games I've played this year
Luciano Ratamero
2025-12-17
inspired by my brother’s blog post (and knowing myself enough to understand I WON’T remember what I played the previous year), I’ve decided to write this one. these are not reviews, and aren’t in any specific order, though I tried to keep them in the order I’ve played in the year.
I hate long intros, so here we go.
summary
the ones I’ve fully played
hollow knight
it’s kinda crazy to me that I only got to play this game at the end of last year. it instantly became one of my favorites of all time (surely on the top 10). I looooove games that reward exploration, allow for player creativity to flourish, and offer a bit of fair challenge, so it does not surprise me that I enjoy most metroidvanias, this one included.
I loved it so much that, right before silksong, I’ve replayed it in one sitting, to get my brain ready for the next game in the series.
it was definitely an obsession. not as big as silksong though.
contradiction
or Contradiction: Spot the Liar
this one was FUN. for those who don’t know about it (I surely didn’t before playing), it’s a point-and-click detective game, focused on spotting, well, contradictions in the characters’ testimonies.
the fun part: everything, from the setting to the characters, was acted with real people, on real places - so it feels more like you’re interacting with a movie. you know, like we used to on those DVD menu games. #old
it all started when my brother was starting to speedrun it. the game was made with NW.js, a very… quirky webkit wrapper for desktop applications that I’ve used professionally before. it was the perfect game for me to mod and dive under the hood. in a few days, we found some very interesting unintended behaviors, mostly related to how the game autosaves and how it flags that a cutscene has been watched.
so I started by fiddling with the source code, and ended up just playing the game. except for a few very obtuse puzzles, it was a great time. the story is interesting, the characters are amazing, and the game never takes itself too seriously. 100% recommend it for people that have the patience for puzzle games and don’t mind looking up a guide once in a while.
everhood 2
everhood 1 was a very psychedelic rhythm game I’d previously played, and had a great time with. I’m a sucker for rhythm games (as you’ll see), so playing the second game in the series was a sure thing.
and yeah, it was basically the first one (very, very trippy), with a marginally worse story (if you can call it a story), and bigger scale.
if you like rhythm games, check it out. it’s pretty goos. very goos even. nothing more to add.
metaphor: refantazio
a good game. a very deeply flawed game, but a good game. metaphor is a JRPG that follows the persona blueprint very closely. it fixes a lot of gameplay issues I’ve had with persona games, but ends up making a lot of its own mistakes, mostly in the story department.
imo, the pacing is all over the place, and there are giant plot holes everywhere. I do mean everywhere. also, the plot twists are so frequent that you can never trust anything - so I ended up not even trying to make sense of things. I won’t spoil it, just in case you want to give it a go, but there’s a part of the game that you go through 5 plot twists in 30 minutes, one making less sense than the next. it’s SO fatiguing.
the characters, art style, gameplay, and overall mechanics are good though. nothing groundbreaking, but good. if you like persona games, you’ll probably like it.
I’m glad I’ve played it, but it’s one of those that I’ll never play again.
rhythm heaven fever
wabadubadub, is that true? yeh.
the quintessential rhythm game, made for the wii. two buttons, good minigames, and a great soundtrack is all you need to make a classic rhythm game. a must play, if you can press buttons on cue.
hollow knight: silksong
without a doubt, my game of the year. it’s like team cherry fixed all of the mistakes from hollow knight, expanded the world threefold, and learned how to be cruel.
let’s be real: you haven’t learned about this game through this post. either you already know about it and will/is/has played it, or you don’t really love the genre, which is totally valid. I just need to say that ever since the game has launched, I’ve played it more than I’d like to admit, and sometimes I catch myself going on twitch to find some random streamer playing it for the first time.
and yes, I love it more than the first one. and it was the equivalent of 12 dollars here in Brazil, I’ve had lunches this week that were more expensive. it will forever be the best deal (and, at the time of writing, it’s with a 20% discount on steam). a masterpiece - a very challenging masterpiece. and I would be mad that it didn’t win more categories in the game awards, if the game awards weren’t a shitpost.
blippo+
ok, this one was a trip. the premise of the game is: you’re watching cable tv. a very weird, very different cable tv. lots of channels, lots of recurrent programs and characters, and all around a good time. of course, there’s more to it than just that, but I don’t want to spoil it. just grab a drink and blippo+ and chill.
hyperbeat
yeah, another rhythm game. I know, I have a problem.
hyperbeat was probably the most artsy of them all, and the one with the weirdest (but most amazing) control scheme. it’s kinda hard to describe: you basically control a customizable avatar in a tunnel, and use the analog stick and the shoulder buttons to match the rhythm of tiles that appear in front of you. kind of like super hexagon, but way better.
it’s a very challenging, and a very niche game, since you do need to really like rhythm games to enjoy it. but if you do, you’ll have a great time. the characters and the instrumental electronic soundtrack are a blast. there isn’t much of a story, though.
