The Year 2025 is Expected to See the Rise of Outstanding Game Titles, with Many Candidates Contending for the Game of the Year (GOTY) Award from Lesser-Known Studios.
Following the release of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the latest title to make waves is Monster Train 2 – the sequel to the acclaimed roguelike game that combines deck-building mechanics with strategic gameplay. It has quickly made a strong impact, achieving an impressive score of 90 on Metacritic right from its launch day.
Released on May 21, 2025, Monster Train 2 has attracted significant attention with an average score based on reviews collected from 14 industry experts. If this game maintains a score of 90 or above with at least 15 reviews, it will officially receive the Must-Play rating from Metacritic.
This marks a significant advancement for Shiny Shoe – the developer behind the game. The new installment is hailed as a more refined version of its predecessor, which was already a standout title in the deck-building genre. Monster Train 2 is now set to compete alongside Blue Prince and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – remarkable titles from smaller studios that are fiercely vying for the Game of the Year 2025 accolade.
This sequel continues to embody the essence of its genre while pushing development boundaries. Monster Train 2 is praised for its fast-paced, fluid gameplay that avoids the pitfalls of sluggish gameplay found in many other roguelike titles. Critics note that Monster Train 2 excels in incorporating essential elements that are well-loved in its genre while also expanding its content significantly. The game maintains the familiar structure of a deck-building title: players build their decks to navigate through battles, with sprites engaging in combat in a structured battlefield, alongside numerous items, spells, and mechanics to explore. Monster Train 2 is not just a major title for long-time fans but is also accessible to newcomers, featuring user-friendly functions such as a rollback button to recover from mistakes and a detailed hint system to assist players.
With a score of 90, Monster Train 2 currently ranks just behind three titles: Split Fiction (91), Blue Prince (92), and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (92). Notably, Split Fiction comes from Hazelight Studios – the team that won the GOTY award in 2021 with It Takes Two, making it a tough competitor. Conversely, Blue Prince and Expedition 33 are debut works from their respective smaller studios, yet they have made significant waves. An important point to note: the ranking of the best games of 2025 on Metacritic is currently lacking in AAA blockbuster titles. If we exclude Split Fiction, it could be pushed down to the 9th position, overtaken by Monster Hunter Wilds, which has a score of 88.
