The post is a the latest iteration of the Xbox Excellence Awards, which was created last year to celebrate how players engaged with various releases on Xbox. The Store Rating category lists 2025 games with the best ratings on the Microsoft Store, with an added requirement of the title having at least 500 ratings. Player Engagements is about the average number of hours spent on a game by each player within the first six weeks of a game’s release. Daily Active Users celebrates titles, expansions or updates with the highest single-day active users throughout the year. And finally Units Sold is fairly self-explanatory.

Going down the lists, you’ll find many of the biggest releases of the year, from ARC Raiders and Battlefield 6, as well as award-winning RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Indie titles have also been well-represented, with games like Crime Scene Cleaner and Satisfactory making it into the lists. There also doesn’t seem to have been a singular genre to dominate the lists, since everything from sports games like EA Sports Madden NFL 26, to fantasy adventure life sims like Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, and even fighting games like Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics are well represented.

Curiously, none of the games was present in all four of the categories. At most, we got to see titles like Borderlands 4 being able to make it on to three of them: Player Engagement, Daily Active Users and Units Sold. Even ARC Raiders, which has seen quite a bit of success, is only on the Units Sold and Daily Active Users lists.

Microsoft has also emphasized that the lists represent a diverse collection of games developed by studios of varying sizes. All in all, it represents 48 unique developers based out of 13 countries, with 24 publishers having had a hand in their release. 19 of the games were self-published. “Taken as a whole, it’s an encapsulation of development on Xbox – we want gaming to reach you wherever you are, and for the teams making those games to find you from wherever they are,” wrote the company.

Full list of games:

Store Rating:

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Crime Scene Cleaner
• Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2
• Digimon Story: Time Stranger
• Dreamcore
• Dynasty Warriors: Origins
• Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time
• Final Fantasy XVI
• Lies of P: Overture
• Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
• Little Nightmares III
• Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics
• Minami Lane
• Mullet MadJack
• Poppy Playtime Chapter 4
• Satisfactory
• Silent Hill 2
• Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
• The First Berserker: Khazan

Player Engagement:

• Borderlands 4
• Digimon Story: Time Stranger
• Dynasty Warriors: Origins
• EA Sports College Football 26
• EA Sports FC 26
• Elden Ring Nightreign
• Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time
• Farm Together 2
• Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles
• Helldivers 2
• Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
• Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
• MLB The Show 25
• Monster Hunter Wilds
• NBA 2K26
• NHL 26
• Rust
• Satisfactory
• The First Berserker: Khazan

Daily Active Users:

• Arc Raiders
• Avowed
• Battlefield 6
• Borderlands 4
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
• DOOM: The Dark Ages
• Elden Ring Nightreign
• Fortnite
• Forza Horizon 5
• Grand Theft Auto V
• Grounded 2
• Helldivers 2
• Marvel Rivals
• Minecraft
• NBA 2K26
• Rematch
• Roblox
• Rocket League
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege

Units Sold:

• Arc Raiders
• Assassin’s Creed Shadows
• Battlefield 6
• Borderlands 4
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
• EA Sports Madden NFL 26
• EA Sports College Football 26
• EA Sports FC 26
• Elden Ring Nightreign
• Grand Theft Auto V
• Helldivers 2
• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
• MLB The Show 25
• Monster Hunter Wilds
• NBA 2K26
• PGA Tour 2K25
• Ready or Not
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
• WWE 2K25

Taking a closer look at software sales for the month of December, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 took the lead, with Battlefield 6 being ranked third. Other titles in the best-seller charts for the month are a mix of newer games like Donkey Kong Bananza and older titles like Grand Theft Auto 5, Minecraft and Red Dead Redemption 2.

While other console makers might have started struggling with console sales last year, Nintendo has been doing quite well with the release of the Switch 2. Piscatella had confirmed, the Switch 2 ended up being the best-selling console of the year in the US, with the country accounting for 4.4 million units. Along with this, the new console is also noted as selling faster than the original Switch from back in 2017.

As he noted, the Switch 2’s hardware sales single-handedly managed to offset industry-wide downward trends in console hardware sales. Sony’s PS5 ranked second for the period. The Switch 2 has also been described by Piscatella as being the “fastest selling video game console hardware platform” in history so far.

While things might be going well for Nintendo for the time being, research firm Niko Partners has predicted that the company will end up raising the price of the Switch 2 thanks to the worldwide memory shortages affecting manufacturing. The firm noted that, while the Switch 2 is priced competitively when compared to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo might have to bring its latest console in line with its competitors to maintain profitability.

In the meantime, Battlefield Studios has been working hard on creating and testing more content for the upcoming second season of Battlefield 6. While it hasn’t yet revealed too many details aside from its February 17 launch date, the developers provided a few hints about what kind of content we can expect when Season 2 of Battlefield 6 is kicked off.

Among the new content coming to the game is a brand new map, dubbed Contagion, that will also feature its own unique gameplay mechanics. No details have been provided about these mechanics, aside from vague hints about players needing to use equipment to interact with them, a soldier wearing a gas mask in the teaser trailer, and the fact that the map’s name implies some sort of contagious infection will be involved.

Battlefield 6 is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. For more details, check out our review from back when it first came out.

2025 Top 20 Best-Selling Premium Games – U.S. (Dollar Sales, Physical and Digital from digital data sharing publishers, excludes add-on content)

— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-01-22T14:00:07.506Z

December 2025 Top 20 Best-Selling Premium Games – U.S. (Dollar Sales, Physical and Digital from digital data sharing publishers, excludes add-on content)

— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-01-22T14:00:07.505Z

With so much landing at once, finding the true must-plays can feel overwhelming. But after digging through everything 2025 has to offer, these 15 titles rose above the rest.

The nominees for the best Xbox games of 2025 are:

The Outer Worlds 2

If you liked The Outer Worlds 1, you’ll absolutely adore the sequel. The Outer Worlds 2 triples down on what makes the setting work so well by translating a lot of that directly into gameplay. The Shrink Ray is a great example of that, and so are the many guns, among plenty of other oddities. Beyond the expanded gameplay suite, the quests now offer more varied routing and decision-making than before, placing you firmly in the driver’s seat as you navigate the corporate dystopia within the colony of Arcadia. And thanks to Game Pass, you don’t even have to pay full retail price, giving Xbox a clear leg up over other platforms.

Keeper

Keeper is an indie game that absolutely deserves more attention. Its blend of genres—base-building, mystery, and survival—is executed with smart quality-of-life features and genuinely fun mechanics. Keeper is also a visual standout. The painterly art style and atmospheric music elevate an already addictive gameplay loop, making it easy to lose entire evenings to it. Even with all the AAA blockbusters dropping in 2025, Keeper keeps pulling us right back in.

