The 2025 Adventure Game Hotshot Awards

• Features by Adventure Game Hotspot staff
• Published:
• Page 6/6

Best Adventure Game of 2025 – The Drifter 

Sometimes the choice for Adventure Game of the Year is a no-brainer, because one game stands head and shoulders above the rest. Other times there’s a battle of titans at the top as two or three games square off for genre supremacy. But 2025 was such a powerhouse year for great adventures that five, ten, or even more games could make a legitimate claim to stand atop the rest as the hottest of Hotshots. All very different; all equally deserving: Foolish Mortals was a ridiculously good debut; Old Skies thoroughly immersed us in time travel; Blue Prince blew our minds; Keeper made our jaws drop; Dispatch made superheroes fun again; and several games evolved the burgeoning “deduction” sub-genre in amazing ways. We could go on!

But in the end, only one can win, and Powerhoof’s The Drifter earns that honor as an incredible feat of storytelling, gameplay, and production alike. It may look like a forgotten game from the genre’s Golden Era, with its luscious, moody pixel art and simple point-and-click mechanics, but it plays like a natural progression of those beloved classics. With full (and fantastic) voice acting and cinematic frame-by-frame animation, the game cuts no corners on presentation, or the kinds of quality-of-life luxuries gamers have come to expect. Except for a hint system – but with well-balanced puzzles and “action” sequences seamlessly woven into a riveting, fast-paced story of danger and intrigue, there’s no need for hand-holding as you’ll be determined to help protagonist Mick Carter overcome his trials if it’s the last thing he does. And it WILL be, again and again and again.

There’s simply nothing about The Drifter that isn’t polished to a fine (if thematically grim and oppressive) sheen. If you’re a story lover, it’s like a nail-biting interactive page turner; if it’s puzzles that excite you, you’ll have your hands full staying alive and continuing your pursuit of justice; if characters are your thing, you’ll come to care for Mick deeply. If it’s production value, the only question is which is better: the stylish, stunningly atmospheric pixel art visual aesthetic or the immersive music, voice-overs and sound design. For all of these reasons and more, Powerhoof and designer Dave Lloyd have delivered a masterclass in adventure game design, earning The Drifter our first-ever Hotshot Award for Best Adventure.

Runners-up:

Foolish Mortals
Old Skies
Blue Prince
The Séance of Blake Manor
Keeper
Dispatch
Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer
The Roottrees Are Dead
Rosewater

Congratulations to the 2025 Hotshots, final nominees, and ALL the developers who made the past year such a memorable one for gamers. There are other great titles to discover as well, so happy adventuring to all! Here's hoping for an equally competitive 2026.

For now, that's all she wrote! Or rather, that's all the following writers contributed: 

Will Aickman, Sam Amiotte-Beaulieu, Alyssa Butler, Evan Dickens, Courtney Ehrenhofler, Lizzie Frizzle, Brian Hobbs, Jenna Ruby Marvet, Shawn Mills, Johnny Nys, Drew Onia, Sean Parker, Pascal Tekaia, Peter Mattsson and Jack Allin.

Hotshot award laurel and article banner designed by Tag of Joy's Šarūnas Ledas.

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