At Game Informer, writing game reviews is one of our primary functions. As such, we cover hundreds of titles each and every year, hoping to turn you on to your next favorite game. However, within that field, a select few rise to the top as the games we most highly recommend. While you're always welcome to peruse our reviews page for the latest and greatest (and sometimes worst) games on the market, we've gathered our highest-scoring reviews of 2025 right here. 

When Game Informer was re-launched in March of this year, we made it a point to review many of the games we missed, but we couldn't cover them all. As such, some critically acclaimed games, such as Split Fiction, aren't on this list, as we were unable to review them while playing catch-up. However, we have reviews for most of the biggest games of 2025, and you can see the ones we think are the most worthwhile below.

Be sure to bookmark this page and check back frequently, as we'll continue to update it as more titles earn review scores on the top end of our review scale.

10

Hades II

Hades II is the pinnacle of the roguelike genre, a position I previously granted its predecessor, but one that its sequel has handily earned. Read review

Platforms: Switch 2, Switch, PC
Release Date: September 25, 2025

9.5

1000xResist

Despite minor flaws, 1000xResist has firmly established itself as one of the most groundbreaking stories in video game history. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC
Release Date: May 9, 2024 (Switch, PC), November 4, 2025 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S)

Blue Prince

Blue Prince harnesses the innate, burning curiosity one feels when seeing a closed door at the end of a hallway and crafts it into an unforgettable experience. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Mac
Release Date: April 10, 2025 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC), December 15, 2025 (Mac)

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector

Buoyed by the excellent returning dice gameplay, incredible sci-fi writing, and a fantastic score, Citizen Sleeper 2 is a worthy sequel, even if its UI and finale didn’t quite match the heights of the rest of the package. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC
Release Date: January 31, 2025

Doom: The Dark Ages

With the Shield Saw and other great additions, id Software gives us something we didn’t know we wanted, proving once again that this legendary series can still evolve in ways we haven’t even dreamed of. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release Date: May 15, 2025

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

KCD2 is challenging, demanding, and often unforgiving. But, like the sharp blades I smithed in-game, through fire, it forges an exciting, surprising, and unforgettable fable. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release Date: February 4, 2025

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound

Across its 12-hour runtime, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound seamlessly blends gorgeous pixel art, inventive level design, and sublime gameplay to create one of the best retro throwbacks I’ve ever played. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Release Date: July 31, 2025

9.25

Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles

Final Fantasy Tactics is back to prove the grandfather of so many tactics titles hasn't lost a single step. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Release Date: September 30, 2025

Ghost of Yōtei

Ghost of Yōtei impresses. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5
Release Date: October 2, 2025

Is This Seat Taken?

Is This Seat Taken takes a beautifully simple premise – sitting people in chairs – and iterates on it in consistently creative and exciting ways. Read review

Platforms: Switch, PC, iOS, Android
Release Date: August 7, 2025

Monster Train 2

The realm of indie roguelikes is competitive and crowded, but despite years of tough competition, Monster Train 2 has strongly reasserted its series as one of the leaders of the pack. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC
Release Date: May 21, 2025

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance should serve as a blueprint for delivering a retro-facing experience of an absentee franchise while still leveraging modern technology and game design conventions. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Release Date: August 29, 2025

The Roottrees Are Dead

Find every blood relative in a mysterious family tree in this engrossing puzzle game. Read review

Platforms: PC
Release Date: January 15, 2025

9

Absolum

Combining classic fantasy brawler mechanics, top-notch art and music, and a roguelite progression loop add up to an incredibly fun cooperative adventure. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch, PC
Release Date: October 9, 2025

Arc Raiders

In most ways, Embark Studios’ new extraction shooter is a high mark for the growing subgenre. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release Date: October 30, 2025

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

I was eager to see the expedition's conclusion, but I did not want it to end. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release Date: April 24, 2025

Dispatch

Dispatch delivers one of the most compelling interactive dramas in years, an adult animated superhero story with the emotional punch of prestige television and a script that truly shines. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Switch 2, Switch, PC
Release Date: October 22, 2025 (PlayStation 5, PC), January 28, 2026 (Switch 2, Switch)

Donkey Kong Bananza

Donkey Kong and Pauline’s adventure is a showpiece for Nintendo’s new console, and it meets the incredibly high standard the developer has been setting for itself since the ’80s. Read review

Platforms: Switch 2
Release Date: July 17, 2025

Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake

Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake rounds out the Erdrick Trilogy, giving this classic turn-based RPG franchise the opening chapters it deserves. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, Switch, PC
Release Date: October 30, 2025

