Rolling Stone published their “25 Best Video Games of 2025” on December 2, and the gaming community immediately tore it apart. The list crowned Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as game of the year – a title that doesn’t release until December 12. Ghost of Yotei sits at number five despite not launching until 2026. Donkey Kong Bananza ranks third, but that game also hasn’t come out yet. In fact, more than half the list consists of unreleased titles that critics couldn’t have possibly played enough to properly evaluate. This isn’t a best-of list – it’s a most-anticipated list disguised as authoritative criticism.
The List That Broke Gaming Twitter
Here’s Rolling Stone’s top 10 according to the Reddit thread that surfaced the article:
– Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (releases December 12)
– Hades II (early access since May 2024)
– Donkey Kong Bananza (unreleased)
– Dispatch (unreleased)
– Ghost of Yotei (2026 release)
– Blue Prince (unreleased)
– The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy (unreleased)
– Death Stranding 2: On The Beach (unreleased)
– ARC Raiders (unreleased)
– Split Fiction (released February 2025)
Only two games in the top 10 are actually available to play right now – Hades II in early access and Split Fiction. The rest are either unreleased entirely or launching in the next few weeks with only limited preview access for select press. How can you declare something the best game of 2025 when the public can’t play it and you’ve only experienced a preview build under controlled conditions?
What Even Is Clair Obscur
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is an upcoming turn-based RPG inspired by Final Fantasy, developed by French studio Sandfall Interactive. It features Belle Epoque aesthetics, a painterly art style, and real-time action elements during turn-based combat. The game launches December 12 on Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation 5, and PC. Early previews have been positive, with critics praising the visual design and innovative combat mechanics.
But here’s the thing – previews aren’t reviews. Developers control exactly what journalists see during preview events. They showcase polished sections, avoid buggy areas, and present the game under ideal conditions. How many times have we seen games with glowing previews launch as disasters? Cyberpunk 2077 had incredible preview coverage. Anthem looked amazing before release. No Man’s Sky seemed revolutionary during previews. Full reviews exist specifically because you can’t judge a game from 3-5 hours of curated content.
Inverse also ranked Clair Obscur as their number one game of 2025, describing it as “an exceptional role-playing game in nearly every sense.” But that assessment comes from the same limited preview access, not a complete playthrough. Maybe the game really is exceptional. Maybe it wins actual Game of the Year awards after proper reviews. But declaring it 2025’s best game two weeks before public release based on preview builds is premature at best, irresponsible at worst.
The Ghost of Yotei Problem
Ghost of Yotei ranking fifth is even more absurd. This is the sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, set in 1603 Hokkaido with a new female protagonist. Sony announced it in September 2024 during a State of Play showcase with a cinematic trailer and brief gameplay tease. The release window is 2026 – potentially spring, potentially summer, potentially fall. Nobody knows because Sony hasn’t committed to specifics.
What has Rolling Stone played to justify this ranking? A brief hands-off demo at a press event? Internal alpha builds under strict NDAs? The game is at minimum six months away, possibly over a year depending on delays. Sucker Punch Productions has an excellent track record with Ghost of Tsushima and the Infamous series, so optimism is warranted. But ranking an unreleased game with no public hands-on as one of 2025’s best is speculation, not criticism.
The same applies to Death Stranding 2: On The Beach at number eight. Kojima Productions hasn’t announced a release date beyond “2025,” meaning it could arrive in late December or slip to early 2026. Previews showed impressive visuals and expanded mechanics, but the full game remains unreleased. Maybe it’s amazing. Maybe it’s a bloated mess like some felt about the original. Without playing the complete experience, declaring it one of 2025’s best games is a guess dressed up as journalism.
What About Games That Actually Released
The most frustrating aspect of Rolling Stone’s list is what it excludes. 2025 had legitimate releases that critics and players have extensively evaluated. Where are these games on Rolling Stone’s list?
– Elden Ring: Nightreign (if it released in 2025)
– Civilization VII
– Monster Hunter Wilds
– Assassin’s Creed Shadows
– Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (January 2024 technically, but close enough)
– Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (December 2024)
Some of these might be on the lower half of Rolling Stone’s list – the article snippet only shows the top entries. But the fact that unreleased games dominate the top 10 while actual 2025 releases get buried or excluded entirely reveals this list’s fundamental problem. It prioritizes hype over substance, marketing over criticism, and speculation over informed opinion.
How Other Publications Did It
Compare Rolling Stone’s approach to more traditional best-of lists. GameSpot’s “Best Games of 2025 So Far” explicitly acknowledges it’s an incomplete list that will update throughout the year. Their rankings focus on games they’ve fully reviewed with final retail builds. If a game isn’t out yet, it doesn’t qualify – simple as that.
IGN maintains separate lists for “Best Games of 2025” versus “Most Anticipated Games.” The best-of list only includes released titles with completed reviews. The anticipation list handles upcoming games based on previews and developer reputation. This clear separation prevents the confusion Rolling Stone created by mixing both categories together.
PC Gamer’s Top 100 updates monthly throughout the year, adding new releases as they launch and accumulate playtime. Their methodology emphasizes sustained quality over initial impressions – games need to prove themselves over weeks or months, not just review periods. This approach rewards titles with staying power rather than flashy marketing.