Battlefield 6

Well, DICE has finally done it—they’ve knocked a Battlefield out of the park for the first time in what feels like ages. This large-scale objective-based FPS recaptures everything players loved about Battlefield 4, with improved squad play, and smartly designed maps that reward coordinated tactics. Paired with phenomenal graphics and impressive performance, Battlefield 6 represents a true return to the glory days of this tactical warfare genre.

Clair Obscur: Expedition

Expedition does just about everything you could ask for in a video game. Its art direction is striking and original, the turn-based timing mechanics add an addictive twist to the classic formula, and the story and characters deliver all the emotional punch RPG fans crave. It’s a masterful consolidation of what makes games unforgettable, making it an obvious frontrunner for multiple game awards.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

I can’t say enough good things about this game, so I’ll be brief. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is simply the most impressive open-world RPG released in recent memory. It sets a new benchmark for main storylines in open-world games, and its side quests are absolutely worth seeking out. You again play as Henry, the down-on-his-luck everyman trying to survive in medieval Europe, and the grounded role-playing systems make this feel like a true immersive-sim experience. From herb brewing to blacksmithing and countless other mechanics, it’s a dense, reactive world. It’s also a visual powerhouse that shines on the Xbox Series X.

Ninja Gaiden 4

You’ve gotta appreciate how unapologetically “video gamey” Ninja Gaiden 4 is. It’s a full-throttle return to the hardcore character-action games of the 2000s, and we wouldn’t want it any other way. The standout highlight, of course, is its buttery-smooth, lightning-fast combat. Few games in 2025 were as rewarding to master as Ninja Gaiden 4’s combo-heavy battle system. Add a story that respects the series’ lore and a crisp graphics/performance package, and you’ve got an easy fan favorite.

Atomfall

In a year with many RPGs, it’s somehow a lower-scale release from the Sniper Elite studio that stands out. This retro-futuristic RPG benefits from Rebellion’s reliably strong gunplay, while its crafting and survival systems create an engaging gameplay loop that encourages all the looting you could want. But it’s the clever environmental storytelling and branching narrative that make this one warrant multiple playthroughs. If you like Fallout in any capacity, you owe it to yourself to give Atomfall a shot.

Elden Ring: Nightreign

Nightreign may not be what the purely single-player crowd hoped for, but it proves that FromSoftware is more than capable of branching out from their usual formula. Yes, the game still takes place in a familiar though dramatically rearranged Lands Between, but its wild new bosses and fast-paced co-op structure make it hard to put down once you start.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins

If you’ve never played a Musou game before, this is the place to start. It’s a reboot that refines and enhances everything about the series while telling the Three Kingdoms narrative from a fresh cinematic angle. Battles are as massive as ever, with hundreds of enemies on-screen posing a threat to your larger-than-life warrior. Seeing all the familiar Three Kingdoms characters fully voice-acted with lengthy scripts is a genuine delight; this is some of the strongest character work the franchise has ever seen.

Assassin’s Creed: Shadows

It’s been a long time coming, but a feudal Japan Assassin’s Creed has been finally delivered. Classic AC stealth is represented through the shinobi Naoe, while Yasuke the samurai offers a more arcade-y brawler playstyle. The dual-protagonist structure broadens the narrative while executing the most robust gameplay suite the series has ever featured. But the true star is the setting. Sixteenth-century Japan looks spectacular thanks to the dynamic weather, day/night cycle, and diverse biomes.

DOOM: The Dark Ages

I don’t know how, but id Software continues to reinvent Doom’s gameplay with every installment. This time, the Doom Slayer arms himself with medieval armor and a brutal flail, turning the familiar demon-slaying chaos into something both fresh and ferocious. Between the heavy metal soundtrack and the medieval enemies, Doom: The Dark Ages feels new while still preserving everything fans love about the genre.

Borderlands 4

Borderlands 4 may largely stick to the established formula, but it refines its looter-shooter DNA in meaningful ways. The standout improvement is the loot system: drop rates feel more balanced and quality-of-life upgrades like a dedicated legendary icon finally make sorting your haul painless. Meanwhile, combat remains as sharp satisfying as ever. With its biggest open world yet and the strongest gameplay in the series, Borderlands 4 is the 2025’s best looter-shooter.

Black Myth: Wukong

Xbox players can finally enjoy what many considered 2024’s Game of the Year. Nailing the FromSoftware-inspired formula while maintaining a wholly unique identity is no easy task, yet Game Science managed to exceed expectations. The animation work surrounding the protagonist’s transformations and abilities is exceptional, and the setting is truly enchanting. It’s easy to lose track of time battling a tough boss, but the lean, focused level design respects that time without adding any unnecessary bloat.

Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 is another smash hit from 2024 arriving on Xbox platforms, and it’s an absolute treat. Servers have been smooth and reliable, and frequent updates keep missions, objectives, and enemy factions feeling fresh. Few squad-based games are as funny, chaotic, and endlessly replayable as Helldivers 2. If you’re on Xbox, now is the perfect time to dive in.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered

What an absolute delight it was to see Bethesda shadow-drop a remake of one of their most influential titles back in April. The best part is how faithful the remaster remains to the original while still looking fantastic on modern hardware. Many longtime fans may miss the old bloom-heavy aesthetic, but this remaster nails the lighting and texture work on a technical level. Quality-of-life additions—like a sprint toggle and new combat animations—make this the ideal way to experience Oblivion. Best of all, it releases at a reasonable price and includes all DLC and expansions.

And the Best Xbox Game of 2025 Goes to:

Clair Obscur: Expedition

Expedition is tailor-made for those who cherish the artistic and interactive potential of video games. Its gripping, gut-wrenching story and deep yet familiar battle system keep you hooked from start to finish. It’s a complete experience in every sense. More importantly, it embraces its identity wholeheartedly. The enemies are unlike anything else in modern gaming; you don’t see masked  many nightmare inspired creatures in any other RPGs, for example.

Its exploration of themes like fate and sacrifice may sound derivative on paper, but in execution it feels like a classic story reimagined through a unique lens. Only video games can convey this blend of style, timing-based combat, and narrative impact so cohesively. And so, Expedition rises to the top as our favorite Xbox game of 2025. It fires on all cylinders, and does so with a voice that is distinctly its own.

