Well, another year has passed, and the game everyone expects to win game of the year won game of the year, so now it’s time to take part in my annual tradition of looking at what upcoming games I’m looking forward to the next year. Except that’s not what I’m doing at all, because I haven’t played most of the games released last year. 4 of the games on my normal “anticipated games list” for last year didn’t even get released that year, and the one that I DID play from that list sucked. So instead, I will be re-doing that list, with the hindsight of knowing what else has come out.

Anyway, anything that made the previous list will not be showing up here, because I don’t like being redundant. Also only the top 2 would have made the list anyway.

10: Beyond Citadel

I first heard about Beyond Citadel in a Bluesky post by Chris Pearson stating that “Recommending Beyond Citadel is like recommending the Monogatari series in the sense that you are objectively correct about the artistic validity of the work but unless you are dealing with a pervert you need to give like 20 distinct warnings,” and I knew that I needed to play this game instantly. This was enough to convince me to purchase this game and its prequel, The Citadel, which I have reviewed here. In all honesty, the only reason that Beyond Citadel is only at number 10 is because The Citadel didn’t really impress me.

I did get some enjoyment out of The Citadel, but I mainly played it because I wanted to play this one, and the whole OCD thing doesn’t really let me skip to a sequel. I have heard almost nothing but good things about Beyond Citadel, and it currently lists overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam. The fact that the story is a major step up from the first game is what really has my interest, though the gameplay being built upon is also a good sign. And yes, the ero guro elements also help.

9: MADO MONOGATARI: Fia and the Wondrous Academy

Let it be known that I, Annie Gallagher, LOVE moeslop! This is the newest entry in the Mado Monogatari series, a JRPG series that has its roots back in the 80s, and has only had one installment localized back in 2013 as Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God. What is also of note is that Sega’s Puyo Puyo series is a spinoff of this same series. I remember my first exposure to this game was that I saw someone talk about a fan translation for a SNES installment in the series, basically talking about how cute it was that this game is about a little girl who wants to get through kindergarten. You can tell this was a different time because you’d probably get doxxed for saying shit like that these days, which means that saying creepy lolicon shit is now transgressive and rebellious!

On top of this, the game is developed by Sting, who is most known for their Dept Heaven series, which features games such as Riviera: The Promised Land, Yggdra Union, Knights in the Nightmare, and Gungnir. While I have heard some say that the gameplay is fairly average, I have been a fan of Idea Factory titles in the past, so I could probably enjoy this one. But really I’m interested in this one because it looks cute.

8: The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy

Out of every JRPGs released in 2025, if were excluding sequels and remakes, the one I heard the most people talk about… was Clair Obscure: Expedition 33. The one I heard the second most was The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy. The Hundred Line is an SRPG where 15 teenagers are recruited into the titular Last Defense Academy, where they need to protect the school from grotesque monsters for 100 days. From what I’ve read, there is also some visual novel elements where, depending on the choices made during the initial hundred days, the second half of the game changes, leading to multiple routes depending on different characters.

The games two directors are Kazutaka Kodaka, responsible for the Danganronpa series, and Kotaro Uchikoshi, responsible for Ever17 and the Zero Escape series… the latter’s pedigree seems more appealing, though I’m mainly going by what I’ve heard peers say about Danganronpa. But I do love Zero Escape… the first one at least, haven’t read the other two yet. So yes, premise is interesting and it has reviewed well, so I’m definitely interested in seeing how this one turns out.

7: Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars

Yeah, expect a lot of JRPGs on this list. I like JRPGs okay? And I put things I like on lists I write, unless it’s a list of things I don’t like. Anyway, this is a remaster of two classic PS1 JRPGs, one of which, Suikoden 2, is commonly considered one of the greatest JRPGs of all time. If you are surprised that I haven’t played a Suikoden game despite being a massive JRPG fan, then you clearly don’t know HOW many fucking JRPGs there are! This long ass fucking game genre where you have multiple series with a ton of games in them. Suikoden has 5 mainline installments, three spinoffs that are still JRPGs, and some visual novel spinoffs. Also both games let you recruit over a hundred different characters.. Gonna be honest, that’s a bit much for me, and the critical acclaim is the main reason they make this list.

I feel like this one sort of speaks for itself, but I will also add that the updated visuals are fucking gorgeous. I don’t really know what else to say. Person who likes JRPGs wants to play highly acclaimed classic JRPGs. I don’t really know much about the story since I want to avoid spoilers, so I can’t say much there. Will also add that the lack of new content is why this is only number 8.

