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Video games are a space that is particularly rife with sequels, but which are actually the best sequels of 2025? You seldom see other media offer double-digit numbers of sequels (looking at you, Final Fantasy), but what is it that makes a good sequel? Fundamentally, they need to expand upon what came before, offering more refinements, a larger amount of content, to put it simply: they need to make an existing franchise feel new again.
GamesRadar+ presents Year in Review: The Best of 2025, our coverage of all the unforgettable games, movies, TV, hardware, and comics released during the last 12 months. Throughout December, we’re looking back at the very best of 2025, so be sure to check in across the month for new lists, interviews, features, and retrospectives as we guide you through the best the past year had to offer.
This year has been a fantastic one for groundbreaking sequels, but it wasn't until I was putting together this list that I realized quite how many there were. Whether you're into expansive stories, incredible combat or exploration, it's been a bumper year. The five titles on this list are absolutely phenomenal and well worth your time, whether you're au fait with the originals or not.
5. Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
Developer: Jump Over the Age
Platform(s): PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch
Some media is defined by its era, and that's the case for the Citizen Sleeper series. With corporations ever-present in our lives – smash your Alexa today! – the narrative of indentured servitude to uncaring corporate masters is ever-so 2020s. Where Citizen Sleeper was focused on a single space station, the sequel, which graced our systems way back in January, is set in the larger world of the Starward Belt. With this increase in scope comes an increase in stakes, with criminals breathing down our necks and a badly damaged android body to boot.
As Rollin Bishop said in our review, it is a game that offers "more to do, more people to meet, and more existential questions to contemplate." Adding to this is the Contracts system, special events where all kinds of things can go wrong (or right) for your ship and its crew. It's a sensationally soulful game, and one that you really shouldn't miss out on.
4. Monster Train 2
Developer: Shiny Shoe
Platform(s): PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch
Ever since Slay the Spire made its debut, we've seen something of a boom in deckbuilding roguelikes, but few captured my heart like the original Monster Train. The sequel is, essentially, a bigger and better version of it, so of course it's on our list. It adds more clans, new card types, and, crucially, a deployment phase. No longer will you have to rush your clans of choice into the fray; you get more time to strategically place your units than in the original. Don't go into it expecting a cakewalk, though, because you won't get one.
Challenging, complex, and worthy of perma-install status on my Steam Deck, Monster Train 2 is a fantastic sequel to one of my all-time favorite deckbuilders.
3. Hollow Knight: Silksong
Developer: Team Cherry
Platform(s): PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
I was a fan of the original Hollow Knight, but it never quite gripped me in the same way that it did for so many others. Silksong, like a stag beetle pinched onto an idle finger, hasn't let go since launch.
Long anticipated and just plain long, it refines everything that was already good about the original into a cohesive package. It's not only in the combat, but in the vibes of the whole piece – the world of Pharloom feels significantly less lonely than Hallownest, and cute bugs are everywhere for you to chat with. It's also, as befits the series, as tough as an Ironclad Beetle. From its world design to its combat mechanics, Silksong was well worth the wait.
2. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Developer: Warhorse Studios
Platform(s): PC, PS5, Xbox Series X
Where do we begin with a title as expansive as Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2? Well, the game begins with you getting robbed by bandits and having shit thrown over you. From this low point, however, Henry of Skalitz will grow into a feared warrior, a charming Casanova, and a bit player in some of the most important events in Bohemian history. Games often attempt to make you feel like you are the center of the universe, a titan of history. KCD2's intro shows that, actually, you're kind of a nobody at first.
The world feels incredibly alive – if you burgle someone's house (as I did, sorry to Henry's parents), they'll let the guards know about it. Flaunt your loot in front of them, and they'll recognize it. Be too much of a scallywag (or a murderer), and you'll get a reputation to match. Diving into a world that attempts deep historical accuracy can seem intimidating, but don't let that put you off playing one of the best RPGs of recent years.
1. Hades 2
Developer: Supergiant Games
Platform(s): PC, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
It's rare that sequels come along that can fully replace their predecessors. Hades 2 is a generous, King of the Underworld-sized scoop of Greek myth and frenetic combat that somehow manages to do just that. Take what made Hades great, the ascent to the surface, beautiful art, stellar voice acting, and a real "one more go" sensibility, and flip it, so you're descending down into the depths to face down Chronos, the Titan of Time. Oh, but you can ascend to the surface and onwards to Olympus, too. It's a game of such staggering depth and abundance that it'll keep you busy for a very long while to come. According to Steam, I've put 60 hours into it, and I'm still finding things to do. A huge achievement for Supergiant Games, Hades 2 is one of my absolute favorite games of the entire year, and one of gaming's very best sequels.
Check out our Hades 2 review, which calls it "a follow-up that surpasses even its excellent roguelike predecessor"
If you're still looking for more games to catch up on, be sure to check out the best games of 2025.
