My Favorite Things of 2025
I've been spending most of the holiday break so far just hanging out with my partner and our daughter--reading books, playing games and watching movies. The only time I've eked out for myself have been spent tying up some administrative ends, and sitting down for my annual reflection.
As part of that, I like to look at all the things I watched, read, listened to and played. I find that this helps me to appreciate these arts more, and hone my own tastes at the same time. And while I'm doing that, I might as well put together a lists of the 5 songs, movies/shows, books and games that meant the most to me this year.
A quick note before we dive in: because I don’t restrict my media diet to the stuff that is released in a given year, my lists won’t look like the end-of-year lists of professional reviewers. This list is very personal, and simply reflects what mattered to and had an impact on me.
And now, without further ado, here are my favorite things of 2025!
5 Songs I Loved
Minutes of music listened: 27.295
I listened to more music than last year, but I found it much harder to come up with individual songs that had a lasting impact on me. There's multiple reasons for this, of course: the way streaming facilitates mindless binging rather than mindful listening, the slight disorientation that comes with adopting a new streaming service (bye, Spotify 👋), and my months long Lawrence bender that surely takes up a good chunk of the 25K+ minutes I spent listening to music this year. A good reminder to be a little more mindful about my listening habits next year.
5. What It Sounds Like by HUNTR/X
As a dad of a 7yo daughter, there was no way K-Pop Demon Hunters was going to pass by our household... Ok fine, I pushed the movie relentlessly until Maya finally watched it, cementing it as one of her favorite movies and turning its music into the soundtrack of our lives for a good few months. And while Golden may be the chart topper, my favorite song from the movie is this one.
4. New Beastly by Vulfpeck
Bassist Joe Dart's funky grooves are at the heart of many of Vulfpecks biggest hits. In this particular song we get the magical combination of some of Joe's funkiest grooves PLUS the most inspired use of cowbell I have ever seen, courtesy of Woody Goss. Never fails to put a smile on my face.
3. Gen Hoshino - Fushigi
I originally found Gen Hoshino through the Death Stranding OST, and the Death Stranding 2 track list put him right back on my radar. His 2025 album Gen has been on steady rotation since, and the laidback beats of Fushigi make it my favorite song on the album.
2. Foxy Shazam - Oh Lord
I was a little disappointed when they changed the opening credits to Peacemaker in season 2, but boy did this song grow on me. It's such a fun song, and Nally's delivery on the line "God knows I've had some rough fucking years" gets me every time. Sorry James Gunn, I'll never doubt your musical decisions again.
1. Don't Lose Sight by Lawrence
Lawrence is amazingly talented and I've listened to a ton of their music this year. I was even lucky enough to see them live on their Family Business tour, which is where their talent really shines. While their latest album Family Business is full of bangers, the song I listened to most this year was Don't Lose Sight. Originally written as a reaction to the unfair way the music industry is set up, it maps just as easily to the issues the games industry is facing. Don't lose sight, indeed.
5 Movies/Shows I Loved
Movies/TV show seasons watched: 64
I didn't watch as many movies as I would have liked this year. For instance, I REALLY wanted to watch Del Toro's Frankenstein, but found it hard to fit a 2.5 hour movie into our daily rhythm. Of course, this leads to the weird situation where I don't make time for a 2.5 movie, but will binge hours of a show in 50 minute increments. For next year, I might have to get over my aversion to watching movies in multiple sittings.
5. Severance Season 2
Season 2 ups the stakes from season 1, giving slight hints at some of the underlying mysteries, but solving nothing outright. Bring on season 3!
4. Peacemaker Season 1+2
This is hands down one of the most fun shows I've ever watched. James Gunn is on fire here, and John Cena is an absolute delight as the bumbling superhero slowly getting to grips with his flaws. If all of the DCU is going to be like this--and from the supergirl trailer it sure looks that way--consider me a fan.
3. Adolescence
What a powerful show. It marries an extremely timely and relevant topic--how do we keep our boys from being sucked into the manosphere?--with some of the tightest writing and filming I've ever seen. It delivers a powerful message, and I have the utmost respect for the choice of doing each episode as one long take.
2. Flow
This was the first movie I saw this year, and boy did it set the tone. Flow presents a world and a story that are both surreal and relatable, fantastic and fantastical, all while focusing on a cast of non-talking, non-anthropomorphized animals. It's no wonder that it took home both an Oscar and a Golden Globe, among other accolades.
