The Best Action Game of 2025

2025 was a banner twelvemonth for enactment games. From a astonishment breakout Soulslike with 1 of the hardest-hitting and astir brutal combat systems the genre has ever seen, to the hotly anticipated follow-up of 1 of the astir influential roguelites of each time, to the latest successful a definite legendary monster hunting series. And fto america not hide that this was perfectly the twelvemonth of the ninja arsenic well, which brought america not one, but 2 marque caller Ninja Gaiden games (plus a long-awaited remaster of Ninja Gaiden 2), letting enactment fans Izuna Drop foes successful some 2 and 3 dimensions.

But lone 1 of these fierce games tin assertion the grant of being the strongest of the year. Here are our picks - and our chosen victor - for the Best Action Game of 2025.

Runner-Up - The First Berserker: Khazan

Fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping enactment is not mostly what 1 would subordinate with the Soulslike genre, considering its typically methodical combat and eerie, isolating exploration. But The First Berserker: Khazan is not your mean soulslike. This revenge-fueled enactment RPG, acceptable successful the satellite of Dungeon Fighter Online, features 1 of the champion combat systems the genre has ever seen, taking the halfway of Sekiro's parry-based sword warring and adding respective other layers of depth. The effect is 1 of the astir exciting, action-packed, and surely 1 of the astir hard soulslikes successful caller memory.

Runner-Up - Ninja Gaiden 4

Ninja Gaiden 4, similar 2023’s Hi-Fi Rush earlier it, is simply a enactment of caller aerial successful a genre that feels predominantly ruled by stamina-based combat systems with Soulslike elements. This is simply a axenic enactment fan’s enactment game, featuring immoderate of the champion melee combat we've seen successful years, bolstered by assertive force AI, fantabulous limb design, and the quality to fto your creativity tally chaotic by giving you the state to hotswap betwixt each of your weapons connected the fly. Predictably, it turns retired that the imagination collaboration of Platinum Games and Team Ninja leads to immoderate damn bully combat.

Runner-Up - Monster Hunter Wilds

No substance what broadside of the obstruction you beryllium connected astir the absorption Capcom has been taking the Monster Hunter bid in, oregon the wide operation of its hunts, there’s small statement that it's inactive among the champion enactment games of the year. Few games connection adjacent adjacent to the aforesaid level of extent that Monster Hunter Wilds does erstwhile it comes to its limb and monster design, and astir of the ones that bash besides person the words "Monster Hunter" successful the title. Add to that extent the quality for up to 4 players to acquisition the thrill of its combat together, and you've got a excellent, flexible escapade that's bully for either a squad of hunting veterans, oregon those arriving successful the wilds for the precise archetypal time.

Runner-Up - Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound

2D enactment games request immoderate emotion arsenic well, and our prime for the 1 astir deserving of that emotion is Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound. Developed by Blasphemous workplace The Game Kitchen, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound reimagines and modernizes the classical stylings of old-school, 2D Ninja Gaiden with a unsocial hypercharge mechanic that encourages you to deliberation not conscionable astir the bid successful which you dispatch your enemies, but the instrumentality they usage arsenic well. Challenging brag battles, clever level design, and cautiously considered force placement each beryllium that Ninja Gaiden’s exemplary enactment is conscionable arsenic potent successful 2D arsenic it is successful 3D.

Winner - Hades 2

It’s casual to look astatine Hades 2 connected a aboveground level and deliberation “Oh, this is conscionable much Hades.” And portion yes, this is inactive a roguelite astir a kid of Hades going done a gauntlet of combat rooms, beating up mythological creatures and beasts, each portion gaining Boons and Blessings from the Pantheon of Greek Gods, developer Supergiant Games has done a stellar occupation of ne'er making it consciousness similar we’re conscionable retreading aged ground. The marque caller protagonist, Melinoe, plays wholly otherwise compared to Hades’s Zagreus, with little absorption connected dodging and invulnerability frames and much accent connected charged magical attacks and assets management. The characters that you interact and physique relationships backmost astatine your location basal are each new; beauteous overmuch each of the enemies, boons, and bosses are marque new; progression is handled wholly differently; the database of important changes conscionable goes connected and on.

And adjacent if you were to look astatine it done the misguided position of it conscionable being “more Hades,” it’s inactive a batch more Hades. The summation of the above-ground run done the City of Ephyra, each the mode up to the highest of Mt. Olympus, fundamentally means this 2nd escapade is treble the size of the original, each portion packing its ain unsocial acceptable of enemies, bosses, and boons to play astir with.

Hades 2 is rather simply 1 of the astir well-rounded games we’ve played this year. From its combat, to its story, to its astonishing soundtrack and its one-of-a-kind creation style, it hits connected each azygous front, which is wherefore it’s our prime for the champion enactment crippled of the year.

But what is your prime for the champion enactment crippled of 2025? Do you deliberation it's Hades 2, 1 of our different shortlisted games, oregon thing other entirely? Let america cognize successful the canvass above, oregon the comments below.