We took on the task of bringing our picks, and a winner, of ones that really stood out and took over our lives. Without further ado, the nominees for the best RPGs of 2025 are:

1. Where Winds Meet

Everstone Studios brought us an incredibly detailed open world and an RPG adventure in which the world came with us on our journey, offering up an unprecedented amount of freedom in how we could approach its many mysteries, secrets, battles, and story.

It’s build potential, strong combat mechanics, inclusion of player professions, amazing traversal mechanics, and some deliciously slick wuxia animations make this one a very immersive addition to 2025’s ranks, and one that comes with a lot of depth and ambition. We’re quite interested to see where this one goes over the course of next year.

2. Clair Obscur: Expedition

Sandfall’s breakout hit took the RPG genre by storm with stunning and intriguing mechanics that had us at the edge of our seats right off the bat. With a talented voice cast who really sold their material and a soundtrack that continues to enjoy a lot of love from the gaming world, this is a title that we’d gladly come back to for a fun hour of exploration and combat.

But it’s the characters who make us stay, every time. Clair Obscur’s biggest strength is the Expedition that brings an end to the nightmare it presents us with, and its members are the heart and soul of an RPG that never overstayed its welcome.

3. The Outer Worlds 2

The Outer Worlds 2’s attempt to put us in the shoes of an Earth Directorate Agent on a mission in Arcadia has been an excellent effort that blends casual takes on megacorporations with a story that was quite riveting. The companions accompanying you on your adventure are a quirky and interesting bunch while the game’s gear system brought very creative touches to the table.

We particularly liked the fact that gear made by specific corporations had synergies with other equipment from the same brand, for instance. With a lot to do in Arcadia and a lot of freedom in how you approach it, this was a definitely welcome addition to our libraries of 2025.

4. The First Berserker: Khazan

Neople and Nexon’s decision to take a fresh look at the early days of the Dungeons & FIghter series paid off very well, and The First Berserker: Khazan has been an excellent action-adventure RPG with a great combat system taking the center stage.

Khazan’s vengeance fuelled adventure is brought to life by an anime-inspired cel-shaded art style that has stood out while his brutal efficiency in the field of battle has catapulted this one to the heights of being among 2025’s finest titles. It’s a game that just fires on all cylinders, all throughout its runtime.

5. Elden Ring Nightreign

FromSoftware’s successful run continued with its foray into multiplayer roguelikes, and Nightreign’s fast-paced trip through Limveld has been a great place to go for some wild action and unpredictable experiences in a multiplayer system that can have you laughing at how badly things went wrong, or stunned at how your fellow Nightfarers take on the most fearsome enemies.

With the new The Forsaken Hollows DLC now added into the mix, this one might continue to be among the most-played RPGs for a while yet.

6. Monster Hunter Wilds

The latest addition to the Monster Hunter franchise brought all of its strengths, a few creative flourishes, and barely any of its limitations to the Forbidden Lands. With visually stunning biomes housing some truly imposing monsters for us to hunt, this game was such an entertaining one we almost felt sad to move on from it as other titles took our attention away.

Monster Hunter Wilds is just fun and a delight to play thanks to its great performance and enrapturing gameplay loop.

7. Assassin’s Creed Shadows

The Shinbakufu’s infiltration of Japan’s government, and Naoe and Yasuke’s quest to dismantle their control marked a much-needed success for the series while giving Assassin’s Creed fans a title that they had been wanting for a long time.

As the franchise’s first truly current-gen entry, Shadows lived up to the hype thanks to an overhaul of the stealth mechanics and Yasuke’s unique brand of chaotic justice as a combat specialist. Japan’s many vistas were absolutely gorgeous backdrops for a combat and exploration loop that had us visiting every corner of the map we could get to, and that’s quite the compliment to any RPG.

8. Borderlands 4

As the much awaited next entry to a beloved franchise, Borderlands 4 brought its signature wit and charm to the table while giving us an RPG that nailed the experience. Joining the Vault Hunter’s adventure through Kairos was a treat in more ways than one, and the game’s combat mechanics were a blast.

While its main story could be seen as a matter of personal preference, the dearth of side content and the manner in which the franchise’s style is brought to the fore at nearly every turn are reasons to dive into what could be the best Borderlands title yet.

9. Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Lumiose City has been a great staging ground for some great Pokemon battles and quite a hub for ambitious trainers looking to make their mark on its populace. Exploring the city has a lot of perks to it, and you never know just what you might find on the ground or across its rooftops.

The combat is nothing to scoff at either, bringing a lot of exciting battles between talented trainers and a lot of juicy rewards to dive into when it was all done. This was an RPG through and through, and one that had us thinking about it when we were busy with the real world.

10. Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector

This one’s among 2025’s  more innovative RPGs, bringing a balance that did wonders for its gameplay loop. Stepping into the shoes and neurons of the rogue Sleeper had us forgetting to keep an eye on the clock for the several nights it took us to play through the story.

This is a game that has you taking the protagonist’s role quite seriously, and is one that might haunt you for quite a while after you face the consequences of a bad decision. That’s a solid RPG if we ever saw one.

11. Digimon Story: Time Stranger

Bringing a poignant, excellent story to the table, this addition to the Digimon Story Series of titles was nothing short of captivating. We could not wait to find out the fate of our protagonist as we navigated its world and built bonds with other characters and Digimon in our search for the cause of a future catastrophe.

Taking us across time and space, this was an adventure that brings a fond smile to our faces when we think of all the great moments its story and gameplay loop gave us, and is an easy recommendation for anyone who hasn’t tried it out yet.

12. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

This sequel is a continuation of Henry’s adventures that hit all the right notes for fans of the Kingdom Come franchise’s formula. This was an RPG that had us immersed in the landscape it let us loose in, and quite entertained by the quirky populace it housed.

There are a lot of laughs to be had in the many conversations you can find, and many an entertaining hour engaging with all of the content that’s on offer for you in this title. It’s a thoroughly entertaining game, and one that’s really quite hard to put down once it picks up the pace in its main narrative.

13. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered

The surprise opportunity to return to a version of Cyrodiil we’d never seen before is certainly among the 2025’s highlights. Returning to a beloved title after all these years with all of its current-gen bells and whistles thrown in was pure gaming bliss, and Oblivion continues to be among the most solid RPGs you can find out there.

This is the definitive way to enjoy a game that is legendary among RPG fans, and also outside of the genre thanks to how awesome it has become over the years.

14. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers

Bai Wuchang’s search for her lost sister took us and the character to some surreal locations populated by bizarre enemies. The lands of Shu hid a surprising amount of depth to its lore, while the game’s combat was already on display as the centerpiece of the experience long before it was released.

