2025 was the year of long waits – were the games worth it? 

2025 marked the release of several video games that fans had waited years to play. These were titles that have endured numerous delays and even rumors of cancellation, leading many people to believe they would never see the light of day. 2025 proved this speculation wrong, with three highly anticipated games finally hitting store shelves. 

The big question with any long-awaited game is whether it was worth it in the end. Long periods of silence can lead to fans forming unrealistic expectations about the end product, making it far easier to feel disappointed when the launch finally happens. So, did Hornet, Samus, and Phyre live up to the hype? 

The Escapist recaps

• 2025 saw the release of several high-profile titles that had been in development for long periods, leading some to worry they might have been cancelled. 
• Hollow Knight: Silksong was announced in 2019, and it launched on September 4, 2025. 
• Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was announced in 2017, and it launched on December 4, 2025. 
• Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 was announced in 2019, and it launched on October 21, 2025. 

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Easily the most highly anticipated game of 2025 (well, after Grand Theft Auto 6 got delayed) was Hollow Knight: Silksong. First announced in 2019, Hollow Knight: Silksong was initially planned as DLC for Hollow Knight before becoming a full-fledged title. 

After six years of no-shows at industry events, Hollow Knight: Silksong finally launched in 2025, and many fans agree that it was worth the wait. It improved upon the combat system of the original, with Hornet adopting a more floaty, aerial-based fighting style that forced players to relearn their skills. 

Sure, not everything was perfect in Hollow Knight: Silksong, with many criticizing the difficulty spikes and some frustratingly difficult enemy gauntlets, but it was still more Hollow Knight. Those who could keep up found a worthy successor to one of the best indie Metroidvanias of all time. 

The only problem Hollow Knight: Silksong had was in a rival that eclipsed it, as 2025 also saw the release of Hades 2. While the only real connection between the games was that they were highly anticipated indie titles that succeeded popular titles, many outlets still drew comparisons between them. Hades 2 outperformed Hollow Knight: Silksong in terms of critical reception, leaving it in the dust in the eyes of many fans. 

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

Of all the games on this list, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond had the longest wait from announcement to release. Initially announced in 2017, during the debut year of the Nintendo Switch, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was cancelled under Bandai Namco and moved to Retro Studios, where it wouldn’t launch until after the release of the Nintendo Switch 2. 

Despite spending a long time in development and returning to the hands of the studio that produced three incredible entries in the Metroid Prime franchise, the fourth entry was a little underwhelming. A few outlets called it bad, but there was definitely a feeling that it didn’t live up to the hype. 

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond sits at a 79% on MetaCritic, which is surprising, considering the series’ pedigree for quality, especially being one of Nintendo’s coveted first-party exclusives. The game was criticized for its chatty NPCs, linearity, and pacing issues. Chances are, established Metroid fans will love the game, especially as it doesn’t make as many controversial moves as Other M, but it wasn’t the all-time classic that Nintendo would have wanted for the Switch 2’s first holiday season. 

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2

And to end things on a sour note, we come to Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, the long-awaited sequel to one of the greatest cult classics of all time. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 had one of the most infamously troubled productions of all time, with an entire studio being removed from the project at one point, leading to an almost total reset that barely resembled the original trailers. 

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is a perfectly serviceable game, acting as a vampiric take on Dishonored, with some genuinely fun traversal elements in its quest hub. The combat was fun, making the player actually feel like a mighty undead warrior, slicing through waves of foes. 

Unfortunately, the game lacked most of what made the original Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines so special. The faction and relationships were stripped down to the point of barely existing, the flashback sequences starring Fabien were torturously slow and tedious, and the player’s choice of Clan barely existed, because they lacked any weaknesses, and it was possible to unlock all of the powers. 

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 would have been better served without the Bloodlines name, acting as a standalone Kindred adventure. It could neither match the legacy of its legendary predecessor nor compensate for all the public missteps surrounding its creation. What’s worse is that it has likely buried the excellent Vampire: The Masquerade licence for the foreseeable future.  

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