PuppetMaster

I didn't see NG Ragebound nor Shinobi on the list. I guess there's only a few PS members who played and loves both games...

Happy new year to PushSquare staff and members 🍻

@MrStark Ahhh, gotta love the usual angry / jealousy "I don't like / don't played Kojima games. Thus his games are crap, he's a pri**, and he doesn't deserves his popularity / reputation" remark that has been posted over and over for years.

Meanwhile, Kojima never retort to this kind of remark and just keeps doing what he did best for almost 40 years of his career; making unique and fun games that have big impact and also will be talk and play for years to come. From Metal Gear, Snatcher, Policenauts, Zone of the Enders, Boktai, P.T, Death Stranding, and next are OD and Physint.

Kojima already established himself as top notch legendary game devs. He doesn't need to prove anything to anyone anymore especially to his naysayers. But at 62 years old, the guy is still working like a beast. He showed the proof of walk the walk and not just talk the talk, which Kojima naysayers / haters probably never do and experiences for the rest of their life 🤷‍♂️

Persona 5: Kart Racing Royal
Persona 5: Strikers Royal
Persona 5: Golden Royal
Persona 5: Tactica Royal
Persona 5: Royal Boogaloo

I've tried Epic Mickey Rebrushed demo from PSN and i quite enjoyed it.

Not a fan of NFS or racing genre in general and i just check Core Keeper got 85% at metacritic but it's a survival game which isn't my cup of tea.

I guess PS+ started 2026 with a decent start...

2nd, 1st, or lower, the game deserves the slot in top 10 👏

Can't wait to see what Kojima and his team gonna offer with OD and Physint, especially Physint since stealth genre looks quite stale after MGS 5 raised the bar so high that not many devs are brave enough to reach or even pass it.

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound has banger soundtrack and it's not even in honorable mention? Geez 😔

Level 5???

I picked Kojima or Sucker Punch

@Flaming_Kaiser I don't know what the heck are you talking about here. Who said quantity > quality?

@Weez No, the series rooted with psychology horror, not just individual psychology. But i never see any SH creator who said the series can't have different approach with the story 🤷‍♂️. So, despite some different style, SH F still plays with psychology horror either individual or collectively and that's enough to call it as a SH game.

How you can say stamina has little impact on actual gameplay in the originals when it can affect the ending in SH 2. In SH 3, stamina can affect how many times Heather can swing melee weapons and how long she can run before she got tired. And in SH 4, it has fatigue mechanic similar to SH 3 stamina but it also has focus attack that makes stamina management more important. Heck, SH 4 introduced another type of stamina mechanic with Eileen injured / possessed state that affect the ending.

SH F combat still looks quite clumsy just like previous SH games. The way Hinako swing melee weapons is pretty much the same slow and clumsy as previous SH protags. Fighting Kyuubi thematicaly is quite similar as fighting the 'god' / final boss in SH 1 and SH 3. Sure it looks more action'y but it still in line with what the series has done before.

How you can say SH F change nearly everything all at once when it still maintain a lot of SH core aspects from psyshological horror, symbolism, clumsy combat, the fog, the Otherworld, grotesque creatures etc?

I didn't see any valid reason why SH F can't / shouldn't be part of the franchise. I didn't see any SH creator like Keiichiro Toyama or Akira Yamaoka came out and say it should be a new IP either. The same can be said for SH 4, Homecoming, Downpour, Shattered Memories, Book of Memories, and P.T which still part of the franchise 🤷‍♂️

@Weez I don't see any reason why they should removed the fog from SH F and released it without Silent Hill name. SH 4 doesn't have a lot of fog compare to SH F and it doesn't take place in Silent Hill either. But i never see anyone say SH 4 isn't a proper SH game.

As for the rest:

• Individual trauma isn't always the main focus for the series. SH 1 was about family bond between Henry & his daughter, Alessa relationship with her mother / the town community, and the cult obsession to summon their "god" that destroyed their life and town. SH 3 and 4 also wasn't really about individual trauma. Not every SH game should replicate SH 2.
• I think you and many people forgot that SH 3 introduced side step / dodge, block mechanic, and stamina meter which is visible / unlockable after you finished the game and very useful if you played in Extreme modes. And i believe SH 4 inroduced perfect dodge with i-frame as well melee charge attack. SH F only used what already been done with previous games with smoother transition / improvement although the combat still looks clumsy to me.
• The decay and especially Lynch storytelling doesn't looks that fit for SH F setting. But after so many years, they tried something new and i give them an applause. It makes SH F more standout among other SH games.

