8 Games to Look Out for in January (2025)

New year, new crop of video games to sink another hundreds of hours in. We’re back for 2025 with a new list of recommendations of what games we think you should look out for in January. Coming out of the heavy hitter months of late 2024, January usually offers a few big names but not too many that would overcrowd the month. January offers a few AAA game releases, some ports, highly anticipated sequels to some indie games, and more. 

Due to the influx of many big game releases over the last few months, you might need to catch up with knowing what came out. If so then feel free to check out last month’s 8 Games to Look Out for in December (2024). Here are a few other related articles to gander on too.

1. 5 Biggest Horror Games Releasing in January 2025
2. KeenGamer’s Games of the Year 2024
3. The 3 Best and 3 Worst Games I Played in 2024

Project Tower

Fight to the top of their deadly tower for freedom

First on our list is Project Tower, a third-person shooter set in a new science fiction universe. You are introduced to the Hiks, an alien race that has invaded Earth and captured human survivors. You play as one of their human prisoners, forced to become a lab rat for their experiments. The Hiks have created a program that has their prisoners fight their way through various towers. These towers will increase in difficulty due to the Hiks studying you and determining how they can improve their army. Can you complete each tower and outsmart them to gain your freedom?

In this third-person bullet hell, immerse yourself in visceral combat that will engage all your senses. Adapt your playstyle on the go with an arsenal of new weapons as you ascend to the top. Project Tower has a unique Metamorph ability, transforming the player into alien creatures that can help surprise your enemies. Explore the tower’s different floors, facing fearsome enemy hordes and solving complex puzzles. Dive into the adventure and immerse yourself in this new universe. Are you ready to take up the challenges of the tower?

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD

Work together to find those bananas!

Next, we have the return of Nintendo’s favourite apes in Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. Join DK and Diddy Kong on an adventure to recover their precious banana hoard from the villainous Tiki Tak Tribe. Platform your way across DK Island’s vibrant and obstacle-filled levels, all visually enhanced. Deal with obstacles and enemies the DK way, execute moves like Ground Pound, Roll, Blow, and Grab and Cling. Stomp enemies, blast through barrels, and ride rockets in 80 levels across nine worlds, including additional levels from the Nintendo 3DS version. Play the game as it was first designed for the Wii system or reduce the difficulty for extra hearts and other goodies to make your journey a little easier.

Team up with a friend and take on the Tiki Tak Tribe together as DK and Diddy in two-player local co-op. Pelt foes with Diddy’s Peanut Popgun and hover using his Barrel Jet. If you’re playing solo, break open a DK barrel to find Diddy Kong, he’ll take damage instead of DK. Visit vibrant environments filled with things to stomp on and roll through and collect some special items to unlock extras. Letters spelling K-O-N-G are spaced throughout each level. Collect all the letters in all the stages of a world to unlock that world’s temple, where a Rare Orb can be found. Puzzle pieces are hidden in out-of-the-way places. Get all the puzzle pieces in a level to unlock something in the gallery.

Hollywood Animal

Build the studio you want, you’re the boss, not the groundskeeper

For fans of city-builder strategy games, Hollywood Animal could be something to look into. Launching into Early Access this month, take the helm of a major Hollywood studio during the dawn of sound cinema. Guide your studio through decades of creative achievements and glamour while making tough decisions to stay in business. Become a multi-billion-dollar monster that destroys everything in its path using blockbusters that follow strict formulas. Want to create and pursue the arts? Then you can create a boutique studio that aims to conquer film festivals using avant-garde directors. Don’t want either, then feel free to create a trash factory that challenges “good taste” at every turn.

Hollywood Animal doesn’t tell you how you should play and instead encourages the joy of making movies while attempting to keep everything afloat. Of course, while you are having fun making movies, the world is still turning. Wars and social upheaval, censorship and corruption, strained relations with the authorities, and criminal disputes can all impact your studio. You may get buried in an avalanche of problems or perhaps tunnel your way out and seize new opportunities. Make your moves behind the scenes, form unexpected alliances, lie and betray. There are no magic formulas in Hollywood Animal. Only those who can adapt and negotiate survive.

Dynasty Warriors Origins

How will you face the onslaught of enemies?

Return to the legendary Dynasty Warriors series with their latest entry, Dynasty Warriors: Origins. The newest entry has you play a nameless hero who joins in on the conquest of the Three Kingdoms alongside legendary figures. Fueled by the exhilarating 1 vs 1,000 action, experience tension-filled battlefields where you are a one-man army. Set in the vast Chinese continent during the Three Kingdoms era, the story features a magnificent and alluring world newly depicted through the eyes of the original protagonist. Traverse a map, vividly representing the grand world of the Three Kingdoms, containing large-scale historical battles and additional Missions and Skirmishes. Discover new weapons in towns or encounter officers along the way and deepen bonds with them by completing their requests and challenges.

Master the basics of combat, including block-breaking strong attacks, counters and evasion. Unleash powerful attacks by filling up the Musou Gauge via continuous combat.  In addition, you can fight in tandem with your allies’ armies in tactical battles unique to the Dynasty Warriors franchise. Command surrounding allies to perform various actions like advance or cavalry charge. Large Forces can deploy Grand Tactics to dramatically shift the battle with intense group assaults. Wield a variety of weapons, from swords and spears to specialized ones like gauntlets and crescent blades. Use horses for travel and, for certain battlefields, choose a Companion to fight alongside you. You can switch to a Companion during battle for a limited time, so choose the right moment to control them and unleash their powers.

Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter

Hunt down giant beasts, unite disparate clans, upgrade your settlement and discover a terrible secret of blood and crown…

For fans of Souls-like games, Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter should be on your radar. The sequel to Odd Bug Studio’s critically acclaimed action RPG returns with a new challenging adventure. After the great war in the South between Rodent and Frog ended, an old and unspeakable evil stirs in the North. Play as Arlo, heir to the Warden of the Wastes, adventure through harsh northern lands, home to giant beasts and ragtag bandits, in an epic quest to overcome an ancient, blood-starved evil. Tails of Iron 2 will once again be narrated by RPG legend, Doug Cockle (The Witcher) throughout the adventure. 

In the sequel, alongside the many undead bosses you’ll be facing, there are also legendary monsters to hunt down. Track them down and you’ll be rewarded with rare resources used to craft devastating equipment. The lands of the North are a perilous place where surviving will be a challenge so you’ll need to master combat quickly to stay alive. Evade attacks with a dodge roll, nail split-second parry bashes, and unleash an array of gruesome executions. Use an arsenal of weaponry from spears, bows, maces and more. Traversal gets an upgrade with the new grappling hook tool. As Warden of the Wastes, you can construct and upgrade your settlement with earned gold. Whether it’s access to more powerful weapons from the Smithy, tastier meals at the Kitchen, a wider range of powerful traps from the shoppe, and more.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Mask-up for more thrilling web-slinging heroics as Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 swings onto PC.

Another PlayStation exclusive gets ported to PC, this time the sequel to everyone’s favourite web-slinging hero. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 continues the crime-fighting adventure of Peter Parker, though this time newly donned hero Miles Morales joins him. In their next adventure, Peter and Miles must face the might of Kraven the Hunter who is out to hunt the two Spider heroes with his army. However, they’ll face the ultimate test of strength when the power of the symbiote is thrown into the mix. Play as both Peter and Miles and freely switch between them to experience different unique stories and epic new powers. 

Fight against a variety of new and iconic villains including an original take on the monstrous Venom, the volatile Lizard, and many more. Wield Peter’s new symbiote abilities and Miles’ bio-electric venom powers. Discover upgradeable high-tech equipment that will enhance the combat experience for extensive gameplay depth and variety. In Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, you’ll be able to swing, jump and utilise the new Web Wings to travel across New York in style. Explore a larger New York with the inclusion of two new boroughs, Brooklyn and Queens alongside locations like Coney Island and more. One aspect to note is that a PlayStation Network account is required to play. 

Sniper Elite Resistance

New Operative, New Threat, New Epic Campaign

The next game on our list is the latest entry in the Sniper Elite series, Sniper Elite: Resistance. Play a gripping new story as Harry Hawker, an agent of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The story runs parallel with the events of Sniper Elite 5 and will have Harry investigate the Nazi’s insidious new Wunderwaffe. Work alongside the French Resistance to thwart the Reich’s plans and destroy a deadly new weapon that is said to win them the war. Locate unique Propaganda posters across the main campaign and step into the shoes of a French Resistance fighter in all new Propaganda missions. During these scenarios, sneak, snipe and take down enemies to complete time-sensitive objectives and help end the Nazi occupation.

Sniper Elite: Resistance offers unparalleled sniping mechanics, stealth and tactical third-person combat. The trademark X-ray kill cam returns, showing the true destructive power of every shot you make. Multiple Kill List targets and different infiltration and extraction points provide an unequal choice in how you accomplish objectives. Fight against the Nazi war machine with an ally in co-op, share weapons, items and tactical know-how, alongside helping each other get back in the fight when you go down during firefights. The fan-favourite Axis Invasion mode returns, invade another player’s Campaign as an Axis sniper and engage in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector

To stay one step ahead of your pursuers you’ll need three things: A belt-worthy ship, a tight crew and a contract or two.

Finally, our last game pick for January is the highly anticipated sequel, Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector. The sequel takes players to the Starward Belt, a richly realised, ramshackle set of habitats in an asteroid belt. You are a sleeper, an emulation of a human mind housed in an artificial body. You are on the run from the corporation that made you and the gang that seeks to control you. Commandeer a ship, build a network of crew and allies, and take on challenging contracts as you seek to build a future for yourself. The Starward Belt offers a bigger, more varied world than the original game. Instead of living on a single station, you’ll chart a course from hub to hub with complete freedom, taking on jobs and setting goals as you see fit. 

Choose a class, configure your skills and assemble your crew in unique tabletop-inspired gameplay. Each character class now has a unique “Push” ability, upgradable and customisable, that can help you turn the tide of a difficult job  Your future depends on the roll of a dice, as you make difficult choices in a complex world. Take on jobs each with their own challenges. From exploring treacherous derelicts and risky heists to asteroid surveying and ship repair. Use your skills, crew, and resources wisely to complete the contract and get paid. Reinventing the award-winning systems of Citizen Sleeper, this dice-driven RPG aims to satisfy both fans of the original game and new players alike.

Have any other games you’ve got your eye on during January? Let us know in the comments below!

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