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RPGFan Games of the Year 2025 ~ Editors’ Awards: Zach Wilkerson

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on April 20, 2026

Retro Encounter Game of the Year – Drakengard I played a lot of fun games in my inaugural year as the main host of Retro Encounter, like Final Fantasy IX and Tales of Graces f. I got to revisit some old favorites like Breath of Fire II. I even played some great games for the first time, like Fallout… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2025 ~ Editors’ Awards: Jimmy Turner

Posted by Jimmy Turner on April 20, 2026

2025 was a busy year. It was also a year of transitions for me. I finished grad school late last year and secured a new job. With a new role and responsibilities to learn, loan payments I could no longer ignore, and kids’ activities to navigate, I wasn’t sure I would have much time for gaming in 202… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2025 ~ Editors’ Awards: Tom Naylor

Posted by Tom Naylor on April 20, 2026

This year, I joined RPGFan. It’s been a dream come true. Wild that the me of years ago, who casually read this site and loved its features and reviews immensely, would someday contribute to it in a meaningful way. With that said, it’s now my distinct pleasure to present a very objective list of the… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2025 ~ Editors’ Awards: Neal Chandran

Posted by Neal Chandran on April 20, 2026

Favorite Original Games of 2025: Date Everything! I had intriguing interactions with over 100 fully-voiced objects-turned-characters (called “dateables”) in the Date Everything! house. This unique gaming experience featured the most epic Avengers: Endgame-level lineup of voice talent I have ever see… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2025 ~ Editors’ Awards: Audra Bowling

Posted by Audra Bowling on April 20, 2026

Top 5 RPGs of 2025 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 I managed to play this RPG masterpiece in the middle of December 2025, and became enthralled. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is more than deserving of all the hype! The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II Returning to Zemuria is a cause for celebr… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2025 ~ Editors’ Awards: Matt Wardell

Posted by Matt Wardell on April 20, 2026

Though I’m a longtime reader and listener to RPGFan, 2025 was my first year on the other side of the pen and mic. Being among such knowledgeable and talented colleagues has reignited my love of RPGs and gifted me my first forays into many wonderful series: Breath of Fire, Seiken Densetsu, Wild ARMs,… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2025 ~ Editors’ Awards: Michael Sollosi

Posted by Michael Sollosi on April 20, 2026

2025 was an excellent year for new RPGs, adventure games, and borderline RPGs, but by coincidence, most of the new games I played this year were remakes, sequels, or spinoffs of my past Game of the Year winners. Let’s talk about it: Missed Connections: Avowed, Blue Prince, Clair Obscur: Expedi… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2025 ~ Editors’ Awards: Rob White

Posted by Rob White on April 20, 2026

2025 was a very different gaming year for me compared to 2024. I joined RPGFan in 2024, a year absolutely stacked with great RPGs—so much to play and so little time. Going into 2025, the year’s release schedule seemed much lighter in terms of stuff I was keen to play, so I decided it was a great opp… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2025 ~ Editors’ Awards: Pete Leavitt

Posted by Pete Leavitt on April 20, 2026

I almost never play games the year they release. For every new game I play, I tend to play ten old ones. However, in a strange turn of events, this year I played (count ’em) eight. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Yes, I’m deep into Clair Obscur. Yes, it has its claws in me. Yes, it’s very moving a… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2025 ~ Editors’ Awards: Mark Roddison

Posted by Mark Roddison on April 20, 2026

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 It’s difficult to add further praise or discourse to an experience that has already captured the gaming and wider public zeitgeist and won a host of awards to boot, but let me put it this way: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has one of the most self-assured openings of any ga… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2025 ~ Editors’ Awards: Aleks Franiczek

Posted by Aleks Franiczek on April 20, 2026

It can be fun to discuss and rank videogames in the scope of a year’s releases, but also a bit arbitrary. After all, the reality is that I’m never able to play (let alone finish) every new release that I’d like to in one year. Rather, I’m usually balancing old games from my backlog and unfinished re… Read More »

RPGFan’s 30 Most Anticipated Games of 2026 (Part 2)

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on December 31, 2025

We’re on to Part 2! There’s a little something for everyone here, including indie games we thought we might get in 2025, yet another game in a long-running series, and just about everything in between! Go to Part 1 Go to Part 3 Exodus Writeup by Audra Bowling Exodus is a choice-heavy sci-fi RPG deve… Read More »

RPGFan’s 30 Most Anticipated Games of 2026 (Part 3)

