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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.
After “A Way Out” and “It Takes Two,” I wondered if we were seeing diminishing returns from Josef Fares and Hazelight, who are trying to hit a third straight year of titles focused solely on co-op play. Split Fiction felt like the best of their three efforts I’ve seen from the studio.
Having never really cared for the story in It Takes Two, I felt that the story told here was noticeably improved, albeit incomplete, while the fluid action set-pieces kept the two players focused for some of the craziest moments I’ve ever played. The final act of the game was a great demonstration of what this team is capable of. It’s hard to imagine where they can go from here.
This game feels like a victim of recency bias when it comes to Game of the Year topics, but there’s no denying that Split Fiction was a great appetizer to a year full of great video game experiences.
In fact, “Split Fiction” was so well received that a film adaptation by the director of “Wicked” is on the horizon. Split fiction, science fiction. Do you want to flip it? Fucking amazing.
Shannon says
“I can’t believe Split Fiction was this year, but being able to play with my best friend Brody again solidified this as an experience I’ll never forget.
The familiarity of the formula may dampen your excitement a bit, but there’s no denying that it’s a highly enjoyable experience that doesn’t exist anywhere else, and really pushes the boundaries of what’s possible, so pay the price of admission and you won’t find a better weekend than this. ”
In our review, Brody gave Split Fiction a 9.5 out of 10 and said:
“Split Fiction is a masterclass in game design, another instant classic from a team that has rewritten the playbook on how to develop memorable, fun, and original stories across three games, including a spotlight on the power of friendship.”
Split Fiction Review Discussion and Claire Obscur: Expedition 33 Preview — The Press Start Podcast
On the review aggregation site Metacritic, Split Fiction has an average score of 91.
Congratulations to Electronic Arts and Hazelight for taking 3rd place in the 2025 Top 10!
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
