Last week, we looked to the past, discussing our top games from 2024.  Now, it’s time to look forward and list the most exciting upcoming releases (alongside one obligatory entry that I keep including for some reason).  Unlike last year, 2025 looks like a pretty exciting year for gamers, with a variety of horror games planned, the return of a beloved Nintendo franchise, and much more!

• Little Nightmares 3 – This horror game set in a world of grotesque humanoid monsters has been delayed to 2025, hence its inclusion in my list yet again.  Two children, Low and Alone, must travel through the Nowhere, and I look forward to seeing how they expand on this twisted world, even if the game isn’t being made by the original developers, Tarsier Studios.
• Reanimal – Tarsier Studios, the original creators of the first two Little Nightmares games, are actually making this horrifying game, whose trailer shows disturbing mutated animals as the monsters.  Frankly, it looks absolutely terrifying!
• FNAF: Secret of the Mimic – Steel Wool has been weirdly secretive about their upcoming FNAF game, whose demo was only playable to select people who are unable to share any footage of the experience.  All we do know so far is the game features a creepy clown jack-in-the-box known as Jackie (banner image) and appears to take place earlier in the FNAF timeline than any game prior.  I just hoped they learned a thing or two from Security Breach…
• Poppy Playtime Chapter 4 – Although I’ve never actually played any of these games myself, I’ve been following this series about an abandoned toy factory inhabited by living toys since the first chapter’s release.  Most recently, people have been solving all sorts of puzzles to learn new lore and reveal upcoming threats, like the dinosaur with a keyboard mouth called Pianosaurus and Yarnaby, a deceptively cute guy with a mane of colorful yarn and…a big maw full of teeth.  It’ll be fun to see where chapter 4 takes us after the cliffhanger at the end of chapter 3.

• Metroid Prime 4 – After all these years, the newest entry into the Metroid Prime series is finally coming out, and nothing else really needs to be said.  If you loved the original trilogy, then you gotta be excited about this one.  I did see the trailer, though I can’t say anything stood out to me, aside from the appearance of a character called Sylux that it seems I’m supposed to have heard of…
• Deltarune Chapters 3 and 4 – Looking back, there seems to be about 3 years between releases for this game, so hearing we’ll be getting two chapters this year is pretty exciting.  But I get ahead of myself.  In case you’re unfamiliar, Deltarune is the spiritual successor to Undertale, and it follows Kris and Susie’s adventures through the Dark World (where they are joined by their third team member,  Ralsei).  The way chapter 2 ended, I’m really interested to see what happens next.  Unlike previous entries, I do think these chapters will cost money, though this seems fair, considers the first two chapters were free.
• Two Point Museum – I played a little bit of Two Point Campus, a business simulation game where you manage a variety of colleges.  Being a nerd who enjoys museums, this new entry looks even better.  In addition to sending people out on expeditions to discover more artifacts to display, you also need to build gift shops, restaurants, restrooms, and staff rooms to keep both guests and employees happy.  I just hope this game won’t crash like Two Point Campus does…
• Hollow Knight: Silksong – Why do I even bring this one up anymore, ha ha…it’s never coming out, is it?

Banner image by The Duck of Indeed