you on the road, bashes your brains in, and reminds you that you're just a peasant after all. Hope you remembered to save.
I haven't played Split Fiction, I'm still trying to get my partner to help me beat the toolbox in It Takes Two (helpful tips in the comments below, please!). But I've seen the gameplay, I've heard the reports from colleagues, and if you have a gamer significant other, it's an unmissable title.
Now's about time I circle back to the title and make it all make sense. I started with making deals, as promised, but when do we bust dealers? Enter The Precinct. It's another small indie hit (and it's a small game). If there's one game on this list you likely missed, it's this one.
You play as Nick Cordell, a rookie in the Averno City Police Department. It's your job to catch criminals, from gang members to vandals, and put them behind bars. Or, you know, just outright blast away at them.
You'll have to follow police procedure, though, so the shotgun isn't the answer to everything. Sometimes the taser gets the job done; other times, a plain old tackle is enough.
It's a high-up free-roam camera that represents GTA 3 if it retained GTA 2's camera, and it's actually quite pretty. It's a great little game, and yes, you can bust drug deals in this. So there we are, we've come full circle.
So, to escape the fears that the gaming industry is about to collapse, why not sit back and enjoy some of the above titles while everything burns around us? Because one thing's for sure, once you've played the above (way under $80) games, you'll know the truth. The gaming industry isn't "dying," it's merely shifting.
While some AAA studios work on figuring out more ways to grab extra dollars from your wallet, indies and AAs are hard at work actually making the games we want to play, for less.
What did I miss? Let me know in the comments below. I'm especially curious to hear about sleeper hits you guys have uncovered that we'd be happy to shed some light on.
The post From ‘making deals’ to busting dealers, it’s been a wild year for gaming so far (here’s what you missed) appeared first on Destructoid.
