15 lesser-known games of 2025 that you must experience

Choosing the best games of the year has always been a challenging task. Of course, no list can be completely comprehensive and no ranking can cover an entire calendar year. Given the sheer number of games released each year, there is not enough time for any one person, or even group of people, to fairly review “all games released in the last 365 days”.

As a result, some valuable but less-seen works are inevitably overlooked. For every Hollow Knight: Silksong, there’s an Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist; For every Blue Prince, there’s a Séance of Blake Manor, and for every masterpiece, there’s a lesser-known gem that’s just as brilliant in its genre but doesn’t get nearly as much attention as the mainstream. Now that 2025 is coming to an end, now is a good time to take a look at some lesser-known works.

15. Angeline Era

Producer: Analgesic Productions / Producer: Easy Studios, DICE
Platform: PC

Angeline Era feels like a lost game from the PlayStation 1 era, but not in the way you might think. However, in terms of appearance, it has exactly the same space and looks like it was pulled out directly from Final Fantasy 7. But this strange adventure game is nothing like its appearance in terms of gameplay. Instead of classic role-playing combat, it uses a combat system called bump-slash, where you have to approach enemies tactically to attack automatically. Of course, to defeat the enemies, you must first find them; That too by searching the game world for stages that are not marked on the map at all. Together, these two ideas create a completely creative puzzle role-playing game based on exploration. It is you who has to navigate the game world, find the next path and learn how to master its unusual combat system. In general, the game has the spirit of that old generation of games in a perfect way.

14. Battle Train

Producer: Bandai Namco / Developer: Terrible Posture Games
Platform: PC

It’s completely understandable if you’ve seen Battle Train this year in some way and immediately put it in your head in the category of indie deckbuilding roguelikes. This combination of genres is not new anymore, but Battle Train is not an ordinary game at all. The structure of the game is similar to a lighthearted comedy TV show where players must win battles by building a train track from their own station to the enemy’s station and destroy the opponent’s station by sending explosive wagons on this track. It might look like a strategy game at first glance, but in practice it’s more like a board game puzzle, as you have to use your cards wisely to build the path of the rails. Of course, that’s not what makes Battle Train so endearing either, because the real strength of the game is the insanely funny overall story that runs throughout the experience. Let me just say that there is an incredibly kind turtle and a lot of people named Aaron.

13. Bionic Bay

Producer: Kepler Interactive / Developer: Psychoflow Studio
Platform: PS5, PC

This game seems to be inspired by Limbo; A dark, wordless and atmospheric platformer that challenges your logic and reasoning as much as it tests your reaction speed. You play as a scientist who sabotages an experiment and ends up teleported to an abandoned robot factory. At the beginning of the game, Bionic Bay is more about climbing platforms and jumping across deep gaps. But then you unlock an ability that allows you to switch places with many of the objects you see. From here on, the game forces you to think. If I time it right, can this box protect me from that laser? Can I throw a barrel off the edge and then move with it to jump further? What if I switch places with a bomb? These are just a few of Bionic Bay’s capabilities, each of which opens up a new world of movement and challenge for both mind and body.

12. Blade Chimera

Producer: WSS Playground / Producer: Ladybug
Platform: Nintendo Switch, PC

With the release of two Ninja Gaiden games and Shinobi Revival, 2025 was a great year for ninja games. However, the best 2D ninja game this year might be the one you haven’t heard of. Blade Chimera is a brilliant throwback that clearly shows its inspiration from Castlevania. Players fight with a magical demonic sword in pixelated environments in an action role-playing game that gives you a lot of freedom to create your own playstyle. Firearms, swords, whips, and spells provide you with a variety of tools to have fun in an awesome Metroworld. If you’re looking for straight-up action with well-crafted pixels, Blade Chimera could be your next pick.

11. Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist

Producer: Binary Haze Interactive / Producer: .Adglobe, Live Wire Inc
Platform: Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox One, PC, Xbox Series X/S

This year, Hallonight: Silksong in the Metroidvania genre was on everyone’s lips, but for some, the best game of this subgenre in 2025 was Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist. This is not to underestimate Silksong. The thing is that Ender Magnolia, with a more traditional approach, perfectly executes almost all the main foundations of this genre. The game’s dark fantasy story is inspired by Nier and creates a 2D adventure that is both scary and dreamy. The dark world of the game is full of secrets that gradually reveal themselves as you gain more movement abilities; Abilities that sometimes literally destroy the environment. With engaging action that gives the player more tools than Hornet, Ender Magnolia is a well-made Metroidvania that I recommend anyone who likes Silksong to give it a try.

10. Kaizen: A Factory Story

Producer: Astra Logical / Producer: Coincidence
Platform: PC

In this creative puzzle game set during Japan‘s heyday of mass production, players must design efficient production lines to make products at the lowest possible cost. This is done by arranging the tools and programming the functions that allow the machines to cut and weld the parts together. There is no single right answer; Each puzzle is a test of your engineering creativity. This makes for a lot of satisfying moments that will keep you busy all day thinking about different assembly line tricks. This fascination is the fuel for a subtle story about the benefits of mass production and what we lose when we replace human hands with mechanical ones.

9. Metal Eden

Producer: Deep Silver / Developer: Reikon Games
Platform: PS5, PC, Xbox Series X/S

Titanfall 3 will probably never be made, but Metal Eden is the closest thing to it, at least in terms of a brilliant first-person campaign. In this game, you play as a battle android that can be regenerated infinitely. The idea provides a story platform to sprint, double jump, wall crawl and grapple your way into the heart of tense battlegrounds filled with enemy bots and drenched in classic cyberpunk coloring. Battles are full of chaos, and an innovative array of weapons keeps Metal Eden interesting throughout its relatively short run time.

