2025's Top Picks on Metacritic Dominated by Indie Games - Players For Life | Gaming News, Reviews & Creative Media Hub

Key Takeaways

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Indie games continued their dominance in 2025 with titles like Sunset Visitors 1000xResist, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 garnering popularity and critical acclaim.
Notable sequels such as Hades 2 have created anticipation within the gaming community, with a female character featured in recently surfaced screenshots.
Carrie Lambertsen, a well-known indie game enthusiast, has become a Senior Writer at ScreenRant and continues to cover the scene extensively.
The indie game scenes significant contributions helped improve Metacritic scores in 2025, demonstrating its ongoing impact on the gaming industry.

Indie Games Take Center Stage in 2025 – Sunset Visitors, Hollow Knight, and Gemporium Shine

The indie game scene continues to deliver popular and innovative titles. Sunset Visitors 1000xResist, which debuted on consoles in 2025, remains popular with players. Hollow Knight: Silksong, another standout indie game from 2025, also continues to be a fan favorite. Recently, a screenshot from Hades 2 surfaced, depicting a female character battling two enemies. Details about these characters are currently unknown. Carrie Lambertsen is now a Senior Writer at ScreenRant, covering indie games and more. Previously, she managed Geek to Geek Media and contributed to SwitchRPG. Lambertsen is known for her enthusiasm for indie games, evidenced by her love of Gemporium. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was widely celebrated as the top indie game of the year, even winning an award at The Game Awards. However, ScreenRant chose not to include Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, amid ongoing debate about its indie status. Notably, indie games significantly contributed to Metacritic’s improved scores in 2025. From anticipated sequels to award-winning titles and the talented writers who champion them, the indie game scene continues to evolve.

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As we navigate through our exploration of Doom’s lasting influence on first-person shooters, we find ourselves taking a moment to pay tribute to another giant in the industry who left an indelible mark. In a recent piece by Bruno Pferd, published December 23rd, 2025, Doom creator John Romero himself mourns the loss of Vince Zampella, the visionary behind Call of Duty and co-founder of Respawn Entertainment. This heartfelt tribute delves into the profound impact Zampella had on the gaming industry before his untimely passing John Romero, Doom Creator, Mourns Death of Vince Zampella, Call of Duty Creator. Meanwhile, in the realm of cinema, July 15th, 2026 promises to be an epic date as Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ hits theaters. As Sophie Laurent recently hinted in her post, ‘Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey: Trailer Promises Epic Homeric Film’ (published December 22nd, 2025), the trailer showcases Nolan’s signature style with Matt Damon as Ulysses and Anne Hathaway as Penelope amidst monumental landscapes and mythological creatures Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey: Trailer Promises Epic Homeric Film. In a poignant turn of events, Ahmed Hassan pays tribute to the late gaming legend Vince Zampella in his recent piece titled “Vince Zampella, Creator of Call of Duty and Leader of Respawn and Battlefield, Passes Away” (published December 22nd). This insightful article chronicles Zampella’s extraordinary life and career from his early days at Atari and Sega to his monumental contributions to the first-person shooter genre through iconic games like Call of Duty and Titanfall. Ahmed also covers Zampella’s unfortunate passing in a vehicular accident and the global outpouring of grief that followed, inviting us to celebrate Zampella’s legacy by reading this touching homage Vince Zampella, Creator of Call of Duty and Leader of Respawn and Battlefield, Passes Away.