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Hollow Knight: Silksong is beautiful, nuanced, and deeply rewarding, but it’s also tuned to be grueling in ways that aren’t always fun in the traditional sense. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Release Date: September 4, 2025

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

The Great Circle reminds me of why I fell in love with Indy in the first place and should be a template for how to craft new interactive stories in this legendary series.  Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PC
Release Date: December 8, 2024 (Xbox Series X/S, PC), April 17, 2025 (PlayStation 5), 2026 (Switch 2)

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

Metal Gear Solid 3 didn’t necessarily need a remake, but now that it’s here, I’m not sure I will ever be able to go back to the original versions. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release Date: August 28, 2025

Peak

A brilliant climbing adventure that stands out as a delight in a year of self-serious major game releases. Read review

Platforms: PC
Release Date: June 16, 2025

8.75

Ball x Pit

Familiar arcade formulas take on new life in this roguelite twist on breaking bricks with a bouncing ball. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, Switch, PC
Release Date: October 15, 2025 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC), October 28, 2025 (Switch 2)

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

Death Stranding 2 is a game with faults and annoyances, but it also makes big, expensive swings and is trying to establish its own unique genre, often successfully. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5
Release Date: June 26, 2025

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is a fantastic reminder that the franchise that began on the Super Nintendo in 1994 is a real competitor for Nintendo’s best 2D platforming series, an extremely competitive landscape. Read review

Platforms: Switch
Release Date: January 16, 2025

Lumines Arise

Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation VR2, PC
Release Date: November 11, 2025

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

The wait for a new Metroid Prime has been long, but it only takes a few minutes in Beyond to remember why we have been so eager to re-enter this universe for the past 18 years. Read review

Platforms: Switch 2, Switch
Release Date: December 4, 2025

Monster Hunter Wilds

The Forbidden Lands are an enticing new playground for the series, and I look forward to spending dozens more hours uncovering Monster Hunter Wilds' secrets. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release Date: February 28, 2025

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection

Getting excellent versions of these games in one cohesive package is great, but the true highlight is the in-depth interactive documentary and all the fun relics that exist therein. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, Switch, PC
Release Date: October 30, 2025

Ninja Gaiden 4

This comeback finally washes away the bad taste left by the reviled Ninja Gaiden 3, and I hope to see Yakumo’s legend grow over a new series of stylish action adventures. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release Date: October 20, 2025

Silent Hill 2

Despite the difficult revelations Silent Hill 2 unveils along the way and how uncomfortable the experience made me (by design) I was eager to immediately start the journey again after seeing the credits. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release Date: October 8, 2024 (PlayStation 5, PC), November 21, 2025 (Xbox Series X/S)

The Outer Worlds 2

Though its main narrative is anticlimactic, I’m amazed by how much Obsidian was able to cram into this 30-hour odyssey. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release Date: October 29, 2025

8.5

And Roger

While I wouldn’t wish the plight of And Roger's protagonist on my worst enemy, I would happily recommend this experience as another strong example of video games' strength as a storytelling medium Read review

Platforms: Switch, PC
Release Date: July 23, 2025

Assassin's Creed Shadows

In Assassin's Creed Shadows, playing as Yasuke and Naoe is as powerful as the Shoguns that ruled during this era of Japan, even if the story doesn't match the gameplay's towering heights. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PC, Mac
Release Date: March 20, 2025 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Mac), December 2, 2025 (Switch 2)

Battlefield 6

Battlefield 6 hits the ground running with a 64-player multiplayer suite full of dazzling sandboxes just waiting to be leveled, but not every part of the package is as effective. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release Date: October 10, 2025

Borderlands 4

Though many of the series’ core elements remain intact, Gearbox has refined and reconfigured them in such ways that Borderlands 4 rises beyond anything the series has accomplished to this point. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PC
Release Date: September 12, 2025 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC), TBA (Switch 2)

Dying Light: The Beast

Dying Light: The Beast can feel a touch safe at times with a serviceable story, but the high-flying parkour and gorgeous graphics are top-notch. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release Date: September 19, 2025

EA Sports College Football 26

Like a standout freshman bursting onto the scene, College Football 25 was a pleasant surprise, but College Football 26 aptly demonstrates it wasn’t just beginner’s luck, delivering an equally impressive sophomore effort. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
Release Date: July 10, 2025

