Top of the best video games of 2025. One of them will “trap you in despair”, but all the more worth playing

A family classic reborn in a wide-open world, a satirical adventure through teenage life and a mystery puzzle for all ages – these are some of the Guardian journalists' picks for the top games of 2025. These are the top 5.

5th place – Mario Kart World

The Switch 2 showcase title is another glorious addition to the Mario Kart universe, with a delightful cast of characters and 30 varied circuits linked by a network of highways that offer the chance to explore a wide-open landscape for the first time in the series. Add in the awesome soundtrack of electronic lounge jazz pop tunes and you have another staple family game that will stay in the rotation for years.

4th place – The Seance of Blake Manor

It's the end of the 19th century and you've just arrived at an isolated hotel in the west of Ireland to investigate the disappearance of a young woman. But as you search for clues, the dead rise from their graves—and they're not happy at all. Part Agatha Christie-style detective simulation, part folk horror, this is a fascinating and immersive experience.

3rd place – Silent Hill f

In 1960s Japan, a young girl's anger at her aggressive father turns into a spectral nightmare that engulfs an entire city. Written by renowned visual novel author Ryukishi07, the game transports you to the familiar territory of Silent Hill, which means foggy streets, diabolical puzzles and truly terrifying monsters.

2nd place – Hollow Knight: Silksong

Even the most tenacious player will feel like giving up at some point as he's trapped in Pharloom, a decaying realm full of tiny, desperate insects that was once a glittering religious capital. Here are some truly wretched places: former farms now turned into fetid swamps, dank underground caverns covered in moss and filth, grand halls now covered in dust and full of dark forebodings. And, of course, there are the guardians of these places, from rotten-minded animal trainers to corrupt pilgrims and automaton insects, silk-poisoned creatures and former rulers of the realm, who stand in your way. The most formidable enemies in Silksong take hours to defeat. The most terrible places will trap you in despair. A great game, whose sometimes extreme difficulty is both a strength and a weakness.

1st place – Blue Prince

A young man inherits a mysterious mansion from his uncle: a sprawling building whose structure changes every day. All he has to do is find the secret room number 46 and the place will be his forever. The mansion proves to be a source of learning: about the personal history of the family that owns it, the mysterious forces that have shaped it, and the political climate of the world in which it stands. But before you get to the deeper mysteries of the Blue Prince, you must master his plans. Behind every door is a choice: Are you designing a library? A hallway with multiple exits? A security room, a laboratory, a swimming pool, a bedroom, a children's room, a salon? Each one will have its own secrets to discover, a useful object, a key or a new piece of information that will bring you even closer to that elusive room 46. And each one can give you a new path to the rest of the mansion or locked doors you don't have the means to get past.

Every day, with every new route you carve through these rooms, with every dead end you encounter, your knowledge accumulates. By the time you reach your final destination, you'll have so many unanswered questions that you won't be able to resist continuing.

The game is available on Dogubomb/Raw Fury, PC, PS5, Xbox