The idea for this post came about as I was compiling my best games of 2025. I had never played as many games in a single year and that made me curious to find a pattern among the games I enjoyed the most and the ones I didn’t enjoy. I also wondered what had changed in my gaming habits compared to previous years, if anything at all.
But I didn’t want to stop there for this piece.
As I followed this post’s co-authors during the second half of 2025, very often I connected the dots between their articles and ended up painting a mental picture of their individual journeys. I naturally felt like asking how they saw their own year of gaming. I’m so glad they were up for joining me in sharing their reflection in this collaborative piece!
So thanks to all these lovely folks for having joined today’s post with so much enthusiasm.
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Luna
Maybe it’s a weird start for the post, but 2025 was the year that I stopped picking up games just because other people recommended them to me.
If in past years I would search high and low for recommendations of games, getting lost in a rabbit hole of Reddit threads and YouTube videos, in 2025 I felt more confident to scour the Steam shop on my own. The more I browsed, the more I learned to spot games that peaked my interest, and not just aesthetically speaking. It’s something that I’m still practicing, with my most recent challenge consisting of analysing game trailers – there are just so many games that the trailer isn’t that good, but the game is great, or vice-versa. I’ve also let go of browsing gaming guides or tips, unless I’m really stuck. I’m attributing both of these things to the fact that I’m seeing myself as less of a beginner gamer, so I don’t feel the need to rely on others to tell me what’s good; and I don’t question myself anymore around whether I’m playing something the right way. There’s something really freeing about that.
I’ve also come to realise that character depth is something that really matters to me in a game. Some games can look amazing and have really engaging gameplay, but if the characters are one-note, this will ruin the immersion for me. Not to say that I dislike games that the gameplay is at the centre; just that if there’s story, writing needs to be solid. Wanderstop is the perfect example where the writing made it jump straight to my top games of the year.
It was also the year that I changed my relationship with demos of games. I used to feel so lost when starting out a demo, but now I’ve tried so many that I started embracing that feeling. There’s nothing quite like picking up a demo that leaves you wanting more!
Nimgimli from Dragonchasers
2025 was the year that I finally accepted that I’m pretty much done with MMOs. For years they were virtually the only thing I played. A few other genres seem to have fallen by the wayside, too. Racing games no longer grab me like they used to, for example. Meanwhile I’m enjoying ‘life sims’ more than I did when I was younger.
More interesting, at least to me, is that I’ve realized narrative is more important to me than it has ever been. Whenever I finish a game’s story, I stop playing even if I’m enjoying the title and there is ‘more to do’. Completionism is no longer a draw for me. Now if there are side-stories or missions, I might stick around for those, but if it’s just ‘collect more things’ or ‘beat this optional boss,’ then nah, I’m moving on to the next game.
And while this wasn’t just in 2025, I’m learning more and more that I really enjoy ‘gacha’ games that can be played solo; they have replaced MMOs for me because (generally) they’re worlds that keep expanding and adding new stories to enjoy.
Margot from Margot Plays
When Luna gave me the opportunity to collaborate for a piece on her awesome blog, I jumped on board. The topic of gaming habits and evolving and changing as gamers is something I was pondering anyhow, and with her awesome prompts I could finally put my thoughts to virtual paper.
I started to game regularly again a couple of years ago, and while 2024 was all about the steam deck and handheld gaming, this evolved and broadened significantly in 2025. I now also game on a desktop PC on a regular basis, as well as the new Nintendo Switch 2, with some infrequent retro gaming on my TrumUI brick.
During the process I learned that I do still prefer side scrollers over 3D games. While I am playing and enjoying more open world games such as The Witcher 3, my heart is always drawn to new side scroller type games, that I can play handheld on my sofa.
Recently I discovered that I do appreciate an element of combat in a game. Collectathon games like Spyro the Dragon, are hit and miss. I think this is because I don’t care about 100% completion. While I loved the platforming in Silksong, I am not a sole platform gamer either. Give me more weapons and boss battles alongside those platform challenges and I am all in.
But I did try and open my eyes to more genres and types of games that didn’t seem appealing in 2025, by using demos for the first time. This was so fun and I found that I can’t rule out a genre per se but trying a demo and seeing if it clicks is worthwhile. For example I thought I was over turn based combat but Hermit & Pig does it in such a way that I was having fun. If the package works then I am in.
Trying more demos showed me to try something new on a regular basis and not be turned off by a genre label. The indie gaming world is full of new stuff and it would be a shame not to give it attention especially during things like steam next fest or indie gaming events, where apart from time and a bit of space on your hard drive you are not committing to a purchase.
