This was the list I generated to choose from:
Wizardry Variants: Daphne-technically a cheat, since the game is over a year old BUT it was released on Windows platforms in January of 2025, so I consider it a qualifier.
Tainted Grail: the Fall of Avalon-The best game of its type (1st person RPG similar to Elder Scrolls) in a long time.
The First Berserker: Khazan-The best Soulslike of 2025, IMO
Gigasword-The best retro platformer I played this year. Had me gripped from start to finish.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion-The perfect nostalgia trip for an old Marvel head like me that loves the classic era.
Days Gone Remastered-A wonderful update to a criminally underrated game with an intense and rewarding gameplay loop.
Final Fantasy Tactics: the Ivalice Chronicles-The best TRPG ever made.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves-Haters gonna hate. The two real life guest characters are gay. It's still a great game and a wonderful love letter to Fatal Fury fans that pays homage to the series' legacy.
And my pick is....
Wizardry Variants Daphne
This game still has me by the nutz and isn't letting go. I am as invested in it today as I was when it first debuted as a mobile game over a year ago. It is every bit Wizardry, and rekindled my love for this venerable series that made me love video game RPGs forever. It is just deep enough that you have plenty to do if you want to or you can just play for 15 minutes, get your dailies in and call it a day. This game gets constant updates and the players are rewarded for the inconvenience during the patches. With an ever expanding roster and plenty of alternate costumes to pull and PLENTY of the classic soul crushing difficulty that is one of the series' hallmarks, this game is absolutely a blast.
If I'm unable to choose it because Windows ports aren't allowed, I'm going with....
Days Gone Remastered
The best open world zombie killing video game ever made, with fantastic run and gun gameplay, a fun upgrade system for your motorcycle, just the right amount of resource management to engage rather than exhaust and a traversal system that makes you pine to ride around the Oregon countryside on a motorcycle and tour even with the undead roaming the land, I had more fun with the game this time than I did last time, which is considerable. I once read someone here criticize it as 'Video Games: the Video Game.' Maybe, but still super fun, super well made and super captivating.