Wuchang is definitely among our favorite silent protagonists, a couple of notable lines excluded, and her adventure is a brutal yet exciting journey through a very interesting take on ancient China.

15. Mandragora Whispers of the Witch Tree

Playing as the Inquisitor on a mission through this title’s dark-fantasy world brought a lot of fun to our time with it. Its action-RPG gameplay loop worked well with its side-scrolling adventure where the story was every bit as entertaining as the battles it led us to.

This is definitely among the stronger contenders for the crown of 2025’s best RPGs, and was definitely one that had us entertained from its opening hours right up until the end of its main story.

16. Trails In the Sky 1st Chapter

As a reimagining of the first chapter in a great saga, this title is definitely an RPG you don’t want to miss. It brings all the elements of the genre’s greatest titles to the table, making them breathe life into a story that’s going to be quite entertaining whether you’re familiar with the franchise’s roots or not.

Add in a combat system that works very well and blends real-time and turn-based loops in a way that feels very unique and entertaining. Its story brings a lot of heart and charm to the experience, framing your role and actions in the gorgeous open world quite well and making you feel like a small yet relevant part of a sprawling kingdom. It’s definitely a fine addition to the genre, and among the greatest ones of 2025.

While each of these titles has been excellent in its own way, there is one that undoubtedly takes 2025’s crown thanks to how well its many elements work together to bring an experience like no other to our screens.

And our winner of 2025’s best RPG is:

Clair Obscur: Expedition

Gustave, Maelle, Luna, Sciel, Monoco, and Verso bring incredible powers and an adorable amount of vulnerability to the seemingly impossible task of ending the Paintress’s reign of terror over Lumiere. With emotional heft, morbid humor, excellent character development, incredible combat, and brilliant performance across platforms, this is our favorite RPG of 2025 by a long shot.

And that’s a wrap on our picks for 2025’s best RPGs. We can’t wait to see what 2026 is going to bring to the table, and of course, we’re going to be ready to dive in when the time comes!

Let’s dive into the most amazing games of this year that can offer 50 to 100 hours (maybe even more) of great gameplay.

Ghost of Yōtei

Returning to your birthplace to avenge your brutally murdered family is cool and all, but discovering all the puzzles? Bonding with your ferocious wolf by slaying poachers? That’s where it’s really at. Ghost of Yōtei is excellent at seamlessly weaving optional activities into its exploration – be it Bamboo Strikes, Sumi-e Paintings – and making every single one feel unique. But maybe you’d fancy earning some new armor that can deflect bullets by stealthily infiltrating a teahouse for Ginji the Armorer. Perhaps earning an incredible Charm by assisting Ran the Bowyer. Slay Takezo’s disciples for the privilege to face him in a duel. And probably engage in some bounty-hunting on the side.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

Mysteria Ecclesiae is out, meaning Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has wrapped up all its DLC, but even if you didn’t venture off the beaten path, Henry’s journey is still one of the best open-world RPGs of all time. Starting from nothing, slaving away in menial jobs, finding your calling as a blacksmith (or a hunter, or an herbalist, really, take your pick), and slowly building yourself back up, Bohemia is simply bustling with things to see and do. Lead a noble life, beloved by all, or become a no-good criminal, destined only for the guillotine. It’s your choice, and the sheer reactivity of the world is something to behold over the course of 100+ hours.

Jurassic World Evolution 3

The biggest and perhaps most satisfying game in the series yet, with 90 species of dinosaurs with juvenile variants added for the first time. And that’s not even including the dinos from Evolution 2, added for free post-launch. But even with the extensive campaign, community creations and challenge modes, the real time sink is in Sandbox Mode, as you perfectly craft the dinosaur park of your dreams, optimizing every single aspect…or watching it fall into chaos. It even features a custom island generator for when you (inevitably) have to start over.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

For all the ways that Ghost of Yōtei surpasses Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the former is missing one thing: Base building. Or more accurately, hideout customization, where you can adjust the very moss on rocks to cultivate your league in the most aesthetically pleasing way possible. Of course, Shadows has plenty of other content, from castles to attack, skills to master, loot (weapons and armor) to plunder, and so on. In fact, there are even new story quests, collaborations, parkour improvements, and Corrupted Castles to challenge.

Clair Obscur

On its own, the story is an absolute rollercoaster, especially when optimizing builds and employing the most broken techniques possible. Act 3 is where all bets are off, however, and Clair Obscur unveils the full gamut of its post-game. A painted serpent in the skies; the Flying Manor where a familiar foe awaits; the Endless Tower with multiple sets of challenges – there’s just so much to discover, especially if you’re circling back and wiping the floor with previous Act bosses. It would all be for nought without a superboss waiting at the end, but don’t worry – Clair Obscur has that too.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

There’s nothing quite like wrapping up Silksong after years of waiting, going online and then asking out of pure bafflement, “Wait, Act 3?” Because you can explore the world of Pharloom, ascend to the top, defeating its toughest bosses, and yes, maybe rescue a few Fleas along the way. But there’s so, so much more, beyond what you’d even expect (or prep for). So go and complete those wishes, discover even more incredible characters, and if you’re feeling especially masochistic, there’s the one-hit KO Steel Soul Mode for a true challenge.

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered

Technical problems aside, the Oblivion remaster is a treasure trove of content, even without accounting for mods. You get the massive base game – a heroic quest to stop the Gates of Oblivion from manifesting in Cyrodiil, with all its side quests, quirky NPCs, and dungeons to plunder. There’s also various DLCs for even more adventuring (and arguably superior narratives). Play multiple builds, approach quests from different angles and most importantly of all: Endurance, endurance, endurance.

The First Berserker: Khazan

There’s more to The First Berserker: Khazan’s story than the revenge quest, least of all the retries required to best its bosses. Embarking on side quests and finding all the fragments of Ozma’s Diary is the route towards the best ending. But even if you’re content to explore or replay on higher difficulties, there’s also New Game Plus, which carries over all armor, skills and weapons, increases the level cap and lets you craft Epic and Legendary equipment. Best of all? Transmog for the true endgame – fashion.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A

230 Pokémon to catch and 65 Mega Evolutions only scratch the surface of Z-A’s content. There are dozens of side missions to complete, the Z-A Royale to grind through (complete with promotion battles), and online multiplayer, including the new Battle Club for four players to duke it out. And that’s without factoring in Mega Dimension, a completely separate realm where the true end-game, full of level 100+ threats, awaits alongside even more Mega Evolutions.