As a series, Silent Hill never been static. It always introduced new mechanics and settings.

Edit:
I forgot og SH 2 also has stamina mechanic and it affect the ending too.

I thought Expedition 33 combat UI looks very similar to Persona 5. The way all the options are floating and surrounding the character looks exactly like Persona 5.

Then the side bar characters and enemy portrait that shows the next turn looks blatantly copied from FF X. Although, i believe Grandia 1 was the one who invented the 'who's next' side bar.

@Psnfanboy79 We're at the point where a lot of devs are afraid to invent the wheel or do big experiment anymore because they fear gamers will not buy their games.

See Kunitsu Gami for example. It offers a brand new gameplay experience by mixing hack & slash, RTS, and tower defense as well unique-gorgeous artstyle based on classic Japan folklore. I personally think it's a very polished and fun game. But it only sold 500K copies and failed to meet Capcom expectation.

Or the sad story of Katamari Damacy creator. His new experimental game, To a T, was a flop and that forced him to moved back to Japan and possibly retired from making games.

Or how some people who react negatively to Silent Hill F, saying "this isn't Silent Hill" just because it did something new where it's the first time for the series took place in Japan.

So, even if Sucker Punch make Yotei far different than Tsushima, i bet some people including the same ones who asked for big changes are still gonna complaining and screaming "this is too different", "it's too far from the root", "they should make it the same as Tsushima", and "i'm not gonna buy it" 😁

God of War 2018 already experienced that rejection. Some people including GoW fans claimed "this is not God of War" and they really hated the game just because different camera view and Kratos has companion / side-kick. Luckily GoW 2018 sold well but if it not, GoW series probably will stay dead and Santa Monica got closed down...

@Rich33 Haha yeah kinda funny PS put NG 4 at runner up despite they gave it a 7/10 meanwhile NG Ragebound and Shinobi has better score, 8/10 and 9/10, and they aren't in this list. Heck, Shinobi even got better score than Elden Ring DLC.

I'm curious with PS staff voting process but i respect their decisions. Next year they'll have much harder job to decide best action games.

Doesn't matter to me. Its not like i'm gonna buy it on launch day either.

But thanks to OpenAI who bought all these RAM for their Skynet program, now we got crazy price for RAM which definitely will affect PS6 price 🙄

@iNightfarer "has a protagonist with a wolf arm"

You should spoiler this part.

But it's only happen in the Otherworld while she have normal arm in normal world. So what happen to Hinako's arm is still in line with SH lore where the Otherworld can manifest everything from "reviving" dead people, your doppelganger, nasty looking creatures / monsters, to demonic god.

Either 4th place, higher, or below, this game deserves a spot in the top 10 best of 2025.

I voted Shinobi but NG 4, Ragebound, and Yotei also deserves my vote.

Next year will have a lot of potential banger like Onimusha, Saros, Wolverine, Pragmata, Phantom Blade Zero, Nioh 3, W40K Boltgun 2, Crimson Desert, First Light etc.

@Cherip-the-Ripper I would if it's free. But my money is limited and i wouldn't spent it on games that doesn't look fun or interesting.

> Mention Persona 4 remake for 30th anniversary and not the 1st game that started the series

I see Atlus are still acting as if Persona 1 (and 2) isn't exist.

Can Konami do a remaster collection for SH 1-4 but this time do it right by hire a competent devs like M2 or Nightdive.

They already did a remaster collection for MGS, Castlevania, Contra, Gradius, Suikoden, TMNT, Yugioh, and even their early Arcade games for current consoles. But somehow classic SH games are forgotten and buried...

Also. Konami need to do something with Bloody Roar IP.

I watched some playthrough videos and it looks pretty interesting and also reminds me of Telltale Batman and Wolf Among Us which i really enjoyed.

@Oram77 Hopefully next year we get release date for Wolf Among Us 2.

Shawn is right. Exclusives not just make each console looks unique and have more value but 1st & 3rd party devs can focus more on better optimized performances without holding back by the weakest console or wasting their resources, time, and money to developed & optimized for other platforms.

For most case, exclusives looks more polished than multiplats. Death Stranding 2 or Ghost of Yotei for example. They wouldn't look and plays that good if it's developed in the same time with Switch or mobile.

