So Dave Francisco just dropped his top 10 games of 2025 list, and honestly? The intro hit different this time. Dude straight up admits 2025 was rough for him personally, which makes his picks way more interesting than your typical year-end roundup.
What caught my eye is how he describes finding comfort in "old favorites polished like new." That's such a mood, right? When life gets messy, sometimes you just wanna boot up something familiar but fresh. Makes me wonder if we're gonna see a bunch of remasters and reimaginings on his list.
The timing's kinda perfect too. Here we are five days into 2026, still recovering from the holidays, and everyone's posting their retrospectives. But Francisco's take feels more personal than the usual "here are games that scored well on Metacritic" lists we've been drowning in lately.
I'm genuinely curious what made the cut. Did he lean into cozy games? Go hard on escapist RPGs? Maybe some surprise indie darlings that flew under everyone's radar? Whatever's on there, sounds like these games helped him through whatever storm he weathered last year.
Gonna dive into the full list when it drops on Steam News. If you've been following Branching Path for a while, you know Francisco's picks usually highlight stuff you might've missed. Plus, hearing how games helped someone through tough times? That's the kind of real talk we need more of in gaming journalism.
Diego
Strategy & simulation — 4X, RTS, grand strategy, city builders