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on December 31, 2025

And finally, we present to you the end of our list! Everything from Souls-likes to Pokémon, but not at the same time (hey, that sounds kinda fun!). There’s tons of other stuff between, so check it out! Go to Part 1 Go to Part 2 Phantom Blade Zero Writeup by Zach Wilkerson Mix one part Souls-like, on… Read More »

So you want to get into the Souls Series… Part Two: Souls-likes

Posted by Noah Leiter on December 17, 2025

Souls-likes Welcome to the second part of our So You Want to Get Into the Souls Series primer. We are looking at a few games considered to be crucial in the Souls-like genre, mostly from non-FromSoftware studios (outside the first entry). These games provide pathways to series veterans for more Soul… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2023 Editors’ Favorites: Mike Salbato

Posted by Mike Salbato on November 7, 2025

What a surprise, my Music of the Year for 2023 includes coffee and Final Fantasy XIV! Coffee Talk Episode 2 ~Hibiscus & Butterfly~ Official Soundtrack It’s safe to say that if a Coffee Talk game releases in a given year, I will talk about it in this feature. Toge Productions’ coffee shop sim vis… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2023 Editors’ Favorites: Patrick Gann

Posted by Patrick Gann on November 7, 2025

Time seems to move so quickly these days. It really feels like I was just writing about my top picks of 2022, and yet, so many more great albums have been published in the past 12 months. Additionally, while I doubt my complaint made a difference, my non-award to Nintendo must be lifted as Xenoblade… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2023: Part 2

Posted by Mike Salbato on November 7, 2025

That’s right, it’s more of our Overall Music of the Year 2023 list! Like albums 1–10, these are listed alphabetically with no ranking — it’s just a list of our favorites! When you’re done, don’t miss the six Editors’ Favorites lists as well, for even more musical musings. Intro by Mike Salbato Overa… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2023 Editors’ Favorites: Audra Bowling

Posted by Audra Bowling on November 7, 2025

I’m using my list to promote stellar soundtracks from 2023 that might get overlooked when compared to the rightfully praised scores of Final Fantasy XVI and Baldur’s Gate 3. So, without further ado, let’s get to it! Adol Christin -Ys 35th Anniversary Music Works- You can’t really go wrong with Falco… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2023 Editors’ Favorites: Hilary Andreff

Posted by Hilary Andreff on November 7, 2025

Dave the Diver Original Soundtrack MINTROCKET truly has a hit on its hands with Dave the Diver. There’s something inherently satisfying (and wholesome, I think) about Dave’s deep sea sushi adventures, whether that’s narrowly escaping a risky diving situation or admiring the undersea ambiance. The so… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2023 Editors’ Favorites: Rob White

Posted by Rob White on November 7, 2025

2023 was quite an unusual year for me. Various life events took place that often caused gaming to be placed on the back-burner, and when I was playing something, it was often older stuff that had been sitting in my backlog for a while. However, this was the year I played my first MMO (FFXIV), which… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2023 Editors’ Favorites: Matt Wardell

Posted by Matt Wardell on November 7, 2025

In 2023, I was hardly a twinkle in RPGFan’s eye, but I’ve since ridden my time machine back to share the soundtracks that jumped out at me. As always, Square Enix was killing it across their official soundtracks and arranged albums, but I won’t harp on what my fellow writers have already talked abou… Read More »

Golden Oldies: Our 25 Favorite “Old” Characters in RPGs: Part 2

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on October 2, 2025

And we’re back with some more of our favorite “old” characters, including a number of them who are significantly younger than I am! And if you somehow ended up here first, be sure to check out part one, as well. Intro by Zach Wilkerson Col. Jade Curtiss – Tales of the Abyss Writeup by Stephanie Syby… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2024: Top 5 Arrange/Remix Albums

Posted by Mike Salbato on September 5, 2025

For Music of the Year 2024, instead of having all music releases in a single pool, we opted to spin off arrangement and remix albums as well as vinyl releases, to let us highlight an even larger variety of music from throughout the year. See five of our favorites below and check out the rest of the… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2024: Top 5 Vinyl Releases

Posted by Patrick Gann on September 5, 2025

Continuing our new categories for Music of the Year 2024, we have a selection of notable vinyl releases. There’s constantly so much going on in the world of vinyl, both inside and outside of the video game music space. Many vinyl releases do not cover new releases, as we routinely see new vinyl edit… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2024 Editors’ Favorites: Audra Bowling

Posted by Audra Bowling on September 5, 2025

There were some amazing RPG and visual novel music releases in 2024. Here are six that I particularly enjoyed! The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak OST This mini-soundtrack released with the Limited Edition copy of The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak was only available through the… Read More »

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