Kirby Air Riders

Kirby Air Riders overflows with Sakurai’s signature style, making bold creative choices even if it limits the game’s appeal to a slightly narrower audience. Read review

Platforms: Switch 2
Release Date: November 20, 2025

Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii

An absurd tone with surprising pockets of earnest pathos, fun characters, and bombastic action are all present and accounted for here. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release Date: February 21, 2025

Marvel Cosmic Invasion

Fun tag-team gameplay, polished fisticuffs, and a loving reverence for Marvel lore make for a superpowered retro throwback. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Release Date: December 1, 2025

Marvel Rivals

With a huge roster of free playable characters , a satisfying gameplay loop, and the fast matchmaking, Marvel Rivals executes a simple concept with skill and finesse. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PC
Release Date: December 5, 2024 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC), September 12, 2025 (PlayStation 4)

MLB The Show 25

MLB The Show 25 delivers perhaps the most well-rounded package of any of the mainstream sports video games, making for a title I first fired up during Spring Training and could very well still be playing when the World Series rolls around. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch
Release Date: March 18, 2025

NBA 2K26

The absolute glut of content is impressive and intimidating all at once, and NBA 2K26’s on-the-court performance is so good that it’s worth the annoyances that come with the franchise. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Release Date: September 5, 2025

Revenge of the Savage Planet

The first game was a fun one-off experience, but its sequel is a far more complete and rewarding package that left me hungry for more savage planets to explore. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release Date: May 8, 2025

Routine

Routine is a sublime and highly tactile puzzle adventure that kept me glued to my mouse and keyboard. Read review

Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC
Release Date: December 4, 2025

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds

Though there’s substantially less content and replayability than its primary contemporary, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is concise and effective in its mission, offering the most well-rounded kart racer of the year. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Release Date: September 25, 2025 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC), December 4, 2025 (Switch 2)

Sonic X Shadow Generations

The potent combination of Sonic and Shadow Generations makes a strong case for being the best package of 3D Sonic content we’ve ever seen. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Release Date: October 25, 2024 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC), June 5, 2025 (Switch 2)

South of Midnight

South of Midnight's decent combat and platforming are elevated to great heights by stellar visual and musical presentation, resulting in a game I can't stop smiling about. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PC
Release Date: April 8, 2025 (Xbox Series X/S, PC), 2026 (PlayStation 5, Switch 2)

Star Wars Outlaws

Moving between planets and wandering Outlaws’ dense cities is where the adventure shines, but shooting your way through your current gig so you can make it to the next is also compelling, if sometimes a little simple. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PC
Release Date: August 30, 2024 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC), September 4, 2025 (Switch 2)

Sword of the Sea

Sword of the Sea moves at the pace of a magical swordsperson speeding across sand dunes on a floating blade at 170 miles per hour, and it never gives you a reason to look away. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, PC
Release Date: August 19, 2025

For more of our top reviews from recent years, head to the links below.

• 2024
• 2023
• 2022
• 2021
• 2020
• 2019
• 2018
• 2017
• 2016
• 2015
• 2014

A lot of games have arrived in the latter half of 2025, but one RPG has remained a steady undercurrent. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is the story I keep going back to and gradually picking away at, and it's the revival that finally made me understand why Nihon Falcom's series has garnered such a fervent following.

As the year comes to a close, we're highlighting some personal favorite games from our team that we feel you shouldn't miss. If you're still looking for the right game to carry you into 2026, and you've already hit up our Top 10 Best, we're hoping one of these recommendations will hit the mark.

Few series look as intimidating as Trails does from the outside, as the games have gradually rolled out over the years under different arcs. While there are a few options for starting points, Trails in the Sky does appear to be the best by fan consensus. It's the first in terms of launch order, but that also usually meant Trails in the Sky carried some baggage of appearing dated next to the likes of later Trails games.

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter tunes it all up, without losing elements that made the original so well-remembered in the first place. The characters run around in full 3D and combat incorporates some of the real-time action elements seen in more recent Trails entries (or the likes of Metaphor: ReFantazio), and the overall look of Trails in the Sky received a massive overhaul from its original look.

The story of Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a slow, steady burn. It follows Estelle Bright and her adopted brother Joshua, in the midst of their training and initiation as Bracers, a guild of mercenaries, monster hunters, and investigators that form a neutral third party from state military or other forces. Estelle is naive and headstrong, while Joshua is reserved and brooding; the pair make for excellent leads as their travels soon start to leave their hometown and expand out to the wider world.

