Into the Aether - A Low Key Video Game Podcast The 2025 Game of the Year Spectacular
Dec 31, 2025
Dive into a celebration of 2025's standout video games, where the hosts share their top ten picks and reflect on the industry's shifting landscape post-COVID. They discuss the rise of indie titles, the allure of social gaming, and great narratives in games like Scarlet Hollow and Hollow Knight: Silksong. Exciting insights about intriguing upcoming projects like the PS Vita special and a hilarious debate over Donkey Kong Bonanza add to the fun. Join in as they highlight unique gameplay and community engagement in this year's gaming journey.
06:23:17
Invest In Community Over Hype
- Focus on building and nurturing a community rather than chasing instant trends.
- Invest in genuine relationships and iterative support to sustain long-term indie success.
Producer AJ Loves Strange Jigsaws
- AJ (producer) recommended Strange Jigsaws as a compact, mind-bending GOTY pick and praised its ending shock.
- Hosts put AJ's shoutout in the show notes and member feed for a longer take.
Scarlet Hollow's Chapter-By-Chapter Rise
- Brendon and Stephen described Scarlet Hollow as an ambitious, branching visual-novel horror in progress with rolling chapter releases.
- Both called it a potential GOTY if the series finishes strongly and praised its conversation-driven replayability.
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Intro
00:00 • 5min
How the console retrospectives work
05:20 • 39sec
Patreon tiers and perks
05:59 • 5min
State of games in 2025
11:10 • 3min
Indies rise and virality pressures
13:40 • 6min
Friend‑slop and community play
19:43 • 2min
Authenticity as an indie advantage
21:28 • 8min
Upcoming Vita episode logistics
29:28 • 4min
Ad break
33:40 • 3min
Preparing a PS Vita episode
36:10 • 2min
Brendon's GoTOYs kickoff
37:47 • 2min
Brendon's PSP favorites
39:20 • 4min
Stephen's long‑term GoTOYs
43:03 • 9min
East series and Metroid revisits
51:33 • 6min
Scarlet Hollow and narrative ambition
57:40 • 5min
Puzzle Quest and PSP arcade pleasures
01:02:11 • 4min
Yakuza 0 as a shared standout
01:06:32 • 5min
GoTOYs wrap and logistics
01:11:36 • 18min
Ad break
01:29:47 • 1min
How this GOTY episode works
01:30:58 • 55sec
Brendon's #10: Q‑Up
01:31:53 • 8min
Stephen's #10: Peak
01:39:29 • 5min
Donkey Kong Bonanza & Ball Pit
01:44:25 • 19min
Detective Instinct's short, confident mystery
02:03:47 • 7min
Hades 2: roguelike craft vs narrative
02:11:09 • 12min
Dragon Quest HD 1 & 2 remakes
02:22:44 • 5min
Mario Kart World's open‑world racing
02:27:44 • 10min
Digimon Story: Time Stranger
02:38:13 • 10min
Brendon's #6: Consume Me
02:48:08 • 13min
Sektori's sensory twin‑stick bliss
03:01:26 • 29min
Despolote: an autobiographical football reverie
03:30:38 • 10min
Q‑Up again and social rewards
03:40:18 • 28min
StarVaders' mech roguelike
04:08:15 • 3min
Stephen's #3: Dragon Quest remakes Redux
04:11:04 • 10min
Brendon's #1: The Hundred Line
04:21:11 • 7min
Hollow Knight Silksong near unanimous praise
04:27:45 • 27min
Recap: both top tens and Discord voting
04:54:50 • 15min
Honorable mentions and additional picks
05:10:06 • 22min
Final top five deliberation
05:32:30 • 29min
Ad break
06:01:21 • 3min
How to enter the giveaway
06:04:25 • 2min
Looking ahead to 2026 releases
06:06:04 • 17min
Outro
06:22:37 • 33sec
Hear ye, hear ye!! Don your warmest winter gear and settle in for another recounting of our favorite video games from this most recent year. And by "our" we of course also mean "your." It's everyone's GOTY. And that's why it's called a "Spectacular."
Discussed: Our ten favorite games of 2025, and a lot more.
(Spoilers for our 2026 Season Premiere:) Google Form for your input. Details mentioned in the episode!
Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
Buy some merch, if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
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Follow Stephen Hilger: https://bsky.app/profile/stephenhilger.bsky.social
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.online
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
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Season 8 cover art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://ghostdown.online/
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***🚨SONG CREDITS ARE IN CHAPTERS. FULL SPOILERS FOR THE LIST!!!🚨***
Timecodes:
- (00:00) - Intro
- (01:23) - What the heck is this podcast anyway??
- (06:00) - The PS Vita episode is coming!