6: Blue Prince

While Blue Prince hasn’t gotten as much attention as games like Clair Obscure, Silksong, or Hades II, I’ve noticed that those who HAVE played it seem to hold it in especially high regard, which is precisely what caught my interest. What I know about Blue Prince is that it is a rouge lite puzzle game. I don’t know many details about the story, but it’s clearly had an impact on people who have played it. What i find interesting about this game, based on reviews I’ve seen, is how… alienating it seems to be to a lot of people, but it looks like it is so by intent. I know for a fact that this will be a love it or hate it game for me, especially considering that I’ve struggled with puzzle games in the past.

But at the same time, I’ve been told that this game is based around investigations, observing surroundings, and taking notes, which DOES sound engaging on a level that games aren’t usually about. It’s also risky, because who the fuck wants to take notes while playing video games? Don’t we play games to escape shit like this? Well, some of us like to be challenged, and there are sometimes where I’m in the mood for something like that, and other times where I won’t be. I feel like this is without a doubt the riskiest game on this list, but sometimes, the risk is what’s most exciting.

5: Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter

And we are back to JRPGs. The Legend of Heroes series has 17 installments in it, and twelve of those installments are in the “Trails” sub-series, which is also the only ones people seem to care about. Anyway, I have not played a game in this series, but the first game, Trails in the Sky, just got remade from the ground up, so this is the perfect chance to get into this series.

Anyway, I am running into the same issue here as I am with talking about the Suikoden remasters, where I don’t know how to spread out “this is a critically acclaimed game in one of my favorite game genres ” into two paragraphs, but this one makes the list primarily because there’s a LOT more changes to this than there was in the Suikoden remasters. While the Suikoden remasters are basically the same games with a fresh coat of paint, the Trails in the Sky remake is basically an entirely new game following the same story line, but with new story elements, added content, and remade in 3D with modern graphical settings. Oh, and the battle system is in line with recent entries. While I’m sure the original still holds up, the fact that there’s so much effort put into improving on it drastically increases my interest in it.

4: Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake

So, we have the third JRPG remake to make this list, but there’s something different about this one. Namely, I HAVE played Dragon Quest 1 and 2, and have even covered them on this blog. That being said, I’m choosing to to include this remake due to the added story and gameplay content, and simply because the first two Dragon Quest games lend themselves so much more to complete re-imaginings than most JRPGs. There is a common predicament with remakes of JRPGs in that, sometimes, I’m more overwhelmed by the prospect of their existence depending on how much is changed. One of the biggest examples for me is Persona 3 Reload, given how massive the original already was, and the fact that I have not even played Persona 4 or 5 yet.

Meanwhile, there’s something much more ubiquitous about the first two Dragon Quest games that grabs my attention in a way that your typical JRPG remake doesn’t. In fact, it’s likely that both Suikoden II and Trails in the Sky may resonate with me more as works of art, but there’s also something that more approachable about DQ 1&2. Surely I’m not alone in the feeling that I’m sometimes intimidated by massive RPGs with hundreds of hours of run time.

3: Yooka-Replaylee

You know, there are some times where I suspect that 3D Collectathon platformers are my favorite genre, but I don’t know if that’s because of the general shortage of them. I do know that I tend to dislike bad collectathons a LOT more than bad JRPGs though… those being what I’ve considered my fav game genre for over a decade. Anyway, it’s worth noting that Donkey Kong Bananza was originally going to be number 1 on this list, but then I started actually playing it last month, and have now 100%-ed the game, so it isn’t eligible. What IS eligible is Yooka-Replaylee, a complete overhaul of the original Yooka-Laylee, which was a game that I already loved to death.

Considering that people who hated the first game have loved this one, this leads me to believe that this game is either a masterpiece, or an over correction, and even if it’s the latter it’s still probably going to have a lot of shit I like. But just seeing that there’s new content and 200 more pagies. I actually am making sure I write this entire section before I start playing it because it’s what I will be playing next, and holy shit I’m so excited!

2: Clair Obscure: Expedition 33

Okay, here it is, the one that everyone expected to be number one, with exception to my usual viewership who knows I have a stubborn habit of never going with the obvious choice because conformity is poison! But in all seriousness, this isn’t just me being a contrarian, as I did manage to find one other game that pushes all the right buttons for me in a way that makes me even more excited to play it than the one that literally everyone says is one of the best games in my favorite game genre of all time.