It's the wider world that really makes Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter come together for me, though. The continent of Zemuria has a rich history that feels reinforced wherever you go. Characters remark on past events, sure, but towns also carry the scars of former conflict. Regions are defined by their access to resources and border lines. One of my favorite collectibles are readable issues of Liberl News, the paper for the Liberl region your characters hail from, which comments and adds texture to everything happening around the party.

For such a massive series that's garnered deep attachment from those who have dug into it, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a well-crafted update to Trails' starting line. Nihon Falcom has made it even easier to see why Trails games are worth diving into, and considering how playable this 1st Chapter is on platforms like Switch 2 and Steam Deck, this makes for a wonderful winter game to chip away at as the nights get longer and colder. If you've ever considered seeing what all the hubbub is about, now's the time.

As we put a bow on 2025, we've gladly acknowledged all the good that has emerged out of the games industry and the incredibly creative folks therein. We received unexpected hits, tried-and-true juggernauts, and a follow-up to one of the most successful video game devices of all time. However, as I look ahead to 2026, I cannot help but feel wowed by the number of heavy hitting video games and all-around nerdy things that I cannot wait to experience over the next year.

Here at Game Informer, we are hyperfocused on the games side, and 2026 looks incredible in that regard. We don't even have a full picture, and already, we know about some unbelievably exciting titles. Grand Theft Auto VI is at the top of mind for pretty much everyone, but other top-notch studios have games we also cannot wait to get our hands on. Marvel's Wolverine, Pragmata, Resident Evil Requiem, 007 First Light, Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, Invincible VS, Pokémon Pokopia, Saros, Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, Forza Horizon 6, and Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis all look and sound extraordinarily promising. And we don't know what else major companies have in store; we know Nintendo has gotten into a rhythm of announcing games just a few months before release, so who knows what games will pop up during the next few Nintendo Directs?

Grand Theft Auto VI

But it's not just games that nerdy folks such as myself are excited for. After a bit of a down year for game adaptations, the video game movies of 2026 are super promising: Super Mario Galaxy Movie is set to follow up the most popular video game adaptation of all time, while Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat II have a high ceiling when it comes to how fun they shape up to be. And on the comic-movie side, after stepping back a bit in recent years, it sure seems like Marvel, DC, and other comic adaptations are ready to fire on all cylinders, with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Avengers: Doomsday, and Supergirl, not to mention new seasons of Daredevil: Born Again, X-Men '97, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, The Boys, and Invincible, plus new shows like Lanterns, Wonder Man, and a special presentation featuring The Punisher. On top of that, Game of Thrones fans have Season 3 of House of the Dragon and the new prequel series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms in 2026.

Star Wars is also back in theaters this coming year through The Mandalorian & Grogu, as is Dune with Dune: Part Three. Top it all off with new entries in the Moana, Scream, Insidious, Shrek, Minions, Jumanji, and Toy Story franchises, as well as a Masters of the Universe movie, and 2026 will deliver plenty of excitement for fans of these IP. Even divorced from major franchises, we have new films from Christopher Nolan and Steven Spielberg to look forward to, as well.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu

To put it bluntly, we have needed quite a bit of escapism in 2025, as sociopolitical strife, economic uncertainty, and a continually challenging games industry job market have remained prominent in the headlines. Educating yourself and staying in touch with events happening in the world is important, but doomscrolling has certainly emerged as a problem for many. Video games, movies, shows, comics, and books provide the escapism that allows us to turn off that part of our brain, disconnect from our real-world struggles, recharge our batteries, and get lost in an incredible adventure. 

Sadly, 2026 shows no signs of slowing down in terms of real-world challenges, but the moments when we feel we can lose ourselves and lessen the weight of the world for even a small stretch can mean everything. And though we have no idea what awaits us in the realm of real-world things outside of our control in 2026, we can rest assured that when the time comes to relax, rest, and recover from whatever has been taxing us, the entertainment we will receive in 2026 will rise to the occasion.

As a teenager, I watched my grandma fight and defeat breast cancer. For over a decade, my family smiled through every milestone, whether it was a birthday, an anniversary, or something else, happy my grandma could be a part of it. 

My wife and I welcomed a beautiful baby girl into this world earlier this year and my grandma hasn’t met her. 

She never will, because in 2023, she died due to returning cancer complications, and I wasn’t there. I was in France for a work trip, and I still so vividly remember the call I got that terrible evening. I remember the once delightful smells of the noodles before me, which quickly turned nauseating; I remember telling my coworker I had to leave, recognizing that he instantly knew what I had learned; I remember seeing a sunset so beautiful that words don’t do it justice, as if grandma was telling me, “I’m better now,” on my way back to the hotel, where I’d spend hours crying, wishing I could see her one more time, wishing I could squeeze cancer like a rotting orange, ridding this earth of its putrid juices. 

