The Best Game We Reviewed in 2025: Why Death Stranding 2 Is a Masterpiece for a Fractured World

It's a complicated time for the games industry. With widespread layoffs, studio shutdowns, rising development costs and time, the threat of generative AI, and major acquisitions and buyouts, the games medium seems to be in a precarious place. Yet somehow, 2025 has been a landmark year, with studios — big and small, triple-A and indie — churning out some of the best games of this generation.

We talked about some of those games in our guide to the best games we've played in 2025. But we also wanted to take a look at the best game we reviewed in 2025. At Gadgets 360, we reviewed over a dozen games this year across PlayStation, PC, and mobile devices — we hope to test out even more in 2026. But which was the best one?

The two best-reviewed games on the Gadgets 360 website this year are Death Stranding 2: On the Beach and Dispatch — the only two games in 2025 that got a 9/10 on our review scale. But if we had to pick one, Death Stranding 2 would be the best game reviewed on our website this year.

There's more combat in Death Stranding 2, but only if you want to engage in it
Photo Credit: Sony/ Kojima Productions

Death Stranding was a divisive game when it launched in 2019, but the game's quiet, contemplative themes always complemented its pared-back gameplay of making deliveries. DS 1 resonated with me even before the game was seen in a new light during the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced the world to live sheltered lives tucked away from the social experience. With Death Stranding 2 (review), director Hideo Kojima went back to the drawing board when he saw his ideas for the first game mirrored in living reality.

And so, DS 2 attempts to untangle the new reality of today. The pandemic feels like it was a decade ago, and the world, while now out and about, seems more fissured and fractious than it was in the decade before. The first game explored the value of human connections in a post-apocalyptic world; Death Stranding 2 questions the worth of those connections in a world that seems obsessed with its own demise.

At its core, DS 2 is still a delivery game, but with sharper ideas and systems underpinning its gameplay. There's an emotional through line connecting your actions in the game. Where Death Stranding leaned on convoluted story and confounding lore, Death Stranding 2 strips away the layers to present a simpler, more effective story. It also embraces wider gameplay variations. DS 2 expands the action and combat from the predecessor into something that's more recognisable and accessible. But combat remains an optional feature. If you just want to walk around desolate and dangerous landscapes making deliveries, you can do that to your heart's content.

The evocative story, the world-class visuals, and the beautiful soundtrack make Death Stranding 2 one of the best games of the year. But it's the larger ideas behind the game that make it a completely unique experience that's hard to find anywhere else.

Arc Raiders is a PvPvE extraction shooter
Photo Credit: Embark Studios

Arc Raiders is the Best Multiplayer Experience of 2025

We'd also like to slip in an honourable mention. While we didn't do a full review of Arc Raiders — we only were able to do playtest impressions for the game before it launched — it is the standout multiplayer experience of the year. I recently bought Arc Raiders on PS5 and have now poured in over 20 hours into the game. It is safe to say that I'm addicted. This is the most fun I've had playing a multiplayer title in a long time.

The PvPvE extraction shooter creates a convincing and atmospheric post-apocalypse to explore as you scavenge for loot amidst the threat of Arc robots and other players online. But what stands out here is the largely friendly community of players you find online. Fellow raiders are more likely to team up and help you out of tight spots than to kill you and take all your loot. And that makes Arc Raiders a distinct communal experience, where you feel that you're a part of something bigger.