I wanted to do a final Games of list before such concepts gets either put on hold or get stopped altogether. I'm already quite proud of such an amazing lineup of games this year. Game Pass on Xbox wise played a major factor making this possible. Not many games on the actual list I directly bought being a huge surprise.
Possibly hundreds if not over an thousand hours went into this. Which is ridiculous but as a gamer I'm quite fine with this. Time does fly when you're having fun. There's barely any bad games at all here. The very best of them are difficult to stop playing. The fun factor might possibly be the highest yet.
I also make sure to clarify which platforms. To help prevent confusion on release dates for anyone that's selective on the details. Some games takes a few months to a few years to go from PC to consoles. A few games fits right into that situation. With all of that said please enjoy reading this blog entry.
I also have a few rules I went by as they follow down below...
1. Any compilation games could only be on the list if I played all the games
2. I must legally played the games no modding or rom hacking or stealing em
3. No mods
4. No newer story DLCs to older games allowed
I played through fifty games in the entire lineup alone. A large amount of them within several compilation games. I really went way bigger than I previously had before. This really felt like the one to end it all with for sure this time. I just hope anyone reading this enjoys the blog entry. It does mean a lot to me maybe you learn about a few games that may interest ya.
Here's a link to my double review blog for Mullet Madjack and Crime Scene Cleaner down below...
20. Overpowered 1 - Mars Infestation
Xbox Series X/PC (Xbox Anywhere)
September 2, 2025
For a cheap Xbox game it was a little better than I expected. You get four main levels with two survival maps. Everything is a small variety barely any content. The main reason why it's ranked so low in a rather long list. For what it's worth the game doesn't suck. It just comes close enough to be somewhat decent.
You kinda want more than what the game has to offer. I did like the art work easily one of my favorite aspects. It wouldn't be fair to compare this to games like Vampire Survivors. Honestly, it works fine on two platforms through Xbox Anywhere program. I felt it was worth the amount it goes for. I do think a few major changes could bring this game to life!!!
19. I Am Your Beast
Xbox Series X (Game Pass)
June 25, 2025
Sorta reminded me of Unmetal. Both were a serious tone stories with jokes thrown in. This felt like Mullet Madjack to a degree. You had to be quickly adapt to many situations on the fly. S ranks were a little too short of a time limit to get in most levels. The audio as a whole loved all of it!!! The controls are just perfect for an game like this.
Yes you have to do some additional runs to unlock some levels. But the bonus challenges makes things rather interesting. Some of which even made those levels more fun to play. It is very critical at making the smallest mistakes you'll die. Also get use to the same environment the entire game. Despite those it's a very fun FPS game I can easily recommend.
18. Gears of War: Reloaded
Xbox Series X (Game Pass)
August 26, 2025
This is the third version of the same game I played. I am going to be honest it was quite faithful to Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. I wasn't expecting signs of being rushed out. I kept noticing AI on both sides not acting right or doing stupid stuff. I will give em some credit it does load up a lot faster. Which is great when you die a lot in later portions.
The one true high light it has is Crossplay for multiplayer modes. Otherwise the few changes doesn't truly matter. I was in all honestly more impressed by Ultimate Edition years ago. Which came out the same year I gotten married in 2015. It's still a great game with technical issues holding it back. Still disappointed this wasn't a newer version of Gears 2 or the original Gears trilogy.
17. Beat 'Em Up Collection (7 games)
Xbox Series X/PC (Xbox Anywhere)
July 17, 2025
Easily the worst overall compilation game I played all year long. Sword of Sodan was a really terrible game. Most of the lineup is alright at best. You actually have more fun cheating em than playing it like normal. Surprisingly it does a lot of things right. At the same time, it's not Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle quality either.
I always welcome more Sega Genesis games to play. Beat 'Em Up Collection can differ achievement/trophy hunting. Just based if you going the distance without codes. But it's virtually guarantee most of them you'll get regardless which direction you go in. I felt I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream on the same engine was better.
16. Megabonk
Steam
September 18, 2025
There's some huge issues that holds this game back a lot. At it's core Megabonk is an incredibly fun game. It's a little too much like Vampire Survivors. Despite some notable changes within the game play. You could easily confuse the two games. Difficulty is notably unbalanced at times. It's an fun game to achievement hunt though.