1. The Rehearsal Season 1+2
Nathan Fielder is a fucking genius. Every time you think you have the slightest idea of where this is all going, he trows you a curveball so insane you.. This would be insane even if it was a series of off-beat sketches, but he somehow manages to weave everything into a tight and meaningful overarching narrative. I've heard his show Nathan For You is even better--I'll let you know as soon as I figure out a way to stream it.
5 Books I Loved
Books read: 7 (if I count the first 3 editions of APWOT as 1 book)
I did not read a lot this year. Part of that is from being busy, as I mostly read my business books during office hours. The other part is that I'm in desperate need of some good recommendations for fiction, so hit me up if you have some.
5. Smooth Scaling by Rob Bier
A principled take on scaling a company from a coach who's obviously been in the trenches a few times. Lots of overlap with my own work, and plenty of new insights that will no doubt find their way into my work at some point.
4. Miracles of the Namiya General Store by Keigo Higashino
Recommended to me by good friend Pavol Buday, this is a wonderfully whimsical story about time travel, being kind to strangers, and the web of relations that tie us all together. Oh, and it takes place almost completely in and around a general store in suburban Japan. I don't want to spoil much more, but if any of this sounds interesting, you owe it to yourself to try this book.
3. Yoshitaka Amano The Illustrated Biography by Florent Gorges
Amano has been one of my favorite artists since being introduced to his art through the Final Fantasy games. Learning more about his work and life through this richly illustrated biography put so many things in perspective, and I came away with a renewed respect for one of most prolific artists of our time, and certainly one of the best to ever grace the games industry with his presence.
2. The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge
This is the book that took me most of the year to read. Not because it's a slog, but simply because it's so dense with ideas that touch on my coaching work, and resonate so loudly with the way I approach that work. I'm still digesting some of the thoughts presented here, and will be integrating them in my work for years to come. Thanks again Daryl Ogden for recommending it!
1. A Profound Waste of Time, Issues 1-3
After missing the first few issues, I finally got my hands on the first 5 issues of A Profound Waste of Time, and promptly binged my way through the first 3. This is clearly a labor of love from everyone involved: Casper has collected some of the best writing about games in one place, and then made sure the whole thing was meticulously designed.
5 Games I Loved
Games played: 27
I played so many great games this year, and going by other people's Best Of lists I still missed plenty. But that's ok, it just gives me head start on picking games for 2026.
5. Silksong
I debated for a long time whether I'd put Death Streanding 2 or Silksong as my 5th game. I had fun with both, and I ran into frustrations with both, but ultimately I feel like Silksong was the better sequel. It expanded meaningfully on what came before, whereas Death Stranding 2 felt like a more streamlined reskinning of the exact same game, losing some of its appeal in the process.
4. 1000xResist
This is one of the most interesting and unique games I've ever played. While there's little gameplay to speak of, Sunset Visitor has managed to create an intriguing sci-fi world that functions as the backdrop against which we experience one of the best stories this medium has to offer, and one that deals meaningfully with themes like generational trauma and immigration to boot.
3. Monster Hunter Wilds
I'm a big Monster Hunter fan, and in Wilds Capcom has managed to streamline the formula to a T. The core loop of forging armor and weapons, going out to bonk a big dinosaur on the head, and then using its parts to secure better armor and weapons never gets old. Which reminds me, I've missed about a dozen updates, so I've got some fresh monsters to bonk.
2. Blue Prince
I lived and breathed this game when it came out. I'm a sucker for the exact type of puzzle and mystery at the heart of this game, so you better believe I was keeping copious notes and trying to figure out how everything tied together for weeks on end. Somewhere on the way to the second ending I got to a point where the roguelike element felt like it was working against me and had to give up, but it still stands as one of the best games I've played--ever.
1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
My personal game of the year. From the world building to the art direction, the music, the narrative and the performances, everything feels congruent and intentional in a way that rarely happens in videogames. The active turn-based gameplay was an interesting twist that kept me on my toes throughout, and experimenting with Pictos to deal increasingly ridiculous amounts of damage was a real power trip. I can't wait to see how they will expand this world in the inevitable sequel.
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Right Now
Playing - Spider-Man 2
Been having a lot of uncomplicated fun slinging around New York as the two friendly neighborhood Spider-Men.
Reading - A Profound Waste of Time
I already finished the first 3 issues, and I'm slowly working my way through issues 4 and 5, savoring every page.
Watching - Pluribus
Amazing take on the alien invasion trope that manages to be both ridiculous and wholly believable at the same time. Coming up on the last episode, and I'm already impatient for season 2.
See you in two weeks, when I'll share the rest of my annual review!
Martijn
