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It’s time for our annual countdown to award the very best games this year had to offer. Over the next ten days, we’ll count down our top ten games of 2025.
As always, the votes of each Press Start team member, weighted from #10 through to #1, were collated to compile our collective very best for the year that was. Games worthy of one’s top spot would be awarded a maximum of 10 points, and the values would descend to their tenth selection, which would receive a single point.
BALL x PIT was, for all intents and purposes, this year’s Balatro. A wildly ambitious and novel take on the roguelike fad that took ideas from Arkanoid, Vampire Survivors, among others, and mashed them together with several other notions, like city-building, to create the year’s most moreish, crack-like game. What I appreciated most about BALL x PIT, as a roguelike, is how respectful it is of your time; whether you finish the run or not doesn’t matter, you will return to base with something to do. Nothing is ever lost.
BALL x PIT was an enormous success for developer Kenny Sun, going on to sell over a million copies after selling 300,000 within its first week.
The game is a mix of calm and chaotic, as the tranquil city-building and resource harvesting stand in direct opposition to the bonkers, bullet hell action you’re forced to endure in an effort to rebuild Ballbylon. The game stands as proof that some old ideas, some as simple as the brick-shattering action of Breakout, can stand the test of time and be desired once again; all it takes is a little twist.
James Says
“From the second I played BALL x PIT, it had me. Plenty of games are taking a swing at the roguelite formula, but this one stands out through sheer simplicity and that devilishly moreish “just one more run” allure that it so perfectly encapsulates. That’s before you even get to the base management, which almost works as a game in its own right.
It doesn’t distract from the loop; it deepens it, adding a satisfying layer of progression to the already addictive gameplay loop Kenny Sun and his team has put together. What really seals it is how BALL x PIT teases you to break it wide open. Between the wild variety of balls and the confidently stylish art and music, it comes together as something that genuinely doesn’t feel like anything else.”
In our review, Brodie scored BALL x PIT a 9 out of 10, stating:
“BALL x PIT is an unexpectedly addictive roguelike that throws a few well-worn ideas into a pot to meld them into something bizarre, captivating, and unique. While there’s a rhythm to firing, fusing, and evolving balls that’s moreish and hard to put down, things like the city-building complement the package so well, it’s the ultimate “one more run” game.
And just like the balls you’ll spend hours branding the enemy with, you’ll keep coming back again, and again, and again.”
On the review aggregator Metacritic, BALL x PIT is resting at an average of 84.
Congratulations to Kenny Sun and Devolver Digital for earning a place in our top ten for 2025.
Game of the Year 2025
#9 – BALL x PIT
