Although the threat of COVID-19 hasn’t affected release schedules as much this year, apart from lingering effects, changes in Hollywood have had, and will continue to affect, how we engage with films. We’ve settled into a combination of theatrical and streaming, which lets up (hopefully) avoid spending money on films that we don’t think it will be worth spending money on. We still saw a lot of films this year, and ended up playing a lot of newer game releases, but only a select few have made it onto this list. As usual, only films and games that we’ve actually engaged with have a chance to end up on this list and foreign works only take the US release date into consideration.
Top Movies of 2025
Chainsaw Man– The Movie: Reze Arc
On the surface, Reze Arc is an action movie with loveable characters, exciting twists, flashy combat and some of the most beautiful traditional animation in years. Beneath the surface, however, is a tragic love story where you feel for not only the protagonist, who had never experienced true love in his life, but also the antagonist, who is torn between her obligations and her genuine feelings. If that wasn’t enough, the main theme, “IRIS OUT”, will never leave your head.
Following Avengers: Endgame, the MCU, outside of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Deadpool and Wolverine, had unfortunately meandered for years with mostly lackluster storytelling and a vague, aimless notion of “the multiverse” guiding it. However, Marvel Studios had an epiphany and started releasing higher-quality projects like Thunderbolts*, which tells a surprisingly compelling story with characters that you can root for despite their status as antiheroes. It helps that it does a better job at disconnecting itself from the larger storyline, which makes it more accessible, and has action more reminiscent of John Wick in places. If the MCU has let you down before, then Thunderbolts* may lift you back up.
Although Tron: Ares disappointed at the box office, it wasn’t short on style and certainly didn’t lack substance. Controversies aside, Jared Leto felt fitting in the title role and main theme of a computer program wanting to feel human is a nice change of pace from similar storylines about computers discovering more about the humanity that birthed them. The writing isn’t perfect, of course, and sadly doesn’t follow up on the ending of Tron: Legacy until the very end, but the incredible visuals backed by a Nine Inch Nails score that doesn’t quit is worth watching Ares on the biggest possible screen alone.
Considering Disney’s 2020s output, I had doubts about how well Zootopia 2 would turn out after a nine-year wait, but I’m glad I was proven wrong. Although I loved the original Zootopia, Zootopia 2 effectively addresses some of the issues the first one had and improves upon them on top of having a compelling plot that includes a very natural progression of Nick and Judy’s character arcs and their ability to work as a team. Time will tell if this is a fluke or the start of Disney finally turning things around, but I’m down for a third movie either way (hopefully without another nine-year gap).
Top Games of 2025
After four years of waiting, Toby Fox finally launched the paid version of Deltarune with Chapters 3 and 4 (out of a planned seven). Fortunately, both Chapters were well worth the wait, with surprising and emotional developments, as well as gameplay that continually pushes beyond the player’s expectations. It’s not without faults, of course, but its strong writing and major cliffhanger have me excited for what’s to come in 2026.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Although I already liked Death Stranding back it first released in 2019, Hideo Kojima managed to improve on it in almost every conceivable way with Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. The writing presents a more nuanced view of the series’ themes and has surprisingly emotional moments even with the inherently silly elements. While the gameplay loop is largely the same, a number of much-needed improvements go a long way toward making the game more enjoyable and the Strand genre more accessible. Plus, it’s satisfying when players help make each other’s play sessions easier.
Konami’s Silent Hill revival continues its streak of quality with Silent Hill f, which features a very Japanese take on the series. The story, written by Ryukisihi07 of When They Cry fame, is one of the best in the series, with commentary on social struggles in 1960s Japan, for both men and women, and an increasingly nuanced take on the protagonist as each playthrough unravels more of the game’s mysteries. The mystical and supernatural elements feel right at home within the series and the True Ending, when combined with reading the documents found throughout the game, does an excellent job at revealing the truth while also leaving some things, including the game’s title, open to interpretation. While the gameplay needed some polish, as is tradition with Silent Hill, the story is what kept me going and I was glad that I saw it through. I would encourage fans and the uninitiated to give this one an honest shot, especially now that patches have helped streamline the process of getting the True Ending.
Honorable Mention
After a drought of big narrative-driven games AdHoc Studio Arrived on the scene in style with Dispatch, a workplace superhero comedy filled to the brim with creative energy and (in-universe) HR violations. Although the execution is imperfect, the setting and characters are intriguing and the actual dispatching is fun enough that I would love to see what the team can do with a second season. If their first outing is already this good, then it can only go up from here.
Top Disappointments of 2025
For whatever reason, Jack Black keeps finding himself in either video game film adaptations or movies that involve video games. One of them was A Minecraft Movie, where he plays a live-action version of Steve, a player character in the game. Beneath all the meme shenanigans brought on by a few cheesy references to the game and its fanbase, however, it’s the most bland and corporate movie, down to unnecessary sanitization of language, that you could possibly make out of a game with literally infinite possibilities. I’m aware that a sequel is in the offing and I can only hope that at least some of the “chicken jockey” meme money goes towards a better script.
Pixar had something going again with last year’s Inside Out 2, but if Elio is anything to go by, they still haven’t quite found themselves again. Where once they pushed the envelope with what was possible in CG animation, they now play things a bit too safe, though the uncertain climate within Disney itself doesn’t really help. Elio doesn’t really take any risks with its story and while the animation is good, the style blends in too much with Pixar’s 2020s output. Hopefully, they can find some way out of their slump.
Ballerina (2025)
The John Wick films are generally solid and entertaining action films, especially the original, but a recent attempt at expanding the universe with Ballerina missed the mark. Eve isn’t as compelling of a protagonist as John and while there are some great moments of spectacle, it muddies its placement within the timeline and a meeting with John at the end comes out of nowhere. There is still room for more John Wick, even with other characters at the helm, but hopefully they learn the right lessons from Ballerina.
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