Games Inbox: Is 2025 the best year for indie video games?

The Monday Letters page asks whether Nintendo has now run out of steam, as readers worry about the future of game developer Warner Bros.

Game Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments and opinions. To join the discussion, email [email protected]

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Year of independence
Thank you for the Horse review. I don’t think it’s for me, but like you said, there are brave games like that. I feel that at the start of this generation, indie games were pushed to the side. Maybe this has something to do with Covid, but it feels like in the last few years not many indie games have had an impact, even though the impact is bigger than before.

But this year has been extraordinary. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 gets all the attention, as it should, but there’s Blue Prince too, Hades 2, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Dispatch, Sword Of The Sea, Monster Train 2, Absolum, and many others.

I haven’t played them all, of course, but looking at the reviews and diversity of the games, it seems like they’re much healthier than the triple-A gaming business. The same game over and over, over and over again. This year we have Battlefield 6 vs. Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 (actually the 22nd game in the series) and which is the most popular? New indie rival, Arc Raiders.

I’m sure the big publishers won’t learn anything from this, but triple-A games seem increasingly irrelevant. What’s the point of cheaper, better, more innovative indie games? If this isn’t their best year, I don’t know what is.
Colin

Unpleasant memories
RE: Silk Song. I finally gave up on this, once I finally got to the fort, after about 60, maybe closer to 100 hours. As each encounter escalates and feels like a mini-boss (a giant hovering grasshopper, three times in a row!

I’ve found my way to two paths going in opposite directions, both leading to bosses, at that point I couldn’t be bothered dying again and again, no desire to see more, no desire to learn their patterns and just spent the entire session spitting and swearing at the screen, being more stressed than when I started. I’m moving… to the Blue Prince, Your Majesty!

When I think about it now, there was no liking, no warm feelings rising within me, only angry memories of frustration and slander.
big boy bowed
PS: Clair Obscur… game of the year, actually I already voted for it.

Predictable results
So, if the Warner Bros. deal finished in June/July, we can expect layoffs to start in August, because, as we know, that’s what happens when a company is bought; they start cutting costs to start getting some of their money back and it’s usually those who work on the games that face the cuts.

I really don’t know why companies get permission from regulators when they know what will happen with jobs and layoffs. Oh yes, another company was swallowed by another company.
David

GC: Regulators did try to stop Microsoft from buying Activision Blizzard, and every negative thing they warned about came true. But the current US government seems to care less about such things.

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Christmas favorite
One of my Christmas traditions is playing Zelda: A Link Between Worlds on my old 3DS, to get me into the Christmas mood and give me a bit of nostalgia for the past, when I had a job where I really liked the people I worked with…

Anyway, this game seems criminally underrated because no one ever talks about it. It sets the scene for Breath Of The Wild, with all the items and dungeons accessible from the start and having a great soundtrack. This is the last Zelda game I remember where I was trapped in a dungeon, which I think is the mark of a great Zelda game.
For me, this is peak Nintendo and I hope they get back to making games of this caliber, because from everything I’ve heard about the Switch 2 at the moment, it’s a dud and will be on the PlayStation 5.
Simon
PS: I forgot to add how the 2D painting mechanic is not just a gimmick, but a major part of the gameplay and a lot of fun. This is a good game.

Secret mode
I can’t remember the name of the fellow reader who wrote about the item selection update in Mario Kart World but it made me smile.

Setting the item to Kamek alone, that’s just crazy and a real change of pace. This gives me hope for further updates that make a real difference to the initial release’s gameplay modes.
Greek Nick

GC: This is really fun. We want to know if it was intentional or not.

Bad timing
It was a very interesting reader feature from Korey over the weekend regarding the difficulty of the game. Sometimes, when I encounter a particularly annoying difficulty spike in a game, I wonder about the playtesting done on the game I’m in. Some levels/sections are so frustrating and unpleasant that it’s hard to believe they have been deemed acceptable.

Did you know that developers employ game testers with a variety of skills?

Korey mentioned something about a lack of respect for the amount of free time people have. That’s the core complaint I have regarding the game/difficult parts of the game. Wasted time. When I repeat a task in a game over and over again and I am only punished and not rewarded, I consider it a waste.

Where’s the fun in being beaten by the game over and over again?

Time is truly precious. Unlike real world currency, you cannot recover lost work hours. You can never get the time you spend back, that’s why I personally avoid games that are known to be difficult.

I did try Dark Souls, because of the hype and good reviews behind it. Of course, I didn’t enjoy the game at all.
Michael Veal (@msv858)

In the bunker
On November 21st, for my birthday, my wife purchased PGA Tour 2K21 from Nintendo’s online store. We played Tiger Woods a lot on the GameCube and thought we’d enjoy it too. But wait, there’s no online connectivity at all, you can’t even buy a hat for your character without a ‘no connection’ warning.

It turns out that 2K stopped selling this game on August 30, 2025, and shut down its servers on October 30. But it’s still available in the Nintendo store, £49.99. No refunds, T&C!
Best
Mick McMahon

Calibrate your pessimism
There was a comment in the Underbox review of Metroid Prime 4 that said, ‘Nintendo could be a power drain’ and that’s been bothering me since reading it.

Since Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, and now Metroid Prime 4 haven’t exactly taken the gaming world by storm, what would happen if we witnessed in real-time the beginning of the end of Nintendo’s magic?

(All great artists experience setbacks, like my favorite singer Michael Jackson and his ‘Invincible’ album, but most can usually bounce back.)

Yes, it’s still early days for the Switch 2, but what if the next 2D or even 3D Mario fails to appeal?

(It’s these games, along with the new top-down Zelda, that I’m specifically looking for.)

Traditional Pokémon will always sell (right?) but does that mean Nintendo consoles are just ‘Pokémon machines’, as CameronAllOneWord says on YouTube?

I’ve always wanted a free roam Mario Kart ever since wondering or imagining what lay beyond the track barriers in the original Super Mario Kart and really liking Super Mario Bros. Wonder but the reviews of Mario Kart World don’t make me want to go out and buy it.

For the record, I could afford £400 for a Switch 2 but with no interest in playing, I stashed the note in my Super Mario Bros. cartridge themed wallet. My NES.

After the very similar Zelda: Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom, where can Nintendo go next?

I love the gameplay changes in Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom but if Nintendo games are no longer as great as they once were, does this mean the end of gaming fun?

Because from my understanding, there seems to be a massive drought of first party games on PlayStation 5 and does anyone care about Xbox exclusive games?
LeeDappa

GC: The Switch 2 is the fastest-selling console in history and Donkey Kong Bananza is the fifth best game of the year (and the number one full-price title) according to Metacritic, if you ignore the Switch 2 Editions of the two most recent Zeldas at one and two. Mario Kart World was 29th best, ahead of Ghost Of Yōtei, Arc Raiders, and Silent Hill f. Gamers need to realize that a game may not be the best or the worst.

The inbox is also running
I don’t believe any company would be crazy enough to give Yu Suzuki money for Shenmue 4, after the total disaster it was last time. So far that’s the only reason I call the leaked trailer fake.
Freddy

I’m worried about Rocksteady again, with the whole Warner Bros thing. At least Hogwarts Legacy and Mortal Kombat succeeded. When they figure out who to fire, what will they think when someone explains Suicide Squad to them?
Overcome

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