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Rolling Stone’s 25 Best Games Of 2025 And How Donkey Kong And Mario Kart Stole The Show

5 December 2025
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11 min.
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Rolling Stone’s 25 Best Games Of 2025 And How Donkey Kong And Mario Kart Stole The Show

Summary:

Every December, debates about the year’s strongest releases flare up again, and Rolling Stone has just thrown serious fuel on the fire with its ranking of the 25 best games of 2025. At the very top sits Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, followed closely by Hades II, setting a high bar for anyone who loves rich role playing systems and bold aesthetics. Yet tucked just behind those giants is a result that will make Nintendo fans sit up straight: Donkey Kong: Bananza in third place, joined further down the list by Mario Kart World in thirteenth. Together they signal that Nintendo’s first wave on Nintendo Switch 2 did a lot more than simply coast on nostalgia.

Rolling Stone’s selection stretches from big budget sequels like Death Stranding 2: On The Beach and Battlefield 6 to inventive projects such as Blue Prince, Ball x Pit and The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy. Horror lurks at the other end of the list with Silent Hill: F, while tactical minds get their fix with Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles and Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector. The result feels like a snapshot of a year where every kind of player could find something special. By looking at how these picks fit together and why Donkey Kong: Bananza and Mario Kart World landed so high, we see just how much 2025 belonged to both daring new ideas and polished comfort food from gaming’s biggest names.

Rolling Stone’s 2025 list shows how wild the year really was

Take a step back and look at the full ranking and it becomes clear that 2025 was one of those rare years where almost every month had a heavy hitter lining up. Rolling Stone crowns Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in first place, followed by Hades II in second and Donkey Kong: Bananza in third, before rolling through names like Dispatch, Ghost of Yōtei, Blue Prince, The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach and Ball x Pit. The top fifteen alone is a tug of war between ambitious role playing adventures, experimental action sandboxes and slick, tightly tuned experiences. Further down you find South of Midnight, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Mario Kart World, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, Battlefield 6 and Ninja Gaiden 4, which shows how crowded the field really was. The lower stretch still has room for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, Absolum, Despelote, The Séance of Blake Manor, Split Fiction, Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, Rematch, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles and finally Silent Hill: F. Looking at that spread, it is clear this ranking is trying to capture a full year, not just chase a single genre or trend.

How Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 reached the top of the ranking

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sitting at number one will not shock anyone who has kept an eye on awards season and sales charts throughout the year. The turn based structure taps into a long history of classic role playing, but the painterly, dreamlike world and clever real time twists on defense and timing give it a personality that jumps off the screen. Critics and players rallied behind it because it feels confident and modern while still treating its inspirations with respect, which is harder to pull off than it looks. The story leans into melancholy and surrealism rather than simple power fantasy, inviting you to linger on small details and quiet moments between its big set pieces. When a game manages to connect that strongly on both emotional and mechanical levels, it tends to anchor lists like this. Rolling Stone’s decision to put it right at the top underlines how Expedition 33 became a shorthand for what 2025 delivered: surprise, polish and a willingness to take risks without losing sight of fun.

Hades II strengthening the modern roguelike obsession

Right behind Expedition 33 is Hades II in second place, which says a lot about how firmly roguelike design has moved into the mainstream. The original Hades already convinced a huge audience that repeated runs could feel like binge watching an amazing TV show, with each attempt revealing more character beats and world building. The sequel doubles down on that rhythm by putting Melinoë, a new protagonist with her own motives and hang ups, in the spotlight while refining what worked mechanically the first time. God boons feel sharper, weapon aspects have more personality and the world between runs offers richer choices, so you always have something to look forward to whether you just cleared a boss or died to a silly mistake. Rolling Stone highlighting Hades II this high tells you that fast paced combat and restart friendly structure are no longer niche tastes. They are a central part of how people like to play, and this sequel shows how much room there still is to evolve within that blueprint.

Donkey Kong: Bananza as Nintendo’s surprise platforming powerhouse

Donkey Kong: Bananza landing in third place is where Nintendo’s year really starts to flex. A new 3D Donkey Kong project could easily have coasted on banana jokes and jungle nostalgia, but Bananza approaches the series with the kind of inventive level design normally associated with Mario’s wildest outings. The worlds feel dense and playful, full of little physics gags, environmental puzzles and optional routes that reward you for poking at every corner. Movement has a chunky, weighty feel that matches Donkey Kong’s personality, yet still allows for surprising bursts of agility when you master its roll jumps, vine swings and tag team combos. Rolling Stone placing Bananza just behind two massive role playing releases sends a simple message: this is not a side dish in Nintendo’s lineup, it is one of the year’s main courses. For anyone who grew up with the character but fell off the series, seeing it championed alongside the year’s biggest critical darlings is a strong nudge to climb back into the treetops.