But. There's also some downside such as less potential customers and smaller revenue compare to multiplats. The funny thing is an exclusive game didn't have multiple revenue cuts from different platforms compare to multiplats. Example, from Astro Bot revenue, Sony only need to cut for retail, marketing, and devs cost + bonus. But if the game release day 1 on Steam, Epic, Xbox, Switch, and apple / google store, the revenue would take a lot of cuts since each platform demands 30% cut from game sales.

The question is does Nishino and Hermen have the same principal with Shawn? Would they keep Yotei, Astro Bot, GT 7, Wolverine, Saros, Intergalactic, and future 1st party games fully exclusives?

@graymamba You're free to write your own "worthy" platinum trophy list on your blog, youtube, or whatever 🤷‍♂️

But who did you called "scrubs"?

@graymamba You misunderstood that this feature isn't about very challenging and worthy platinum trophy to get by your own standard. But it's about games that looks fun for Stephen and how he enjoyed the process to platinum it while promoting those games for people who never played it.

If we're just counting what platinum trophy that looks really challenging and worth to flex then there's no need to have a feature like this every week. Stephen can just write the top 10 list of most challenging trophy in history like Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, Ghost n Goblins Ressurection, Super Meat Boy etc etc and call it a day 🤷‍♂️

I played it a bit back when it was 'free' from PS+. While i really enjoyed the artstyle and premise of using time loop to preventing someone getting killed as well find the killer, i just kinda sucks with the puzzle lol. But maybe someday i'll give it another try and used more of my brain cell to solve the puzzle 😁

Nonetheless, it's an interesting Plat trophy

@graymamba "either plat something more worthy… or move aside before this series dies a death"

Lol this is sounds very elitist. Let Stephen platinum whatever games he wants.

I watched a couple of youtubers / vtubers played this game and i still don't see what's the fun and hype with this game.

Bought two games from PS store Holiday sale and played a couple ones from my backlogs:

• Tormented Souls
  It's a nice mixed of classic RE and SH. They even 'copied', maybe not intentional?, the weird / cheesy voice acting lol. But i have some complaints: 1) The game looks pretty dark like i can't see sh*t even when the lighter on. 2) Why there's no shortcut to switch between lighter and guns but there's a shortcut to open a map? It's just annoying that you must open the menu every time to switch between lighter and guns. 3) I get it they want to replicate old school survival horror games. But some puzzles doesn't even give the slightest clue at all. Like that skeleton puzzle in the experiment room for example, i need to check a walkthrough to complete it because none of the diaries give some hints.
• Strikers 1945-II
  I think this is one of Psikyo best shmup.
• Final Fantasy VI (PS1 classic)
  I start a new game because i forgot where to go. Next time i'll write it on the notes.
• Detroit Become Human

Outside games, i just relax and watching Fallout season 2.

Have a nice weekend & holidays everyone 🍻

Nice pick and i agreed 🤝

@MrStark You're speechless that a great game that sit at 87% metacritic got picked as one of the best in 2025?

I voted other.

This year, I didn't played any of the newest RPG's in the list. Well except Octopath Traveler 0 demo and it was eh.

But, I bought Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth from PS store sale and a second hand copy of Deus EX: Human Revolution which i really enjoyed.

Beside that, i played RPG's from my backlog like Resonance of Fate, Wild Arms, Legend of Dragoon, FF VI, FF VIII HD, and Star Ocean 1st Departure. After all these years, I think these old RPG are still holding up really well even against the newest ones who has shinier bells and whistles.

@Nem I don't think Front Mission fans asking for AAA treatment, especially since the series never been like that in the 1st place.

Just look back at Front Mission first 3D games like Front Mission 4 and 5 compare with FF X / XII, KH 1 & 2, or Dragon Quest VIII. It's crystal clear SE never give AAA budget for Front Mission nor they think the series is really important.

But i'm sure what Front Mission fans wants is for SE to give a proper effort like hired the RIGHT developers who understand and treated the series with respect.

Also, how we can look at the positives when this remakes doesn't ooze with positivity?

I guess this is explain why i'm not interested with Lvl-5 games anymore. The last time i bought their game was Ni no Kuni 2 from PS store sale back in 2022/23? It's not as good as the 1st Ni no Kuni and why i still not finish the game.

