3 Best Game Releases in The Past Week From 14th July 2025 To 20th July 2025

Summer is in full swing, and with the last days of school comes a need to fill overheated days with ice lollies and a much-needed distraction of colorful game releases as sweat saturates our clothing and we try not to melt. This week has seen the start of the mammoth game releases, with highly developed masterpieces sitting comfortably beside games of true Indie revelation. As per the norm, we at Total Apex have tried to find the best of the best, but it is a little difficult when there are so many fantastic game drops to choose from in one week.

Still, those below have made our list for a reason. So grab that ice-lolly, grab a snack, and come and see what we’re playing to get us through these tryingly tropical times.

#1: Donkey Kong Bananza

You didn’t honestly think we’d be starting a list like this with anything else, did you? Since Donkey Kong Bananza’s release for the Switch 2 on 17th July 2025, the internet has been abuzz with just how good this game release is, an impressive feat for a 3D platformer in today’s modern gaming society. Donkey Kong, like Mario, is one of Nintendo’s most iconic figures, with a range of platforming, puzzle, and spin-off games under his tie, but the famous name can lead a player to certain expectations that ultimately put a game into a box before it’s even been played.

Donkey Kong Bananza does everything it can to smash those expectations with absolutely phenomenal results. Much like Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the game feels like it’s centralised around saying yes to the player. Can DK destroy this wall? The answer is yes. Can he pick up a piece of the ground beneath his feet and chuck it at his opponent? Yes. Can he scale this seemingly random wall that is totally off the beaten track? Absolutely.

The result of this freedom means that the game is simply fun. This game release fully taps into what players pick up a console for in the first place: to experience new worlds, to explore and conquer, and to do it all in their own unique ways, and it never stops providing for that type of player.

Whilst pulling off this special kind of malleability to make the game play incredible, Donkey Kong Bananza also manages not to be too meandering, dialling in to the simian king himself and paying homage to previous games in the series to remind the player just exactly what kind of game they’re playing and with what kind of character. This balance of freedom and iconic management is achieved with expert finesse, making Donkey Kong Bananza truly worthy of all the attention it has received so far.

#2: Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream

This game release seems to have cropped up out of the woodwork with the goal of stealing people’s breath with how unexpectedly good it is. Even with Donkey Kong Bananza turning the most internet heads this week, this game has not only managed to stand out, but it has stunning elements of replayability that will have its players coming back for months to come. Eriksholm is a stealth adventure at its heart, boasting beautiful artwork, stunning graphics, smooth gameplay, and a gripping story that is executed with real emotional gravitas.

If there is a hole in your life that the Thief games usually occupy, then this game is for you, though the perspective of this isometric game is far less personal than Thief, putting less emphasis on feats of extraordinary dexterity and more on tactical stealth. You initially play as Hannah, who has lost her brother in an early 19th-century-inspired Nordic town, but you later unlock other characters who come with their own thrillingly unique skillsets.

As Hannah, you’ll be able to use darts to stun the guards, but as Alva, you’ll be able to scale drain pipes and use a slingshot to take out lights and distract those pesky NPCs. Learning to switch between these characters to maximise your advantage in certain situations is as much a part of the game as the stealth itself, bringing an interesting sense of camaraderie in a game where you’re not entirely sure who can be trusted.

There is a lot to unravel in this game, including a deepening conspiracy plot, puzzles that bring new light to the lore of the world, and a mastery of shadows that rewards its players for being patient and tactical, rather than reactive, as modern games tend to in a world of instant gratification-addicted audiences. The game is out on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC and was released on 15th July 2025.

#3: Shadow Labyrinth

Oh, to be a fly on the wall in the Bandai Namco meeting where they suggested a sci-fi adventure re-imagining of Pac-Man. Kudos to whichever bigwig took the bull by the horns and said ‘go for it’, though, because this game delivers in ways you truly wouldn’t expect. The 2D platformer was released on 17th July 2025 for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Switch 2, Switch, and PC and follows the story of a young boy who is sucked into an alternative dimension where he meets Pacman, who is imprisoned on an alien planet. The boy is then tasked with helping Pac-Man to escape, and the journey begins.

Right away, it becomes obvious that some real love has gone into this game. The gameplay is polished, yet innovative, with the player switching between the various eclectic abilities of the boy, or Swordsman No.8, as Pac-Man refers to him, and Pac-Man himself. True to the original Pac-Man, our small yellow buddy consumes whatever falls on the ground or floats on his rails, but as Swordsman No.8 continues to lead the charge, he also eats the enemies that fall in battle to provide the keys to essential upgrades.

The play style is challenging, yet it really sits in that sweet spot of just being challenging enough to be good fun, and as the game progresses, Swordsman No.8 and Pac-Man turn into this well-oiled machine of symbiosis that has the player thinking in unique tactical terms. The story, while not heavy, remains darkly mysterious, with intriguing hints as to why Pac-Man is imprisoned here in the first place, and whether or not you’re truly on the side of good as you progress through aptly designed labyrinthine levels.

So Much More

This week’s game releases were hard to whittle down. Alongside the above, honorable mentions must be given to RoboCop, The Wandering Village, and Destiny 2: Edge of Fate, all of which are also a hard recommend for anyone looking to expand their library as they find themselves with time off from school or work.

What do you think? Are the games on this list the best of the best for this week? What’s been your favorite release in July? And what have we got in store for us in the coming weeks now that the summer game-train has started rolling?