{"id":25903,"date":"2025-07-11T00:01:45","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T00:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/?p=25903"},"modified":"2025-07-05T20:53:33","modified_gmt":"2025-07-05T20:53:33","slug":"carys-best-games-of-2025-so-far-awards-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/2025\/07\/11\/carys-best-games-of-2025-so-far-awards-show\/","title":{"rendered":"Cary’s Best Games of 2025 SO FAR Awards Show!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Around this time of year, I like to make a list of my best games SO FAR, because usually the AAA titles are released later in the year during the holiday season, and the titles that came out earlier tend to be forgotten.\u00a0 So here\u2019s when those games get their due.\u00a0 Keep in mind that this is my list only and no other outside opinions contributed.\u00a0 And if a game isn\u2019t on this list, it either just didn\u2019t appeal to me as much or I haven\u2019t had a chance to play it yet.\u00a0 Ok with that out of the way, let\u2019s begin!<\/p>\n

BEST PUZZLE GAME<\/strong><\/p>\n

Piczle Cross: Rune Factory (Switch)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Last year I reviewed a game called Piczle Cross: Story of Seasons.\u00a0 It was a nonogram puzzle game and those types of puzzles in video game form are often called Picross or a variation of that name.\u00a0 But this one had a theme.\u00a0 The pictures you could make were based off of things and characters from the Story of Seasons games.\u00a0 These were farming sims that were around way before Stardew Valley got popular.\u00a0 You might know these games better as Harvest Moon, as that\u2019s what those games were called before the rights changed.\u00a0 Anyway, the Harvest Moon\/Story of Seasons games had a spinoff series called Rune Factory.\u00a0 These were more fantasy based, and they streamlined the farming parts so you\u2019d have more time to go fight monsters in dungeons!\u00a0 I actually like the Rune Factory games more than Story of Seasons, and now there is a Piczle Cross game based on the Rune Factory series as well!<\/p>\n

BEST ARCADE COLLECTION\/REMAKE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Capcom Fighting Collection 2 (PS4)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Game maker Capcom is known for lots of things, like Mega Man, Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, etc.\u00a0 But probably what they are known best for is their large roster of fighting games, such as Street Fighter.\u00a0 They did a collection of them a few years ago, plus one last year that had all their Marvel games on it.\u00a0 And now they\u2019ve got another one with even more fighters!<\/p>\n

Runners Up:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bubble Ghost Remake (Switch)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

When I was a kid, one of my favorite stores to go into in the mall was Babbages.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think they\u2019re around anymore, but they were kind of like a precursor to GameStop.\u00a0 They sold video games but mostly computer software and stuff.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t really buy too many computer games then, but I still liked to look at the boxes because that\u2019s how we found out about games before the Internet a lot of times.\u00a0 One of the game boxes that caught my eye was Bubble Ghost.\u00a0 It had two things I liked in games: bubbles (like in Bubble Bobble) and ghosts (like in Pac-Man).\u00a0 But I never got around to buying that game.\u00a0 Not sure why.\u00a0 Maybe it was too expensive and I didn\u2019t think it was worth the money.\u00a0 A few years later they made a version of it on the Game Boy, but I never got around to buying it either.\u00a0 There were a few years as a kid that I didn\u2019t buy a whole lot of Game Boy stuff, and I don\u2019t really remember seeing it in a store anyway.\u00a0 So I never got to try Bubble Ghost.\u00a0 So that\u2019s why I\u2019m glad that I got to review this remake.\u00a0 It adds fancy hand drawn graphics and new levels and gameplay ideas.\u00a0 Basic gist is that you are a ghost and try to blow a bubble around obstacles and keep it from popping.<\/p>\n

Croc: Legend of the Gobbos (PS4)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Back in the 90s, 3D platformers starring colorful mascot characters were all the rage, even in the early days. One of the first ones out of the gate on the PlayStation was Croc: Legend of the Gobbos. It was made by Argonaut, yes the same folks who helped create the original Star Fox.\u00a0 I remember playing this on a demo disc (remember those) back then and not liking it.\u00a0 Mainly because the controls were awkward.\u00a0 This was back before the PSOne had analog sticks, so Croc had more tankish controls.\u00a0 It took a while before the PlayStation had quality 3D platformers as good as the N64 ones.\u00a0 Me personally, they didn\u2019t catch up until Ape Escape and maybe Spyro.\u00a0 Anyway, because I didn\u2019t like the first Croc game on the demo disc, I skipped out on the other entries in the series.\u00a0 Turns out there was a lot more than I thought.\u00a0 There was a 3D sequel as well as a handful of 2D games on handheld and mobile devices.\u00a0 And I\u2019ve watched a lot of videos with gamers saying they loved Croc as a kid.\u00a0 I\u2019m willing to give games a second chance, so I\u2019m glad I got to review this remaster.<\/p>\n

