Some of the most successful games in recent years have been released during the lull between the New Year and spring after Christmas. Traditionally, this is supposed to be a quieter time on the calendar—we're too full of turkey and sides and playing holiday giveaways to be interested in anything new.
But over the past decade or so, it's been publishers' secret sauce, allowing them to cut through the noise and score a solid hit with an underrated gem that would otherwise be beaten by more established competitors.
The first one I remember was Dying Light, it was already a creepy title 10 years ago and it broke records when it was released as a new IP in 2015, hitting zombies and PS4 perfectly The peak of open world hype of the era.
After that, almost every year a well-funded indie or underrated franchise would ditch the fall Christmas rush and land on a clean runway to succeed at a time when gamers were thought to be exhausted.
But the trend continues to solidify year after year, and like Resident Evil 2 Remastered, Resident Evil re-asserts itself as one of the dominant series in gaming, and this incredible game captures the zeitgeist and popularized a trend we still see today.
But by 2025, the secret is definitely out. In the month of February alone, we're looking at 4 potential blockbuster releases from some of the world's biggest publishers and fanciest independent studios.
Some games have stumbled into this position due to delays and development mishaps (Assassin's Creed and Oath, for example), while two of the games on this list (Monster Hunter and Kingdom Come) have previously come from Benefited from a fantastic release position and will definitely want to do it again.
No matter how they pull it off, February 2025 is shaping up to be an epic RPG battle royale. There are plenty of 100-hour RPGs to fill your limited free time, but only one reigns supreme – let's meet the contenders.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 – February 4, 2025
First, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is gearing up to win the title. In some ways, Kingdom Come: Deliverance is the most solid of the four games, but in others it's also the most ambitious, staying true to its mantra of “dungeons, not dragons” and delivering authentic medieval role-playing that's half Laissez-faire, one part sandbox adventure, one part chaotic jank extravaganza.
That's because Kingdom Come was developed in CryEngine, an FPS-focused engine designed to have a dozen characters on screen at any given time, but also expanded to accommodate the open world Bustling towns and permanent world state for RPGs. In the first game, the result was an incredible and perfectly realized world… one that was constantly teetering on the precipice.
I played a lot of Kingdom Come, a series filled with novel role-playing ideas that sounded incredible in principle but produced mixed results in practice. For example, instead of a traditional difficulty curve, where skills become increasingly complex as you level up, Kingdom Come attempts to simulate your knowledge progression by making things easier the more you do them.
An interesting idea, right? But it made things like lockpicking impossible at launch, and the required story combat became a death loop if you prioritized stealth or voice. However, it also does some really fun things, like scrambling every book, recipe, and road sign until you find a monk and learn how to read.
“Kingdom of Heaven: Deliverance 2” is a direct sequel to the original film, starring Henry Scalitz again as a blacksmith from humble beginnings who, by chance and ingenuity, becomes a key figure in the struggle of the Holy Roman Empire. I'd really like to see how the new game handles the progression of this reality with existing characters (who can't be hit by “forget all the power from the last game's beam” like Ratchet or Kratos or others).
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is reportedly twice the size and better than the original game, and it solves some major pain points. How it adapts to this expanded scope will be key to its success, which could easily be done in a It surprised some people to see it among the heavyweights of the month.
“Assassin's Creed: Shadows” – February 14, 2025
Despite the setback, I still have faith in the studio that delivered my personal favorite Assassin's Creed game, 2018's Greek adventure Assassin's Creed Odyssey. But as one of the most well-known gaming franchises, Assassin's Creed: Shadows has the most to prove of any game released in February, especially considering Ubisoft's recent missteps with Skull and Bones and Star Wars: Outlaws expensive mistakes.
Japan has been an ideal filming location for the series since the inception of Assassin's Creed, but with Ghost of Tsushima and Rise of Ronin beating Ubisoft's look at open-world feudal Japan, it's easy to wonder How fresh and engaging Ubisoft is. Landscapes can be created—especially without the familiar yet otherworldly touchstones of ancient Greek and Norse mythology.
