The Best Gaming Gifts of 2025

​This Christmas, you deserve to be reminded of Xbox’s glory days, and there’s no finer way to do that than this 360 ornament that lights up and makes sounds. Better hope there’s no red ring of death, though.

If you and your friends enjoy being glued to your phones in the same room, then Alice is Missing is the perfect gift for the group. Players take on the roles of young people in a small town trying to find a missing teen—but they can only communicate by messaging each other.

Hollow Knight: Silksong has made quite a splash, and everyone who’s played it deserves Fangamer’s plushie version of its protagonist. The lithe, knightly Hornet plushie comes with a magnetically attached needle to drive into the hearts of her enemies.

You don’t need to be a hardcore fan of the iconic WipEout racing games to appreciate The Designers Republic’s typography, grids, and graphic designs. Thirty years later, that modern aesthetic still holds up.

The surprise indie hit Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 brought old-school, turn-based RPG combat into the modern age with splashy visuals and a haunting, yet beautiful story. The game is available on both Xbox and PlayStation 5, giving fans of older JRPGs a chance to play something both familiar and refreshing.

The sequel to Supergiant’s original hit, Hades, is twice the game its forebearer was—literally. Hades II’s inventive and idiosyncratic version of Greek mythology is hugely entertaining and worth sinking dozens of hours into, run after run after run. Death to Chronos.

Fans of the original Metroid Prime games will find quite a few interesting tidbits in this huge hardcover retrospective devoted to the first three titles. With Metroid Prime 4: Beyond on the horizon, this book will have nostalgic players humming the Magmoor Caverns theme under their breath.

Sorry, but there’s nothing cuter than Kirby, and this Amiibo from Nintendo combines that cuteness with some special abilities in Kirby Air Riders. It’s a win for anyone with a Nintendo Switch.

The clamshell Anbernic RG35XXSP models itself after the Game Boy Advance SP—but it’s more powerful and can emulate more than just classic Nintendo games from the NES, SNES, and N64. With a little bit of tinkering, you can get this baby to run legally dumped PS1 and even Dreamcast games.

Game like it’s the early 2000s again with this modern remake of the titular single-player arcade racer. Tokyo Xtreme Racer keeps it old school—it doesn’t require an internet connection at all times, it lacks multiplayer and online modes, and there are no microtransactions.

Whether you want to play old Game Boy titles or just legally back up the games (and the save files) to your computer, the Epilogue GB Operator can do the job.

In lieu of a remaster, get your beloved Fallout fanatic this themed soda. It’s no Pip-Boy, but it’ll do.

There are a lot of mobile gaming controllers out there, but this one is affordable, feels nice, and has impeccable SNES vibes.

Sure, there is no end to small, portable desktop speakers, but few have the overtly gamer aesthetic of 8BitDo’s Retro Cube 2. The speaker will play your phone’s tunes over Bluetooth and connect to your PC or console via a 2.4GHz connection.

You don’t need the Piranha Plant version of Nintendo’s Switch 2 GameChat camera. Still, life is just more fun with it, especially because the regular version comes in a nondescript, very un-Nintendo black.

If everyone you know is already bored of playing Mario Kart World on the Switch 2, Lego’s many Mario Kart sets are a great way to leave the screen behind and instead enjoy building and racing little Lego karts along the table. These also work with Lego’s interactive character sets to play special sounds as you push them along.

The Switch 2 may not feel totally ergonomic for meatier hands. Dbrand’s Killswitch case adds two grips that conform better to larger palms than the Joy-Con 2 controllers do on their own.

Sucker Punch’s sweeping, beautiful romp through Edo-period Japan proves the PlayStation 5 still has legs after all these years. Ghost of YÅtei has players sneaking around and putting enemies to the sword against a backdrop of snowcapped mountains and cherry blossoms.

There was a time when Ninja Gaiden (the Xbox version) was the most teeth-breakingly difficult game of its era. Ninja Gaiden 4 isn’t quite as annoying as its predecessors, but it offers the right level of difficulty for such a bloody, spectacle-rich action title.

The best Switch 2 game of the year may also be one of Nintendo’s best of all time. Donkey Kong Bananza mixes stellar platforming with unique mechanics that let players dismantle every part of the terrain.

The Switch 2 finally lets players relive a few of the Nintendo GameCube’s best games from the early 2000s. The revitalized GameCube controller has the same controls many gamers know and love, as well as quality-of-life features like a home and GameChat button, which are also found on the regular Joy-Con 2.

Xbox may have seen better days, but that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate its original glory with this hot-swappable mechanical keyboard featuring two programmable “super buttons.â€

The original Xbox’s Duke controller was a tank of a gamepad that was difficult for many people to wrap their hands around. Hyperkin’s faithful reproduction has the same gargantuan footprint and comes with modern features like LB and RB bumpers, a wired USB-C cable, and a share button.

Forget waking up to birds chirping or the “sunrise†melodies on your phone and get your butt out of bed to the sounds of Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Alarmo is quirky and charming, and it isn’t just for kids.

Chock-full of never-before-seen concepts and prototype explorations spanning the original PlayStation to the current PlayStation 5, this 400-page hardcover charts the history of Sony’s consoles with beautiful, high-res, glossy photos. Insights from designers and engineers take you behind the scenes of PlayStation’s rise, on the coattails of CDs and 3D computer graphics, to become a gaming juggernaut.

