2025 was a banner year for action games. From a surprise breakout Soulslike with one of the hardest-hitting and most brutal combat systems the genre has ever seen, to the hotly anticipated follow-up of one of the most influential roguelites of all time, to the latest in a certain legendary monster hunting series. And let us not forget that this was absolutely the year of the ninja as well, which brought us not one, but two brand new Ninja Gaiden games (plus a long-awaited remaster of Ninja Gaiden 2), letting action fans Izuna Drop foes in both two and three dimensions.
But only one of these fierce games can claim the honor of being the strongest of the year. Here are our picks – and our chosen winner – for the Best Action Game of 2025.
Runner-Up – The First Berserker: Khazan
Fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping action is not generally what one would associate with the Soulslike genre, considering its typically methodical combat and eerie, isolating exploration. But The First Berserker: Khazan is not your ordinary soulslike. This revenge-fueled action RPG, set in the world of Dungeon Fighter Online, features one of the best combat systems the genre has ever seen, taking the core of Sekiro's parry-based sword fighting and adding several extra layers of depth. The result is one of the most exciting, action-packed, and certainly one of the most difficult soulslikes in recent memory.
Runner-Up – Ninja Gaiden 4
Ninja Gaiden 4, like 2023’s Hi-Fi Rush before it, is a breath of fresh air in a genre that feels predominantly ruled by stamina-based combat systems with Soulslike elements. This is a pure action fan’s action game, featuring some of the best melee combat we've seen in years, bolstered by aggressive enemy AI, excellent weapon design, and the ability to let your creativity run wild by giving you the freedom to hotswap between all of your weapons on the fly. Predictably, it turns out that the dream collaboration of Platinum Games and Team Ninja leads to some damn good combat.
Runner-Up – Monster Hunter Wilds
No matter what side of the fence you sit on about the direction Capcom has been taking the Monster Hunter series in, or the general structure of its hunts, there’s little debate that it's still among the best action games of the year. Few games offer even close to the same level of depth that Monster Hunter Wilds does when it comes to its weapon and monster design, and most of the ones that do also have the words "Monster Hunter" in the title. Add to that depth the ability for up to four players to experience the thrill of its combat together, and you've got a excellent, flexible adventure that's good for either a team of hunting veterans, or those arriving in the wilds for the very first time.
Runner-Up – Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
2D action games need some love as well, and our pick for the one most deserving of that love is Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound. Developed by Blasphemous studio The Game Kitchen, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound reimagines and modernizes the classic stylings of old-school, 2D Ninja Gaiden with a unique hypercharge mechanic that encourages you to think not just about the order in which you dispatch your enemies, but the tool they use as well. Challenging boss battles, clever level design, and carefully considered enemy placement all prove that Ninja Gaiden’s exemplary action is just as potent in 2D as it is in 3D.
Winner – Hades 2
It’s easy to look at Hades 2 on a surface level and think “Oh, this is just more Hades.” And while yes, this is still a roguelite about a child of Hades going through a gauntlet of combat rooms, beating up mythological creatures and beasts, all while gaining Boons and Blessings from the Pantheon of Greek Gods, developer Supergiant Games has done a stellar job of never making it feel like we’re just retreading old ground. The brand new protagonist, Melinoe, plays completely differently compared to Hades’s Zagreus, with less focus on dodging and invulnerability frames and more emphasis on charged magical attacks and resource management. The characters that you interact and build relationships back at your home base are all new; pretty much all of the enemies, boons, and bosses are brand new; progression is handled completely differently; the list of significant changes just goes on and on.
And even if you were to look at it through the misguided perspective of it just being “more Hades,” it’s still a lot more Hades. The addition of the above-ground campaign through the City of Ephyra, all the way up to the peak of Mt. Olympus, essentially means this second adventure is double the size of the original, all while packing its own unique set of enemies, bosses, and boons to play around with.
Hades 2 is quite simply one of the most well-rounded games we’ve played this year. From its combat, to its story, to its amazing soundtrack and its one-of-a-kind art style, it hits on every single front, which is why it’s our pick for the best action game of the year.
But what is your pick for the best action game of 2025? Do you think it's Hades 2, one of our other shortlisted games, or something else entirely? Let us know in the poll above, or the comments below.