Donkey Kong Bananza

An out-and-out blast from start to finish with a story that can be finished in less than 20 hours. But if you’ve played a 3D Mario game, you know that’s not the end – it can’t be. There are 1000 Banadium Gems, and what’s a King of Kong to do but collect them all? DK Island and Emerald Rush add even more with the latter’s rogue-like structure offering even more replay value, and that’s before diving into the limited-time events each month for new statues.

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

When you can spend dozens of hours simply delivering packages, building bridges and ziplines, and admiring the sights, you know it’s something special. Fortunately, Death Stranding 2 offers more beyond that, from a healthy selection of weapons and targets to unleash them on to side quests with cameos from your favorite personalities to Ghost in the Shell director Mamoru Oshii as a Pizza Chef, no less. Otherwise, plan out your optimal routes and just have fun with the community.

Elden Ring Nightreign

With eight Nightlords and several other bosses in between, there’s room for plenty of killing in Limveld. Choose your Nightfarer, optimize that playstyle with different Relics and – if you like them enough – complete their personal quests for even more power. That’s the base Nightreign experience, not including all the Shifting Earth locations to explore. However, you can also challenge the Everdark Sovereigns, even tougher versions of the Nightlords, or venture into the Deep of Night for longer expeditions with cursed loot. And if that isn’t enough to keep you busy, attempt to solo everything. The Forsaken Hollows DLC adds even more content in the form of new Nightfarers, and new bosses.

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter

The original Trails in the Sky FC takes about 66 hours if you’re aiming for everything – recipes, side quests, perfectly optimized Orbments. The remake is just shy of six hours, but even if you’re focused purely on the story and side content, it’s a long journey, made all the more fulfilling with expanded cutscenes and more combat depth.

Where Winds Meet

Everstone Studio makes no bones about wanting you to get lost in its massive world, offering thousands of NPCs to interact with and dozens upon dozens of hours of content. Even outside of the multitude of weapons, mystic techniques and Martial Arts to master, there is such a rich plethora of optional activities to indulge in. Engage in Shuai Jiao (the Sumo before Sumo became a thing), venture into dungeons, or just run around and explore the massive world while helping those in need. It’s a truly expansive experience that’s only going to get bigger once other regions launch globally.

Hades 2

There’s a moment in Hades 2 when you think you’ve understood everything that the game has to offer – its various Boons, the systems governing its weapons, the Incantations. Then the way to Olympus opens, and a brand new game is laid bare. Of course, you’ll still be growing crops, optimizing your Arcana, maxing out Keepsakes, upgrading weapons and unlocking their Hidden Aspects, and most importantly of all, discovering pets to assist you in runs. And even after the ending, there’s yet more to discover and greater challenges to conquer the Oath of the Unseen.

We quite like worlds that set us loose right from the get go, sprinkling interesting distractions along the way to keep us exploring away until our eyes, or hands, or even our controllers demand some rest. And 2025 has blessed us with quite a few of those titles, with each experience bringing a very unique bunch of mechanics to keep things interesting.

With that being said, we have a few that are believed to be a cut above their peers. The nominees for the best open-world games of 2025 are:

1. Where Winds Meet

Everstone Studios has blended wuxia with an action RPG adventure whose sprawling lands and bustling cities are a stage for a very ambitious take on player agency and freedom. This is a world that actively encourages going off the beaten track, its systems being a reward on their own for diligent players.

But that’s not all. With the game actively including clever touches upon actual history and using that to blend in fantasy elements makes for an experience that’s a wuxia fever dream. Where Winds Meet deserves a place of honour among 2025’s best RPGs for its sheer scale, ambition, and the sense of freedom it gives you from the get-go.

2. Dying Light: The Beast

By making the Castor Woods feel like a character in Kyle’s latest adventure, this open world survival horror loop never fails to entertain. You never know what you might end up against as you leave the safety of your hideouts, while the night conceals terrors that can bring a very quick end to your strolls.

But it’s in how the world blends several activities and a well-written story together with some excellent parkour-based traversal and new powers for your character to make an experience that continues to call out to us long after we rolled the credits on it.

3. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

A worthy successor to the first title, Deliverance 2 builds on everything that was great in the first game while expanding on it in both scale and quality. Its story brings a lot of interesting twists to the tale, while the wit and charm of its characters and NPCs can be both endearing and amusing.

This is a world where exploration feels like a very entertaining trek through a world in which you can find both conflict and comedy in equal measures as you go where the roads take you on your quest to witness an end to Henry’s story.

4. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered

This one definitely was a surprise when it was shadow-dropped by its developers earlier in the year, but it certainly isn’t a surprise that it has made its way back into our hearts after the many years since its original release.

A brilliant visual overhaul aside, improved animations and a revamped enemy AI made the entire adventure feel quite immersive. That’s quite an advantage in an open world like Cyrodiil, where there’s just so much to tease out through careful exploration and countless battles. This is a nostalgia fix you shouldn’t miss out on, and a must try if you happened to have missed the original game.

5. Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Ancient Japan’s chapter of the Assassin’s finally made it to our hands, and Naoe and Yasuke didn’t disappoint. The Anvil Engine brought this excellent recreation of feudal Japan to life in a giant map that was both dazzling to see and riveting to explore.

With secrets to discover, targets to hunt down, fortresses to raid, and so much more, the changing seasons are a showcase of how this game continues to stand tall among 2025’s best RPGs, as resilient as the snow-capped structures it recreates so beautifully.

6. Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

Sam Porter’s second adventure was bound to be more ambitious than the first one, but On the Beach brings an astounding level of visual flair, engaging gameplay, and a vast world for you to work your magic on this time around.

The game’s opening hour was enough to showcase how Kojima Productions had managed to bring a sequel worthy of its predecessor in every way, while doing enough to stand out on its own as an open world title that’s unforgettable and melancholically haunting.

7. Elden Ring: Nightreign

While it can be easy to see open-world games as ones that have you gradually explore their maps and take things at a generally slower pace, FromSoftware’s roguelike debut put a timer on the exploration and gave you a set of moves and traversal methods that were built for efficient speed.

Making your way across a map before the Night begins to eat away at your life force demands strategy and skill, and taking on the many threats you find along the way with player-controlled Nightfarers at your side could lead to some truly memorable battles or some epic fails. Either way, this one’s a great option for a player who likes to pick up the pace.

8. Tokyo Xtreme Racer

Roaming the streets of Tokyo in your quest to become a street racing legend is a very entertaining part of this game’s racing experience. Challenging racers from rival gangs or just looking to make a mark on their own is never going to get old, and this is a title that is entertaining to both pro and casual racing fans.