8. The Midnight Walk

Producer: Fast Travel Games / Developer: MoonHood
Platform: PS5, PC

Although virtual reality is still a relatively specific and limited style in the world of games, it is not bad to have a work in this style in this list. However, 2025 was a strong year for VR gaming, bringing fans the likes of Lumines Arise and Marvel’s Deadpool VR. Other games this year include V-Racer Hoverbike, a great racing game that uses your body as a steering wheel, Arken Age, a well-crafted action game with smooth motion controls, and Ghost Town, a fantastic puzzle adventure from the creators of The Room series. But if you only have time for one game, don’t miss The Midnight Walk. This stop-motion and dark adventure puts you in the middle of a Tim Burton movie; Full of strange and funny creatures and scary monsters that will follow you in your dreams for a long time. With one of the best original scores of the year and a great epic story, this game is an experience not to be missed. If you don’t have a virtual reality headset, the regular console version also conveys its strengths well.

7. Rift of the Necrodancer

Producer: Klei Publishing / Developer: Brace Yourself Games
Platform: Nintendo Switch, PC

Rift of the Necrodancer takes the familiar formula of matching notes in rhythm games and takes it up a notch by adding an action idea, where the melodies become monsters that you must destroy. Like Guitar Hero, Rift of the Necrodancer executes this idea with a curated soundtrack of great catchy tunes perfectly matched with a great rhythm game. Thanks to the internal support of the Steam Workshop, Rift of the Necrodancer has really found its own identity after its release and with the creative content of the users. Watching how players turned one of The Simpsons’ most famous scenes into a playable song shows just how clever and flexible the creators’ seemingly simple but actually very creative formula is.

6. The Séance of Blake Manor

Producer: Raw Fury / Producer: Spooky Doorway
Platform: PC

Blue Prince was one of the best indie titles of the year, but it wasn’t the only mystery game about a manor, as The Séance of Blake Manor also grabbed attention thanks to its fantastic twist on the genre. In this game, you play the role of a detective who is called to the Blake mansion to investigate a case of disappearance. At the same time as your arrival, a gathering of mysterious and mystical people is going to be held there. You have three days to find out what happened before the group performs a great spirit summoning that could have deadly results. Time is very limited, because everything you do takes up a few precious minutes of your time. The goal is to discover the truth and at the same time convince as many people as possible to stop participating in spirit summoning. The result is an excellent murder mystery that is both frightening and somewhat educational, with strong writing and extensive use of Irish mythology.

5. Skate Story

Producer: Devolver Digital / Producer: Sam Eng
Platform: PC, PS5

With Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 and the revival of Electronic Arts’ Skate series, skate games have been in the spotlight in 2025, but arguably none quite as special as Skate Story. This game was created by Sam Eng and is not at all involved in cliché concepts such as “realism” and “accuracy of movements”; Something that can be clearly seen from its surreal and kaleidoscopic images. The old debate “Are games art or not?” It’s old and belongs to the last decade, but if the parties to this debate played Skate Story, the whole thing would be over in an instant.

4. Squeakross: Home Squeak Home

Producer: Alblune / Manufacturer: Alblune
Platform: PC

The grid-based puzzle game format is always fun, but at this point it’s hard to change it radically. However, Squeakross: Home Squeak Home has somehow found its way. You don’t draw a simple picture here just by solving tables and numerical clues. The images you create are actually household items seen in a magazine. When you complete a puzzle, you can place that item in your mouse avatar’s house and change the decoration however you like. If the decoration isn’t that appealing to you, at least check it out for some interesting information about rodents; Information that is emailed to the in-game computer from time to time!

3. Time Flies

Producer: Panic / Producer: Playables
Platform: PS5, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PC

Time Flies depicts an existential crisis inside a glass. Created by the team behind Kids and Cars, this game is a completely different life simulator that puts a simple goal in front of the player: complete your wish list before you die! It’s simple on the surface, but there’s a small problem because you play as a housefly that doesn’t survive more than two minutes, although this time is variable, because the life expectancy of a fly depends on the life expectancy of the country you choose to live in. While this idea may sound pretty grim, Time Flies is full of light, and not just the kind of light that kills your bug friend. The game is a celebration of life that teaches us to seize the moment and not let a single precious second go to waste.

2. Wheel World

Producer: Annapurna Interactive / Developer: Messhof Games
Platform: PS5, PS4, Xbox One, PC, Xbox Series X/S

Have you ever seen a real cyclist? Not someone who only goes to work by bicycle; For them, cycling is not just a means or a pastime, but it is their identity and lifestyle. Wheel World is probably the closest experience to life in the minds of such people, and it has worked really well. This funny racing game conveys a sense of joy and pure satisfaction. In 2025, going to an ideal island where everyone speaks the language of bicycles and the entire society is built around breaking personal records was an experience that really took you away from the real world.

1. Wizard of Legend 2

Producer: Humble Bundle / Producer: Dead Mage
Platform: PC

The likes of Peak, REPO, and Split Fiction in 2025 led a wave of great co-op games, but one of the best of the bunch was a relatively low-profile roguelike about wizards competing for honor. Wizard of Legend 2 offers a compelling isometric action that some have compared to Hades. In this game, you combine different spells to go through waves of enemies in diverse environments; Ecosystems that each culminate in a fight with a box that measures your quick reactions. The game itself is a lot of fun, but it’s best to play it with a friend, a friend who will check out the best builds with you and revive you when needed.

Source: Polygon