We're roughly at the halfway point of 2026, and I haven't published a single word on this blog since January 1st. Maybe an explanation is in order.
My 2025 and 2026 were / are rollercoasters of emotions. I had bouts of physical and mental health struggles, dozens of distractions, and two family deaths interfere with my gaming, writing, traveling, and any number of other fun things I'd rather be doing. I don't want to make nonstop excuses, but it hasn't been an easy eighteen months. However, I'm still (mostly) enjoying playing video games and sharing my experiences, so I'll try to continue one of my mostly-annual traditions here and post a recap and ranked list.
So... yeah, 2026 has been a tough six months, and my 2025 was a bit less chaotic but still loaded. I also got back into collecting Magic: The Gathering cards for the first time in twenty-plus years, which has been very fun (my girlfriend's playing too!) but also hard on my bank account. I did manage to play fifteen video games over the course of 2025, and below I'll go over all of them.
I wasn't very kind to my backlog last year. I only finished six of my thirteen planned games, and three of them were new 2025 purchases. That number of clears was almost much smaller, as I finished four of the six in the last few weeks of the year. That isn't enough finished games to make a proper top ten, so I decided to bend the rules a bit and include one deferred 2024 game and three other new games from 2025. It doesn't make much sense, but this is my blog and my list, so I'll allow it.
Unplayed, Embarrassingly
Baldur's Gate III
Dark Souls 2
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Metroid Dread
Triangle Strategy
Xenoblade Chronicles III
It's another one of those posts where my list of unplayed games is much more impressive than my list of finished games. I think I created a character in Baldur's Gate III and didn't even boot up any of the other six above. I'm still interested in playing all seven eventually; four made it onto my 2026 list and all of them are possibilities for future playthroughs. But for now, these are maybes and not got 'ims.
A Few Minor Distractions
Final Fantasy
Theatrhythm Final Bar Line
Each of these three was a backlogged game that I've played before in some fashion or another but finally rolled credits on in 2025. This is the Pixel Remaster version of FF1 (a 1987 classic) and console versions of 80 Days (a delightful narrative roguelike) and Theatrthyhm (a slick Final Fantasy music rhythm game). All three come recommended. I played more 80 Days and TFBL on occasion as 2025 progressed. Both of those are replayable as hell, and revisiting FF1 for the first time in many years was pretty good. Not regretting these three.
One Enormous Distraction
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail
...but I might have some regrets here. 2025 marked my (ig)noble return to Final Fantasy XIV after a hiatus of four-and-a-half years, in which I finished the last few quests of the Shadowbringers post-game, played the entirety of Endwalker, and the main story of Dawntrail, plus a ton of optional dungeons, trials, and raids therein. It was well over six months and at least four hundred hours of my life (possibly more, but I don't want to check). I think part of this was a depression response and wanting something grindable to play when I was feeling down, but it also helps that Endwalker is excellent (awesome, even) while Dawntrail is very good. Sure, FF XIV is a massive timesink of a video game, but at least it's one of the best of those.
If these FF XIV excursions (ugh that word is ruined forever now) counted in my ranked list below, Dawntrail would finish somewhere around the middle of the list and Endwalker would be #1 overall. FF XIV: Endwalker is a masterpiece, a culmination of eight years of FF XIV storytelling, and probably the best Final Fantasy game of the 21st century. But I felt like these have an unfair advantage with all that prior history, so instead of being on the "real" list the Final Fantasy XIV expansions get an extended honorable mention.
So, for the list below, as I alluded to earlier, I'm including six games from my list of 2025 targets (including three 2025 games), one game from my list of 2024 targets that I finished very early in 2025, and three 2025 games that weren't among my planned playthroughs. Thus, this is (mostly) a list of 2025 games, with a few backlog titles tossed in as well, that conveniently adds up to ten. Let's get to ranking:
Sollosi's Top Ten of the 2025 Gamer's Dozen
Number Ten
The Dragon Quest remake is... fine, but it's still a one-character RPG from 1986. The 2025 remake added skills, spells, a more character-driven story, and several modern conveniences in addition to a visual overhaul to Dragon Quest, but it's so bare-bones as an RPG that I think it's more interesting and valuable as an education piece than as a truly satisfying RPG. But I went through it and I'm glad I played it. I've heard the accompanying remake of Dragon Quest II is excellent, and maybe one of the best modern Dragon Quest games. That is a wild notion to me. DQ2 is notoriously rough compared to its successors, and replaying DQ2 is a notion I'd never thought I'd entertain. Dragon Quest 1 is probably more valuable as a prelude to a much better DQ2 remake; that's not a great look.
