Although 2025 has already given us a ton of incredible games to sink our teeth into, the gaming world is showing no signs of slowing down. While it’s certainly going to be a challenge to top titles like Clair Obscur: Expedition and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, there are a bunch of promising titles that could very well make us change that opinion once they are in our hands.
From innovative twists on tried and tested gaming tropes to ambitious sequels that seek to surpass their predecessors’ wild success, the second half of 2025 is all set to blow us away with a slew of titles that seek to push the boundaries of what a modern video game can offer its players.
To that end, let’s take a look at some of 2025’s upcoming titles that are worth your attention.
Hollow Knight Silksong
This indie follow-up to the original Hollow Knight is sure to shake things up with Hornet taking over from the original protagonist in a new adventure that sees her bring her acrobatic skills to its combat while its platforming trappings bring a redesigned approach to side quests and an expanded roster of enemies as she explores a new land called Pharloom.
From what we’ve seen of Hollow Knight Silksong, it certainly recaptures the magic and charm of its predecessor. If it’s anything like the original title, this one is definitely worth diving into when it hits the shelves later this year.
Ninja Gaiden 4
Ninja Gaiden fans are sure to be counting the days to October 2025 as they wait for the seventh mainline entry to the iconic franchise. Developed by Team Ninja, this new addition to the franchise’s illustrious lineup includes a new protagonist called Yakumo while Ryu Hayabusa is also making a return to the story.
Another interesting returning character is Dark Dragon, a well-known antagonist from earlier titles who brings the power of the Underworld to threaten our heroes. But with new skills like the Bloodraven Form, Yakumo is sure to complement Hayabusa’s trademark efficiency in dispatching any threats that come his way.
Ninja Gaiden 4 has all the makings of what made previous titles in the franchise as great as they are, while its new additions are sure to elevate it to new heights.
Little Nightmares III
October 2025 is shaping up to be quite a busy month for the gaming community. This standalone sequel to the first two titles in this puzzle-platforming horror franchise from Supermassive Games introduces two new protagonists, Low and Alone, placing them in a new world called The Nowhere with new, frightening threats trying to keep them trapped as they attempt to escape.
With online co-op allowing you to bring a friend to the party while Low’s ranged weapons and Alone’s melee capabilities bring interesting gameplay mechanics to the table, this could be a nightmare you don’t want to wake up from.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A
Game Freak’s take on Pokemon for the original Switch and the newly launched Switch 2 is sure to bring a thrilling way to engage with the popular IP thanks to the new real-time combat system that requires careful positioning of your Pokemon in battle and timing their attacks to maximize their efficacy.
There’s also the new Pre-emptive Strike mechanic that lets you attack an unaware trainer at specific times at certain locations and side quests that players can complete to improve their rankings. The Kalos region is sure to see a lot of activity as players explore Lumiose City and its surroundings while coming into contact with Zygarde, the Legendary Pokemon whose role in the game is yet to be disclosed.
Lost Souls Aside
Sony Interactive Entertainment’s penchant for bringing novel experiences to the table shines through in this upcoming action-adventure RPG from Ultizero Games. There’s an evil Empire and a resistance group called GLIMMER that fights against its oppression.
While that may seem a little cliche, protagonists Kaser and his companion Arena are certainly not, bringing transforming weapons and other cool abilities to the field as they attempt to rescue the former’s sister Louisa from the hands of the Voldrax, an enigmatic group of invaders. Each of them comes with their own motivations and backstories that are sure to bring an interesting narrative to life, making this title an exciting and potentially heady mix of story and gameplay that can be quite addictive.
Ultizero has been proud to wear its inspirations – which include the likes of Ninja Gaiden, and Final Fantasy – on its sleeve, which makes us very optimistic on the combat system this game is bringing in August 2025.
Borderlands 4
This sequel to 2019’s looter-shooter Borderlands 3 puts its players in the shoes of a Vault Hunter, the leader of a resistance that fights against the Timekeeper and his Order in the world of Kairos, whose protective barrier has weathered away after Lilith teleports Pandora’s moon away.
There are new vehicles, tools, the return of co-op with upto three other players, and an open-world touted to be the largest and most seamless in the franchise to look forward to when this Unreal Engine 5 powered title gets to its September 2025 release, while Nintendo Switch 2 owners might to wait a little longer to join in on its unique brand of chaos.
Directive 8020
In what’s shaping up to be a busy year for Supermassive Games, this interactive survival horror drama puts you on a colony ship called the Cassiopeia where you control five of its crew in an adventure that puts you in complete control of their respective fates. One wrong choice could see them wiped off the board although the newly introduced Tuning Points mechanic could help ease the tension surrounding your choices by allowing you to turn back the clock and try a different path.