Mario Kart World proving Nintendo’s racing crown is safe

Scroll further down the list and you hit Mario Kart World at thirteenth place, which is still a huge achievement when you remember how stacked the field is above it. After years of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe dominating living rooms, Nintendo needed more than prettier tracks to justify a new entry on Nintendo Switch 2. World answers that challenge by stretching the series across an open structure where city streets, countryside paths and wild off road shortcuts all weave together into one large playground. Races with up to twenty four drivers make starting grids feel like cramped concerts, full of potential chaos where a single mistake can send you tumbling down the order. At the same time, the game layers in new modes, costumes and world traversal ideas that give fans reasons to explore even when they are not in the mood for competitive races. Rolling Stone recognising Mario Kart World in the middle of such a packed ranking shows that comfort food can still earn its seat at the table when it genuinely rethinks how a long running series works.

Fresh names like Dispatch, Ghost of Yōtei and Blue Prince

Beyond the obvious headliners, a big part of the fun in a ranking like this sits in the names that might not be on everybody’s radar yet. Dispatch, Ghost of Yōtei and Blue Prince are exactly that kind of pick: projects that blend strong aesthetics with distinct hooks instead of trying to be all things to all people. They are the games you bring up to friends when you want to sound slightly smug and very in the know. Rolling Stone positioning them near the upper third sends a clear signal that 2025 was not only about sequels and established mascots. It was also a year where new ideas pushed through the noise, whether that was through unusual pacing, bold visual direction or systems that reward patience and curiosity over raw reflexes. Lists like this live or die on whether they make you say “I should really try that one,” and these three candidates do exactly that.

Indie flavour from Ball x Pit, Despelote and other smaller hits

It would be easy for a ranking built by a major publication to overlook smaller projects in favour of giant marketing budgets, but that is not what happens here. Ball x Pit muscles into the top ten with its strange yet incredibly satisfying blend of brick breaking action and city building meta progression, a combination that sounds odd on paper yet quickly becomes dangerously moreish in practice. Despelote shows up later as another reminder that scope does not always equate to impact, especially when a game leans into grounded stories and everyday details. These placements suggest Rolling Stone paid attention to the corners of the scene where experimental mechanics and unusual structures live. For players who like to alternate between blockbusters and tightly focused experiences, seeing these names share space with Death Stranding 2 or Battlefield 6 is a welcome validation that quiet brilliance can stand shoulder to shoulder with the loudest releases in the room.

Big sequels and action favourites beyond Nintendo’s ecosystem

While Nintendo’s appearance on the list understandably grabs the attention of Switch 2 owners, the ranking also underlines how strong 2025 was for players on other platforms. Death Stranding 2: On The Beach continues Hideo Kojima’s peculiar blend of lonely traversal and high concept storytelling, earning a slot in the top ten and reaffirming that there is still room for big, weird projects with blockbuster production values. Further down, Battlefield 6 and Ninja Gaiden 4 carry the torch for players who crave sharp reflex challenges and explosive spectacle, while Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves keeps classic fighting game energy alive with precise inputs and competitive depth. These are comfort series in their own way, but they ship with enough fresh systems, modes and technical polish to feel relevant in a year full of stiff competition. Rolling Stone weaving them throughout the list shows a willingness to celebrate both risky experiments and familiar power fantasies without treating one as inherently more worthy.

Strategy, tactics and slow burning narratives in the line up

One of the most encouraging parts of the ranking is how it makes room for slower, more deliberate experiences alongside twitchy action. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles brings back grid based battles and political intrigue in a way that appeals both to long time fans and new players who may have only met the world of Ivalice through other spin offs. Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector continues its blend of tabletop inspired dice checks and narrative role playing, using scarcity and hard choices to make even small decisions feel weighty. Rematch adds its own twist to competitive formats, reminding everyone that playing against a human brain can still surprise you more than any scripted encounter. By giving these entries space, Rolling Stone shows that 2025 was not only about instant gratification. It also belonged to the people who love poring over builds, agonising over turn order and soaking in slow burning stories during quiet late night sessions.

