GotY 2025 - Guilty Pleasure

Not every game is a masterpiece, but that doesn't mean that a game can't simply be fun, enjoyable and a way that you'd like to spend your time. Our team has many of those over the years now, and 2025 was no different. What makes it a guilty pleasure? Well, that's entirely subjective of course, but generally speaking it's a game that might not be in the running for Game of the Year, but still managed to hold our team's interest for many hours of entertainment.  

Nick: NBA 2K26

This series has had its ups and down in recent years, but as I pointed out in my review for this year’s iteration, NBA 2K26 is a very strong entry in the series. Here’s the thing – I have well over 100 hours into the game. I have made no microtransaction purchases but have two players at a 99 overall and a 3rd well on his way. What does that mean? I think that it shows I’ve been enjoying my time with this game, even though sports games are a genre I often refer to as ‘hamster wheel video games’. Why? Because you can spend a lot of time and energy running in place without really getting anywhere. While this is still true of 2K26, the sheer number of hours makes it without a doubt my guiltiest pleasure in 2025. 

 

PY: Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap

This was a hard one for me. While I wanted to put down for Monster Hunter Wilds, which was ‘hella’ fun in the launch days with my brother or solo, Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap is taking the spot because of how much times Izzy and I sunk on this latest entry to the Tower Defense series.

Moving away from a set chapter-like structure, to a more random roguelike format wasn’t the smoothest, but I’ll be damned if it didn’t give us a challenge that we were more than happy to overcome. 

With even more orcs, trolls and undead wanting you dead, we spent just as much time formulating stage specific strategies as overarching strategies that could carry us to the boss stage and show them who the bosses really were! 

Mostly them in the beginning but who's counting?

Susan: Powerwash Simulator 2

What can I say? Powerwash Simulator is a game I wasn't expecting to enjoy as much as I do and yet here we are. The first game had a tree house and a couple of ancient structures to clean which immediately grabbed my attention. I also found that Powerwash Simulator was rather relaxing. You could chat with friends and play without getting too distracted. There's no fall damage and oddly enough there is a bit of a tale being told through the text messages you receive on the side of the screen. 

Powerwash Simulator 2 builds on the success of the first game with better graphics, a hub location that you can decorate, and more fun places to clean. Plus, the game has some new tools to use like the new lift for the billboard sign job and a brand new nozzle type. What's really neat about Powerwash Simulator 2 is the fact that a few of the jobs aren't static locations. The public washroom level was not what I was expecting, and that makes the game more interesting to play. I also secretly love that we continue to find the garden gnomes in the different levels. Plus, Powerwash Simulator 2 is my guilty pleasure game because YOU CAN PET THE CATS. THERE ARE CATS! That is all :D

Honestly, what's not to love about all of that? You can play it solo, you can play it with friends, you can pet the cats and find the gnomes. An all-in-one package for guilty pleasure game, if you ask me!

Richard: Full Metal Schoolgirls

An interesting take on a roguelite where you play as a highschool girl cyborg trying to take down a company that literally treats it’s employees like slaves while livestreaming the whole deal. It’s kooky, cliché, and it well knows it and plays it for laughs. Maybe not the best title, but I had more fun than I would usually admit.

 

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Games of the Year 2020 - Guilty Pleasure

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Nick: Langrisser I & II 

This updated packaging of the first two Langrisser games was a treat for me. People who have followed the site for years know I am a tremendous fan of Warson (Langrisser I) from the Sega Genesis days. That being said, part two never made it to the US back then, and I had never played it until this release. Updated visuals, improved quality of life, lots of endings and branching story paths made this one a joy for me to get that platinum trophy for. 

Pierre-Yves: Zombie Army 4

If there's one game that I've played the absolute living hell out of (heh... didn't even plan that one) this year it would be Rebellion's Zombie Army 4: Dead War. Continuing from where the original Zombie Army Trilogy left off after the defeat of Zombie Hitler, the gameplay was refined, new systems were put into place and now instead of just having access to an array of weapons you now had that AND perks as well as special abilities to be used on top of weapon modifications to suit your own personal playstyle. While Izzy and I have been through the original Trilogy only once, we've been playing through Zombie Army 4 since over and over and while we are only one trophy away from the Platinum which both Richard and my brother Marc are helping out with, we've also enjoyed the hell out of the expansion content that is being added over time through two season passes so far.

Susan N: Cook, Serve, Delicious 3

I don’t know how I stumbled across the Cook, Serve, Delicious series but I have two of them. Nope. I’m wrong. I was introduced to this title by a friend of mine. I don’t know why I thought this could be fun. Maybe it’s due to the fact that I have worked in fast food. Perhaps I nabbed the title because I thought it would be an interesting change of pace. Or I wanted to see how it would hold up against Overcooked. Who knows? But what I discovered is that Cook, Serve, Delicious 3 is a highly entertaining and fast paced game. Unlike the previous version where players decorate and upgrade their own kitchen, this new installment takes players out of kitchen and into a food truck! That’s right, players have to prep all their dishes before they reach their destination and I love it. Sometimes other food trucks will try to shoot at you (which is an interesting mechanic.) It is a game that I enjoy playing. Weirdly, I find that it helps me focus on the rush and not real life. Cook, Serve, Delicious 3 is definitely my guilty pleasure of 2020.   

Richard: Moero Crystal H

Moero Crystal H is a solid dungeon crawler with a huge cast of viable characters,  some really good battle music, and a super huge post game as well, there's a lot to like about moero crystal H. Ok, the cast might be almost entirely female...and monster girls (sort of...), and you might have to strip them and rub them to require them, but that isn't so bad...right?

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