2025 Game Thread - Anandtech Forums Are Dying Edition

[GodisanAtheist]

It's a little late for this thread over here on the FPS forums, but with ATF having its issues or whatnot, I want to port the concept over. I'll start a 2026 thread once we're past Christmas.

The idea is to identify 12 games that you will install, launch, and attempt to play during the course of a year in an attempt to get people to actually engage with their Steam Libraries instead of perpetually buying new games without actually trying what they have.

Kicked off in Covid when folks had more time to game than ever, and it's been a bit of an annual tradition since then.

I personally use the ATF thread to track the games I've played and completions, as well as providing a watering hole to discuss games as well.

Aliens vs Predator 2011(FPS)(Completed)
Dawn of War 3(RTS)(Completed)
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided(Shock-Like)(Completed)
Halo: ODST (FPS)(Completed)
Prototype 2(Brawler)(Completed)
Rise of the Tomb Raider(TPS)(Completed)
Halo: Reach (FPS)(Completed)
Halo 4 (FPS)(Completed)
Darksiders 3 (Brawler)(Completed)
Half-Life 2 (FPS)(Replay)
Half-Life2: Episode 1(FPS)(Replay)
SoW: Blade of Galadriel (Brawler)(DLC)
XCom: Chimera Squad(TBS)(Completed)
Mad Max (Brawler)(Completed)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Brawler)(Replay)
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (ARPG)(Replay)
Jedi Survivor (Souls-Like)(Completed)
Dead Space 3 (TPS)(Completed)
Dead Space 3: Awakening (TPS)(DLC)
Control (TPS)(Completed)
Control: Alan Wake Experience (TPS)(DLC)
Control: Foundations (TPS)(DLC)

Dawn of War 2: Retribution (RTS)(Currently Playing)

Sunset Overdrive (TPS)(Paused)
Star Wars: Squadrons (Space Sim)(Paused)
Papers Please (Sim)(Paused)
STALKER SoC Enhanced (FPS) (Paused)
Grim Dawn (ARPG)(Paused)

Remaining from Original 12:
Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen (ARPG)
Company of Heros (RTS)
Greedfall (RPG)
BattleFleet Gothic: Armada (RTS)

 

[Brian_B]

Ooo good idea.

Since it's Dec 13... I'm just naming one game. I want to finish Octopath Traveller 2. I'm only 60 hours in and still can't quite see the finish line though.

 

[Grimlakin]

I re started the second pathfinder game wrath of tne righteous. It's fun.. but wow isn't deep and long... uhhh... I mean the game... yea.. uhh... never mind.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Alright, completed Control and it's expansion Alan Wake Experience, by Remedy. Still have The Foundation DLC to complete as well as some optional side missions.

Let me just say that I love a game that is unabashedly about the style and presentation. Yeah, the game itself is fine, but the narrative and the manner in which the story is told is the real star of the show.

Remedy really got the formula going with Max Payne, cleaned it up for a fun twin peaks vibe in Alan Wake, refined the shooter gameplay in American Nightmare, took a detour with Quantum Break (which I haven't had a chance to play), and then really stuck the landing with Control.

The story is weird, it's interconnected with the Alan Wake universe, it draws heavily from SCP Foundation in terms of "organization that is tasked with controlling paranormal phenomena". It's great, I really enjoyed it.

Combat is fun and clean and relatively uncomplicated. It's not disimmilar to the Jedi games, where the main character has a personal weapon but you spend most of your time using abilities to throw, block, climb, fly etc during combat.