However, mechanically at least, Assassin's Creed Shadows hopes to address some key issues that the series has been desperate to address. First of all, the dual protagonists ninja Naoe and samurai Yasuke seem to have a more complex, diverse and interactive fighting style, using katanas, short swords, golden sticks and naginata, etc.
Next, and I really can't understand why it took so long, is a redesigned stealth system. Could this finally be a stealth game with actual stealth mechanics in Assassin's Creed – and if true, it would be huge.
But here too, there seems to be an interesting dynamic between the two protagonists. Yasuke is tall, imposing, and anything but secretive—in gameplay videos, wherever he goes, people stop what they're doing and turn to look at him. Instead, Naoe embodies the stereotype of the stoic, scarf-wearing silent assassin.
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I felt like Assassin's Creed Valhalla's runtime was very fleshed out, not only in the side activities but also in the main story, where you didn't get much beyond crap combat abilities and pressing triangle to interact. From what we've seen, at least some of Shadow's missions expand on the less guided approach we've seen in the past few Assassin's Creed games and, as a result, put a little more between the two characters. Variety, more engaging and meaningful game mechanics. Maybe this will be Assassin's Creed turning the tables on the entire series again?
Oath-taking – February 18, 2025
In a cruel irony, delays to a smooth and competitive release calendar mean that even if you run away from other games, there's no guarantee they won't catch up with you. So, delayed until 2025 to avoid competing with in-house Game Pass titles like STALKER 2 and Raiders of the Lost Ark, Obsidian Entertainment's Avowed now finds itself between two of the year's biggest games leadership position, but that's exactly what makes it a low barrier to entry. Need to succeed?
If The Outer Worlds is Obsidian's sci-fi version of Fallout, then Avowed is the Skyrim of Dragon Age, where you'll explore smaller, self-contained maps filled with loot, bad guys, and more. and twisty missions full of surprises, tough decisions, and difficulties. The studio is known for its intrigue.
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As a huge fan of pretty much every game Obsidian has ever released – Fallout: New Vegas obviously, but also Alpha Protocol, Grounded, and even South Park: The Stick of Truth – Avowed is the game I'm personally most excited about in February, but it's also one I think might get overshadowed.
Set in the Pillars of Eternity universe and featuring a dreamy, shimmering, swashbuckling fantasy art style, Avowed's strengths lie in the quality of its storytelling and good old-fashioned quests; but if it can deliver the narrative complexity it deserves ’s gameplay, then it definitely punches above its weight as the lowest budget game to date.
Monster Hunter Wilds – February 28, 2025
The Monster Hunter series is in a completely different place than it was back in February 2018 when Monster Hunter World took full advantage of its free week. Ten years after threatening to explode in the West, Monster Hunter is finally a hit with a revamped and expanded version of the game, thanks to a clear timeline and worldwide attention.
Now, a host of imitators are finding their way into the monster-hunting genre, from free-to-play Dauntless (which last had a major update that was abysmal), to indie Fela: Divided Tribes and the bigger-budget EA originals Wild at Heart, Monster Hunter Wilds returns to mark its territory as the best in the industry.
While Monster Hunter Rise was a huge success when it debuted on Switch, it's still a small game built for a small console. Wilderness, on the other hand, looks really big, with more interactive environments, difficult-to-traverse terrain, and more variety and verticality in different biomes.
Monsters dart in and out of the sand, slither along tree branches to reach great heights in battle, and swarm over insolent hunters, adding even more personality to the roster of dangerous and expressive beasts that are each Monster real star hunter game.
There's no doubt that Monster Hunter is no longer a niche game, this is sure to be a hit – we'll just have to see how many explorers keep their supplies before the expedition starts at the end of the month.
So, which one should you choose? When you finally have time to play in four years, which one will you be playing? In this month alone, the options seem endless, and even before you get your hands on Elden Ring: Nightreign, Borderlands 4, Death Stranding 2, Ramos, Pokemon Legends ZA “Before waiting for the new version, of course there is the almighty “GTA 6″…
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