My Adventure Game Top Ten of 2025

My top 10 of 2025!

Here are my top ten adventure games of 2025. This list is based on my personal enjoyment of all 28 games I've played this year - not all point 'n clicks, but one and all great narrative experiences! We had a crazy year and it's actually impossible to make a ranking like this, because all these games are SO good in their own field, it really just comes down to how much fun I had playing them. So even the lower ones are still top notch!

10. Slender Threads

The nightmarish journey in Slender Threads isn’t for the faint of heart, but those with a morbid sense of humor will love the fun of unraveling the delightfully quirky goings-on in the strange town of Villa Ventana. 

9. Rosewater

Its obstacles may not put up much of a fight, but Rosewater’s sharpshooting lies with its wonderful production value and freedom of choice in this character-driven Western, earning itself a big “Yeehaw!” for fun and replayability.

8. The End of The Sun

Exploring the magnificent mythological world of The End of the Sun rivals any vacation you could ever take deep into Central Europe yourself, especially when travelling through time to uncover the Slavic valley dwellers’ intimate personal stories.

7. Blue Prince

The immense puzzle game that is Blue Prince is so multi-layered, it keeps you busy for well over 100 hours as almost every detail matters in one way or another. You're in the position to inherit a huge mansion, but its rooms change daily and puzzling your way to the grand prize is no easy feat! I still haven't "really" finished it, and I'll probably never will...

6. Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer

Our hopes for a wonderful sequel have come true, as Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer balances a great dialogue-based serial killer mystery with entertaining puzzles in another sublime point-and-click pixel art adventure game. 

5. The Drifter

The Drifter is an action thriller with supernatural elements, and the game does an excellent job to translate that into an interactive experience, where we put in a sense of urgency which makes the game feel extremely fast-paced. 

4. Dispatch

Dispatch is an interactive animated superhero series filled with dialogue choices and mission management. You play as Robert Robertson, former superhero Mecha Man, who gets recruited by the Superhero Dispatch Network, where he becomes the man in the chair.

3. The Séance Of Blake Manor

The Séance of Blake Manor is one big investigation game where you have to make deductions and decisions and choose how to spend your time. The initial nervousness quickly made place for elation and the accompanying adrenaline rush, causing the search for a missing young woman in supernatural circumstances to become quite addictive.

2. Foolish Mortals

Foolish Mortals  is going to be right up there with old classics. It features beautiful artwork filled with small animations, excellent voice-overs and straightforward inventory puzzles. The story is very engaging, with lots of characters and great dialogue combining background information with clues to the puzzles.

1. Old Skies 

If you are a fan of Wadjet Eye Games, your zeal will be transformed into divine adoration after playing Old Skies. This is just instant classic to me, and it should be instant buy for anyone who's serious about playing adventure games. It doesn't feel like a game; it feels like a work of art. It's entertainment of a whole other level.

"Rosewater" - my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

Read my full review on Adventure Game Hotspot!

Excerpt: "The branching storylines leading to alternate solutions is really Rosewater’s ace up its sleeve. If you just want to play through the game once, there’s an abundance of content to experience and always a path that conforms to how you want to behave. But if you’re interested in multiple playthroughs, there are many different decisions you can make that are sure to open up even more to see and do. Either way, it’s a highly entertaining chance to be part of a posse in the Old West – well, an alternate version of it, at least. The rather easy puzzles and mini-games might not exactly strike gold, but the setting is gorgeous and the characters are wonderfully written and acted, making it a joy to spend time with such a diverse, dynamic group. As thoroughly entertained as I was in getting there, I was actually sad when my posse reached its final destination and inevitably rode off into the sunset, so to speak, but it’s great to know that more adventuring awaits when I’m ready to revisit Western Vespuccia once again."

2025 Adventure Game Anticipation!

It's a new year, and there are many adventure game titles scheduled for release. Some already have concrete publication dates, others are more vague on when we will be able to play them. Each one of us probably has their favorites wishlisted for a long time already, but here are a couple of games I'm especially looking forward to.

Whirlight: No Time To Trip is a realistic looking yet still cartoony time-travel adventure by Italian developers imaginarylab, the creators of Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town. That one was a lovely game, waaay too short, but the type of game I like best: no fantasy, no sci-fi, but a modern day setting and environment yet with its own peculiar identity with some history thrown in, clear goals to achieve, no overwhelming amount of possibilities, very structured. So I'm expecting something similar, and hopefully longer, from Whirlight.

Foolish Mortals has been in development for quite a while, but UK-based Inklingwood Studios just confirmed a 2025 release for their debut adventure! It's a traditionally styled mystery point 'n click with a supernatural edge. The game already has the look of an instant classic, so I hope it will also play as one! I for one can't wait to go treasure hunting in 1930's Louisiana!

Old Skies by Wadjet Eye Games shouldn't need an introduction. It's the new game by the creators of the renowned Blackwell series. It doesn't have the developer's signature pixel art style, but it's still a very beautiful game with an amazing soundtrack, excellent voiceovers, and a time-travel story that pulls you in and makes you forget your own timezone! And I know, because I'm a beta tester with 30+ hours on the clock already!

Rosewater by Grundislav Games is a western adventure I've tried to remain spoiler-free of, which is hard because Francisco González is one of the most transparent developers out there, so there are many screenshots and videos to avoid! This game takes place in the same universe as Lamplight City. What interests me most is how you will be playing as part of a team of characters, and the way you play - the choices you make - will affect the relationships and ultimately the story. Many games promise such a thing, however, but I'm confident that if anyone can truly pull that off, it's Francisco Gonzáles!

I really enjoyed the last adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, so I'm looking very much forward to their obligatory - though perhaps not quite original - next title in this franchise: Death on the Nile. After all, how can I not love another opportunity to play as the most famous Belgian detective! It'll once again be developed by Microids Studio Lyon, so I have high hopes for the title, plus it's great incentive to finally go and read the book.

 

 

And if you can't get enough of globetrotting, classic 2D point 'n click adventures, be on the lookout for The Adventures of Bryan Scott, the first game by German developer Radio Silence Studios. To be honest, I haven't heard all that much from this game for a while, so I do hope it will see the light of day by their projected release month, December '25! And that they'll go easy on the adventure game references and retain their own identity, since such tactics are wearing a bit thin lately...

Of course there are many more games coming out this year. Off the top of my head I'm thinking of Elroy and the Aliens, Legends of Castile, Sleepytime Village and Slender Threads, just to name a few. I sincerely hope to play them all someday and write some cool playthrough posts about them!