QTEs, real-time combat, a focus on stealth, a bunch of versatile tools, and so much more wait for players brave enough to take on the threats on Tau Ceti f, a planet that the crew must explore in order to survive against a mysterious shapeshifting alien that is hell-bent on removing them from the board. It’s a premise and gameplay loop combo that has us quite excited to try out in October 2025.
The Outer Worlds 2
Set in an alternate timeline in which corporate interests rule most of society, the new first-person action RPG is sure to build on the original title in ways that make this new outing a much more ambitious proposition.
That’s good news considering that we get to explore the newly-introduced colony of Arcadia as an agent for the Earth Directive, exploring mysterious rifts while uncovering the conflict between vested interests in the region. It has the makings of an adventure that blends branching narrative paths, combat, and stealth in a story that could very well alter our perceptions of the world around us as we uncover more of Arcadia’s internal strife.
It’s an adventure we’d gladly embark upon in October this year.
Mafia: The Old Country
Hangar 13 is taking the Mafia franchise back to its roots, exploring the origins of the Torrisi crime family in 1900s Sicily, where players take on the role of protagonist Enzo Favara who escapes a life of slavery to be a part of a story that is sure to be the stuff of legends.
A third-person action-adventure title, The Old Country brings cinematic flair to the franchise’s penchant for explosive narratives, eschewing Mafia 3’s open-world for a more linear experience this time around. Moreover, if the trailers we saw recently is any indication, this is an experience that could very well be the definitive one for fans of the franchise when it releases in August 2025.
Any game that explores the origins of one of the modern world’s most prominent presences in organized crime is sure to bring a lot of emotional heft, and grand set-pieces to the table and we simply cannot wait for its August 2025 release.
Cronos: The New Dawn
Following the success of its remake of Silent Hill 2, The Bloober Team is all set to bring its best work to the table in its upcoming survival horror adventure that follows the story of The Traveler, an agent for the mysterious Collective, who indulges in time travel shenanigans in their quest to rescue people from The Change, an event that forced them to transform into monstrous beings called Orphans.
The Traveler brings both melee and ranged abilities to the table while their enemies can literally come back from the dead unless they are properly burned after they are disabled. Making things worse is the fact that these resurrected beings can prove a lot more troublesome than they used to be, making this a game that could have a lot of nuance for players to tackle when it comes out later this year.
Dying Light: The Beast
For fans of the original Dying Light’s protagonist, Kyle Crane is making a triumphant return, bringing new abilities like a brand new Beast Mode and superhuman power against the zombies of Castor Woods, a new location that the game takes place in.
Techland’s upcoming survival horror title is an experience we have been waiting for since its existence was leaked in 2023, forcing the studio to bring what was originally intended as a DLC for Dying Light 2 as a new standalone title that allows for cooperative multiplayer with up to four players.
Crane seeks revenge against the Baron, an unknown antagonist who had experimented on him in the past, and is presumably the catalyst of his new adventure that is due to release in August 2025. Those zombies won’t know what hit them once we get to take them on!
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
Owners of a shiny new Nintendo Switch 2 are sure to be eagerly waiting for this action-adventure title that has long been in the making. With development moving from Bandai Namco back to Retro Studios back in 2019, the new title follows Samus Aran’s battle to survive the hostile threats of Viewros, a new planet that serves as a stage for this grand adventure.
Samus brings new psychic abilities to his repertoire of skills, which are sure to come in handy as he faces off against deadly threats in an experience that could be a great way to show off what Nintendo’s new console is truly capable of when it launches later this year.
Gears of War Reloaded
The Coalition’s stalwart Xbox exclusive franchises finally makes its way to the PlayStation 5, being the second remaster of the popular 2006 title from a franchise that needs no introduction to knowledgeable members of the gaming community.
This “reloaded” experience brings 4K, 60fps gameplay to a title that stays at the top of several great shooter titles, while also bringing all of the DLC and additional content for the original game into one, very attractive package.
With high dynamic range and variable refresh support on compatible displays and spatial audio technology support, it’s clear that this remaster is way more than a fresh coat of paint, and is sure to bring a smile to the faces of franchise veterans and newcomers alike in August 2025.
Jurassic World Evolution 3
We just cannot wait to build our very own Jurassic park in this management and construction simulator from the stables of Frontier Developments. There’s a whole lot of dinosaurs to manage that all come together to inhabit a theme park that offers a lot of options to truly make it your own.