Even gamers who say they don’t want a DAC might be grateful to receive one. This product upgrades the audio quality of any headset with a 3.5mm cable (though it’s meant for the Arctis Nova Pro) and supports both PC and PlayStation.

Retro gaming is all the rage these days, and there are more ways to get your nostalgia fix than ever. But few are as true to life as the Atari 2600+, which plays 2600 and 7800 game cartridges and, unlike the original, has an HDMI port for easy setup.

When downloading modern games, storage is key. Luckily, the Xbox Series S and Series X come with easily expandable storage options, including this 1TB Seagate card that lets you play games right off of it.

What do you get the gamer that has everything? A Stream Deck, of course. The Stream Deck MK.2 provides 15 customizable keys for all their streaming and launching needs.

Elden Ring is epic for many reasons, and the soundtrack is one of the primary ones. Get this vinyl for the hardcore FromSoftware fan in your life who appreciates the entirety of the Dark Souls universe.

How much is too much to pay for a controller? Only you can decide that. But PS1 nostalgia is worth every penny for someone who grew up hearing Sony’s famous startup chimes regularly.

Gaming mice are a dime a dozen, but Razer’s latest DeathAdder V4 Pro Wireless is the cream of the crop. It offers low-latency, fine-tuned controls when precision matters most.

Your average mobile controller is built for gaming on your phone and your phone only, but the Backbone Pro pulls double duty as a working Bluetooth accessory. People on the go may not have room to pack more than one controller, and the Backbone Pro is a great one, whether paired with a phone or working alone.

What would a PS1 with modern guts, capable of perfectly emulating not only the console’s original titles but also other game systems, while supporting classic controllers and memory cards, look like? Precisely like the SuperStation One, an FPGA gaming console created by gaming YouTuber Taki Udon.

There are a lot of wireless earbuds out there, but few are suitable for real gaming. The SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds, thanks to a 2.4GHz dongle, offer low-latency audio and loads of PS5 presets that EQ them for a wide range of titles.

Now that an update has unlocked the ability to stream PlayStation 5 games directly from the cloud, the PlayStation Portal is a more usable handheld than it was at launch in 2023.

If you know someone who loves to game on the PlayStation 5 but wants something more esports-centric than the traditional DualSense controller, Razer’s Raiju V3 Pro is an excellent gift. It has the same basic shape but adds remappable and removable back buttons, stick-resistant joysticks, and a low-latency 2.4GHz connection.

Hall-effect keyboards are all the rage this year, but the Corsair Vanguard Pro 96 stands out with its LCD screen, side-facing macro switches, and hot-swappable keys. Magnetic switches allow users to set custom actuation points and sound profiles.

Anybody who remembers the Nintendo DS or 3DS fondly will immediately find the AYN Thor appealing. You can play games or watch videos on either the top or bottom screen, but the device’s main purpose is to emulate old DS titles.

There’s simply no better-sounding headset this year for PC or PlayStation 5 gamers. Anybody who wants to hear sweeping soundtracks at their peak will fall in love with the Sony Inzone H9 II.

The Asus ROG Falcata split keyboard allows gamers to eschew the right half of the deck while keeping the WASD keys at the ready. It’s another Hall-effect keyboard, but its design makes it an ergonomic option for players who want to save their wrists during long gaming sessions.

Old-timers who have Nintendo 64 cartridges gathering dust in their attics will fall in love with the Analogue 3D, which can play N64 titles natively on a modern TV. Just remember to clean your games before slotting them in.

The successor to the original Switch needs no introduction, really, but here’s a refresher: its screen is larger and higher-resolution, the magnetic Joy-Con 2 is bigger and supports mouse mode in select titles, the speakers deliver fuller audio, and more powerful chips deliver prettier games at higher refresh rates.

Among all the gaming handheld PCs released this year, Lenovo’s Legion Go S with SteamOS makes it the simplest to access the Steam library without a computer. It feels great to use, and the 8-inch display will benefit anyone who has trouble seeing games on a smaller screen.

Gamers who got a new PC this year may also want a screen that shows off every frame with the best contrast. The Alienware AW3423DWF QD-OLED is one of the prettiest monitors around, with a gently curved panel to help gamers get sucked into the action.

The ROG Xbox Ally X offers the easiest Windows PC handheld experience yet. For gamers who want to play all their PC games, whether on Epic, Steam, or Xbox, the Ally will be a constant, comfortable companion.

Samsung’s massive 49-inch G9 ultrawide monitor is the perfect gift for a gamer with a massive, empty desk. Just make sure any giftee has a good enough gaming rig to take advantage of the ludicrous 32:9 aspect ratio at 1440p.

Razer’s 2025 Blade 14 refresh is one of the less gamer-y gaming laptops on the market. With powerful chips and a stunning OLED screen, the system runs AAA games superbly, producing solid graphics and frame rates.

The gloriously excessive MSI Titan 18 HX Dragon Edition Norse Myth will make a gamer the envy of all—if money is no object. It comes packed with a high-end Intel chip, Nvidia’s latest RTX 5090 GPU, and a wild-looking dragon on the lid.