Wesley and his Grandma

I have always hated cancer – it takes and it takes and it kills and it infects and it taints and it threatens indiscriminately. 

I like to believe my grandma is in a better place, wherever or whatever that might be; surely she’s not suffering anymore, right? But she did at one time, and my grandpa, who has since told me countless times he’s ready to depart from this world to see her again, does, and my mom, who slowly watched her mom fight relentlessly a battle she’d eventually lose, does, and I do. Still, I have always hated cancer, but now I really, really hate cancer. 

 The rest of the this piece contains spoilers for Total Chaos

Total Chaos is a horror game in all the ways the genre typically entails. There’s blood and gore and monsters and jump scares and terror. But Total Chaos is also a catharsis, letting me take all manner of makeshift weaponry straight to the heart of a rot. Every thwack and swing, every gunshot, brought a smile to my face as I ripped through a mysterious disease rotting Tyler, both the protagonist and antagonist, to the core as he battles cancer, depression, and the recklessness with which those diseases affect not just the diagnosed, but everyone in its blast radius.

Fort Oasis was once a vibrant mining town that Tyler and his wife called home. But home became a cage for Tyler and his wife, the former unable to leave this now-decrepit place, the latter desperate to return to the mainland and be closer to family. Critically, she also cannot take the pain of watching Tyler’s cancer and subsequent depression morph him into someone unrecognizable, someone capable of crafting together sticks, rocks, nails, and hammer heads into weapons of destruction that he uses to lay waste to the cancerous hordes stumbling through Fort Oasis. 

These hordes consist of a few types of enemies that all blend into a lifeless amalgamation of blood, gore, and muscular atrophy. I could criticize this, but cancer is lifeless – void of the humanity which it feasts on – and so their design is apt. Like cancer, they are once recognizable conglomerations of cells that have become something I care not to give the space to breathe, and so I hack away at every. single. one. The game often encourages me to run ahead to safety; instead, I recklessly use each item in my inventory to guarantee every monster stays down and dead forever, bashing lifeless bodies long dead as I imagine each as a cell unable to stop growing, like the ones that attempted to desecrate my grandma’s beautiful soul. 

This is a horror game for them, but not for me. It is catharsis. 

Like the enemies my hatred gorges on, maze-like levels shed their mystery and become my stomping grounds for catastrophe. I search every nook and cranny for crafting supplies, medkits, and rotten food to continue my insatiable appetite so that the beatings can continue. Total Chaos is a constant fight between a game with mechanics like health, hunger, and bleed, and my desire to kill just one more monster in her name.

Throughout my 12 hours with Total Chaos, Tyler’s voice morphs into a melody encouraging me to go on. I’m reminded of the countless times I squeezed my grandma’s hand, asking – no, begging – her to keep fighting. And she did, for me, so I did, for Tyler. 

She just wanted to be free. He just wanted to be free. 

Defeating cancer is to outlast that poison. Cells scream in agony as chemo ends their torment, but so, too, does the rest of the body. Defeating cancer is to outlast those cells, for as the poison kills them, it also kills you. 

And so I continued surviving in Total Chaos, trudging through hedge mazes filled with exploding corpses, concrete forests, and flesh-ridden buildings, and deeper to the black, rotting, festering core of Tyler’s expanding ache. 

The finale: I must outlive Tyler. He is Tyler. Tyler is Tyler. 

One man desperate to fight, to restore… 

…the other, desperate to rest. 

There, and only there, did the bloodshed end as I pummeled Every. Single. Bullet at my disposal, straight into the heart of this pain. Then, he was free. The credits rolled. The chaos was over. But both darkness and light remained, hovering over Fort Oasis, watching over what was left.

I like to believe Tyler is in a better place, wherever or whatever that might be; surely he’s not suffering anymore, right?

If you or someone you know is struggling with cancer, the Cancer Support Community toll-free hotline is open 7 days a week and can be reached at 888-793-9355. 

As a teenager, I watched my grandma fight and defeat breast cancer. For over a decade, my family smiled through every milestone, whether it was a birthday, an anniversary, or something else, happy my grandma could be a part of it. 

My wife and I welcomed a beautiful baby girl into this world earlier this year and my grandma hasn’t met her. 

