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It’s time for our annual countdown to recognize the best games of the year. Over the next 10 days, we’ll be counting down the top 10 games of 2025.
As always, the votes of each member of the Press Start team were collated, weighted from 10th to 1st place, to compile the best results of the year. A game worthy of the top spot will be awarded a maximum of 10 points, and its value will go down to the 10th selection, which will be awarded 1 point.
Hideo Kojima’s penchant for film and music has been evident throughout his previous work. But nothing made that clearer than Death Stranding. Death Stranding is a meditative, literal walking simulator stacked with big screen talent and the emotional atmosphere of artists like Low Roar. For Game’s sequel, Kojima turned the levers up to 11, even having Caroline Polachek produce the title song as if it were a James Bond movie.
As with the first Death Stranding, Kojima’s hammer-toned character work once again emerges through the lens of a new cast, including actors Elle Fanning, Luca Marinelli, and Shiori Kutsuna. I loved games like Fragile and Deadman, but I can’t deny that the new members of the team shine brightly and add even more depth to the game’s world and setting.
Australia in the game felt more like a geographical amalgamation than an actual representation of the tanned nation, but being chosen as the setting for the sequel made On the Beach feel even more special. The team at Kojima Productions was able to refine and perfect the combat and stealth mechanics without changing the core of the Death Stranding experience, creating an experience that feels like a cross between Death Stranding and Metal Gear.
What a great sequel Death Stranding 2: On the Beach turned out to be.
Brody says
“Death Stranding has become a particularly special property for me. I hold it close to my heart. The first game, this confident game about a postman who delivers packages while basically trying to save the world, had that trademark Kojima flair. It felt like a microcosm of everything there was to know about its creator, seamlessly blending film and music, and giving the player a sense of wanderlust in the game’s setting, America.
The sequel recreates everything about the original, and then some. Because I had the benefit of a pre-set world, I was able to dive straight into the thick of things and move confidently from one wild scene to the next.
Low Roar’s song “Bones”, featured prominently on the first title, featured a motif about being far from home. Obviously, for us, being set in Australia was a change of direction that no one could have predicted, which made it all the more memorable. As someone who has grown to love this series and even traveled to the Opera House to see Strands of Harmony, I’m excited to see more coming into this world. ”
In our review, James gave Death Stranding 2: On the Beach a 10/10 and said:
“Death Stranding 2: On the Beach does everything it can to subvert the original in virtually every way, improving upon the systems surrounding the original’s already strong core.
The result is a more vibrant world to explore, an engaging story to experience, and an overall well-paced adventure through Australia that I struggled to put down. It’s well worth your time and you should respect it more. ”
On review aggregation site Metacritic, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach rests with an average score of 89.
Congratulations to Kojima Productions on winning the 2025 Press Start Game of the Year.
2025 Game of the Year
#10 – Ghost of Yotei
#9 – Ball x Pit
#8 – Dispatch
#7 – silent hill f
#6 – Donkey Kong Bananza
#5 – Hades 2
#4 – Hollow Knight: Silk Song
#3 – Split Fiction
#2 – Claire Obscur: Expedition 33
#1 – Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