Outside Ni no Kuni, the rest of Lvl-5 output looks meh and a far cry compare to what they used to make. It's like they completely lost their creativity, maybe because they just let AI do their job.

@Orpheus79V It's a tragic indeed. I used to believe they would became the next Squaresoft. But sadly they proved me wrong...

@Orpheus79V Forever ent. + MegaPixel also responsible for that ugly House of the Dead 1 & 2 and Panzer Dragoon 1 remake.

How on earth this studio keeps getting hired to handle classic series one after another despite they did messy work over and over?!

@Nem Are you saying Front Mission fans should just accept low quality remake like this? Just eat this slop and be happy and grateful since it's a niche series that Square doesn't give a F anymore?

It's really hard for a long time Front Mission fans like me watching how Square mishandled the series for years. Started from didn't localized FM 5, the garbage FM Evolved, a huge wasted potential Left Alive, to the abomination FM 1 & 2 remake...sigh 😔

Okay my impression for this demo after played it for an hour or two and finished all missions.

• Wanzer models and the way they moves looks kinda slightly better than FM 1 & 2 remake. But somehow the original FM 3 still has much better / smoother animation than this remake. How the wanzer walk, punch / melee attack, and shoots in the original game looks and feels as if they have a lot of weight behind their actions. I mean, it's a big mecha with 25 tons weight. But this remake makes it like they're weightless lol.
• What on earth they've done with the characters portrait?! It feels like they used AI upscale and call it a day 🙄
• The environment color looks really off. The Training Ground in the tutorial for example. In the original, it looks normal bright with a couple of yellow strobe warning lamp in the ground. But in this remake, the whole room almost completely filled with yellow / orange color and they added tons of yellow lamp like why?🤦‍♂️
• I'm not sure if the enemy AI looks better or worst.
• Character in game model looks okay but somehow they keep the janky walking / running animations lol.

I still have the original game as well PS1 classic that i can play on PS3 / Vita, which i really reccomend anyone to get PS1 classic over this remake. It's cheaper (i believe it's $5?) and better.

Nice to see a PS staff who put Shinobi and Lumines Arise as their top 5 of this year 🤝

Got 10/15. Not bad lol.

I respect PushSquare staff choices.

But for my list, it would be:

• Plat trophy; Shinobi: Art of Vengeance
• Gold trophy; Sword of the Sea
• Silver trophy; Death Stranding 2
• Bronze trophy; Lumines Arise

As much as i enjoyed this "relic", i rather used that money for other Arcade Archives / ACA Neo-Geo games like Gradius, Splatterhouse, Ninja Gaiden arcade, etc that looks and plays better.

Yeah, this is on my wishlist and i'm excited to see who'll win between this game and Stranger Than Heaven.

@Leinad7 Last time i check we're talking about DS 2 and right now i can't find the game on Switch 2, Xbox, PC, or anywhere else beside PS5 🤷‍♂️

Happy holidays to PushSquare staff and any members 🍻

Good thing i didn't played Fortnite but my sympathy for the ones who can't played it because of server issues. Although, it's a good timing to play single player games right?

Currently i'm having fun with Tormented Souls 1, Strikers 1945-II, NG Sigma Plus, FF VI, and a bunch of single player games.

@Pacmatic "What if they are getting paid a crazy amount? What if they are happy about said extra work? You just never really know."

True. Mihoyo earned $3-4 billion revenue /year. So yeah, i'm not surprised if their devs got paid a lot like far above average devs salary to the point they're happy for overtime to earn big bonuses.

My essentials was expired since August and the only games that i've played was W40K: Boltgun, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, Ghostrunner, and Syberia 3.

I'm probably gonna renew again in January or February because i wanna play SF 6 / multiple fighting games.

I don't think people will believe his statement after they got caught lied about not using AI 😂

This is kinda funny and also ironic after Jason Schemer talked about ND crunch as if the worst thing ever happened to the studio then boom! an Asian devs came out and talk about crunch / overtime like it's normal for them lol.

@Leinad7 "Death Stranding 2 is not an exclusive"

Currently it IS a PS5 exclusives and it also published by Sony.

I owned Dangan 1 & 2 on Vita and i really like them. But i never played V3, Ultra Despair Girls, or Ultimate Summer Camp although i watched Dangan 3 anime and it was kinda okay.

But I'm surprised the series sold that much. With 3-4 millions more copies, it can reach Ace Attorney numbers.