I’ve actually gone ahead and limited my knowledge to this game just so that I can be surprised by as much as possible. For God fucking sake, the music in that trailer I just linked gives me goosebumps! Quite literally, the only thing working to this game’s disadvantage is that I have this weird habit with JRPGS in particular where, if they are highly acclaimed enough, I will become intimidated by the prospect of playing them, though I admit this mainly happens with longer JRPGS. The two prime examples I’ve thought of in this regard were Persona 4 and 5, even though Persona 3 blew me away, and fittingly enough, Persona 5 was probably the last time that the gaming community hyped up a JRPG as much as this one. I will make sure I get to this one soon though… even if doing so means putting off Persona 4 and 5 even longer……

1: Stray Children

So, this is what beats out Clair Obscure for me huh? Based on that trailer, you’re probably wondering why I think some Undertale knockoff is so special. Well, I’ll put it this way, Undertale is among my favorite games of all time. And I don’t mean favorite as in “top 20,” I’m talking top 3. And my absolute favorite game is EarthBound, which was one of Undertale’s key inspirations. What isn’t as widely known however, was that Undertale was also inspired by a then obscure, Japan only RPG called Moon: RPG Remix Adventure, which shared a similar premise in both its tone, and the fact that you could befriend monsters instead of fighting them.

The studio behind Moon, Lovedelic, initially went defunct back in 2000, yet the success of Undertale, and Toby Fox speaking to Moon’s lead designer Yoshiro Kimura convinced him to port Moon to modern platforms and to localize it. I have yet to play Moon: RPG Remix Adventure, but I will be making a point to do so within this year, but you might be wondering what this has to do with Stray Children, if you didn’t pick up on the fact that it’s developed by Yoshiro Kimura’s team Onion Games, or that it’s a spiritual successor to Moon: RPG Remix Adventure yet.

But that’s not the only reason it’s number one. The idea of a game set in a world called Childonia, that’s populated only by children, and where the adults are all monsters will come across as whimsical to some, and creepy to others. Given that I literally made a joke about loving Moeslop in an earlier entry so you probably know where I fall. That being said, I need to emphasize just how much a premise like this speaks to me at this point in time.

For the past three years, I’ve more or less had to spend time documenting and writing about the type of people that are normally subject to true crime documentaries. This experience has left me with a newfound respect for the innocence of children, and hatred for the type of people that would tarnish it. And this was before recent political events… traumatizing political events regarding the mass exploitation and abuse of children by our most powerful leaders.

Personally, having been subject to child abuse myself, and having known many others who have, it’s become hard to not view the world in this simplistic, black and white view that this game seems to present. And there it is. I don’t know for sure that Stray Children is the best game from last year, but the fact that it speaks to me this much, and I haven’t even played the damn thing. Games like this are why I’m thorough with articles like these, because I almost missed this one.

Runner Ups

Doom: The Dark Ages (It fell a bit since I actually played Doom Eternal, which I felt wore out its welcome by the time I finished the DLC Episodes. Also I can’t play it because no PS5 and my PC can’t run it)
Oddventure (I don’t play early access titles, finish your games pls)
Henpri: Hentai Prison (I got very burnt out on visual novels in the past year)
Mojika – Truth Rears Its Ugly Head (VN burnout)
Off – (Would have probably been around number 3 or 4 if I didn’t make a point to not include ones from the first list)
Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution
Demonschool
Heartworm
Dreamed Away
Skate Story
Devil’s Liminal
Lunar Remastered Collection (Played both of the originals, not enough changes for me to include it)
Sea Fantasy
Nekopara After
Kingdoms of the Dump
Octopath Traveler 0 (Haven’t played first two yet)
My Little Puppy
Full Metal Schoolgirl
Shrine’s Legacy
Quartet
Hopeless Junction
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles
Wander Stars
Silent Hill f (No PS5 and computer can’t run it)
Hollow Knight: Silksong (Haven’t Played first game yet)
Hades II (Haven’t played 1st game yet)
Toree Saturn
Three Wishes
Donkey Kong Bananza (already completed it)
What in HELL is Bad? (PC version released this year, but if I play it, it’s going to be the mobile original)
Cairn: Mathair’s Curse
Artis Impact
ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist (Haven’t played first game)
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (Never finished Prime 2 or played Prime 3)

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