The Nextlander Podcast · Episode 230 · January 1, 2026 · 2 hr 33 min

230: Game of the Year 2025, Part 2

In our second and final year-end wrap-up, we detail numbers 4 through 1 on our personal GOTY lists, and then dive into an array of honorable (and not too many dishonorable) mentions before pondering the year ahead. Happy new year! CHAPTERS (00:00:00) NOTE: Some timecodes may be inaccurate for versions other than the ad-free Patreon version due to dynamic ad insertions. Please use caution if skipping around to avoid spoilers. Thanks for listening. (00:00:10) Intro (00:01:17) Brad's recap from last episode (00:01:55) Vinny's recap from last episode (00:02:10) Alex's recap from last episode (00:02:29) Number 04 [Brad] (00:10:04) Number 04 [Vinny] (00:16:18) Number 04 [Alex] (00:22:55) Number 03 [Brad] (00:31:03) Number 03 [Vinny] (00:31:21) Number 03 [Alex] (00:38:12) First Break (00:38:17) Number 02 [Brad] (00:45:34) Number 02 [Vinny] (00:52:49) Number 02 [Alex] (00:57:38) Number 01 [Brad] (01:16:09) Number 01 [Vinny] (01:29:34) Number 01 [Alex] (01:38:21) Second Break (01:38:26) Honorable Mentions (02:17:56) The games that missed the mark for us (02:24:05) ...and nobody talked about Maro Kart World (02:25:05) There's always more to talk about... (02:27:06) Brad's Top Ten Games of 2025 (02:27:25) Vinny's Top Ten Games of 2025 (02:27:53) Alex's Top Ten Games of 2025 (02:28:13) Wrapping up and thanks for 2025 (02:31:20) See ya (02:31:41) Mysterious Benefactor Shoutouts