Lizzie from SweetieGames
In 2025, I learned that I need structure in my games; much like in my real life.
I’ve always been a huge fan of any game that has an engaging plot and characters, mostly regardless of genre. My drive to learn more about them and the story is what makes me want to progress, far more than any gameplay elements. It’s reassuring to be nestled in an established narrative structure, knowing what needs to happen next in order to progress the story forward. The games I played in 2025 taught me that if a game plays fast and loose with this structure, I quickly become overwhelmed. I tried my hand at Stardew Valley, the popular farming sim game that is meant to be relaxing and it made me fairly stressed! There’s only so much time in the day and so many things that need to be done. I think that I’m not optimising my time so I must not be playing well, and once I had gotten to know my favourite characters, I completely lost interest. Open world games such as Breath of the Wild cause me similar anxiety; so much to explore, so much to do and so many opportunities that can be missed because I didn’t explore thoroughly enough. These games are brilliantly made but aren’t for me! It may be because I’m autistic but having set goals in a specific order is very comforting to me, and my desire to play a game quickly falls apart if everything is thrown at me all at once. I’m not playing games to be stressed out!
2025 also showed me that I’m immensely drawn to games that allow you to be creative with your character within it. The opportunity to create a character and their backstory and place them within a game is too tempting for me to ignore as a creative writer. It helps me feel as though I’ve contributed to the story and also makes choosing dialogue options way more fun, as I can get into the head of the character I’ve made. The more character customisation I can do to my character within a game, the better! I’d love to look into more games that allow you to create your own player character completely from scratch and try my hand at them this year.
Frostilyte from Frostilyte Writes
I think my 2025 could most accurately be summarized by something my wife said the other day, “My husband disappeared for over a month playing that stupid game.” That was in relation to Monster Train 2, but I think it broadly encapsulates my 2025: long stints with a select few games, while dipping into smaller titles. And, if I’m perfectly honest, that mirrors how I’ve spent most of my gaming time throughout the past several years.
Though, that answer feels completely out of spirit for this post.
As such, I looked over what I played with a bit more scrutiny, and found a bit of an oddity among 2025: Horror games. That isn’t to say that I never played Horror titles in years prior, but I played more of them last year than I’d played in the prior 3 years combined.
As for what changed that made 2025 so spooky: my buddy Alex. We met at weekly Fighting game meet-ups and really hit it off. As it were, he’s an avid fan of Horror across books, cinema, and video games, so I received a deluge of different recommendations within the genre throughout the year.
Though, I will fully admit that I’m a little more receptive to video game recommendations, which is how I ended up playing several Horror games last year. Among them were the likes of Mouthwashing, and Eclipsium. While I enjoyed the latter better as a standalone experience, I think both were made better by the discussion that I had with Alex afterwards. Especially Mouthwashing. He loves that game, and had so many insights into scenes or dialogue that I completely missed during my playthrough. Plus, there’s just something about passionate discussion with a friend that can’t be beat, ya know?
Oya from oya’s game hub
I’ve always been a narrative-focused gamer, and the story and the characters have always been important to me, this has not changed since I was a kid. However, I used to leave games unfinished. I think it’s because I didn’t want to say goodbye to the world that I was immersed in. Finishing a game felt like a finality that I wasn’t ready for, especially if it’s a game I enjoyed. I know, what a paradox.
In the last year, however, I became more of a ‘completionist’, but I don’t mean trying to get all the achievements. Nowadays, I have a very focused mindset and I actually put the effort to see a game through to the end. Because without seeing the end, how can I decide if I like the game or not? So in 2025, I did my best to finish the games I started. Writing my thoughts on Substack also helped me with this mindset, because I would be more motivated to finish a game and reflect on my experience and chat with people about the game afterwards.
I also played more indie games this year. They tend to be very creative and work with their limitations very well, so getting into them was very fun for me in 2025. There are so many indie gems out there in all sorts of genres, and I want to give my support to these passionate developers in 2026 as well!
Sey from GoodGameLobby
When I started reviewing games, I had a clear goal: to play as many games as possible and have a large pool to work with. Over time, I learned that this was unrealistic, and burnout was inevitable. So in 2025, I said, “Enough is enough,” to give myself breathing room. But by the end of 2025, I ended up right back where I started—still playing far too many games. What could I change? How could I tackle this FOMO-driven thirst for new games while still having a clear mind at the end of the day?