She never will, because in 2023, she died due to returning cancer complications, and I wasn’t there. I was in France for a work trip, and I still so vividly remember the call I got that terrible evening. I remember the once delightful smells of the noodles before me, which quickly turned nauseating; I remember telling my coworker I had to leave, recognizing that he instantly knew what I had learned; I remember seeing a sunset so beautiful that words don’t do it justice, as if grandma was telling me, “I’m better now,” on my way back to the hotel, where I’d spend hours crying, wishing I could see her one more time, wishing I could squeeze cancer like a rotting orange, ridding this earth of its putrid juices. 

Wesley and his Grandma

I have always hated cancer – it takes and it takes and it kills and it infects and it taints and it threatens indiscriminately. 

I like to believe my grandma is in a better place, wherever or whatever that might be; surely she’s not suffering anymore, right? But she did at one time, and my grandpa, who has since told me countless times he’s ready to depart from this world to see her again, does, and my mom, who slowly watched her mom fight relentlessly a battle she’d eventually lose, does, and I do. Still, I have always hated cancer, but now I really, really hate cancer. 

 The rest of the this piece contains spoilers for Total Chaos

Total Chaos is a horror game in all the ways the genre typically entails. There’s blood and gore and monsters and jump scares and terror. But Total Chaos is also a catharsis, letting me take all manner of makeshift weaponry straight to the heart of a rot. Every thwack and swing, every gunshot, brought a smile to my face as I ripped through a mysterious disease rotting Tyler, both the protagonist and antagonist, to the core as he battles cancer, depression, and the recklessness with which those diseases affect not just the diagnosed, but everyone in its blast radius.

Fort Oasis was once a vibrant mining town that Tyler and his wife called home. But home became a cage for Tyler and his wife, the former unable to leave this now-decrepit place, the latter desperate to return to the mainland and be closer to family. Critically, she also cannot take the pain of watching Tyler’s cancer and subsequent depression morph him into someone unrecognizable, someone capable of crafting together sticks, rocks, nails, and hammer heads into weapons of destruction that he uses to lay waste to the cancerous hordes stumbling through Fort Oasis. 

These hordes consist of a few types of enemies that all blend into a lifeless amalgamation of blood, gore, and muscular atrophy. I could criticize this, but cancer is lifeless – void of the humanity which it feasts on – and so their design is apt. Like cancer, they are once recognizable conglomerations of cells that have become something I care not to give the space to breathe, and so I hack away at every. single. one. The game often encourages me to run ahead to safety; instead, I recklessly use each item in my inventory to guarantee every monster stays down and dead forever, bashing lifeless bodies long dead as I imagine each as a cell unable to stop growing, like the ones that attempted to desecrate my grandma’s beautiful soul. 

This is a horror game for them, but not for me. It is catharsis. 

Like the enemies my hatred gorges on, maze-like levels shed their mystery and become my stomping grounds for catastrophe. I search every nook and cranny for crafting supplies, medkits, and rotten food to continue my insatiable appetite so that the beatings can continue. Total Chaos is a constant fight between a game with mechanics like health, hunger, and bleed, and my desire to kill just one more monster in her name.

Throughout my 12 hours with Total Chaos, Tyler’s voice morphs into a melody encouraging me to go on. I’m reminded of the countless times I squeezed my grandma’s hand, asking – no, begging – her to keep fighting. And she did, for me, so I did, for Tyler. 

She just wanted to be free. He just wanted to be free. 

Defeating cancer is to outlast that poison. Cells scream in agony as chemo ends their torment, but so, too, does the rest of the body. Defeating cancer is to outlast those cells, for as the poison kills them, it also kills you. 

And so I continued surviving in Total Chaos, trudging through hedge mazes filled with exploding corpses, concrete forests, and flesh-ridden buildings, and deeper to the black, rotting, festering core of Tyler’s expanding ache. 

The finale: I must outlive Tyler. He is Tyler. Tyler is Tyler. 

One man desperate to fight, to restore… 

…the other, desperate to rest. 

There, and only there, did the bloodshed end as I pummeled Every. Single. Bullet at my disposal, straight into the heart of this pain. Then, he was free. The credits rolled. The chaos was over. But both darkness and light remained, hovering over Fort Oasis, watching over what was left.

I like to believe Tyler is in a better place, wherever or whatever that might be; surely he’s not suffering anymore, right?

If you or someone you know is struggling with cancer, the Cancer Support Community toll-free hotline is open 7 days a week and can be reached at 888-793-9355.