There’s also a campaign mode that sees Jeff Goldblum return to the role of Dr. Ian Malcolm is you’re still on the fence about this one. For those of you who are as excited to get started on your take on Jurassic Park in Evolution 3, we’re sure that you too have marked your calendars for its October 2025 release.
EA Sports Madden NFL 26
As the first current-gen exclusive title in the franchise’s illustrious lineup, Madden NFL 26 is sure to bring a lot of visual and gameplay improvements to the table in comparison to previous games from its past.
The new game brings a lot of changes to an already brilliant Franchise Mode, a new weather system, dynamic injury recovery systems, and many other additions that are sure to bring new layers of realism to the table. What’s even better is that there’s only a little over a month remaining for the game to become available. It’s time to brush up on your skills and bring your A-game to the pitch this August 2025.
Hell Is Us
Rogue Factor’s upcoming action adventure title is unique thanks to a design philosophy that makes this game one that you experience entirely on your own. It forgoes tried and tested mechanics like quest logs, markers, and map waypoints in order to present an experience in which you utilize your own wits and memory to uncover the mystery of protagonist Remi’s quest to learn more about the fate of his parents in a hellish landscape which brings supernatural horrors to life.
Furthermore, Remi’s health directly affects his stamina in a mechanic that would be right at home in a Soulslike title. Its narrative chops are not to be ignored either, as the game explores complex themes such as the impact of war on a granular level alongside explorations of mortality and the occult that are sure to leave a lasting impression when it makes its debut in September 2025.
Silent Hill f
NeoBards Entertainment’s upcoming mainline addition to the very popular survival horror franchise is sure to bring thrills and chills in equal measures when it releases this September.
Built around the unique Japanese philosophy that an excess of beauty can sometimes give life to the most horrific of evils, this game takes the action to the shores of Japan to create an experience that is as authentic as it is terrifying.
The town of Ebisugaoka is sure to bring a lot of traumatic encounters to protagonist Hinako Shimizu’s trek through its streets, with NeoBards designing new horrors for her to face from the ground up in an experience that is shaping up to be a very unsettling Silent Hill game. We can’t wait to see what we find – and eventually learn to take down – in this truly terrifying title.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
This remake of Hideo Kojima’s excellent 2004 stealth-action adventure brings an Unreal Engine 5 powered layer of visual polish to the original experience while staying true to the innovative game mechanics that made Big Boss’ origins story as Naked Snake hit as hard as it did.
Aside from a more realistic visual canvas, there are a ton of quality of life improvements tuned to make the most of current-gen systems while the New Style control scheme is sure to bring a refreshing change from the original game’s controls, allowing returning players to experience the game in entirely new ways.
While we would like to see more of the remake’s gameplay in action prior to its August release, we’re still waiting with bated breath to dive back into the story that put Big Boss on the road to his iconic presence in stories across the franchise’s history, and to relive the tragic events that set him on the path in 1964.
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers
Chinese developer Lenzee’s upcoming attempt to imitate the success of Game Science’s Black Myth Wukong has many Soulslike fans eager to take control of Bai Wuchang, a pirate who finds herself tearing across the lands of Shu during the Ming Dynasty’s later years.
She desperately searches for a cure to a condition that could eventually lead to a gruesome end, but comes very handy in her encounters against bosses and enemies that seem to be an excellent showcase of the studio’s creative chops.
It also brings unique twists to the traditional Soulslike formula, requiring that players take down an evil version of herself when she dies under specific conditions, making regaining your lost experience points all the more challenging if you play your cards wrong. With only two weeks to its release at the time of writing, this is a Soulslike that could very well find a place among the genre’s greatest hits.
Ghost of Yotei
This PlayStation 5 exclusive has some big shoes to fill considering it is a follow up to Jin Sakai’s poignant and haunting encounter with the vicious Mongol army that we got to experience back in 2020.
While the original Ghost of Tsushima Island is long gone considering the new time period that this game takes place in, Atsu takes up the role of the game’s protagonist in a tale of revenge that spans across the lands of Mount Yotei in Japan’s Ezo region. As a wandering ronin who is deadly with her father’s katana, she pursues the Yotei six, a group of deadly adversaries who are responsible for the deaths of her family as well as her attempted murder.
With the order in which you hunt them down being left entirely up to you, Sucker Punch and Sony Interactive Entertainment are sure to bring a darker and more emotionally taxing experience this time around, while the new open-world could expand on the size and scope of its predecessor in ways that make Ghost of Yotei a game that could rise to prominence among the very best of PlayStation exclusives.
We just can’t wait to pit our blade against our enemies with both style and substance in the sequel to one of our most favorite PlayStation titles this October.
