My Favorite Game of 2025 Has Already Arrived

Sometimes you just need a sword and a spellbook

Screenshot captured on Xbox Series X hardware by the author.

I don’t care if it’s too early to make such a grand proclamation as “this mid-February release shall be my favorite game this year.”

I know what I like.

Of course, conventional wisdom suggests that I should wait until an entire year’s release calendar has come and gone to declare a favorite video game. Something amazing might come out in the final days or months that blows away all prior expectations. That’s the nature of the gaming industry. This year, for so many people, that game will probably be GTA VI — assuming it actually hits its expected release date.

But I’m not most people, I’m just me.

Last year, my favorite video game was Rise of the Ronin. It came out in the third week of March. Its explosive blend of Souls-style action, a beautiful open world, and a whole bunch of classic Koei Tecmo weirdness shot it right to the top of my list almost immediately, and it never once faltered. I’m replaying it now that I have a PS5 Pro, and I’m in love with it all over again, even if it’s still not quite the technical masterpiece it could be after its new console enhancements.

It felt like a troubling anomaly when that happened. I used to go into these all-important…