Usher once said the hardest thing he’s ever done was tell a woman that he loves that he was having a baby with a woman he barely knew. Well, today, I take on a similar task as I try to pick the 10 best games I saw at Summer Game Fest 2025. That’s right, somehow after five days of watching one video game stream after another, I’m making a list of only ten. For those unaware, I already have a list that covers the 26 best indie games I saw at Summer Game Fest. What I’m about to attempt is truly a Herculean effort. So, without further delay, let’s get into the 10 best games from Summer Game Fest 2025.
10.) Stranger Than Heaven
The official title of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s “Project Century” announced at The Game Awards 2024 has been revealed as STRANGER THAN HEAVEN. This Title Reveal Teaser Trailer offers another glimpse into the game’s world. STRANGER THAN HEAVEN is a brand-new title developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, known for creating acclaimed series such as Yakuza™, Like a Dragon™ and Virtua Fighter™.
9.) Invincible VS
Invincible VS actually has a fantastic, in-depth video explaining everything the game is going for, so here it is.
8.) The Blood of Dawnwalker
14th-century Europe. Bloody conflicts sweep the lands, and the Black Death comes for the survivors. It’s a moment of weakness – and that’s all they needed. Vampires seize their opportunity to walk out of the shadows and claim what they’ve been denied for centuries: freedom, and the power that comes with it. Other creatures of the night follow their lead. Legends turn into reality, and history as we know it will never be the same.
You play as Coen, a young man turned into a Dawnwalker, forever treading the line between the world of day and the realm of night. Fight for your humanity or embrace the cursed powers to save your family. Whatever your choice, the question stands: is your soul worth the lives of those you love?
Experience and shape the plot the way you want. Embark on the quest to save your family, or swear revenge on your sire and destroy everyone standing in your way. Discover ancient secrets lurking in the valley. Rush in head first or risk taking time to prepare. Go alone or search for friends and forge unlikely alliances. Experience two different gameplay loops, offering distinct abilities to choose from, mysteries to uncover, and varying ways to achieve your goals. Experiment with different approaches and discover how the world reacts to your actions.
7.) Demonschool
Demonschool is a new-style tactics RPG where motion equals action. Defeat big weirdos in between the human and demon worlds as Faye and her misfit companions, while navigating university life on a mysterious island.
- Tactics: Rewind any action during the planning phase and create combos to dispatch your foes.
- Story: A light horror narrative told through huge avatars with side quests aplenty.
- Schedule: Plan your school schedule to level your characters and build their skills.
- Friendship: 15 characters with whom to build relationships.
6.) Let’s Build A Dungeon
Run a game studio your way and see how things develop in this multi-layered management sim from the creators of Let’s Build a Zoo. Design and build your very own MMO world, fit to be filled by hordes of virtual players
Manage the day-to-day running of your game studio, from hiring and firing to keeping your investors happy
Attract new virtual players to your MMO masterpiece by expanding your world, designing new quests and monitoring player journeys
Progress through the campaign to develop new items, environments and mechanics that bring your ideas to life
Playtest your RPG at any time to see the world through the eyes of a player
Mix-and-match quest styles for endless replayability
Customise using thousands of items, or design your own
Negotiate tough conversations with shareholders, staff, players and publishers to make meaningful choices that will impact the direction of your studio.
5.) Mixtape
On their last night together, three friends embark on one final adventure. Play through a mixtape of memories, set to the soundtrack of a generation.
En route to their final party together, a perfectly curated playlist draws three friends into dreamlike reenactments of their formative memories. Experience a variety of narrative vignettes exploring the pivotal moments that shaped them. Players will immerse themselves in the teenage wasteland by playing through a mixtape of joyful gameplay, from skateboarding and flying to taking photos after hours at an abandoned theme park, hitting baseballs, and putting on a fireworks show from the backseat of a car. It’s the greatest hits of the teenage experience, from the first kiss to the last dance.
From Beethoven & Dinosaur, developers of BAFTA award-winning game The Artful Escape, Mixtape draws inspiration from classic coming-of-age movies, bringing together nostalgic aimlessness, mischief, music, the highs and lows of adolescence, and the bittersweet feelings brought about by growth, transformation, and moving on.
Featuring music from DEVO, Roxy Music, Lush, The Smashing Pumpkins, Iggy Pop, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, the Cure and many more.
Skate. Party. Avoid the law.
Hang out. Sneak out. Make out.
4.) The Expanse: Osiris Reborn
By the 24th century, humanity has conquered the cosmos. However, life has remained anything but easy. In The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, a story-driven sci-fi Action RPG, you play as a Pinkwater Security mercenary whose brief shore leave on the asteroid Eros spirals out of control. Trapped in a deadly lockdown and drawn into a solar system-wide conspiracy far beyond your control, you’ll have to adapt, survive, taking command of the most advanced ship in the whole of the solar system.
Create and customize your own captain — Earther, Martian, or Belter — and lead a crew of highly-skilled specialists as you face off against escalating threats, political pressure, and a relentless enemy that will stop at nothing to see you dead. In a solar system held together by fragile alliances, every decision leaves its mark.
Your companions are more than just mission assets — they are people with their own scars and loyalties. Some chase redemption. Others hide their truths. Over time, your relationships will flourish or deteriorate depending on the choices you make and how you choose to lead. The ship becomes your home — a place where trust is earned, not given.
Fight in third-person utilizing cover-focused gunplay and abilities. Two companions will accompany you into the field while others will support from a distance: disabling systems or drawing the enemies’ attention. You will issue real-time commands and have to adapt quickly to survive the manifold threats the system will throw at you.
3.) Grave Seasons
After a treacherous escape from jail, you’ve made it to your new home in Ashenridge, an idyllic town with some seriously unsettling vibes. While trying to establish your new farming life and embed yourself in the neighborhood, murders start to occur in the town, putting your new peaceful life at risk.
Grave Seasons is a narrative led farming sim with a terrifying twist – someone in the town is a supernatural serial killer.
2.) Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls
PlayStation Studios, Arc System Works and Marvel Games have joined forces to realize the latest in tag team fighters, MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls! Experience the Marvel Universe like never before with reimagined characters and stages, a heart-pounding soundtrack, intuitive gameplay mechanics, and jaw-dropping visuals that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
1.) Resident Evil 9: Requiem
Resident Evil Requiem is the ninth title in the mainline Resident Evil series.
Prepare to escape death in a heart-stopping experience that will chill you to your core.
Technological advancements combined with the development team’s depth of experience combine in a story with rich characters and gameplay that’s more immersive than ever before.
A new era of survival horror begins in 2026.
Thinks of a Thoughter 