Clair Obscur is #1 and it's not close. I said I wasn't going to buy another turn-based RPG after burning out on the genre years ago, then this one made me eat my words within like 3 hours. The parry timing genuinely makes you sweat during boss fights in a way turn-based games usually don't manage — most of them let you tab out mentally and just mash confirm. Also the soundtrack is unfair, some of these tracks should not go this hard for a game about painters.
Astro Bot is #2
Every world has like three ideas that a normal studio would've stretched into a whole game on their own, and they just burn through them in twenty minutes and move on. Kind of insane pacing honestly.
#3 is Metaphor ReFantazio, technically a late 2024 game but it's what I was still playing in January so it counts, my list my rules. The Persona formula is obviously all over it but the setting doesn't feel like a reskin the way I expected — combat actually has stakes instead of being a formality between social link scenes.
Curious what's showing up in other people's top 3 though, feels like there's a sleeper indie everyone's going to bring up that I haven't touched yet.
Still God of War Ragnarök - I have played it so many times already. A phenomenal conclusion to Kratos and Atreus' Norse saga. Great combat, memorable characters, and cinematic storytelling that rarely feels bloated.
Top PS5 Games of 2025
$40–$70 per game (standard PS5 pricing)
Prefer 2025 releases (late 2024 ok if it dominated your 2025 playtime)
Any genre welcome (RPG, FPS, indie, multiplayer, story-driven, etc.)
Please vote based on personal experience, not just hype
Vote for your Top 3 PS5 games of 2025!! Trying to crowdsource a real, player-driven list of the best PS5 games this year.
Clair Obscur is #1 and it's not close. I said I wasn't going to buy another turn-based RPG after burning out on the genre years ago, then this one made me eat my words within like 3 hours. The parry timing genuinely makes you sweat during boss fights in a way turn-based games usually don't manage — most of them let you tab out mentally and just mash confirm. Also the soundtrack is unfair, some of these tracks should not go this hard for a game about painters.
Astro Bot is #2
Every world has like three ideas that a normal studio would've stretched into a whole game on their own, and they just burn through them in twenty minutes and move on. Kind of insane pacing honestly.
#3 is Metaphor ReFantazio, technically a late 2024 game but it's what I was still playing in January so it counts, my list my rules. The Persona formula is obviously all over it but the setting doesn't feel like a reskin the way I expected — combat actually has stakes instead of being a formality between social link scenes.
Curious what's showing up in other people's top 3 though, feels like there's a sleeper indie everyone's going to bring up that I haven't touched yet.
Still God of War Ragnarök - I have played it so many times already.
A phenomenal conclusion to Kratos and Atreus' Norse saga. Great combat, memorable characters, and cinematic storytelling that rarely feels bloated.