Welcome to the mirror universe blog series companion to our 2025 Game of the Year episode, inspired by one listener’s question over on our very awesome Discord.
Read every post in the series via this handy tag!
I’ve had a tough year filled with tremendous lows and incredible highs, but at no point do I wish it away. Games ticked away in the background throughout it all, largely as playgrounds to hang with my friends and backlog clearances that turned into solid solo escapes. The post-industry burnout is lessening bit by bit, basically, and in its place blossoms a healthier habit of simply playing the stuff I want to play, whenever I feel like it.
So as we usher in a new year, I selfishly hope I can listen to more Indieventure in the bath and continue to contribute through lukewarm takes and sporadic badminton posts. Hope you all have/had a lovely New Year celebration and here’s to a 2026 full of merriment and cheer.
Also, I’ve numbered the below for uniformity with everyone else’s posts, but they’re in no particular order really.
#8. Peak
The Indieventure Gang and I caught up and played co-op climb ’em up Peak together, which was absolute cinema.
My presiding memory? Rebecca slowly backing into lava as both Rachel and Liam convinced her burning alive was the right thing to do.
Oh and I guess there was one final ascent on my own where my stamina was a sliver, my heart pounded out of my chest and the gang cheered me on. What a treat. What a thrill.
#7. Back on court
After however many months of slipped disc recovery, I stepped onto a badminton court and had a hit with some pals. Not only was I shaking off rust, I coaxed my nervous system into believing it was safe with thoughts like, “You’re all good my guy, my little bundle of gristle that’s encased this bit of jelly that’s also prodding my nerve”.
I’ve since played a couple more times and am hoping for one last crack before Christmas lands*. Not only am I proud of how I’ve essentially hit the reset button on my body and rebuilt it to be stronger and more mobile, I’m immensely grateful to Tribe PT, Gym Simon and Physio Jo. Without them slapping me with a process, I don’t think I ever would’ve snapped out of my fear of the physical.
And being reunited with something that I’ve played for 23 years and the people within it? Couldn’t ask for more. We have a ways to go yet until I’m capable of anything truly competitive, but being in tune with my body and letting it dance on court again is more than enough for me right now.
*I have since played a few times and I resemble something of my old self on court!
#6. Trailer heaven
Previously known as “Project Century” back when the game debuted at the The Game Awards 2024, its latest trailer at this year’s Summer Geoff Fest unveiled its official title: Stranger Than Heaven.
And in an incredibly on brand reaction for me, I’m excited for it. It’s not only a new venture for Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (RGG), it’s a chance for them to experiment outside the bounds of their tried and tested Yakuza formula. It looks a bit grittier in tone and outside of its knuckle-dusting there’s a new detective seasoning, which could be RGG’s nod to its sadly discontinued Judgment series.
I’m also cautiously excited for Gang Of Dragon, namely because it’s the game Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi has been working on since he left his post as SEGA’s creative director to set up his own studio. How will it shake out now that he’s got greater creative freedom? Who knows. But it’ll be interesting to see Yakuza have some direct competition and whether it’ll push both to greater heights, or leave one bleeding out in a Kamurocho parking lot.
Oh and the flip phone in Gang Of Dragon’s trailer? Yeah baby.
#5. Mr. Russell Hobbs
After 7 years of service, my Cookworks kettle boiled his last. No he did not die a poetic death where a wisp of scalding hot steam whistled out of his snout in one final puff of water-to-gas. His little nub gave up. It wouldn’t click in properly, so he’d never actually initiate the boil. I shake my finger at the sky sometimes. I ball my fists and exhale. Not his fucking nub man.
Cookworks was there with me in 2018. That was esports Ed. He boiled for Covid Ed, when I shaved my head and stared at a mirror in horror. He boiled for Staff Writer Ed, when I first joined RPS. He boiled for post-Brighton Ed, when I moved temporarily into my friend’s house as I sought a more permanent refuge. He boiled for countless other versions of Ed: Redfall Ed. Infinity Nikki Ed (a breaking point). BALL x PIT Ed.