This is definitely worth a shot if street racing in an open world is your thing, and it is sure to give you more than a few challenging tracks to take on and rivals to beat.

9. Ghost of Yotei

Atsu took over the reins from Jin Sakai in a sequel that has cemented the Ghost franchise as a powerhouse in PlayStation’s lineup of exclusives. This is a world in which serene beauty, deadly dangers, and riveting stories are waiting to be found, the wind at your back slowly guiding you to them.

Of course, there’s the entire quest for revenge and your blood feud to tend to, but they often take a back seat when an adorable little bird flits into view, urging you to follow it to potentially new discoveries. Ezo is a world that’s a treat to explore despite the many dangers you’re going to have to face down, weapons drawn and reflexes at the ready.

10. Monster Hunter Wilds

Among the more popular additions to the open world genre, this successor to Monster Hunter Worlds was quite an upgrade, adding new mechanics, systems, and massive biomes teeming with monsters to take on for its players.

The game pulled no punches with Wilds, and the effort has made the Forbidden Lands a game map that’s going to be as entertaining now as it was when we first began exploring it. And given the heavy competition in the genre, that’s an achievement worth having.

11. Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon

Retracing the legend of King Arthur in this darker take on the king’s story was an interesting time, with a frankly astounding number of quests that you can find in its open world. Dealing with the Red Death and the Wyrdness is often the catalyst for smaller, more nuanced tales that tell you more about the world that once was, while also giving emotional heft to the world that now exists.

It’s a map that takes you to places you cannot forget once you visit them, while the game’s other systems and story work well to have you forgetting the hours as you immerse yourself into the adventure.

12. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl (PS5)

With GSC finally bringing out the PS5 version of STALKER 2 and making great use of the console’s unique features, the experience that the studio set out to deliver is finally here. The Zone has everything you’d expect from a title in the iconic franchise, and exploring it is a gaming experience that remains unique among its peers.

This is a title that keeps you on your toes, its story and the grind for survival working well to make your character feel like the predator and the prey. This one is definitely worth checking out if you haven’t had the chance to experience a very unique flavor of mayhem.

13. Days Gone Remastered (PS5)

While the choice to remaster Days Gone might have raised a few eyebrows, this remaster is now the best way to experience the original title’s utter unpredictability and terrifying chases through uncharted territory with hordes of vicious zombies on your tail.

Deacon’s harrowing adventure is a great story and an even greater launchpad for an open-world experience that’s both chilling and engaging. It’s just you, your motorcycle, the open road, and of course, the zombies in a game that can stay with you long after you complete its story.

14. Borderlands 4

It was a joy to rejoin the ranks of the Vault Hunters after all this time and take on the Timekeeper in this addition to the Borderlands franchise. WIth laughs and a thrilling looter shooter making this one a very fun way to enjoy your gaming hours, this is an open world that can have you lost in its cel-shaded adventures.

It’s also a great option to get your buddies together for some cooperative play in a map that can have a lot of fun just waiting for you to discover.

15. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy – Enhanced Edition

If you’re wondering what the fuss about the STALKER franchise is all about, this one is a great way to experience the original games in all their glory and then some. With improvements to both visuals and performance on each of the three titles packed in, there’s a lot to like in this bundle, thanks to how the STALKER games are engaging enough to gain a following over the years.

These are worlds that you just cannot miss, thanks to how memorable they have managed to be despite the years that followed their release.

While each of these games brought a lot of fun and innovation to the table, we must pick a winner.

The winner of best open world game of 2025 is:

GHOST OF YOTEI

Atsu’s story and her trip across Ezo is simply too well-crafted to be ignored in favor of other games. This is an open world that engages with you just as much as you interact with it. It’s alive and humming, willing you to listen and follow its paths to your next hours of adventure. Mount Yotei and its surroundings have been a pleasure to explore, and Sucker Punch has nailed its take on the turbulent land.

The story is fairly straightforward. After unlocking a door behind the Jar Merchant, you’re transported to a realm to fight the mysterious Dreglord. The Dreglord, for rightful reasons, hates all of you and wants to smash, smash, smash the Night. Once you die – and you will die – it’s back to the Roundtable Hold, touching base with your new Nightfarer allies, and venturing out to slay the creature.

In typical FromSoft fashion, there’s lore explaining what the Dreglord is, how the Scholar and Undertaker found the Roundtable Hold, and so on. There’s also the Great Hollow, a vast underground area with a giant crystal in the centre and a foreboding tower. Is it all intriguing? Sure, but it’s also fairly inconsequential in the grand scheme of your quest. Very little pomp and circumstance, for better or worse, but at least we can get into the actual meat of the new content.

"Did you miss Mohg and his Nihil countdown? He’s here as well, and the fight actually has more mechanics to accommodate three players. And while the Demon Prince remains virtually the same as in Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City, Artorias from the Dark Souls 1 DLC is completely revamped, and a huge menace to deal with."

Terms and conditions may apply to the “new” part, though. New Day 1 and 2 bosses, like the Dancing Lion, Death Knights, everyone’s favorite Great Red Bear (which actually had me screaming, “What is that range?”, at one point) – they’re all here and as challenging as you remember. Did you miss Mohg and his Nihil countdown? He’s here as well, and the fight actually has more mechanics to accommodate three players. And while the Demon Prince remains virtually the same as in Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City, Artorias from the Dark Souls 1 DLC is completely revamped, and a huge menace to deal with.

There are also three new Invasion events, and here’s where things get a bit shaky. Gladius sets the air ablaze, slowly depleting your health until you find and slay each of its bodies. Caligo manifests an icy fog and takes a snooze. You may even find yourself abducted by the Balancers and sent to three random locations – like the new swamps – to slay enemies if you want those flask charges back. One particular event that I found hilarious – which I won’t spoil – also sees a familiar foe returning after you’ve finished a Day 1 boss.

While the others are fine, it’s Gladius and Caligo that can feel awkward in some circumstances. For instance, killing a single body of Gladius – there are three in three separate locations, so hey gang, let’s split up – will constantly summon fiery dogs until you’ve slain them all. If you suddenly decide, for whatever reason, not to finish him, then these dogs will keep assaulting you (and their damage is no joke). I also can’t imagine how annoying this would be for solo players since slaying all three can be a major timesink for a decidedly average benefit.

Caligo is equally annoying but in a hilarious way. If he spawns in the Great Hollow, you can see very little, so if you suddenly hit the spiritspring jump from the big crystal in the middle, good luck knowing where to land, and enjoy the frame drops as a cherry on top.

And that brings us to the new Shifting Earth/map itself, which is absolutely gorgeous. At first, the atmosphere felt akin to Siofra River from the original Elden Ring, but with some more verticality, a la The Land of Shadow. However, it’s still very much a Shifting Earth in terms of objectives, as you need to resonate with four giant crystals to tackle the mysterious tower without incurring the Crystal Curse. The tower itself is another incredible point of interest, packed with challenging bosses and a fitting reward at the top.

"It probably shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the new Day 2 bosses are also great. Without delving into too many spoilers, the Balancers aren’t as unrelenting as I thought, but that doesn’t stop the fight from ascending in cinematic scale (and the BGM is simply unmatched)."

Initially, however, it can be awkward to traverse. It’s designed around the giant crystal in the center, which has limited paths to reach and plenty of margins for error. Sure, watching a teammate leap into the abyss because they didn’t realize that fallen crystal pillar was a bridge is funny, but rolling off an edge while fighting a Runebear or getting engulfed by the Night’s Tide while fruitlessly trying to clamber up a cliff? Not so much. You would think an area with Shadow of the Erdtree-style verticality would be child’s play with Nightreign’s traversal. However, the Great Hollow is adjusted accordingly, ensuring you’re venturing along the intended pathways. Which is a nice way of saying that you’d better know where you’re going.

As frustrating as it initially is, I grew fonder of the map over time, and while you could argue that much of that ties into an optimized route, the same holds for Limveld. If anything, the objective is much more centralized and focused. I still feel Limveld is superior, especially because it can have other Shifting Earth events to spice up runs. By comparison, having to fulfill the same objective loop in the Great Hollow can get a little dull, especially since it’s one that easily spans both nights rather than one.

Then there are the new Nightfarers, who are, in a word, busted (and in another, fun). I spent most of my time on the Undertaker, who can increase toughness with her ability and wail on fools without backing down. Her Ultimate is very satisfying, even more so when other players use theirs, since you gain a free Ultimate use for a short duration. If you have more than one Undertaker, chaining together Ultimates, one after the other, is just awesome.

While I haven’t had too much time on the Scholar, I can confirm that he’s just as essential, if not more so. Being able to analyze and either debuff enemies or buff allies is one thing, and causing enemies to share damage is another. But it’s the item leveling which truly elevates him. Imagine buffing Boiled Prawn so that it not only grants more physical damage resistance but also max health. Now equip a Relic to share those effects with the rest of your team. Or leverage his Arcane stats to deal some heavy status damage. “Figuring” him out takes more work, and if you want a pure melee build, then the Endurance/Dexterity respec Relic is a must.

It probably shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the new Day 2 bosses are also great. Without delving into too many spoilers, the Balancers aren’t as unrelenting as I thought, but that doesn’t stop the fight from ascending in cinematic scale (and the BGM is simply unmatched). The Dreglord, on the other hand, is far less elegant, far more brutal, but still a spectacle in its own right, especially the second phase. Yes, you’ll see shades of other Dark Souls bosses (and maybe a Bloodborne DLC boss), but it’s still a very enjoyable, challenging fight.

"Forget that this is a roguelike where new weapons feel like a must to add more variety to runs – having no new additions feels bad. If FromSoftware can bring over so many things from previous titles, why not at least 10 or 20 new weapons that aren’t already in the base Nightreign?"

However, the problems with this DLC can’t be understated, starting with its very nature as a paid add-on. The Expeditions to hunt the Balancers and the Dreglord are separate from the base game, and non-DLC owners can’t match with those who own it. If you’re new to the game and want to run through the original Nightlords, there will be fewer players matching for them by default. As more and more players finish the DLC and go back to farming the regular game, I don’t think this should be the biggest issue, but it still fragments the player base.

The other issue is the lack of new weapons. Don’t get me wrong – I like the new Relics and the fact that every base game Class gets a new Vessel (which requires playing through Deep of Night to purchase, but I digress). But the lack of any new weapons whatsoever is just baffling. Aside from new hammers and straight swords for the new Nightfarers, they could spruce things up for the older classes as well, maybe give you another reason to revisit them besides testing out new Relic set-ups.

Even if your mileage on the new map will undoubtedly vary, the two new Nightfarers and Day 3 bosses are a great addition. The value proposition becomes that much tougher to reckon when this is more than a third of the base game’s price but doesn’t offer anywhere near as much content. Forget that this is a roguelike where new weapons feel like a must to add more variety to runs – having no new additions feels bad. If FromSoftware can bring over so many things from previous titles, why not at least 10 or 20 new weapons that aren’t already in the base Nightreign? This isn’t even me saying “just copy-paste it, bro!” – I’m genuinely confused that they weren’t a priority ahead of time (and we’ve known for a while now that this DLC would be coming).

Despite this, is The Forsaken Hollows worth $15? I would say yes if you’re a fan of Nightreign and looking for a reason to jump back in, however short-lived it may be, but your mileage will vary. The Great Hollow isn’t for everyone, and I really question how much longevity it can really offer, unless you’re really inclined to embark on solo challenges with every single Nightfarer. Overall, the DLC feels like a good addition, but FromSoftware’s post-launch updates will have to do some heavy lifting to make it truly worthwhile.

This game was reviewed on PC.

It didn’t clarify whether this total comprises sales of the Deluxe Edition, which includes the DLC. As for players, it peaked at 133,355 concurrent on Steam at launch and nearly reached 110,000 in the past 24 hours. However, the rating is “Mixed,” with only 46 percent of the currently 3,501 user reviews recommending it.

Criticism is aimed at the Great Hollow, a new Shifting Earth which actually serves as a separate map. Its vertical nature has been panned due to many falling into the abyss and the new Caligo invasion, which reduces visibility, and doesn’t help when it appears. Others have noted the lack of new weapons, especially from Shadow of the Erdtree.

Nevertheless, the success of The Forsaken Hollows could motivate FromSoftware to deliver more content for the co-op rogue-lite. If nothing else, the overall response to Nightreign is good news for The Duskbloods, its upcoming eight-player PvEvP multiplayer title for Nintendo Switch 2, which launches in 2026.

The Forsaken Hollows currently has a “Mixed” rating with only 46 percent of the 1,171 user reviews recommending it. The common complaint seems to be the lack of new weapons or items outside of the unique weapons the Scholar and Undertaker start with (which aren’t all that special).

