‘Monster Hunter Wilds’ Dethroned In 2025’s Top 10 List By A New Game – Forbes
ByPaul TassiByPaul Tassi, Senior Contributor. monster hunter wildsYeah, I did it. What can I say. Monster Hunter Wilds had about a week or so as 2025’s best-scored video game, but now a new, much smaller title has come along to tick by it by a single point on Metacritic.That would be Split Fiction, the new game from Josef Fares and Hazelight Studios. You may not know the name immediately, but you probably do know 2021 GOTY It Takes Two, another game focused on co-op multiplayer in an era where no one is really doing this kind of thing anymore. Not online lobbies, but actually playing with someone next to you, and these games have been great for friends and partners to play together, or especially parents with children.Split Fiction jumps back and forth between sci-fi and fantasy gameplay in a uniquely creative way that according to these reviews, is simply unlike anything else in this industry that is endlessly trying to clone big genres or just keep pumping out sequels.Split FictionThat has allowed it to score a 91 on Metacritic, just above the 90 of Monster Hunter Wilds. I do not meant to imply Wilds is anything but an absolutely giant success, topping console charts and putting up a million concurrent players on Steam with 8 million copies sold in three days.Of the highest profile games of the year, third place is Kingdom Come: Deliverance II and then there’s a bit of a drop-off outside a number of indie games with far less reviews. PGA Tour 2K25, Avowed and Civilization VII all have 80s. Marvel Rivals, for some baffling reason, has a 74.It is easy to see both Split Fiction and Monster Hunter Wilds in contention for GOTY 2025 when that rolls around in another nine months. There are of course bigger games to come, but the tradition of pushing things out of the year has already begun with the high profile Fable. The one that everyone is holding their breath for is GTA 6, which Rockstar maintains will hit its fall 2025 release date, but it’s easy to be skeptical of that as this is going to be quite literally, probably the biggest game of all time, and it’s not going to be delayed once? I don’t buy it. If it isn’t, it’s hard to imagine that may not be an auto-win for GOTY.Even in the family space, Split Fiction is singular, something that brings back an old era of local multiplayer and teamwork that no one is even attempting now. Get it tomorrow on March 6.Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
