Kotaku’s Weekend Guide: 5 Awesome Games We’re Settling Into 2025 With

Play it on: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

Current goal: Enjoy time playing anyone else before I become a Mister Fantastic one-trick

When it comes to character-based games like fighters and hero shooters, my choice of main is usually dictated more by whose design and backstory I find appealing, rather than by any mechanical traits the characters may possess. Soldier: 76 is my main in Overwatch because I wanted to play as a grumpy gay grandpa, but I don’t typically play the bog-standard COD character in shooters. My fighting game archetypes are all over the place, as I main Green Arrow in Injustice and Ryu in Street Fighter, characters I play simply because I like them rather than because they fit a specific fighting game playstyle that I excel in.

That’s proving to be the same with Marvel Rivals. Star-Lord is my main because the sassy space-traveling hero is my favorite character in the MCU. But I am also a creature of habit, and if a scruffy old man shows up in a video game I’m playing, I’m probably gonna make a hard pivot. I’m referring to Marvel Rivals’ version of Mister Fantastic, who is joining the roster alongside the rest of the Fantastic Four on Monday, January 6. The stretchy hero’s design in the shooter has been described by my friends as “Ken bait” and “specifically targeting [me].” They’re right. I’d better play as Star-Lord, Rocket, and Namor a lot this weekend. They’re going on the shelf for a hot minute very soon. — Kenneth Shepard

Play it on: Mobile

Current goal: Stop those damn kids

Oxenfree is one of my favorite games ever. Its compelling combination of naturalistic, banter-y dialogue and spooky podcast-like storyline clicked strongly for me, entirely drawing me into its mysterious narrative. Peculiar radio signals, ghostly apparitions, and time and space not behaving properly, all experienced through the perspective of some smart-mouthed teens taking one last jaunt before starting college. I couldn’t recommend it to enough people.

Then in 2023, a sequel came out, and I didn’t play it. I didn’t want to play it. I think because I was just afraid it couldn’t recapture that moment, and that moment had been perfect. Also, because developer Night School’s intervening game, 2019’s Afterparty, didn’t work for me at all. But I’ve stopped being such a big silly, and driven by the desire to play something narratively strong while on a short vacation this holiday, but only equipped with my Android tablet, I remembered Oxenfree II comes as part of an active Netflix sub. And it’s great! It’s really great! It makes more mistakes than the original, bits of the story not quite adding up properly (perhaps because of choices I made, it really fails to explain why the two main characters are so antagonized by teenager Olivia), but it’s once again a triumph of stunning vocal performances and an intriguing (if frustratingly unbelievable—radios don’t work like that!) storyline. I’m very close to the end, and look forward to finally finding out how it all wraps up. — John Walker

Play it on: Twitch

Current goal: Watch the opening festivities

I’m sure I’ll squeeze in some gaming this weekend, maybe snagging a few straggling bots in Astro Bot or kicking off a new playthrough of Dragon Age: Origins, but the bulk of my gaming attention will be spent watching games, not playing them. That’s because this Sunday, the annual fundraising event Awesome Games Done Quick kicks off with runs of Pikmin, Portal, Mega Man X3, the aforementioned Astro Bot, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and more. It’s a strong assortment of games that features tried-and-true classics as well as recent hits, setting just the right tone for the week-long event’s eclectic mix of runs that includes everything from Ninja Gaiden II on NES to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. (You can see the full schedule here.)

As great as the runs are sure to be, though, packed with incredible glitches and tricks, it’s really the vibes that keep me coming back to GDQ year after year. The two weeks occupied by GDQ events each year are some of my favorite times; I love just putting on the comfy runs in the background, donating what I can to whatever charity that event is benefitting (this one is supporting the Prevent Cancer Foundation), and being grateful for a gaming organization that unapologetically supports queer and trans people, and actively makes space for Black speedrunners, female and femme speedrunners, and others. In a gaming culture that can often feel hostile and exclusionary to many of us, it’s a great reminder of the positive impact we can have when we choose to do so, and that games and gaming spaces, at their best, really are for everyone. — Carolyn Petit

Play it on: PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC

Current goal: Track down dogs for Princess Fuse

Backlog month has started for me and the first game on my list is Okami HD. I played it back when it first came to PS2 but never finished the whole thing, and the announcement of a sequel at the Game Awards has me feeling inspired to finally go back to itt. The upscaled remaster can feel a bit wonky sometimes and the third-person camera isn’t perfect but the underlying game is still incredibly beautiful and breezy to play. Combat holds up especially well. Combo-ing into brush techniques is incredibly satisfying and the blossoming flowers and world-changing visual effects still feel surprisingly novel for a game that’s now decades old. — Ethan Gach

Play it on: Nintendo Switch, Wii U

Current goal: Finish Autumn Heights

I bought my kids Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for Christmas but I’ve been the one spending most of the time playing, which is fine, honestly, because this game rules. The new Donkey Kong Country games never quite managed to rekindle the magic of the evocative 3D visuals from the original SNES trilogy but the level design and set pieces are top-notch in Tropical Freeze. It’s fast, breezy, and unlike the modern 2D Mario games, genuinely challenging at parts. It’s getting me hyped for the Donkey Kong Country Returns HD remaster and what I hope might secretly be a new Donkey Kong Country platformer launching alongside the Switch 2 later this year. My bananas are crossed. — Ethan Gach