SIMPLY THE BEST

As we hit the midway point of the year, these are the top titles of 2025 so far

- CHERYL MULLIN

This game is at its best when you are skulking around in the shadows, tracking unsuspecting villains and taking them down.

To help you do that there are some superb additions to the game's stealth mechanics.

Your character can now go prone while hiding, and even go underwater thanks to a snorkel-like bamboo reed, which is deployed to allow your character to breathe as they wait for the coast to be clear.

Mercifully, enhancing Naoe and Yasuke’s skills is a much less faffy affair than in previous titles, with their skill trees streamlined to focus on weaponry and specialities, and each skill you unlock feeling like it makes an immediate improvement.

Blue Prince

(PEGI 3) PS5, Xbox X/S, PC

This atmospheric, architectural adventure came out of nowhere but has captured the hearts - and minds - of many puzzler fans.

Bequeathed an impressive mansion boasting 45 rooms by your great uncle, you must find a mysterious 46th room to make Mount Holly officially yours.

But there's a catch. At night, when the rules say you have to leave the mansion, the rooms move around, setting your search back to square one.

You start each run with a limited number of steps marked clearly at the top of the screen. Each time you move into a room you lose a footstep and when all 50 of them are spent, you return to your tent in the grounds of the mansion to rest while the house reshuffles itself.

Some rooms hold objects for you to pick up, while others contain puzzles.

This feels like a living, breathing board game. The flow between rooms is smooth and flawless, while the slow but steady drip-feed of clues on each run keeps the game feeling fresh and compelling.