{"id":42174,"date":"2026-03-10T04:35:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T06:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=42174"},"modified":"2026-06-14T09:45:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T13:45:03","slug":"vgu-tv-goty-2025-day-2-best-re-release-best-debut-studio-most-fun-games-as-a-helping-hand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=42174","title":{"rendered":"VGU.TV GOTY 2025 Day 2: Best Re-Release, Best Debut Studio, Most Fun, &amp; Games as a Helping Hand"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center;display: block\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/q8_VhA8YylE?version=3&amp;rel=1&amp;showsearch=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;iv_load_policy=1&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=en-US&amp;autohide=2&amp;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>New year, same club.<\/p>\n<p>Welcome back to The Player\u2019s Club Podcast!<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s been a while, but we haven&#8217;t been doing nothing all this time. Al, Graydon, Emmett, and Josh have all gotten back together to talk about the best games they played in 2025. There are 4 whole days of deliberations, so let\u2019s keep the party going in this second episode! Day two includes the following categories: Best Upgrade\/Re-Release, Games as a Helping Hand, Best Debut Studio, and Most Fun.<\/p>\n<p>  \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>     Timestamps:<\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          00:00 Start<\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          Best Upgrade\/Cash Grab\/Re-Release\u00a0 \u00a0 8:35:15\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          Games as a Helping Hand\u00a0 \u00a0 34:32\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          Best Debut Studio\u00a0 \u00a0 51:48\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          Most Fun\u00a0 \u00a0 1:04:14\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          Let&#8217;s Wrap It Up!\u00a0 \u00a0 1:24:58\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>     Housekeeping:<\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          Darwin Paradox | VGU Test Drive (<a href=\"https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=42137\">https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=42137<\/a>) <\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          Malibu Bikini Volleyball l Game Olympics (<a href=\"https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=42122\">https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=42122<\/a>) <\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          The Player&#8217;s Club Podcast Special: Black Jeopardy 2026 &#8211; VGU.TV (<a href=\"https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=42090\">https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=42090<\/a>) <\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          The 25 Best Video Essays of 2025 &#8211; VGU.TV (<a href=\"https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=41844\">https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=41844<\/a>) <\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          Emmett&#8217;s 2026 Gaming Resolutions &#8211; VGU.TV (<a href=\"https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=41423\">https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=41423<\/a>) \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Check out YouTube Channel here!\u2060 (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCYNf0R9uHJCv-oJnEijWTWQ\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCYNf0R9uHJCv-oJnEijWTWQ<\/a>) <\/p>\n<p>\u2060Follow us on Bluesky, @vgu.bsky.social!\u2060 (<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/vgutv.bsky.social\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/vgutv.bsky.social<\/a>) <\/p>\n<p>\u2060Like us on Facebook!\u2060 (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/VGU.TV\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/VGU.TV<\/a>) <\/p>\n<p>\u2060Follow us on Instagram! (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/vgu_tv?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&amp;igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/vgu_tv?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&#038;igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New year, same club.<\/p>\n<p>Welcome back to The Player\u2019s Club Podcast!<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s been a while, but we haven&#8217;t been doing nothing all this time. Al, Graydon, Emmett, and Josh have all gotten back together to talk about the best games they played in 2025. There are 4 whole days of deliberations, so let\u2019s keep the party going in this second episode! Day two includes the following categories: Best Upgrade\/Re-Release, Games as a Helping Hand, Best Debut Studio, and Most Fun.<\/p>\n<p>  \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>     Timestamps:<\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          00:00 Start<\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          Best Upgrade\/Cash Grab\/Re-Release\u00a0 \u00a0 8:35:15\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          Games as a Helping Hand\u00a0 \u00a0 34:32\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          Best Debut Studio\u00a0 \u00a0 51:48\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          Most Fun\u00a0 \u00a0 1:04:14\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          Let&#8217;s Wrap It Up!\u00a0 \u00a0 1:24:58\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>     Housekeeping:<\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          Darwin Paradox | VGU Test Drive (<a href=\"https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=42137\">https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=42137<\/a>) <\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          Malibu Bikini Volleyball l Game Olympics (<a href=\"https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=42122\">https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=42122<\/a>) <\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          The Player&#8217;s Club Podcast Special: Black Jeopardy 2026 &#8211; VGU.TV (<a href=\"https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=42090\">https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=42090<\/a>) <\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          The 25 Best Video Essays of 2025 &#8211; VGU.TV (<a href=\"https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=41844\">https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=41844<\/a>) <\/p>\n<p>       \u2022  <\/p>\n<p>          Emmett&#8217;s 2026 Gaming Resolutions &#8211; VGU.TV (<a href=\"https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=41423\">https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=41423<\/a>) \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Check out YouTube Channel here!\u2060 (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCYNf0R9uHJCv-oJnEijWTWQ\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCYNf0R9uHJCv-oJnEijWTWQ<\/a>) <\/p>\n<p>\u2060Follow us on Bluesky, @vgu.bsky.social!\u2060 (<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/vgutv.bsky.social\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/vgutv.bsky.social<\/a>) <\/p>\n<p>\u2060Like us on Facebook!\u2060 (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/VGU.TV\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/VGU.TV<\/a>) <\/p>\n<p>\u2060Follow us on Instagram! (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/vgu_tv?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&#038;igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/vgu_tv?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&#038;igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142486874,"featured_media":42202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[682626577],"tags":[682628807,682628814,682628813,682628444,682628502,682622130,682628815,682628816,682628817,682628649,682628812,682622010,682628818,682628743,682628652],"class_list":["post-42174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-videos","tag-clair-obscur","tag-donkey-kong-bonanza","tag-dragon-quest","tag-ej","tag-eternal-strands","tag-goty","tag-lost-records-bloom-and-rage-2","tag-mindseye","tag-ninja-gaiden-4","tag-ninja-gaiden-ii-black","tag-powerwash-simulator-2","tag-suikoden","tag-suit-for-hire","tag-sword-of-the-sea","tag-the-finals"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.6 (Yoast SEO v27.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>VGU.TV GOTY 2025 Day 2: Best Re-Release, Best Debut Studio, Most Fun, &amp; Games as a Helping Hand - VGU.TV<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From Mindseye to Donkey Kong Bonanza, the VGU Crew talk about the best games of 2025, including best Re-Release, Most Fun, and Best Debut.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=42174\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"VGU.TV GOTY 2025 Day 2: Best Re-Release, Best Debut Studio, Most Fun, &amp; Games as a Helping Hand\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From Mindseye to Donkey Kong Bonanza, the VGU Crew talk about the best games of 2025, including best Re-Release, Most Fun, and Best Debut.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=42174\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"VGU.TV\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/VGU.TV\/?eid=ARDE84r-3jN3IdyC7titleE19Nt39CxR8um7mdh83scPowYtsH4cSXt7MKyeYtsaU_GN-XOI5_9qwJ7L\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-10T06:21:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-14T13:45:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vgu.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/maxresdefault-5.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"vgutvstaff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@VGU_TV\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@VGU_TV\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"vgutvstaff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vgu.tv\\\/?p=42174#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vgu.tv\\\/?p=42174\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"vgutvstaff\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vgu.tv\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f61b21fe8e1bba40cb8b1235f9344b98\"},\"headline\":\"VGU.TV GOTY 2025 Day 2: Best Re-Release, Best Debut Studio, Most Fun, &amp; 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