Head to NBC and Peacock to watch the Vikings vs Cowboys game. Live coverage begins with Football Night In America at 7 PM ET.

That’s another year of video games down, and I don’t know about you, but my fingers are sore from all the button-mashing and joystick rotations. Games seem to be getting longer, sprawling between 60 and more than 100 hours.

The gaming obsessives at CNET and its sibling sites ZDNET, PCMag, Lifehacker and Mashable put their heads together and chose their absolute faves that were released this year.

Inverse has been hard at work trying out new games. Some games did not outlast their hype, while others proved themselves to be worthy of our highest praise.

From indies like Blue Prince to big console exclusives like Donkey Kong Bananza, NPR staff members and contributors round up their favorite games of 2025.

Its cooling vapor chamber is a standout feature for the powerful phone, though its design isn't the best for gaming.

Find all of our “Best of 2025” lists here. It’s been a big year for video games, from couch co-ops to grand, story-driven blockbusters. PBS News Hour’s Jeffrey Brown sat down with James Mastromarino, NPR’s gaming editor and producer for the show “Here & Now,” to talk about the releases that really stood out.

When you’ve finished playing the big-name video games, try "Blippo+," "Sektori," "Dispatch," and some of our other favorites from 2025.

Season 2 of Beast Games begins streaming January 7, 2026 on Prime Video, and the crossover episode looks ready to test whether contestants can survive in two game worlds at once. This story was originally published by Parade on Dec 12, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.