BEST RACER<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mario Kart World (Switch 2)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Switch 2 launch title wins by default, and to its credit, it IS a fun game.\u00a0 The open world \u2018road trip\u2019 vibe is neat, the tracks are fun (when you can actually race on them), and I appreciate it trying to do something different.\u00a0 But I sure do hope that Kirby Air Riders comes out this year and trounces it, like how I felt Kirby Air Ride was way better than its GameCube Mario Kart counterpart: Double Dash!!\u00a0 Because while Mario Kart World is great, it is NOT worth 80 bucks as it is quite a bit light on content and needs more modes.\u00a0 And I\u2019m probably the only person in the world who doesn\u2019t like the trick mechanics of riding on walls and rails.\u00a0 I can never get it to work for me, and I wanted to play Mario Kart, not Mario Hawk\u2019s Pro Skater.\u00a0 There are better Mario Kart games out there than this.\u00a0 I will say that I do like the Yoshi\u2019s Hamburger stands scattered all over the place.\u00a0 I want to eat at one of those!\u00a0 I\u2019ve been wanting to write an article blog about all the tracks in Mario Kart World, I just haven\u2019t gotten around to it yet.<\/p>\n

BEST 2D ADVENTURE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-Yo (PS4)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 16-bit Super Nintendo is my favorite home game console, but my favorite handheld is the Game Boy Advance (it was pretty much a souped up SNES, so that\u2019s why).\u00a0 So I was pleasantly surprised to find that this game tries to imitate that GBA style.\u00a0 When you first turn on the game, it even shows a mock GBA handheld system with a cartridge entering it!\u00a0 Anyway.\u00a0 Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-Yo is a top down viewed action adventure game.\u00a0 You play as Pippit, a bat who lives in the big city and is the nephew of the biggest mafia leader in town.\u00a0 But Pippit has no interest in that.\u00a0 He just wants to enter yo-yo competitions.\u00a0 But one night on the way home, Pippit finds his aunt, the leader of the Pipistrello mafia family, trapped by four other mafia bosses.\u00a0 Turns out they want revenge for her running the city\u2019s power unfairly, so they try to trap her soul into four batteries using a machine.\u00a0 Luckily Pippit appears in time and tosses his yo-yo into the soul stealing beam.\u00a0 Now his aunt is trapped inside the yo-yo and they must work together to get the batteries back.\u00a0 This game is a lot like a 2D Zelda title, except the overworld is the city streets, and the dungeons are sewers, shopping malls, construction sites, and soccer stadiums!\u00a0 And because of the emphasis on top down platforming and yo-yo mechanics, this game also makes me think of Startropics as well!\u00a0 The very definition of a \u201chidden gem.\u201d<\/p>\n

WEIRDEST GAME<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tamagotchi Plaza (Switch 2)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Back on the DS, there was a series of games called Tamagotchi Corner Shop, and my brother Jeff and I were weirdly obsessed with them.\u00a0 You used the touch screen to play mini-games to run shops, and Tamagotchi Plaza is the sequel to those games (there were three of them on the DS!).\u00a0 I want to write an article about all the shops in this game, but supposedly they are coming out with more shops through free updates and DLC, so I may wait until after that happens.\u00a0 But yeah, it’s a weird game for sure!<\/p>\n

Runner Up:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Welcome Tour (Switch 2)<\/strong><\/p>\n

You walk around a giant Switch 2 game console and learn about each part, as well as play mini-games and view tech demos on the new hardware, as well as answer trivia questions.\u00a0 It\u2019s like exploring a giant museum, and is definitely weird.\u00a0 The only reason why it only gets runner up status is because Nintendo is charging 10 bucks for it.\u00a0 It really should\u2019ve been a free pack in game since it\u2019s just a glorified interactive instruction manual.\u00a0 I\u2019ll probably write an article about all the mini-games in it later on, though.<\/p>\n

And now for my Game of the Year SO FAR award!\u00a0 Taiko Drum Roll please\u2026<\/p>\n

GAME OF THE YEAR SO FAR<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hello Kitty Island Adventure (Switch)<\/strong><\/p>\n

This one kind of came out of nowhere, didn\u2019t it?\u00a0 It\u2019s been on Apple Arcade for a couple of years now, but they ported it to the Switch since it\u2019s so much like Animal Crossing, and since that is the second best selling game on the Switch, it was wise of them to do that.\u00a0 It\u2019s no where near as good as Animal Crossing, but it does do some things even better than that series does.\u00a0 For instance, the game actually has a story, and not only can you swim like in Animal Crossing, you can dive down and explore a whole underwater world, too!\u00a0 There\u2019s always stuff to do, even though it is getting kind of slow in the end game (but Animal Crossing is like that, too).\u00a0 I hope the makers of the next Animal Crossing game play this one and take note!\u00a0 Don\u2019t let the \u201cgirly\u201d Hello Kitty exterior keep you from playing this one.\u00a0 If you like Animal Crossing at all, you\u2019ll definitely want to play this one, either on the Switch or on Apple Arcade!<\/p>\n

Hello Kitty Island Adventure has a pretty big uphill battle if it wants to retain this title at the end of the year, though.\u00a0 It\u2019ll be going up against giants like Donkey Kong Bananza, Kirby Air Riders, Metroid Prime 4, and maybe more!\u00a0 But that\u2019s why I do this kind of article halfway through the year so games like this can get recognition too!\u00a0 Anyway, let me know in the comments section what you think of my list, and tell me YOUR favorite games of 2025 SO FAR!\u00a0 Later!\u00a0 –Cary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Around this time of year, I like to make a list of my best games SO FAR, because usually the AAA titles are released later in the year during the holiday season, and the titles that came out earlier tend to be forgotten.\u00a0 So here\u2019s when those games get their due.\u00a0 Keep in mind that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":25863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-miscellaneous"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25903"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25905,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25903\/revisions\/25905"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}