Undoubtedly, 2025 has been a good year for gaming, with plenty of highly anticipated games and unexpected surprises that delivered everything gamers expected and then some. While it will be interesting to see which title wins the overall Game of the Year award, it's not that important to many. With so many contenders, it's clear that the real winners here are the players.
This year was strong for fans of any genre, both in terms of the quantity and quality of games released, whether open-world titles, adventures, soulslikes or platformers. But it was a true paradise for fans of cross-genre exploration, as developers pursued new approaches to this key aspect, blending the best ideas to create a natural, engaging and rewarding sense of discovering virtual worlds in the first place. Below, let's look at some of the best new games of the year that really nailed exploration as a key part of their gaming experience.
The games below are sorted by release date from newest to oldest.
Ghost of Yotei
Go with the flow
Alongside combat, exploration was already among the prominent i Ghost of Tsushimawhich shows how it's possible to reinvent the sense of discovery in the open-world genre without throwing out the essentials. IN Ghost of YoteiSucker Punch managed to improve in almost every area, including exploration.
When it comes to how organic everything feels Ghost of Yoteiand the unparalleled flow of constant discovery in a world of breathtaking beauty, the game is a real achievement to learn from. Shaping the world around distinct, less explorable areas rather than a completely open-ended world was also the right call, as each new region in the game feels fresh and unique.
Hell is us
For those of you who are tired of holding hands
Even with all the praise Hell is us has since received its demo, it cannot be stressed enough how fresh and original Hadea's world feels to explore. Hell is us takes exploration to new heights by deliberately avoiding the hand-holding players have grown accustomed to over the years. No map with markers, no mission diary with step-by-step tips — everything is left to the player's own devices.
And what a world it is. Uncompromisingly bleak, torn by civil war and filled with a rich ancient heritage, it is packed with countless mysteries and riddles to solve. While it's true that once the novelty wears off and players fully understand Hadea's rules, the game can feel a bit repetitive or artificial, which can't undermine the powerful first impression, one that will likely stay with players for a long time.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Two ways to play
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is quite unparalleled in its exploration and basically feels like two different games depending on whether players go online in the shared world or play completely solo, soaking up its atmosphere of melancholy and isolation.
Anyway, Death Stranding 2s The Australian world is as stunning to look at as it is fun to explore, with players finding new routes or using tools left by others to make deliveries faster and more convenient. With more tools than ever to facilitate the journey from point A to B, the sequel may not be as time-consuming as the original, but sometimes, DS2 can still feel almost like a survival game, with a tense atmosphere and stacked odds against the player.
The Alters
Perfectly balanced survival and exploration
As one of the most unique sci-fi games in quite some time, The Alters has two very different sides: base building and relationship simulator as players try to get other Jans to cooperate with the goal of survival, and intense, time-limited exploration of the planet's surface. Leaving the base is always dangerous, but necessary, as players must gather resources, establish depots, and find ways to escape anomalies and other obstacles.
IN The Altersthe clock is always against the players. Not only is the entire main mission time-sensitive, with a limited number of days, but the harsh planetary conditions and radiation storms make it impossible to explore at night and during certain intense periods of planetary activity. Alters balances all of its many challenges brilliantly, nailing the feeling of “one more thing” to do before ending the game and rewarding explorers in various ways.
Dune: Awakening
Experience Arrakis at its best
Another standout sci-fi game of the year, Dune: Awakeningis still in early access, but already shows plenty of promise, delivering an unparalleled atmosphere of exploring the iconic planet of Arrakis solo or with friends. To take all the right lessons from Conan Games Funcom created an enticing mix of open world exploration, base building, crafting and survival mechanics, spiced with distinct features from the story and world Dune.
Despite being an eternal MMO, there is no sense of wasting time Dune: Awakeningbecause the game respects the players' time and constantly remains engaging. Sure, it's still a little light on content, but it's the early days of a project that will stay with players for years, and it's only going to get better with time.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Painted world of beauty and intrigue
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is many things: a tangled and unpredictable story, believable characters that are so easy to get attached to, completely fresh turn-based battles that are hard to put down, and a beautiful new universe full of mystery and intrigue. It's also one of the most fun RPGs to explore in quite some time, with plenty of distinct, stunningly beautiful locations, unforgettable music, and impressive enemy variety.
With the classic JRPG progression, where players unlock the world and its regions gradually through Esque's traversal abilities, Clair Obscur stays fresh for long hours, requiring players to remember and return to previously inaccessible or overly challenging areas as they grow stronger. Not to mention, there are tons of unique weapons and powerful Pictos to get for any character, each with potentially game-changing properties or perks, further encouraging exploration and optional combat challenges. If only the platform sections to reach some rewards in Expedition 33 were not so terribly brutal.
Nuclear fallout
Explore the Nuclear Quarantine Zone
Since the announcement, Nuclear fallout have drawn parallels with STALKER games, primarily known for their strong exploration aspect. Set in a uniquely British post-apocalyptic world run by scavengers, cultists and agents of all stripes, Nuclear fallout is deceptively bright and beautiful, but serves as a challenging survival playground where players can only rely on themselves to search for and solve the quarantine zone's mysteries.
Almost as in Hell is usexploration and investigation are at the heart of Nuclear fallout experience, with little reliance on map markers and not so simple targets. Other than that, there is no fast travel option (edit: it was added in the Complete Edition update). Every bunker, cave, and building in Windscale is dangerous in its own right and worth visiting, rewarding players with valuable crafting materials, useful skills, and valuable items or weapons that can make survival much easier. The only potential issue is that the world off Nuclear fallout is quite compact and can't quite match the scale of STALKER games or similar exploration-heavy experiences such as Fallout 4.
