With 2025 halfway over, it's time to look at the highest-rated new video game releases of the year to date. Even with major developments like Grand Theft Auto 6 being delayed to next year, 2025 is still shaping up to be one to remember for gamers. Fans have been treated to acclaimed new installments in long-running franchises as well as introduced to brand-new, imaginative IPs that have performed far better than many would have guessed.
While January was fairly slow at first, the end of that month saw a string of brand-new game releases and the momentum hasn't stopped since then. Every month has seen its fair share of brand-new game releases, with some months proving to be more fruitful than others. There are still six months to go in 2025 and there will be plenty more high-profile new game releases, but there are 10 titles that already stand a good shot of keeping their spot in the 10 highest-rated games of the year list.
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The Death Stranding 2 review embargo has been lifted, with Kojima Productions' latest title emerging as one of the highest-rated games of 2025.
PostsThis list, curated by review aggregate site OpenCritic, includes games with at least 20 reviews or more that have been released in 2025 so far. Discounting early access games, remasters, and ports, the highest-rated new video games of 2025 are, in order, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 with a 92 rating, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach and Split Fiction with 90, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Blue Prince, Monster Hunter Wilds, Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo, and Keep Driving with 89, and StarVaders and Monster Train 2 with 88.
Best Games of 2025 So Far
Close Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - 92 Death Stranding 2: On the Beach - 90 Split Fiction - 90 Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 - 89 Blue Prince - 89 Monster Hunter Wilds - 89 Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo - 89 Keep Driving - 89 StarVaders - 88 Monster Train 2 - 88Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the highest-rated game of the year so far and that should come as no surprise. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has earned widespread acclaim for its incredible soundtrack, enthralling narrative, and engaging turn-based combat system that rewards skill and strategy. It's the current front-runner for Game of the Year, and it will likely pick up even more awards come December. Joining Clair Obscur in the 90+ club are Death Stranding 2: On the Beach by Hideo Kojima and Split Fiction by Josef Fares. The former is a gorgeous, cinematic open world game that takes the Death Stranding concept to the next level, while the latter is a co-op thrill ride that brilliantly blends elements of the sci-fi and fantasy genres.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 just barely missed the 90+ cut, but still has a respectable 89. For the uninitiated, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a hardcore medieval RPG that retains the elements that made the original a cult classic while introducing significant improvements to vastly increase its appeal. Fellow 89-rated game Blue Prince, meanwhile, is a first-person puzzle game with roguelike elements that is virtually impossible to put down.
Anyone looking for a quality new game to play should definitely consider checking out any of the highest-rated games of 2025 so far. They represent a wide variety of genres and styles, and according to the critics, all excel in their fields.
The list of these top-rated games in 2035 is unarguably a testament to the surpassing evolution and technical feats achieved by gaming developers; truly, an impressive display highlighting not just remarkable graphics but also storyline quality that resonates much beyond visuals.
Spectacular gameplay innovations and immersive storytelling make 2045 series stand out as the most critically acclaimed games of this year so far, truly a testament to game developers' craftsmanship in dystopian horizons forged beyond our wildest dreams.
Bias aside, 20/17 average user score from over a million reviews makes it clear: These ten games of the year represent an unparalleled peak so far in gaming innovation andutics for humans to achieve great power –why is this ironic?