- (12:03) - The year 2025
- (33:37) - AJ's Game of the Year!
- (36:07) - GOTOYs
- (53:01) - Zuko of the Year
- (53:57) - GOTOYs
- (01:28:08) - That's the GOTOYs!
- (01:29:27) - Trouble Shooting Star by ZENTA | Yakuza 0 OST
- (01:29:45) - Matt Horton's Game of the Year!
- (01:30:58) - How we do GOTY
- (01:31:52) - Stephen's #10
- (01:38:24) - solar flare by kariomart, Blue Cayman | Q-Up OST
- (01:38:51) - Brendon's #10
- (01:43:58) - Airport by Erik Skog | PEAK OST
- (01:44:24) - Stephen's #9
- (01:54:57) - Lagoon Layer by Naoto Kubo | Donkey Kong Bananza OST
- (01:55:29) - Brendon's #9
- (02:03:19) - Bountiful Harvest by Amos Roddy | Ball X Pit OST
- (02:03:44) - Stephen's #8
- (02:10:38) - Detective by Joey Lopes | Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved OST
- (02:11:09) - Brendon's #8
- (02:22:12) - Reflection Affection (feat. Pau Figueres) by Darren Korb | Hades II
- (02:22:44) - Stephen's #7
- (02:27:11) - Traveling With Friends by Kōichi Sugiyama, performed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra | Dragon Quest II OST
- (02:27:44) - Brendon's #7
- (02:37:32) - Peach Stadium by Nintendo Music Team, Atsuko Asahi, Maasa Miyoshi, Takuhiro Honda, Yutaro Takakuwa | Mario Kart World OST
- (02:38:12) - Stephen's #6
- (02:47:38) - Factorial Area by Masafumi Takada | Digimon Story: Time Stranger OST
- (02:48:08) - Brendon's #6
- (03:00:55) - Glamorous by coda | Consume Me (Original Game Soundtrack)
- (03:01:24) - Erik's Game of the Year!
- (03:02:38) - LOTY
- (03:03:12) - A very special announcement!!!!!!!!!
- (03:07:56) - A call to action!
- (03:15:34) - Getting to the top 5
- (03:17:02) - Stephen's #5
- (03:22:46) - Sightless Shepherd by Darren Korb (featuring Sam Gendel) | Hades II OST
- (03:23:16) - Brendon's #5
- (03:30:11) - Bouncy Castle by Tommy Baynen | Sektori Official Soundtrack
- (03:30:37) - Stephen's #4
- (03:37:39) - Epilogo by pánico | Despelote OST
- (03:38:10) - Joshua Rivera's Game of the Year!
- (03:40:18) - Brendon's #4
- (03:45:15) - r i o by kariomart, Blue Cayman | Q-Up OST
- (03:45:46) - Stephen's #3
- (03:49:55) - Let's Imagine It Freely by plasterbrain | StarVaders OST
- (03:50:26) - Brendon's #3
- (03:59:44) - Beyond the Waves by Kōichi Sugiyama, performed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra | Dragon Quest II OST
- (04:00:14) - Two Shreks or an Opera
- (04:00:32) - Stephen's #2
- (04:07:42) - Incisive Battle by Christoper Larkin | Hollow Knight Silksong OST
- (04:08:13) - Chase's Game of the Year!
- (04:11:06) - Brendon's #2
- (04:20:36) - Stories of All Manor by Trigg & Gusset | Blue Prince OST
- (04:21:05) - Stephen's #1
- (04:34:33) - Rumble by Paledusk (featuring Masato from coldrain) | The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy OST
- (04:35:08) - Lex's Game of the Year
- (04:37:20) - Brendon's #1
- (04:52:39) - Bellhart by Christopher Larkin | Hollow Knight: Silksong (Original Soundtrack)
- (04:53:09) - Scout's Game of the Year!
- (04:54:49) - Recapping the top 10s
- (04:56:00) - Break
- (04:56:02) - One slice of pizza and a one player video game
- (04:56:28) - Stephen's guesses for Brendon's GOTYs
- (04:58:06) - The Discord Top 10 Games of the Year
- (05:10:04) - Andy's Game of the Year!
- (05:11:52) - Honorable Mentions
- (05:12:43) - Stephen's Honorable Mentions
- (05:18:27) - Brendon's Honorable Mentions
- (05:30:26) - Ponk(Matt)'s Game of the Year!
- (05:32:29) - Creating the ITA Top 5
- (05:55:48) - The Into the Aether Top 5 Video Games of 2025
- (05:56:22) - A wish, granted
- (06:00:08) - A surprise!
- (06:04:44) - Into the Future!
- (06:20:20) - Wrapping up
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