The Most Popular Games Released in May 2025

As far as expansion packs go, this is definitely one that has caught the public’s eye. The Sea of Stars game itself is a beautifully nostalgic turn-based RPG that encapsulates the delight of those early pixelated triumphs, and Throes of the Watchmaker takes the few faults that Sea of Stars showcases and essentially eradicates them. The game was released on 20th May 2025 and boasts an audience ensnaring 88/100 on Metacritic.

The story continues to follow Zale and Valere, the sun and moon twins, as they are transported to Horloge, a miniature clockwork realm that has a circus-like theme, and indeed, their abilities are changed significantly to reflect that theme and make it feel like you’re playing entirely new characters. This expansion pack gives room for both Zale and Valere to grow as protagonists, giving them more personality than the base game did, as well as showing some love to the side characters.

The background pixel art is stunningly rich, and the animations for the various abilities showcased by your party are smooth and satisfying. The combat is harder than it was in the base game, but it is more inventive for the extra challenge. The expansion offers at least eight extra hours of gameplay and would be a delight to see in any gaming library.

#4: Pipistrello and The Cursed Yoyo

In terms of most popular games, this is the long-lost Game Boy Advance title that you never knew you needed. One of those rare games that actually looks better on the smaller screen on purpose, the game was originally showcased as a playable demo at PAX East with a release date scheduled for 28th May 2025, which was adhered to. On Metacritic, the game scores a solid 87. Not bad for a retro platform adventure when competing against those AAA big-budgeters.

The story follows Pippit, a small bat who yearns to be a master yo-yoer against the wishes of his incredibly bureaucratic aunt. Already, this game is engineered to reel in every oppressed, upper-class gamer dreaming of something other than taking on the family business. Poor Pippit has to keep borrowing money to fund his dream, but surely, in using his yoyo so expertly in combat, he is soon to take to the stage as one of the top yoyoers in the world…

The unconventional dungeons, including a cosplay venue, a huge football stadium, and other urban particulars, are a highlight, along with the engaging puzzles and the jokes sprinkled in, designed to give this game an Undertale-esque tone that mixes surprisingly well with its obvious Zelda influences.

#5: DOOM: The Dark Ages

It’s no surprise that a DOOM title would end up on the most popular games list, frankly. DOOM is one of the OGs, a staple so solid that even people who have never played DOOM know about it. The original title pitted a lone space marine against a bunch of Hellish monsters in variously designed platforming rooms. That’s it. No complications, just a showcase of ‘hey look what we can do with this cool new console and computer chip’ that resulted in awesomely brainless gameplay and that satisfying release of much sought-after dopamine whenever you blew up an enemy.

DOOM: The Dark Ages has actually gone and given that concept lore. You’re essentially an immortal DOOM slayer, sent against your will to fight these Hellish forces, and in this case, against your will means including a restraint device that stops you from disobeying the Makers and the people that sent you into this disaster zone.

Unlike previous remake titles, DOOM: The Dark Ages does actually disregard the successful formula of one-room combat situations and pits your space marine against a small army in much larger areas. This means that the enemies can flank and overwhelm Mr DOOM slayer, but that’s okay, because they’ve also given the guy a few upgrades that players will likely remember. DOOM: The Dark Ages was released on 15th May 2025 and hit the Metacritic for an 85/100.

#6: Fantasy Life i: The Girl That Steals Time

This solid little gem was released on 21st May 2025 and has a well-deserved 85/100 on Metacritic. A game that essentially says yes to the players, no matter what they want, the idea is that you can explore multiple job classes, or ‘lives’, over the course of the game for vastly different experiences set in the same world. At it’s heart its a slice of life-core game reminiscent of Animal Crossing, and though it gets the village building aspects balanced with the job class aspects to a flawless degree, that doesn’t mean that the combat is neglected in any way either.

This is the sort of game where, if the player is willing to explore something, the game is willing to reward them. In combat, if a player is willing to hack away at a high-level enemy for hours because they themselves are low level, then, provided they can dodge well enough, the game isn’t going to throw up a blockade and say ‘no, you can’t do that’.  Instead, once the enemy is felled, the player is rewarded with the usual high-end treasure which will allow them boons to progress a story aspect quicker, or open up something for the village.

The map is fully accessible from the get-go, letting you swim across the archipelago islands to explore, which means there really isn’t time to be bored. Respecting the player’s time is something that runs through the core of this game. It understands the nature of boredom and how to mitigate that, whilst also not locking the player into something lengthy that will make them less likely to want to come back and do something similar later.

#7: Drop Duchy

Another deck builder on the most popular games list? Perhaps this is the genre that will define the summer of 2025. Drop Duchy is a Tetris-inspired deck builder that is unique in the way it weaves its elements together and clever in the way it’s fashioned its gameplay to do exactly what needs to be done. While a Tetris spin-off game should live in the shadow of its iconic predecessor, Drop Duchy branches out simply because the Tetris element of the game is used as a tool to facilitate the deck-building part, making this a much more hands-on deck builder than we usually see.

The game was released on 5th May 2025 with a Metacritic review of 83/100, and while it doesn’t have the fast-paced madness of Monster Train 2, it does bring a finesse to the genre that makes the game feel like fine-tuned pique. It takes strategy to the next level in an unconventional and yet highly entertaining way, and it brings an element of tabletop that’s lost in other titles.

Visually, the game is very pleasant to look at, and the folksy aesthetic rolls into the Tetronimo blocks that you use to build your terrain as gameplay progresses. Overall, this is a very smart offering in the deck-building, roguelite genre, so it’s no surprise that it still has such a high Metacritic score after being out for almost a month.

More For May?

While so many other games of note have come out this month, those listed above, with their impressive Metacritic scores, can be considered the most popular games of May 2025. So, what do you think? Are there any on this list that take your fancy? Are you about to loosen those purse strings and take a deep dive into that wallet so you can press that tantalising purchase button? Or are you still on the hunt different?

If you are looking for something not covered here, then perhaps next month will provide the game that catches your eye. Be sure to come back to find out what our most popular games will be for June 2025 and to see if the deck builders will still be dominating the lists, or if the vibe of summer 2025 is going to push in a different direction.