Here's our 2025 GOTY picks

The year is almost over and so it’s time to let you know what we enjoyed the most this year while gaming on Linux. Doing things a little differently this time, I pulled in some long-time contributors in the community from moderators to article contributors to give their picks too.

Samsai - Deltarune

The first parts of Deltarune didn't come out in 2025 and we didn't even get all of it in 2025, but what we did get was still some of the best video gaming fun I have enjoyed not only in 2025 but in the past few years as a whole.

Deltarune has wonderfully witty and funny writing, excellent music, likeable characters and a mystery of a story that I am looking forward to unraveling more in 2026 when the next chapters drop. And don't forget, if you find yourself in the dark, go and eat some moss. It's a delicacy.

Dpanter - Dying Light: The Beast

Techland finally delivered a proper sequel to the stellar hit game from 2015, after trying and failing with the ill-fated multiplayer-only title Dying Light: Bad Blood (2018) and the middling numerical sequel release in 2022. I'm of course entirely biased as the original game remains one of my all top time video game favorites, any genre, any platform. That doesn't change the facts and Dying Light is firmly etched into the pages of gaming history as one of the greatest games ever.

This spiritually true sequel is a loving embrace from Techland, having heard and listened to their fans over more than a decade by now. Most of the things beloved in DL1 returns in The Beast, and most of the nonsense from DL2 has been excised. Of course, it cannot be entirely cleansed from DL2 influences as it was originally intended to be a DL2 DLC, and of course it has lots of the classic Techland jank we all know and love.

I would argue no other "AAA" game company in existence cares about their fans more than Techland, and this game proves it beyond any doubt.

Scaine - Avowed

Skyrim has a lot to answer for when it comes to open world games. Despite its jank, it set the bar almost unreasonably high back 2011, 14 years ago. So I was delighted when I pulled the trigger on Avowed recently, which turned out to a true successor to Skyrim in all the right ways. Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, it has all the features you’d hope for from a Skyrim competitor, such as deep character creation, skill trees, a packed, interesting open world, and some you don’t, like engaging party-based combat, and a driven story line that keeps you on track for around 40 hours minimum.

Combat feels very physical, reminiscent of Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, or perhaps the Dying Light games. Swinging a heavy weapon has a satisfying weight of impact on connection, and the magic tree features pleasing elemental effects such as blast, freeze or burn.

Is it Skyrim mk2? Not quite, but it’s the first modern game attempting to not just match Skyrim but exceed it, and it’s my game of the year for 2025.

BTRE

It’s always difficult to pick a single game as my favorite for a given year. It doesn’t help matters that I typically spend most of the year playing through my backlog of games from previous years. This means that I typically only buy very few games on release and that they’re typically niche indie games. That said, the big exception this year was Civilization VII. In terms of time spent playing I’ve put in around 580 hours which makes it my most-played game this year. It’s a game that has its faults and many players won’t enjoy its different direction but I’ve found something there that’s interesting and challenging in its own right, especially after the various quality of life and improvement patches since launch.

I can’t settle on a single title for game of the year, especially as 2025 proved to be great for indie games. Silksong proved to be a masterclass in presentation and, paired with its responsive controls, is a treat to play and conquer its challenges. Kaizen and the return of Zach Barth’s style of puzzles into the gaming world was very welcome; I enjoyed the vibe and atmosphere of 80s Japan while trying to optimize my solutions. The very colorful and focused Kulebra deserves a mention as does the usual fun and frantic gameplay that I had fun with in the latest entry in the long-running Touhou series of shoot ’em ups, Fossilized Wonders. Scratching my strategy and roguelike itch these past few days is also The King is Watching, which I think is worth a mention. Lastly, both Monster Prom 4: Monster Con and Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog were delightful—the former’s irreverence and charm made me smile at times and the latter’s homage to Japanese ADV games, distinct visual style, and cool setting made for an engaging experience.

Liam - Dispatch

Not many games are able to hook me to the point that I have to finish them as quickly as I can, keeping me at the edge of my seat because I just need to know how it ends. Dispatch was that for me this year. With its excellent mixture of wonderful animated scenes, some top-class voice acting and cleverly done hero management with all the little quips between characters it has a really quality blend of features. Everything came together so amazingly to present an experience that just feels so rare nowadays.

I need more like it to release. Sounds like we might be getting a Season 2 of Dispatch, so that makes me even happier.

Over to you in the comments - what did you enjoy the most from 2025 while gaming across Linux desktop, Steam Deck and other SteamOS Linux systems?