The Rogueies: Best Action Game nominees

Action games are the quintessential video game and that makes this kind of a catch-all category. But action games aren't only games that shout, "Shoot'em up, hack'em up, punch'em up, move move MOVE!"

They can be, and often are, more. But having satisfying action is the core requirement here.

Absolum

Absolum is gorgeous top to bottom, but this isn’t “best art” it’s for the best action game of the year. And deserves to be in the running for that as well.

Beat’em’ups don’t always feel the best to play. Too often, I find, you spend a bunch of time lining up the shot and then missing because the pixels were just a little too off or something of that nature. It’s aggravating, and it makes playing many of these gorgeous games a real headache. 

But Absolum feels both tight and restrained in the best way possible. And even though it’s a roguelite, it never overloads you with so many powers that you can just ignore your cool combos – or, at the very least, it takes quite a bit of time to get to that spot.

It has that perfect mix of always-engaging combat and variety that makes every run a joy to mash your way through.

— RG

Donkey Kong Bananza

Since the Switch 2’s launch back in June, there haven’t exactly been a glut of releases for it. And even among the exclusives, only a couple are even really noteworthy. That could sound like damning with faint praise, but it actually just means that Donkey Kong Bananza stands out even more.

Bananza is just a ton of fun to play. It’s big and silly and colorful. And it’s indisputably fun to punch your way through walls.

— JP

Hades 2

Hades 2 takes everything that made Supergiant’s original roguelike awesome and takes it a step further. This sequel features a greater variety of environments, more meaningful progression, more technically interesting combat, and arguably, a more engaging protagonist. We’re even treated to a greatly expanded cast of incredibly thirsty members of the Greek Pantheon.

While I’ve spent a considerable amount of time with nearly every nominee on our list for GOTY 2025, they all pale in comparison to the hours I’ve logged with Hades 2, earning it a nomination for our best action game of 2025. 

— AJ

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

There’s a bit of a debate here at Rogue about the quality-ranked order of the Indiana Jones movies. What’s oddly not up for debate is that one of the best Indiana Jones movies is a video game that doesn’t even star Harrison Ford.

The Great Circle takes everything great about Indiana Jones — the globetrotting, the humor, the costume changes, solving ancient puzzles, the perfunctory not-really-archaeology activities, and (disturbingly relevant here in 2025) punching fascists — and turns it into a playable and immensely enjoyable game.

— JP

Megabonk

Megabonk is a Survivors-like game in three dimensions, with the sense of humor you might find doodled in the margins of a high schooler’s notebook. This includes all the good fun of a roguelite run where you suddenly ascend into God-like status, smiting everything around you (until you run into a sufficiently bullshit boss, of course.) The third dimension allows for fun moments like hopping along a series of towers and knocking down the planks connecting them in order to discourage foes, or having to dodge a massive boulder in a narrow chokepoint.

Much like other roguelikes, you get small statistical upgrades – block chance, crit damage, dodge – but you also get weird and funny upgrades like the chance to spawn a delicious borgor, or unlocking a character called Megachad who uses his powers to aurafarm the skeletons around him and mog on all foes. Yeah, this game is the emotional equivalent of the Cool S, but it’s fun! At a price point of $10, Megabonk outperforms games ten times its size on the fun factor.

— CM