The 2025 RPG Awards Showdown: What Gamers Really Loved and Anticipate!
Imagine a year where the most passionate gamers come together to decide which titles truly stood out—that's exactly what the RPG Site Best of 2025 Awards is all about. But here's where it gets controversial: this award process is completely independent. No big media companies or brand sponsors influence it. We depend entirely on our community—people like you—to read, share, and support our content. Your participation is the heartbeat of our platform, and we are immensely grateful for every single one of you.
Each year, we turn to you for your opinions: Which games made your heart race? Which titles did you eagerly await? Throughout December, we hosted two major polls—one for your favorite RPG of 2025, and the other for the most anticipated RPG of 2026. While we unveiled our staff-picked Best of 2025 and detailed our top guesses for 2026, the real excitement lies in hearing directly from our community. The results below reflect your collective voice, showing where opinions align with ours and where they differ.
Let's dive into the results, which are represented as percentage shares of total votes to give a clear picture.
Your Top 10 RPGs of 2025
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 with 22.0% of votes — developed by Kepler and Sandfall, this new intellectual property made waves as the favorite among fans.
- Trails in the Sky: First Chapter with 20.3% — a beloved classic revived by GungHo and Falcom.
- The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy with 10.7% — an intriguing title from Aniplex and Too Kyo Games.
- Digimon Story: Time Stranger with 5.6% — Bandai Namco and Media Vision’s adventure into the Digimon universe.
- Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition with 4.2% — Nintendo and Monolith Soft’s celebrated sci-fi JRPG.
- Deltarune Chapters 1-4 with 3.9% — Toby Fox’s quirky and highly awaited follow-up.
- Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake with 3.4% — Square Enix and Artdink revitalized the classics with stunning visuals.
- Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles with 3.0% — Square Enix’s beloved tactical RPG returns.
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance II with 2.8% — Deep Silver and Warhorse’s mature open-world RPG.
- Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time with 2.6% — Level-5’s inventive role-playing experience.
Additional Insights & Community Comments:
- This year marks the 11th time we've conducted this fan poll. Past winners include iconic titles such as Baldur’s Gate 3, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Shin Megami Tensei V, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and others.
- Notably, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 becomes the first new IP from a fresh developer to win the Readers' Poll.
- Square Enix stands out with more than one game in the top ten, reflecting their continued influence in the genre.
- Interestingly, this year saw four games that are re-releases or remakes — the highest number in our polling history, including Trails in the Sky, Xenoblade Chronicles X, DQ I & II HD, and Final Fantasy Tactics.
- Compared to 2024, the trend shifts slightly: last year’s top pick was only one Western RPG, but this year includes one Western title (Kingdom Come II), an indie game (Deltarune), and an inspired JRPG (Clair Obscur).
Looking Forward: The 2026 Anticipation Poll
The excitement continues as fans vote for what they can’t wait to see in 2026. The top anticipated titles include:
- Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave with 18.3% of votes—Nintendo’s new strategic adventure.
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon with 14.2%, and Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter with 13.9% — emphasizing the strong following Falcom’s Trails series commands.
- Dragon Quest VII Reimagined with 9.1% — a much-anticipated remake.
- Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection at 3.8%, and others including Octopath Traveler 0, Bloodstained, and Fate/Extra Record.
Community Trends & Notable Notes:
- This marks the eighth year we've gathered fan predictions for upcoming RPGs.
- While Fire Emblem leads in individual votes, the combined interest in Falcom’s Trails series (both Horizon and 2nd Chapter) surpasses it when totaled.
- Only one brand-new IP, The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, cracked the top ten—an interesting sign of genre loyalty.
- Due to the polling period spanning from December 2024 to November 2025, some titles like Octopath Traveler 0, which launched during this window, are included in anticipation rankings. It remains to be seen how that will influence its popularity in next year's favorites list.
Final thoughts: The landscape of RPGs is vibrant and diverse, with fans continuously shaping what they see as the best—and what they eagerly await. Do you agree with the community’s choices? Are there titles you think deserve a spotlight but didn't make the list? We love hearing your perspectives—drop your thoughts below and join the conversation.