I’m just sad it was too short - though it’s pretty cheap too.
unbeatable
guess what? it’s a rhythm game. :)
this one, in my opinion, is all about the story; and the story is reeeeeally good (except for a small section, that will remain unspoiled). the game is about a dystopic society in which music is forbidden, so the setting is really interesting.
but it’s also about how to deal with emotions, grief, and growing up - so be sure to have water and tissues nearby, because you are going to cry.
the gameplay is good, but some decisions are questionable. for example: the game has two lanes (one top, one bottom), and you have to press buttons when tiles appear on them, one button per lane. the problem is that the default controls are left and right triggers, instead of up and down; though they do have a reason for that.
also, the left trigger controls the bottom lane, not the top one. my brain always thinks that left is up, right is down, since I read from left to right. half of the game, my brain was short-circuiting on which button I should press. changing the settings is fully recommended.
even so, the game slowly grew on me, even the gameplay sections. the soundtrack is very nice (if you enjoy pop punk rock), the art style is gorgeous, and the characters are very relatable. it also has an arcade mode, if you want to play specific tracks on different difficulties. very nice.
I’m fully replaying it. like, right now, as you’re reading this. yes.
year walk
not a rhythm game this time. year walk is a point-and-click adventure game made by Simogo, the studio behind some of my favorite games (sayonara wild hearts and lorelei and the laser eyes). as expected, it’s a very interesting story that blurs the line between real and fake, with a mix of swedish folklore and spooky gameplay.
very short, and a great time. just be ready for jumpscares, they will get you.
bits & bops
aaaand we’re back to rhythm games. this one is an homage to the rhythm heaven series - but it can barely be called that. it’s borderline plagiarism. the minigames are really “inspired” by rhythm heaven games, so if you like rhythm heaven, you’ll have a good time.
but it’s just not worth the price, in my opinion. at the time of writing, it’s more expensive than silksong, and it took me 3 hours to beat. I expected at least triple the gameplay. really sad.
the ones I’ve tried, but didn’t vibe with
nine sols
yeah, I know. you’re thinking “how can you like hollow knight and silksong, but not nine sols?”
I don’t know, a mix of everything? personally, I don’t like the art style (I can’t really explain why). I’m not a fan of its parry mechanics. and I hate, hate skill trees. the story didn’t really catch me, but, being honest, it didn’t really have the time to, since the gameplay didn’t hold my attention enough for the story to really get started.
I still don’t know, but I can’t see myself playing this game. it feels like a metroidvania specifically made to not vibe with me. **shrugs**
void stranger
I didn’t keep playing this one not because it’s bad, or that it’s a bad match for my tastes. this game committed the sin of having too interesting of a story, and combining it with interesting, but grueling and long puzzle sections. it just felt like the devs said “hey, here’s a great plot and interesting characters, but to read the next page you need to solve 100 wordles. yes, every page.”
so I ended up just watching the story on youtube. it’s really good, kind of a mindfuck really, and there definitely are some gameplay sections that tickled the right parts of my brain.
but when your job already requires you to solve puzzles every day, seeing even more puzzles as fun is sometimes a bit too much. I’ll probably revisit this one one day.
skin deep
I’ve seen some people talk about this game with high praise, but when I tried it, it just didn’t catch my attention. tbh, I didn’t play it for very long, so I can’t talk too much about it. seems interesting; not right now.
felvidek
this is another one of the “seems interesting; not right now”. it’s a very crude game, but with a cool art style, and it seems to subvert some of the tropes of the genre. but yeah, it didn’t really click, so I’ll leave this for the future Luciano to deal with.
the ones I’m currently playing
possessor(s)
this is another metroidvania game, and it’s from heart machine, the studio behind hyper light drifter, one of my favorite games. nice aesthetics, nice soundtrack, nice gameplay, but I’m still not too fond of the characters and the story, and that’s kind of a deal breaker.
I’m one of those people that prefers a game with no story or with bland characters, instead of one that does have a story, but it’s bad, or that does have characters with personality, but they’re annoying.
hopefully things get better on the plot department. if they don’t, I can see myself skipping this one.
clair obscur: expedition 33
the motherlode of overhyping. I’ve played like an hour, so I don’t have much to report, but this game was so hyped that I have the highest of expectations; when I know I shouldn’t. I really hope it’s a good one.
metal gear rising: revengeance
yeah, the meme game. I mean, it was not meant to be a meme game, but it is. it feels like a team of edgy 15 y/o metal gear solid fans wrote it, and I love it.
certainly the game I’ll reach for when I have a bad day. it’s laughter guaranteed.
well, that’s it. all in all, I think this was an awesome year for gaming, and I’ve had a great time. I don’t have any expectations for new games for 2026, but at the very least we’ll have the silksong DLC.
if you have any recommendations, add a comment, or bug me anywhere. see you next time!