As one review notes, “Why didn’t they add the Elden Ring DLC weapons, Ashes of War, or spells? That feels like a MASSIVE mistake, and I am genuinely heartbroken that we can’t get those items in this game,” referring to the items from Shadow of the Erdtree.”

Another says the DLC doesn’t do enough to shake up the map variety, even with the Great Hollows. “This flaw is not adequately addressed in this DLC, where we get a whopping one Shifting Earth event, which introduces a map that is aesthetically mesmerizing, but disappointing in every other respect. The Great Hollows would be fun to explore without the time crunch, but with that limitation, I feel no incentive to explore it at all.”

Of course, given the post-launch support for the base game, FromSoftware could very well add more events, weapons, items, and so on. Bigger additions to Limveld might be reserved for future DLC, if there’s anything planned beyond The Forsaken Hollows.

The Scholar

The first of two Nightfarers, an absolute nerd to his friends and the bane of enemy packs, the Scholar specializes in thrusting weapons like the rapier. His real talents lie in observation – by using Analyze, he can debuff multiple enemies at once. In the same vein, observing your allies will grant them buffs.

These both pair well with his Ultimate, which links foes together and causes them to take shared damage. Meanwhile, any healing items will benefit nearby allies. Truly, the perfect counter to Nightlords like Libra, whose Condemned (those clones of your party) can be a real headache to deal with. But on top of all this, the Scholar is capable of leveling up items to make them more potent and grant additional effects. He can also store more resources, which is a great way to keep your team stocked up at all times.

The Undertaker

If the Scholar is the chisel, then the Undertaker is the hammer – quite literally, since she specializes in the same. A frontlining damage dealer, her skill “Trance” will grant increased Toughness and more damage to combos while turning her regular movement into a dash, which doesn’t use stamina. If her Ultimate bear is full when using Trance, it further improves the buffs granted.

Speaking of which, her Ultimate has to be one of the most ridiculous things in the game, as the Undertaker removes an “uncanny bone” and uses it to careen into a target like they owe her money. Not only is this viable for breaking an enemy’s guard, but it also deals solid stance damage. And if all that wasn’t enough, her passive, “Confluence,” is straight-up broken. After an ally uses their Ultimate, the Undertaker gets a free charge for her own Ultimate. This is completely independent of her current charge. If you have three Undertakers in the same team, you can unleash a barrage of heat-seeking missiles to annihilate enemies.

New Relic Passives

Thanks to GameSpot’s recent preview, we also have an idea of the dedicated Relics that each new Nightfarer can run with. The Scholar can inflict continuous damage on targets connected by his Ultimate, boost the attack of analyzed allies, and even stop Analyze from slowing at all. Meanwhile, the Undertaker can gain increased attack power when using her Ultimate, increase the damage of the final hit in a combo, and even restore health to any allies that you brush past while dive bombing an enemy with your Ultimate. All in all, a pretty good line-up of options for both classes.

New Day 3 Bosses

FromSoftware has announced two new Day 3 bosses, but only one has been seen properly – the Balancers. They’re the seven warriors with wings seen in the first trailer, and based on impressions, they’re absolutely merciless, attacking all at once and hardly giving you a chance to breathe. Even more interesting is that one of them will be designated as the “leader” at one point, gaining buffs and wide sweeping attacks from which there’s no escape. While the Scholar is seemingly born for this fight, you’ll need all your wits and the most abject teamwork to survive.

New Dark Souls Bosses

Of course, it wouldn’t be Nightreign without bosses from other FromSoftware titles. Thus far, we’ve seen Artorias the Abysswalker from the legendary Dark Souls 1 DLC, but new gameplay from GameSpot highlighted another DLC boss – the Demon in Pain and the Demon from Below, as seen in Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City. Whether they’ll combine to form the Demon Prince is unknown, but they still look as menacing as ever.

The Great Hollows

When examined on its own, the new Shifting Earth, the Great Hollows, doesn’t seem like it’s really all that. After all, previous Shifting Earth conditions would transform a portion of the map, and that’s that. The Great Hollows, however, isn’t just that but more like an entire new location. A thick fog seemingly blankets everything (that’s ash, by the way), and there’s a lot more verticality – yes, even more so than in the current Shifting Earths. All in all, it’s easy to get lost and maybe fall to your death.

Shadow of the Erdtree Influence and The Crystal Curse

By the way, if you thought the verticality of the Great Hollows is similar to the Land of Shadow from Shadow of the Erdtree, you’re not the only one. Director Junya Ishizaki told GameSpot that, despite being unintentional, there may be a “bit of influence.””It’s one of those things [where] a lot of our staff have also been playing Shadow of the Erdtree as the development for Nightreign has been going on,” he said, “So there’s probably a little bit of influence there, but I don’t think [Erdtree’s influence is] necessarily intentional. It might even be almost like subconscious, but there’s definitely, I think, a bit of that for sure.”

Some areas throughout the Hollows present a new status effect called the Crystal Curse, and by clearing the key objective, you can obtain a buff that renders you immune to it. Also, speaking of doing things subconsciously…

Somehow, the Swamps Returned

“It’s definitely one of those things that [it] always just seems like [our game] ends up with a swamp,” said Ishizaki. Yes, the swamps have finally arrived in the DLC, and they’re not just of the poison variety. You’ll encounter Scarlet Rot swamps, swamps that inflict sleep, and so on. Unsurprisingly, they’re quite challenging, especially since enduring the pain and inhumanity of debilitating status effects ends with a fight against the swamp’s boss. The Scholar could certainly come in handy with those buffed items to combat status ailments, huh?

Forges For Re-Rolling Weapon Skills

It’s not all bad news when it comes to the new points of interest. Remember the Legendary Forge in the Crater? A more regular version can potentially crop up in Limveld. Defeat all the enemies and light it up to gain the option to re-roll a weapon skill. The catch? It’s completely random, so you’re just as likely to end up with an even worse skill for your current weapon as something better. Nevertheless, it’s a worthwhile option that just adds more to the build-crafting.

“Definitely A Little Bit Harder”

If you’re going into The Forsaken Hollows, expecting the difficulty to skyrocket like Shadow of the Erdtree for Elden Ring players, there’s some solace. Ishizaki told GameSpot about the challenges the team faced while balancing and ensuring that the DLC wasn’t “so hard that new players can’t get into it.” While it’s “definitely a little bit harder” than the base game, he feels that it’s “not ridiculous or anything like that, but that’s still within what we would consider to be a fair challenge.” Ishizaki also believes that even those who spent plenty of time on the base experience will have “a bit of that feeling like they had when they first played Nightreign, where there’s still a bit that they’re trying to figure out.”