Artribune's Top 10 Video Games of 2025: Autobiography, Metafiction, and Breaking the Fourth Wall
Artribune has published its annual list of the best video games of 2025, highlighting a trend toward autobiographical and metafictional works. The list includes titles such as Consume Me, Despelote, Onto Maizilind Unto Infinity, Wednesdays, Blippo+, The Wise-Woman's Dog, The End of Gameplay, Mosa Lina: Second Layer, SOUP ROOMS, and Lumines Arise. Many of these games break the fourth wall, exposing the nature of video games as software or inviting players to participate in their creation. The year was also marked by the release of the Nintendo Switch 2, the spread of generative AI, and the ongoing adjustment of the industry post-COVID-19 pandemic. Notable entries include Blippo+, a video art piece by the electropop band YACHT, Telefantasy Studios, Dustin Mierau, Noble Robot, and Panic, which limits player agency to channel surfing on an alien planet; Consume Me, a semi-autobiographical game about diet obsession by Jenny Jiao Hsia and team; Despelote, a nostalgic recreation of childhood in Quito, Ecuador, during the 2001 World Cup qualification; and The Wise-Woman's Dog, a text adventure set in the Hittite Empire. The list also features The End of Gameplay, a critique of gamification by Alexander 'droqen' Martin, and SOUP ROOMS, a virtual exhibition of over 100 rooms created with the Bapalon software.
Key facts
- Artribune's top 10 video games of 2025 include Consume Me, Despelote, Onto Maizilind Unto Infinity, Wednesdays, Blippo+, The Wise-Woman's Dog, The End of Gameplay, Mosa Lina: Second Layer, SOUP ROOMS, and Lumines Arise.
- Many games break the fourth wall, including The Wise-Woman's Dog and Onto Maizilind Unto Infinity, which use historical notes and real photos.
- Blippo+ is a video art piece by YACHT, Telefantasy Studios, Dustin Mierau, Noble Robot, and Panic, available on Nintendo Switch, Windows, and Playdate.
- Consume Me is a semi-autobiographical game by Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken 'coda' Snyder, and Hexecutable, about diet obsession.
- Despelote is set in Quito, Ecuador, in 2001, and recreates the childhood of co-author Julián Cordero.
- Onto Maizilind Unto Infinity by Kas Ghobadi is the first part of a planned trilogy about the end of human civilization, set in an alternate Iran.
- The End of Gameplay by Alexander 'droqen' Martin critiques game design focused on repetitive loops and monetization.
- SOUP ROOMS is a virtual exhibition of over 100 rooms created by a collective, using the Bapalon software developed by Akuma Kira and Kite Line.
- The Wise-Woman's Dog is a text adventure set in the Hittite Bronze Age, playable in browser.
- Wednesdays by Pierre Corbinais, The Pixel Hunt, Exaheva, Nico Nowak, Christophe Galati, and ARTE France deals with incest and child abuse.
Entities
Artists
- Jenny Jiao Hsia
- AP Thomson
- Jie En Lee
- Violet W-P
- Ken 'coda' Snyder
- Hexecutable
- Julián Cordero
- Sebastian Valbuena
- Gabe Cuzzillo
- Ian Berman
- Niall Tessier-Lavigne
- Panic
- Kas Ghobadi
- Julián Palacios Gechtman
- Pierre Corbinais
- The Pixel Hunt
- Exaheva
- Nico Nowak
- Christophe Galati
- ARTE France
- YACHT
- Telefantasy Studios
- Dustin Mierau
- Noble Robot
- Daniel Stelzer
- Michael Levy
- Alexander 'droqen' Martin
- Joshua 'Stuffed Wombat' Hollendonner
- Rollin'Barrel
- Silkersoft
- Lukke
- Akuma Kira
- Kite Line
- Takashi Yuda
- Jun Kobayashi
- Tetsuya Mizuguchi
- Takashi Ishihara
- Hydelic
- Takako Ishida
- Enhance
- Monstars
- C. Thi Nguyen
- Matteo Lupetti
- dong yarhalla
- AcceleratingWind
- adam pype
- AgentRedJackal
- Bassclefff
- Bryce Bucher
- Cargodin
- catmilk
- The Changeling
- colter
- Demidevi (Charlie)
- desktop_trash
- drurylain
- entropypon3
- eurothug4000
- Fantasticaneer
- Farfama
- Feverdream Johnny
- Figglewatts
- gareB3AR
- itamu
- Ivan Zanotti's MyMadnessWorks
- Jarren Crist
- Jesse Nix
- John Poje
- LaumeB
- Loopsdaloop
- Luke Vincent
- LumpyTouch
- Marek Kapolka
- Mike Klubnika
- Modus Interactive
- Nixie
- Pheener
- Scumhead
- Shanahan Sweet
- Siactro
- SnowyAria
- sodaraptor
- Til Nomi
- Vitaj
- WafflePaws
- wriks
- xena-spectrale
- Yames
- Z. Bill
- Zárate Interactive
- ZIK
Institutions
- Artribune
- Nintendo
- The Tetris Company
- Sega
- Q Entertainment
- Enhance Games
- Monstars
- Resonair
- FIFA
- SOUP GROUP
- Kite Line
- Gravure
- FISAR
- add editore
- The Pixel Hunt
- ARTE France
- Telefantasy Studios
- Noble Robot
- Panic
Locations
- Los Angeles
- United States
- Quito
- Ecuador
- South Korea
- Japan
- Iran
- Italy
- Firenze
- Bronze Age Hittite Empire