Videogame Wilderness: Summer 2025 edition

V Rising v1.1 was the last game to make the best 50 list back in May. Ever since I’ve been playing games, but nothing that sticks to the ribs.

Death Stranding 2

I played a grand total of 2.5 hours of the first game before deciding it was not for me. So how did I get tricked into spending $70 on the sequel? I am over 30 hours played and I can’t quit it. I don’t know that it is good or that I’d recommend it, but it’s hooks are in me. There is something meditative about delivery missions and completing new roads. It’s combat is not great, but it’s story is bonkers, entertaining, and confusing. Highs and lows.

Cauldron

There is a steep bar for me with “clickers” and I’ve never played an auto battler before this. this little ear worm sneaked in via the Besties. I had a fun weekend playing it on the Steam Deck in a hotel room and never went back to it. You play mini games to get high scores, that make the automatic numbers go up, so you can upgrade your abilities in the mini games to get new high scores.

Rematch

Rocket League, but players not cars. Yes, that is the reverse devolved pitch for Rocket League. This a soccer game by the Sifu development team. It shows in it’s art, fast pace, and hard to master controls. This could be a top 50 pick once it gets cross-play. They seem to be crushing it right now, so hopefully that community sticks around.

Terraria

I have a teenager who loves a survival crafting game. I am always up for trying a new game with him, but he is the fuel in the engine. Terraria looks bad, and that is not a knock against pixel art, there are better looking pixel art games from the same era. It also has an overwhelming catalog of materials, and simplistic combat that is just wild clicking. Despite those shortcomings it’s progression loop is fun and made even better playing it with my kid.

Wheel World

Open world chill cycling and racing are right up my alley. The cell shaded graphics evoke good times with Jet Set Radio and Wind Waker. So why didn’t this make the cut? The difficultly feels out of tune. The first three hours offered little to no challenge, making the rewards of upgraded bike parts an empty loop. The performance got bad to unplayable as the number of buildings and objects on the screen increased. I run a 4080 and was getting big frame drops in a game that could have run on a Dreamcast in 2000.