The Preview-to-Release Pipeline Problem
Rolling Stone’s list exposes a broader issue in gaming journalism – the blurred line between previews, reviews, and marketing. Publishers invite press to exclusive preview events months before release, showcasing carefully curated slices of gameplay. These previews generate headlines and excitement, which is exactly what publishers want. But they don’t represent the full product players will eventually buy.
Journalists attending these events face pressure to produce positive coverage. If you write harsh preview impressions, you might not get invited to future events or receive early review copies. This creates an environment where previews trend positive by default, even when games have obvious problems. Only after public release, when community feedback floods in and reviewers can speak freely, do the cracks show.
By ranking unreleased games based on preview access, Rolling Stone essentially publishes marketing as editorial content. Clair Obscur’s developer gets to claim “Rolling Stone’s #1 Game of 2025” in their promotional materials before the game launches. That’s incredibly valuable marketing they didn’t pay for, provided by a publication that should maintain critical distance.
Community Reactions
Reddit discussions tore the list apart immediately. Users questioned how you can rank games nobody has played. Others mocked the obvious absurdity of declaring a 2026 game one of 2025’s best. Some speculated that Rolling Stone simply doesn’t understand gaming culture and treats it like music or film, where anticipation and industry buzz matter more than actual consumption.
The gaming community has become hypersensitive to what they perceive as access journalism – coverage driven by publisher relationships rather than honest criticism. Lists like this feed those suspicions. When unreleased games dominate a best-of ranking, it looks like Rolling Stone is parroting publisher talking points rather than offering independent evaluation.
Some defenders argued that including unreleased games is fine if writers have played substantial portions. But even that defense falls apart given the 2026 releases on the list. Unless Rolling Stone has access to time travel, they haven’t played enough Ghost of Yotei to declare it one of 2025’s best experiences.
What This Means for Gaming Coverage
Rolling Stone’s list isn’t uniquely bad – it represents how mainstream publications approach gaming when they lack dedicated expertise. Music and film critics wouldn’t rank albums or movies that haven’t released yet as the year’s best. But gaming gets treated differently, with hype and marketing buzz substituting for critical evaluation.
The solution is simple – best-of lists should only include released games that critics and players have extensively experienced. If a game isn’t out yet, it doesn’t qualify, period. Create separate most-anticipated lists for upcoming titles based on previews and developer track records. This clear separation maintains editorial credibility while still generating excitement for future releases.
Until mainstream publications adopt these standards, expect more lists like Rolling Stone’s where unreleased games dominate based on nothing but controlled preview demos and industry hype. And expect gaming communities to keep calling it out as the nonsense it is.
FAQs
What is Rolling Stone’s number one game of 2025?
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a turn-based RPG that doesn’t release until December 12, 2025. The ranking is based on preview builds rather than the complete retail version.
Why are people mad about the Rolling Stone list?
More than half the list consists of unreleased games, including titles not launching until 2026. Critics couldn’t have properly evaluated games the public can’t play yet, making the rankings feel like marketing rather than criticism.
What games are on the top 10?
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Hades II, Donkey Kong Bananza, Dispatch, Ghost of Yotei, Blue Prince, The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, Death Stranding 2, ARC Raiders, and Split Fiction. Most haven’t released yet.
When does Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 release?
December 12, 2025, on Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation 5, and PC. It’s a turn-based RPG with Belle Epoque aesthetics and Final Fantasy-inspired combat from French studio Sandfall Interactive.
Is Ghost of Yotei really coming in 2025?
Sony announced a 2026 release window, not 2025. Rolling Stone ranked a game that won’t be available for at least six months, possibly over a year, as one of 2025’s best.
How do proper best-of lists work?
Legitimate year-end lists only rank released games that critics have fully reviewed. Unreleased titles belong on separate most-anticipated lists based on previews, not best-of rankings.
Did other publications make similar lists?
Inverse also ranked Clair Obscur as number one with similar methodology. However, most gaming-focused outlets like IGN and GameSpot maintain clear separation between released games and upcoming titles.
What games did Rolling Stone ignore?
The snippet doesn’t show the full list, but major 2025 releases that should appear include Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and other completed games with full reviews.
Can preview builds accurately represent final games?
No. Developers control what journalists see during previews, showcasing polished sections while avoiding problems. Many games with strong previews launched as disappointments after public release.
Conclusion
Rolling Stone’s “25 Best Video Games of 2025” perfectly demonstrates what happens when mainstream publications treat gaming like a hype-driven industry rather than an art form deserving critical rigor. By ranking unreleased games – including some not launching until 2026 – based on limited preview access, they’ve created marketing material disguised as editorial content. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 might genuinely be 2025’s best game when it launches December 12, but declaring that two weeks early based on curated demos isn’t journalism. It’s speculation with a Rolling Stone logo attached. The gaming community deserves better than best-of lists where half the entries can’t be played, where 2026 releases count as 2025 winners, and where hype substitutes for informed criticism. Until publications adopt clear standards – released games only, full reviews required, no preview-based rankings – expect these laughable lists to keep appearing and communities to keep rightfully mocking them.