Parts of it comes off being a weird parody of the genre. In most aspects there's plenty of stuff to keep you busy. I personally wish there was more than two locations. Some characters takes a little longer getting use to playing as. Megabonk is still an game I could recommend to people. I simply felt most the ones I played are better.
At the time writing this I still haven't cleared Tier 2. They also added a new difficult level with the ghosts. This game simply not balanced at all!! I will say it could be fun for a little while. Still can't believe it gotten nominated at Steam Awards for Sit Back and Relax Award. I voted for RV There Yet? myself.
It simply doesn't belong there. This category meant to be games you simply relax while playing. Megabonk is the exact opposite of that. Maybe I'll get RV There Yet? in the near future. The team actually wanted Megabonk to be nominated for Best Game You Suck At Award lol. I guess they didn't suck enough to get nominated lol.
15. Decision Legacy Collection (4 games)
Steam
January 30, 2025
Despite being near the bottom of such a great lineup. I still recommend Decision Legacy Collection. Especially Decision: Medieval it's so damn good!!! I even fully 100% that five times with three of those done on Hard+ aka hidden hardest difficulty. On the surface you get what you see. Don't expect any major changes whatsoever.
You still getting four amazing flash games packed with content. You will be spending hours to fully experience them all. I'm quite impressed what they were pulled off with these games. Achievement hunt might not be necessary great. I still think it's a good replacement when you wanna play Doom series. Decision series earned my respect with some amazing game play these offer.
14. Crime Scene Cleaner
Xbox Series X (Game Pass)
April 17, 2025
Now here's a game out of the blue I decided to try out through Game Pass on Xbox. I quickly ended up enjoying this cleaning simulator game. You get some great story telling while you explore the levels. I also love you gotta be creative about several situations. There's no real need to rush cleaning at all. The controls are just about perfect.
Crime Scene Cleaner is a game that blew me away. You get an upgrade system that doesn't get over complex. Each level is vastly different that kept getting tricker to clean up. You just never know which secrets you uncover. I'm not surprised this became a huge hit on Xbox either. This game is perfect if you wanna take things slow or don't feel that stress from playing this at all.
Update: they added new DLC to the game. I am not sure when I'll fully get the game. I will confirm they added more achievements. These are essentially harder variations of the same levels with new story thrown in. I don't think it's a deal breaker I'm missing out on that.
13. I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
GOG
October 16, 2025 (updated to be the newer version)
This was originally an horror DOS point & click game. Earlier this year a newer version gotten on consoles. More recently both Steam & GOG received this version through an update. Which is exactly how I'm able to play it on GOG since I owned the old version. It's a surprisingly easy game to achievement/trophy hunt.
I liked you can play any of the scenarios you want before the end game starts. I felt this held up way better than I thought. I also liked you can listen to the music among the bonus stuff. I never seen this game play this good!!! I would say it's a rather unique take on the genre. You may never play anything like this ever again!!!
12. Darkenstein 3D
Steam
October 21, 2025
For a free FPS game I couldn't imagine it being this great. I would even go as far to say easily could've been an Wolfenstein game. Imagine a more silly Wolfenstein style game. You could throw a rat at your enemies. Some other notable FPS franchises influence as well. Somehow all of it works amazingly well. I absolutely loved Hobo Guy with a passion.
This easily could've been an twenty dollar FPS game. A good variety of enemies with the bosses differ enough from each other. A good selection of weapons to keep it fun with plenty of ammo. Every level differs plenty to make it a rather unique experience. Especially when it suddenly becomes more like an Serious Sam game at the end I loved that!!!
11. Mullet Madjack
Xbox Series X (Game Pass)
March 13, 2025
This was such an amazing anime style FPS game. This was amazingly fun from start to finish. Rogue like aspects done just right. Truly fantastic animations with great voice acting. You could turn off randomized levels but it's just more fun keeping that on. This felt like an Arcade style boom shooter that never gets old or boring by any means.
In all honestly, I was quite blown away by this. It even sold me wanting to get this game on GOG no joke. Achievement hunting for the most part is a lot of fun. You get a lot of fun surprises on the way. I personally didn't like how you get the actual ending. Despite that, I highly recommend checking out Mullet Madjack.
