As 2025 comes to a close, here are my gaming and television recommendations as I reflect upon the year:
GAMING Detroit: Become Human (2018)
It is almost a decade old now, but this is the single most impactful game I have ever played. It is a story-driven video game set in a near-future Detroit where androids are widely used in everyday life from caregivers to shop clerks to sanitation officers and more. You, the player, play as three different androids whose lives intersect at different points in the story and in different ways depending on how you choose to play. The game focuses on choice and consequence, with your decisions shaping the characters' fates and the direction of the story all while exploring themes like identity, morality, and what it means to be human.
I first played it probably back n 2019 or so and since then have watched all the streams of one of the actors as he played through it numerous times as well as other Twichers and Youtubers. This past year I introduced it to my oldest and watched him play it, biting my tongue every time there was a choice because I knew what outcome he would get and wether it would lead to happy outcomes or ... less so. It is a game that has over 100 different variations of how the story can end (some of those variations just slightly different and others drastically different), but it is truly an incredible game. Perhaps the best thing about this game is there is no 'wrong' way to play and even the menu android will remind you that this is your story and yours alone. Sure, there are happier endings to be hand, but all paths lead to incredibly storytelling so there really is no 'losing' in the traditional sense.
Split Fiction (2025)
This game just came out this year and after I watched a pair of Youtubers play it a little, I just knew I wanted to get it to play with my kids - it was an absolute blast.
Split Fiction is a co-op adventure game where two writers are trapped inside worlds based on their own stories after a machine steals their ideas (don't worry, not a spoiler and you learn this essentially through the opening cutscene). One world is sci-fi, the other fantasy, and the game shifts back and forth between the two. It is a game designed entirely around teamwork and every level consists of tasks and puzzles that you simply cannot complete without the other person. Probably one of its best features, especially for my youngest who is cutthroat and competitive with everything along with being incredibly hard on himself when he doesn't perform something perfectly the first time, is that when your character 'dies', they respawn immediately. In boss fights, as long as one of you is still alive then the battle continues. But when you both inevitably get got, the screen simply turns black and white and soon resets to the last milestone in the boss battle. No game over screen, no you died, no 'give up or continue' - just 'oops, okay let's try that again vibes' which was really perfect.
It is colorful, fun, and the levels are so clever and full of personality. No spoilers BUT, the only bad thing the three of us had to say about the game was the final boss fight was a tiny bit of a let down but still an incredibly fun game that we will go back every so often and replay levels that we enjoyed. Another awesome feature of this game is that you can play it remotely with someone else as long as one of you owns the game and gives a Friend's Pass to the other — then one of you installs the free Friend’s Pass version from their platform's store (PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch 2) AND you don't have to be using the same platform as one another.
Television Adolescence (2025)
Wow. I hesitated giving this a watch because I knew how heavy the subject matter would be... but wow, wow, wow, am I glad I did.
Adolescence is a British drama miniseries that, at its core, focuses on how modern teenage life, family, and online culture can collide. It is an incredibly impactful British drama miniseries, and one of those rare shows that makes you pause, reflect, and have genuinely important conversations afterward. Rather than leaning into shock or spectacle, the series stays deeply human, focusing on cause, consequence, and the quiet moments in between.
What is especially incredible about this series (outside of the impeccable performances) is that each episode is filmed as one continuous shot - zero visible cuts if there are even any - which makes you feel like you, as a viewer, are inside the events as they unfold.The result is a grounded, almost uncomfortably real experience that refuses to sensationalize tragedy. Instead, the show invites viewers to hold up a mirror to themselves and their lives, asking what role we each play in the world we exist in (in families, schools, and online spaces and offline spaces) and how easily things can be missed when people aren't truly listening.
This was not an easy watch, but after finishing it ... felt like an essential one.
Fullmetal Alchemist (2004) & Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009)
If you saw my Seektober this year, this recommendation comes as no surprise
It was a (third? fourth?) rewatch for me this year and yet, somehow, the show almost gets better every single time - though gosh I wish I could watch it again for the first time to be shocked by the plot twists and reveals again. I personally always prefer to watch things subtitled in their original languages, but with it dubbed in many languages...I would just recommend you watch it in whatever is going to help you enjoy the experience and don't let anyone be a snob or put you down if that way just so happens to be the way that doesn't require you reading.
The story follows brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, gifted alchemists in a world where alchemy is real, who attempt the forbidden human transmutation to resurrect their dead mother, resulting in Edward losing a leg, Alphonse his entire body, and Edward saving his brother's soul by binding it to armor... losing an arm in the process. Now, they seek the legendary Philosopher's Stone to restore their bodies and along their journey uncover dark government conspiracies, powerful Homunculi, so much more... all while learning the true meaning of equivalent exchange and human life.
And the opening and ending songs are all bangers - was kind of shocked at least one of them wasn't on my top 5 in my Spotify Wrapped this year.
Recommendations 
x12 
x8
It's very musical theater-ish, with 100+ ORIGINAL songs created literally just for the 4 seasons. And the way it tackles mental health, body positivity, lgbtq+ friendly ... ugh, it's just such a brilliant masterpiece of a show, that even though it ended in 2019, (it was only taken off netflix last year), it's one of those shows that I'll frequently find myself playing the songs on youtube just to reminisce.