Enter Mr. Russell Hobbs. Sleek, shiny black, with a firm nub that lights up orange. He fucking boils, but he’s more subtle with it, a little less commandeering with it: “Here’s some liquid I happen to have got to 100 degrees”, he rumbles. I like his smaller footprint, his stealthiness. I like his square button, that pops his lid open with a thwunk. Cookworks was rotund with a stubborn metal lid that would get white hot and a paintjob that could mark. He was capable of malice, where Russell doesn’t seem to have that in him.
And so I shake Russell Hobb’s handle and I say, “I’m looking forward to boiling more with you in 2026”.
#4. Some really nice days (and evenings, technically)
Seeing The Boy (Liam) in Manchester for a lovely chill time and recording a pod together.
The Boy’s wedding day and hanging out with Rachel and Rebecca who are The Best.
Kayaking, sea swimming, and wine-sipping with my pals in Portugal.
Regular movie nights with my bud Len during The Unemployment Arc.
Exiting unemployment and getting a new job!
A daytrip to Devonshire’s beaches with my dad. It’s rare we get to spend such quality time together.
Lounging in a Brecon Beacons cottage with my pal Simon and watching Studio Ghibli’s Whisper Of The Heart as a log fire crackled in front of us.
My ex and I giving our all to beat The Exit 8 and its sequel Platform 8. And when we went to Lyme Regis together and dipped our toes into the sea.
Watching the retired Kento Momota turn back the clock in a thrilling one-off match against current world number one Shi Yuqi.
Discovering how good Dave’s Hot Chicken really is.
#3. Spelunky 2
My pal Dan and I use Spelunky 2 as a way to shoot the shit and… be shit. We’re awful at its 2D descents through increasingly finicky levels filled with devious traps, killer robots, and cavemen with massive fists. Success lies in micromanaging every decision, whether that’s throwing a rock at a spider at just the right angle, or holding a corpse as a meatshield to block arrows from errant traps.
The magic of Spelunky 2 feeds off explosive slapstick that erupts from human error, like when a good run ends because you think throwing a bomb at the old shopkeeper will let you steal that cool rock dog (it doesn’t, it will lead to you being shotgunned within nanoseconds).
Our fun lies in these lapses of judgment and we’re totally content to replay the first stage over and over again for an entire evening if needs be. I don’t think we’re okay? And I think that’s a lovely thing.
#2. Andre Agassi
I mentioned this in my other post, but this year has reignited my love for reading.
Out of the 22 books I read in 2025, here’s what I enjoyed most:
- Andre Agassi: Open by Andre Agassi and J.R. Moehringer
- Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova
- Whale by Cheon Myeong-kwan
- Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
- Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
- Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang
- The Road by Cormac McCarthy
#1. Milestone with The Two Dans
The Two Dans (Spelunky 2 Dan is in this cohort, both are pals I lived with at uni) and I finally beat Baldurs Gate 3 having started our co-op journey over 2 years ago. We loved a lot of it!
By “a lot of it”, we reckoned the end fight was a teensy bit of a ballache. All of the fights up until then were creative turn-based challenges, where the last featured an irritating gimmick that forced us to play a particularly irritating way.
Dan also reckoned our unfinished (lol) Divinity Original Sin 2 playthrough offered us more creative freedom combat-wise and I’d have to agree?
I won’t get into the weeds of why Div 2’s fights felt more exuberant, but it’s down to us being able to feed into a more overt power fantasy by stringing together weird combos. I mean, my warrior-esque class could turn a lad into a chicken who’d then bleed themselves to death as they unthinkingly spent their turns pottering around.
Still, we’re very excited for Divinity’s launch when we turn 70 and, despite our whining, we do leave BG3 having had one of the finest co-op journeys ever.
Honorable Mentions
A quick shout-out to a few gems I’m either done with, getting started with, or occasionally dip into.
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty – A fabulous spy thriller.
- Black Myth: Wukong – A solid bit of ARPG Soulsyness.
- Ball x Pit – A second screen hero.
- Hades 2 – A recent obsession.
- Borderlands 4 – A great hangout space.
- Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 – A joyous gift from The Boy.
Comments: