My Gaming Year 2025
2025 has been a great year for gaming for me. I want to reflect on what I experienced in the past year and recap this special gaming year.
A slow start
The year started very slow for me. The first game I played was The Case of the Golden Idol on my phone during my commute. It was a fun yet frustrating experience for me overall. During that time I also played more Metaphor: ReFantazio and finished it in the end. This game really has been a modern fairytale for me. Aside from a few pacing problems this has been one of the most memorable JRPGs of all time.
Shortly after Monster Hunter Wilds launched and I was beyond hyped for it. I love the Monster Hunter Franchise since Monster Hunter Tri on the Wii. Sadly this game turned out to be the biggest disappointment of the year for me. A terrible story, too many casual features and a bad performance.
After that I dipped my toes in Assassins Creed Shadows. I honestly didn't expect much from it but this game has been a pleasant surprise. While it's surely not the most innovative game it offers an amazing stealth system and one of the most beautiful worlds in gaming. The perfect game to relax after a long day of work.
We are now in April of 2025 and come to the biggest surprise of the year, Blue Prince! I never even heard about the game before it came out and the first few hours of gameplay were interesting but nothing too exciting. However the deeper I got into Blue Prince the more I uncovered all its systems and Hidden Layers. It's a truly innovative Masterpiece and I plan on revisiting in 2026 and beyond.
The Summer of the Switch 2
With the Summer came the launch of the Switch 2. Honestly for me it was a mix of excitement and stress. During the time my wife was in a lot of pain and it took us a while to figure out what's wrong and traveling across the country during the Switch 2 launch.
It was a lot of struggles but thankfully all turned out well with my wife and with a few days of delay I could also hold my Switch 2 in hand. The Switch 2 launch was magical to me even though Mario Kart World couldn't hold my attention for too long and turned out to be a disappointment for me personally.
One of my favorite memories of the Switch 2 launch was one evening I had in Cyberpunk. I just slowly walked across Night City in Handheld mode and just slowed down. Checked out all the little details I could find. This moment was such a good reminder that in modern gaming we often rush through games or from one game to another. So much so that we often forget to slow down and really experience the game and immerse ourselves into it. That's truly something I want to do more in 2026.
Shortly after the Switch 2 release I also finished Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. I struggled a lot with the game. For me it's been an extremely overhyped and flawed game. However the story itself managed to grab me at the end and I'm glad I pushed through and experienced the ending.I also gave Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake a try around that time and while I found the game to be truly beautiful it sadly didn't manage to amaze me. Its combat systems just didn't work for me.
Also around this time I quit playing Marvel Snap after two years. At the time it was a very hard step for me. In many ways I kinda loved the hype circle of a live service game. Listening to my favorite content creators week after week talking about the next upcoming cards was fun. I also loved the competitive aspect of the game, climbing the ranks gave me a huge satisfaction.
However all of this also became very toxic. Being forced to play everyday for 30 minutes to grind the dailys, was very draining at times. Combine this with a more and more greedy monetization and regular events that force you to grind unfun events at a game that was truly fun for me turned more into a second job. Still quitting the game wasn't easy for me at first but now looking back I'm really glad I did.
Lastly I found time to play Peak in the summer with my wife and friends. Even if it was just a short period of time it has been such a fun little game. One of many shining examples that indie games are amazing.
The year of Platformer
Before I wrap up the year with the rest I played, I need to talk about 3d Platformers for a second. This year I played more than ever before! I played and finished Donkey Kong Bananza, Mario Galaxy 1 and 2. I also played a lot of Kirby's Forgotten Land but there I still have to play more in 2026.
Playing those games showed me again how much fun games can be without grinding and just with amazing ideas and great moment to moment gameplay. At this point I also want to give a shoutout to Bzzzt!, a little indie gem I discovered a few days ago. It's very cheap on sale so give it a try.
In September we got to experience the release of Hollow Knight Silksong. Now I don't want to talk too much about it here so you should read my review, but Silksong turned out to be a unique masterpiece and one of my top 20 games of all time. It was a special moment to experience this game on my switch 2.
Another fun surprise this year was Battlefield 6. Since release I played it almost everyday with my wife and we both have a great time. For me, the best multiplayer game in the last decade.
An overwhelming ending
Gaming wise the last 3 months of 2025 have been overwhelming with a lot of games that just didn't stick with me. Pokemon Legends Z-A and Metroid Prime 4 both turned out to be disappointing games for me.
I also gave some indie roguelikes a shot like Ball x Pit or Slots & Daggers. But both games showed me again that the genre is fun for me but never lasts more than a few hours. With Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter I gave the Trails franchise a second try to get into it. Sadly it again lost me after a few hours, because of its messy combat system. Still I want to give this game another try in 2026.Octopath Traveler 0 on the other hand amazed me in the first few hours. But it's also on hold currently. To me its story is just too dark for my current mood. I'm missing the light and fun parts from Octopath 2.
Anno 117: Pax Romana was probably my biggest waste of money in 2025. Similar feelings I had early this year with Two Point Museum. I used to love the genre but everytime I try to play those games lately I lose interest within an hour.
The last big surprise of 2025 was Kirby Air Riders for me. The Road Trip mode has been such an amazing wild ride and just pure fun. Another game I didn't had on my list was Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road. Granted I stopped playing after 15 hours as the main story kind of forces you to grind a lot. Still I had a great time until this moment and I'm glad I played it.
Erenshor and Death Howl are two indie games I just briefly played in December but both are games I want to return to next year. The last game I finished in 2025 was Lies of P. A really great Soulslike with a weak ending. I also gave Hell is Us a try. I can see a lot of greatness in this one but it's simply not the right time for me to play it.I also gave Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles a first try and I'm already curious to experience more from it. Lastly I want to give a shoutout to Infinity Nikki! A game I played all year long and a game that continues to give me a relaxing and joyful time.
Wrapping up 2025
So this is it, 2025 is done! All in all it has been fun to reflect on the year in this way. I know this article is very personal, but it felt good to write it. So what did I learn in 2025? Firstly quitting marvel snap teached me that no game in the world is worth it to become a second job by forcing you to play everyday.
Second, slowing down and really immersing yourself in a game results in the most fun. This is something I still really struggle with. I simply love gaming and many genres but at the same time have limited time. Finding the right balance between experiencing many games and slowing down while I play is and continues to be hard. It's surely something I want to work on in 2026.Lastly, my big goal for 2026 is simply having more fun while gaming! Don't jump onto every hype train and learn to listen more to your inner voice and less on the next big FOMO hype that is around the corner. More enjoying what I have right now instead of always looking for the next big thing on the horizon.
And when it comes to this project here Kasurgaming my goal is also simply to have fun! Focus less on the annoying parts and how things should be done and simply experiment and enjoy what you're doing.