Horror, hauntings and how Silent Hill: F closes the list

Every good ranking needs a haunting final note, and Silent Hill: F provides exactly that by closing the list in twenty fifth place. Sitting at the end does not mean it is an afterthought. Instead, it acts like a curtain call for the year’s darker side, the place where psychological horror, creeping dread and uncomfortable imagery find a home. Alongside it, The Séance of Blake Manor and Split Fiction sprinkle in their own flavours of supernatural unease and narrative experimentation, giving players more than one way to scare themselves silly. These choices remind us that horror continues to reinvent itself, shifting from jump scares to mood driven experiences that burrow under your skin and stay there long after the credits roll. Ending with Silent Hill: F feels fitting because it leaves the ranking on a slightly unsettled note, the kind of lingering tension that makes you want to reach for something bright and colourful like Mario Kart World as a palate cleanser.

What Rolling Stone’s choices tell us about Nintendo in 2025

Looking at the ranking as a whole, one thread stands out repeatedly: Nintendo did far more in 2025 than simply refresh old brands on new hardware. Donkey Kong: Bananza and Mario Kart World are not polite nods to nostalgia, they are centrepiece experiences that go toe to toe with some of the most ambitious projects in the industry. Their positions in the top three and top fifteen show that the move to Nintendo Switch 2 has already produced releases that critics see as essential rather than optional. At the same time, the list acknowledges plenty of non Nintendo hits, which makes those high placements feel earned rather than automatic. For players who wondered whether the new hardware would have a slow start, Rolling Stone’s ranking doubles as reassurance that the machine’s first year delivered games worth buying it for. It also sets high expectations for the next wave, because once you see Donkey Kong and Mario sitting comfortably beside Expedition 33 and Hades II, you cannot help but ask what surprises might be waiting on next year’s lists.

Conclusion

Rolling Stone’s top 25 games of 2025 read like a love letter to a year where almost every kind of player found something to obsess over. From the dreamy, turn based intensity of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and the relentless loop of Hades II to Nintendo’s joyful one two punch of Donkey Kong: Bananza and Mario Kart World, the ranking celebrates both risk taking newcomers and polished sequels. Smaller names like Ball x Pit, Despelote and Blue Prince show that inventive ideas can still break through all the noise, while horror and strategy entries keep the edges of the list sharp and surprising. For Nintendo fans in particular, seeing two of the company’s flagship releases sit so high among such fierce competition is a reminder that the Switch 2 era has arrived in style. For everyone else, the list is an open invitation to look back over the year and maybe pick up one or two games that slipped by unnoticed. If this is what one year looks like, the next round of end of year arguments is already starting to write itself.

FAQs
  • Where did Donkey Kong: Bananza place on Rolling Stone’s 2025 list?
    • Donkey Kong: Bananza reached an impressive third place on Rolling Stone’s ranking of the 25 best games of 2025, sitting just behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in first and Hades II in second. That position puts it ahead of a long line of big budget sequels and fan favourite projects, which underlines how strongly critics responded to its playful level design and bold step into full 3D platforming on Nintendo Switch 2.
  • How high did Mario Kart World rank among Rolling Stone’s favourite games?
    • Mario Kart World secured the thirteenth spot on the list, a strong showing in a year where competition was fierce across almost every genre. Landing in the middle of the pack might sound modest at first, but when you remember it is sharing space with names like Death Stranding 2, Hollow Knight: Silksong and Battlefield 6, it becomes clear that Rolling Stone saw it as one of 2025’s essential multiplayer experiences.
  • Why did Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 take the top position?
    • Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 earned first place thanks to a mix of striking art direction, emotionally charged storytelling and combat that puts a fresh spin on turn based battles. The game manages to feel both familiar and experimental, drawing on classic role playing inspirations while folding in timing based elements and cinematic presentation. That combination resonated strongly with critics and players, making it a natural pick to anchor the list.
  • Which non Nintendo games stood out alongside Donkey Kong and Mario Kart?
    • Several non Nintendo releases made a big impression beside Donkey Kong: Bananza and Mario Kart World. Hades II grabbed second place with its fast paced runs and rich cast, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach returned with another strange and ambitious journey, while Battlefield 6, Ninja Gaiden 4 and Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves kept action fans busy. On the quieter side, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles and Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector offered slower, more thoughtful experiences.
  • What does this ranking suggest about Nintendo Switch 2’s first year?
    • Seeing Donkey Kong: Bananza in third and Mario Kart World in thirteenth sends a clear signal that Nintendo Switch 2’s first year delivered far more than simple upgrades. These games are treated as must play experiences in the same breath as some of the most acclaimed projects on other platforms. For anyone wondering whether the new hardware lineup would live up to the hype, Rolling Stone’s choices suggest that Nintendo has already laid a strong foundation for the years ahead.
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