NPR's most anticipated 2025 games
Plus, Hyper Light Breaker and Donkey Kong Country Returns HD!
My head’s spinning — not just because I published a dizzying list of 25 games NPR’s looking forward to this year — but also because I’m hopped on pain meds after a (relatively minor) surgery! As such, this newsletter will be more truncated than I’d planned. Fret not; I’ll be back on my feet soon!
“Most anticipated” highlights
Read the full list for a broad sampler of NPR’s tastes, but here’s what I’m personally most jazzed for this year (as summarized by my colleagues and me!):
Avowed (Feb. 18)
Obsidian Entertainment has plenty of experience emulating Bethesda's open-world role playing games. After several delays, the studio's answer to Skyrim is finally coming out — and will hopefully become my next fantasy obsession. — Corey Bridges, associate producer, The Indicator
Monster Hunter Wilds (Feb. 28)
Monster Hunter Wilds will introduce new locales, bird-like raptor mounts, backup weapons, and a focus mode to precision-target a monster's weak points. I'm also thrilled for the return of the slinger from 2018's Monster Hunter World! — Vanessa McGinnis, digital campaign manager
Split Fiction (March 6)
This new split-screen co-op game merges the stories of its two protagonists: science fiction writer Mio and fantasy star Zoe. Oh, and it's made by It Takes Two developer Hazelight Studios. Sign me up. — James Delahoussaye, producer, TED Radio Hour
Arkham Horror: The Drowned City (March 7)
Arkham Horror: The Drowned City promises to finally pit us against Cthulhu himself! While the expansion will contain fresh mechanics and investigator cards, I'm most excited for the new "personal motivations" that'll impact the plot based on the investigators you're playing as. — Vanessa McGinnis, digital campaign manager
Dispatch (TBD)
I fear the sequel to The Wolf Among Us may never see the light of day, but much of the team behind the original game formed a different company to develop Dispatch. Featuring the voice talents of Laura Bailey and Aaron Paul, I'm hopeful this superhero comedy can live up to Telltale's golden age. — James Mastromarino, NPR Gaming lead and Here & Now producer
Elden Ring Nightreign (TBD)
Nightreign looks like an attempt to distill Elden Ring's exacting combat and open exploration into something resembling a cooperative extraction game. I don't know if it'll work, but if it's as compelling as my beloved Hunt: Showdown, I know I'll be conscripting all my friends to try it. — James Mastromarino, NPR Gaming lead and Here & Now producer
Hades 2 Full Release (TBD)
I can't wait to stack powers and befriend new gods in the full release of a sequel that's already had a stellar early access period. Greek mythology never really stuck for me until this series, which has characters that blow the pantheon from movies, TV, and books out of the water. — Regina G. Barber, host and reporter, Short Wave
Hollow Knight: Silksong (TBD)
Hollow Knight: Silksong has again made this list for the third year in a row! I'm not going to hold my breath or make pleas to the greater forces of the universe, but I'm excited that the dream may become real in 2025. — River Williamson, software engineer
Hyper Light Breaker: Preview
Hyper Light Breaker releases to early access tomorrow! Studio Heart Machine invited me into an early build last month — here are my impressions:
The game successfully translates Hyper Light Drifter’s neon pixel-art into 3D space. It felt more legible and cohesive than Risk of Rain 2, the most obvious competitor.
Like RoR2, you’ll descend into a relatively open world with a small co-op party, shoot enemies, and eventually battle a big raid-boss. Unlike RoR2, you’ll also extract with persistent upgrades and weapons run after run. Traversal also carries whiffs of Breath of the Wild; more skating and gliding, less running and jumping.
The roguelike loop also factors into Breaker’s approach to scale. The developers who showed me around discussed a desire to make its procedural open-worlds big enough to reward repeat visits, but small enough to feel meaningful. If your party wipes, your world resets — but each instance should have enough familiar landmarks to point you to your ultimate objectives.
Heart Machine revealed little overarching narrative, but did allow me to peruse slideshow-style “memories” illustrating the backgrounds of boss characters, which would unlock the more you play. The developers acknowledged that Breaker was much less focused on a scripted story than the single-player Drifter.
Overall, Breaker impressed me as an alternative to the aforementioned Risk of Rain 2. It’s less punishing, less opaque, and much more of a “roguelite” than a “roguelike.” It’s too early to draw comparisons, but it may fill a similar niche to Elden Ring Nightreign, even.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
Finally, Nintendo’s launching the new year with yet another remaster of an old game. Donkey Kong Country Returns already released on the Wii, the Wii U, and the 3DS — so a Switch port felt inevitable, even though it came long after sequel Tropical Freeze debuted on the console.
I devoured the 3DS version years ago, and got my hands on this new Switch edition, which comes out Jan. 16th. It isn’t just pretty — it unites the original 2-player co-op with broader difficulty options introduced in later releases. That’s not to say it’s simple: the game requires patience and practice, no matter how much health you’ve got. Like Tropical Freeze, I think Returns is too uncompromising for most young kids.
Still, if you’re looking for a challenging platformer with decent multiplayer, you can hardly go wrong with Returns. I might prefer Donkey Kong Country 3’s weird setting and surreal flourishes, but I can’t blame Nintendo for resuscitating yet another classic Donkey Kong game. The company’s nearly at the bottom of the remaster barrel, though — they’ll have to put out some new games soon.
Other Mastromarino Productions
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