Number Nine
The Last Guardian is the third game of Fumito Ueda's "Ico trilogy," following Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. It's an action game where a young boy guides an injured juvenile monster through a bleak landscape of caverns and ruins. I really enjoyed TLG's presentation and overall vibe, but I hated its clunky movement and camera. The stage design and puzzles were mostly okay (let down by frustrating controls), but I can't recommend The Last Guardian ahead of its two predecessors (which are both incredible). Happy to cross it off my backlog, though.
Number Eight
I love a good Pokémon romp where you visit new locations, meet new monsters, and engage in duels therein and thereof. But Legends ZA... is not one of the better Pokémon experiences. Players are confined to a single city with a handful of Pokémon-inhabited neighborhoods, and the story is a chain combo of Generation 6 references I don't give a damn about. The combat is also a frantic action-driven affair that is sometimes pretty good, but I still prefer turn-based Pokémon battles. The best part is the act of tracking and catching the monsters themselves, as well as a few new characters and music tracks full of personality. How much you enjoy Legends ZA probably depends on what parts of the Pokémon experience you value most, but I'd definitely recommend Legends Arceus and probably even the Generation 9 games over it.
Number Seven
Pirate Yakuza should not be any gamer's first Like a Dragon experience, but if you love playing as Majima in Yakuza 0 and exploring the Hawaii setting in Like a Dragon 8/Infinite Wealth, then this is a pretty great expansion pack. Majima finds himself shipwrecked on some islands just outside of Hawaii, obtains a ship, assembles a pirate crew of friends new and old, and takes part in typical Like a Dragon shenanigans in a story that has a few moments of drama but is otherwise pretty forgettable outside of battling legendary pro wrestler Samoa Joe. But if you are sharing a spot with me in the center of the Venn Diagram of Like a Dragon enjoyers and fans of fictional piracy, then Pirates in Hawaii is worth playing.
Number Six
I have an uneven relationship with the Tales Of series, as I view a few of its titles as unassailable classics and others as overlong RPGs dragged down by nonsensical jargon and bad dungeons. But I'm happy to report that Graces ends up rather good. Its combat is deceptively simple (mostly governed by four buttons instead of, like, eight) but always exciting, and there's a lot of stuff to do at basically every stage. I like Graces' overall plot well enough, but it has a few annoying characters and doesn't crack the top tier of Tales Of. Tales of Graces F is a rock-solid JRPG overall and I'm glad I finally knocked it out on my second (or was it third?) sincere attempt.
Number Five
Number Four
Mario platformers are pretty much always reliably great, and can go a number of different design directions depending on its structure and influences. Mario Wonder feels rooted in the New Super Mario Bros. lineage with its 2D stages and multiplayer options, but it deviates from any prior Mario in how GODDAMN WEIRD it gets. Mario Wonder sports competent Mario action with surreal Mario stage designs and bosses and an expectedly high level of polish. That's definitely a recipe for a great platformer, even if it doesn't quite hit the highs of Peak Mario.
Number Three
Number Two
Number One
When I think about what game I played in 2026 that I'm compelled to return to the most, the answer is... surprisingly not Final Fantasy XIV! Hades II takes everything that was great about Hades and gives back a revised, refined, renewed sequel. The weapons are cooler, the bosses are tougher, the specializations are more interesting, the new powers and Olympic boons feel like a richer tapestry of options, and I even like Melinoe's witchy demeanor. Sure, I think the story is better in the first Hades, but that is the most minor of complaints. Hades II is awesome and I'll probably buy it on more systems down the line. I feel like I owe SuperGiant more money. That's a rare feeling.
So... yeah. Not my most storied slate of games I finished in a given year, but there are some great ones mixed in. So far in 2026 I've finished eleven games including three targets, which is... OK, not great. Better than my early pace in 2025, at least. Right now I'm partway through both Bayonetta 1 and Dark Souls 2, and I find those games both interesting and frustrating. Time to get back to it!
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