2025 Game of the Year Awards — Console Awards

With the release of Switch 2 Nintendo now has two console generations on the market in full swing. With a couple of exclusives for Switch 2 and the new Switch 2 Editions this is a great ecosystem to finally get into if you haven’t yet. We didn’t see as many releases as past years, but this was as solid year for Nintendo.

Donkey Kong Bananza

Bananza may feel like a Mario Odyssey spin-off with DK, but it’s so much more than that. This is a game that captures that Nintendo magic that only they can produce and did the best job of doing that this year. With so many fun levels and inventive gameplay mechanics there wasn’t a lot that topped this game. This is one of those “just one more level” games that I couldn’t put down. While it had some technical hiccups and other minor issues it didn’t stop Bananza from being something fantastic and a reason to buy a Switch 2.