What I’ve learned is that I can achieve the same growth and community-building results by playing fewer games and focusing more on the experience. My habits have almost completely changed how I choose games and how long I play them, and I’ve opened up more time to create content around what I genuinely enjoy. The Discord Gaming Club has given me the chance to play games from my backlog, some of which are outside my comfort zone. Even though I’m playing fewer games, I find that I enjoy them more, creating a stronger connection that allows me to explore genres I’m not used to—like my love/hate relationship with point-and-click games.
I never thought that a narrative-driven RPG like Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector would be among my top games of last year. Once I dug deeper into its dark, dystopian sci-fi world, the writing took me somewhere unexpected and helped me experience gaming in a new light. I recommend that everyone try something, even if it’s “not something I would regularly play.” That’s something I hear quite often, and more often than not, the people who say it end up enjoying the game.
Krista from Leekscosycorner
2025 for me was a year of exploration when it came to gaming. While I typically stuck to more cosy and indie games for content, in the background I was exploring worlds and franchises I had never done so before or had been afraid to do so. Most notably out of what I played offline, I explored the latest Dragon Age game as well as taking to some Tomb Raiding and Fable. I did revisit some of what I like to call comfort games which also helped me want to explore even further.
I’m definitely glad I began stepping out of my comfort zone. It’s certainly something I will try to do more and more going forward but at a steady pace. I feel mixing between more adventurous games and slower paced games makes for a good balance depending on how I’m feeling. I’ve already got a small list of games building that I’m hoping to check out over the coming months too however, right now some more cosy games is where I feel at home.
Alexia from Alexia Unplugged
2025 was a transformative year for me, with a lot of ups and downs. I learned a lot about myself, including when it comes to gaming! The biggest changes for me are that I no longer feel guilty playing single-player games, and I’m more comfortable branching out to new genres.
I’ve been playing games for as long as I can remember, but I always stuck to the same couple genres (thank you Pajama Sam and Viva Piñata for solidifying my tastes at a young age). Sure, I played some League of Legends with friends, but I always preferred games like Stardew Valley or Divinity: Original Sin 2 — low-stakes co-op games. Playing video games alone felt like a waste of time better spent playing with my friends or doing an analog hobby.
Last year, I finished university (for good this time) and finally won the mental space to explore new games! I tried out roguelikes like Cult of the Lamb (decidedly not a cozy game), some bullet hell game at the behest of one of my friends (not my thing), and I dabbled in Marvel Rivals in spite of being terrified of — and terrible at — first person shooters. I even shocked myself by eventually enjoying ranked games even though I’m fatally uncompetitive.
Then, I moved across the world and rediscovered the joy of single-player games for the first time since childhood. I guess living in a different time zone from my regular gaming buddies freed me of the anticipated guilt of not “including” my friends. What was I going to do, wake them up? “Hello, I know it’s 3am but it’s time to game!” No way. Now, back in my “home” time zone, I love having Me Time with my favorite games!
But that doesn’t mean I don’t still love a good co-op. I’m hesitantly looking forward to Subnautica 2. I’d say it’s not my typical game because I’m not a fan of scary games. Just watching gameplay of the deep sea area scares me, but I know I’ll have fun getting up to shenanigans with my friends on that water planet. However, Subnautica 2 comes with its own controversy with the original developers and their fraught relationship with publishing giant Krafton. Part of the reason I’m hesitant about Subnautica 2 despite anticipating its release for a long time is Krafton’s new AI-first company model.
As an artist and writer games that use AI generated art, including text, feel sloppy and uninspired. I’m in the process of writing a longer article about this. Aside from the ethical considerations, if a studio can’t be bothered to write their game, why should I be bothered to play it? As of yet, I haven’t stopped playing any games that I’ve noticed new AI usage in, mostly because these are small studios and I can understand the economic pressure they’re under. But I have definitely taken some games off my wishlist because of it. It’s a new world now. I can only hope that soulful, human-led games come out on top.
Final words
Once again I would like to thank each collaborator for sharing their thoughts on their recent gaming journeys.
Follow/subscribe to them if you haven’t already! If you’re a Luna’s Gaming Log reader, I guarantee you’ll also enjoy their writing, and get an extra fix of indie game content. ❤️
Dragonchasers · Margot Plays · Sweetiegames · Frostilyte Writes · oya’s game hub · Good Game Lobby · Leekscosycorner · Alexia Unplugged
What about you: have you had any insights about your gaming habits in the past year? Let me know in the comments!
Thank you for reading,
-Luna
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