10. My Friendly Neighborhood
Xbox Series X (Game Pass)
July 17, 2025
I previously knew about this game when it was on Steam. Imagine an Resident Evil 7 style game taking on Muppets you get this!!! For the most part you uncover the truth what happened? Despite not many weapons they all work quite differently. There's a little variety within the enemies. I also like helping several characters removes em as enemies for reminder of the game.
The voice acting is truly amazing. Believe it or not, the sound effects are even better!!! They even done their version of The Mercenaries as well. Some clever puzzles with some good maps to use. I personally loved how well the inventory works in the game. My Friendly Neighborhood is among my favorite RE clones I played!!!
9. Gex Trilogy (3 games)
Steam
June 16, 2025
I been waiting since 2023 to play this. I loved the trailers for this compilation game. I'm very glad Gex finally came back after all these years. Three of his best games in one package. You got most of the content from the PS1 versions. I loved the new features as a whole. Each Gex game differs just enough to stand out from each other.
A decent platformer collection that's more often overlooked than anything else. Of course, Gex eventually led to people loving Deadpool more recently. Largely parodying pop culture with already dated jokes back then. Yet there's just something about Gex we don't care. You can't go wrong with this collection.
8. DUSK
Xbox Series X/PC (Xbox Anywhere)
October 31, 2025
DUSK is heavily inspired by Quake 1. In every aspect I felt out done the very game that inspired it. It's broken up into three episodes that are a rather unique experience. The game being on Xbox Anywhere program was a bonus. This was a truly amazing FPS game. A surprisingly refreshing one at that. DUSK can easily withstand the test of time.
Sure it has similarities with Cultic. I do think it can hold it's own quite well. The audio as a whole truly impressive work. A huge variety of enemies to constantly keep things interesting. Plenty of fun weapons for classic inspired boomer shooter style fun. DUSK also has Endless Mode for the crazier FPS fans. This game is truly amazing at everything it does.
7. Swords & Souls Legacy Collection (5 games)
Steam
July 22, 2025
This is a collection of five flash games from 2010s. The fact these were released a couple months from each other is rather impressive. Even my least favorite being The Gentleman ended up being a rather unique experience. There's a lot of variety of game play in this collection. Achievement hunting ended up being among the most fun I done in a long time honestly.
The Soul Driver is a fun game you turn your brain off while playing. Rogue Soul 2 is absolutely amazing. Swords & Souls is in all honestly too damn great of a game!!! Majority of them are surprisingly short games. I actually felt this collection was done just right for this. I highly recommend checking this collection out on Steam.
6. Heretic + Hexen (2 games)
GOG and Xbox Series X (Game Pass)
August 7, 2025
Similar to Doom + Doom II, Nightdive remastered two classic FPS games with extras. Not only you get those games with their expansions. They also made two new campaigns that fits in perfectly. Heretic is very similar to the first two Doom games with some slight changes. Hexen on the other hand is a totally different ball game!!!
You are getting virtually as close as much game play as Doom + Doom II. Even excluding their mod support features. I was truly really impressed with this remaster. You also get some cool bonuses you can check out as well. Just the right changes to make both games a bit easier to play. Heretic + Hexen is a truly fantastic compilation game that I really highly recommend checking this out!!!
5. No, I'm Not a Human
Steam
September 15, 2025
Easily one of the greatest indie games I played all year. Considering it originally was in a horror compilation game. This turned out to be a fantastic horror game. Very iconic right down to it's core. I simply absolutely loved everything about it. I'm proud to voted for it a few times at The Horror Game Awards this year.
4. Dino Crisis Bundle (2 games)
GOG
January 29, 2025
Earlier this year, Capcom surprise a lot of people rereleasing the first two Dino Crisis games. These were handled similar to Resident Evil Bundle games. My controller works perfectly for these. Two amazing Capcom classics you don't wanna miss. Especially if you love games similar to Resident Evil series.
The first Dino Crisis is like a more rough RE3 classic experience with dinosaurs. The second Dino Crisis actually felt like RE4 either version in a nut shell. Two vastly different styles with a similar concept. Both of them held up amazingly well you just gotta play these!!! Especially Dino Crisis 2 it's such a great action game.
3. Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics (7 games)
Xbox Series X
February 4, 2025
It's no surprise I'm an huge MvC fan since childhood. I was caught off guard when this compilation was announced last year. I chose to wait for it's Xbox version. You are getting some amazing Arcade games. You already are in great hands with Marvel vs. Capcom 2.
This is essentially better than the first Capcom Fighting Collection. This is already among my favorite Marvel games I ever played!!! Even the minor issues aren't going to affect anything. You are getting some nice surprises in this collection. Easily among my absolute favorites this year by far.
2. Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor
Xbox Series X (Game Pass) I own it now
September 17, 2025
When this game hit Game Pass it left Early Access. I previous knew about the game from Mike Matei streamed it on Twitch a while back. Sure it has similarities to Vampire Survivors. I actually felt there's more in depth with the game play. Also considering all of it is in 3D makes everything stand out way more!!!
I still couldn't believe how truly great this game is. It doesn't have a true end but you got plenty of content to keep you busy. You play as four dwarves that notably differ from each other. You can upgrade as well as customize cosmetics for them. In all honestly everything about Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is truly amazing stuff!!!
For fun I'll quickly rank the best games from each compilation game represented. Keep in mind, this is strictly my opinion alone. But lists like this could easily differ from other people. You are always welcome to present your own lists on this topic. This is going to be fun!!!
1. Capcom Fighting Collection 2 (8 games)
Steam
May 16, 2025
Now this is what I call a worthy follow fighting compilation game. Somehow ended up being more fun than the previous entries. A mostly solid lineup of fighting games. Packed with enough surprises to keep you busy for hours. Hands down worthy to be nominated for either Best Fighting Game award. I am deeply impressed how damn great it truly was!!!
More recently Capcom Fighting Collection 2 won Best Fighting Game awards. Which I strongly felt were well deserved. I hope they make more Capcom Fighting Collection games soon. This easily among my favorites to date. This is exactly why I love Capcom so much!!! They brought back some truly fantastic games that's timeless classics.
6. Decision: Medieval
I was deeply impressed with this flash game. They took the concept to the past. Who knew it would turned out to be so awesome? I felt in most aspects this was the best balanced among all the Decision games.
5. Hexen
Hexen was a rather unique take on the genre. Even going as far to not have actual firearms. Despite the common label of being an FPS game. It has a rather unique hub design that pulls you in. Some truly amazing animations with surprisingly fun game play.
4. Swords & Souls
This was among the greatest flash games I ever played!!! You create your own avatar to be in this world. I simply loved everything about this game!!! You easily could play this for hours. Easily one of the finest games you level up in hands down.
Gex 3
Gex 3 is a solid 3D platformer. I loved each level are huge worlds inspired by Banjo-Kazooie. Some of my absolute favorite jokes in the series. Even the hub world as a whole among my favorite aspects. The audio as a whole works amazingly well.
2. Capcom vs. SNK 2
Easily one of the greatest fighting games. Not to mention crossovers in a video game I ever played!!! This game held up insanely well after so many years. You simply aren't living until you play this!!! It is that damn good of a fighting game!!!
1. Marvel vs. Capcom 2
A truly fantastic crossover fighting game. Over fifty characters with two versions of Wolverine. It's mind blowing how damn great this game truly is!!! Even one shared ending everything else works incredibly well.
Some bonus awards section
Worst Game of 2025
Sword of Sodan
Let's be honest, we knew Sword of Sodan was bad. I didn't expect it to be this bad!!! I would even recommend playing the original Street Fighter over it.
Most Surprising Game of 2025
My Friendly Neighborhood
To say this was a surprise is quite the understatement. My Friendly Neighborhood was so unique in what it brings to the table.
Best Compilation Game of 2025
Capcom Fighting Collection 2
Just when I thought it couldn't get any better. I played Capcom Fighting Collection 2. WOW my standards went even higher than I possibly could've imagined!!!
Best Indie Game of 2025
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor
This was a truly fantastic indie game. You play as dwarves taking on alien insects. I could not possibly imagine how much insane depth this had!!!
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