Indies rise and virality pressures

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
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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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