The top most controversial games of 2025

Deus Ex Remastered

Another of the game’s most controversial games is also a remaster – a remaster of one of the top video game exclusives, none other than Cyberpunk RPG Deus Ex. So logically gamers were expecting great things from the remastered edition of the game, but many were in disbelief when Aspyr (the people behind the remaster) released a trailer announcing its February 2026 release date. The game’s looks were universally panned, from what looked like AI upscaled textures to the fact that character models had a plasticky, shiny look which was far removed from the iconic look of characters like protagonist JC Denton in the original.

The remaster will also offer support for modern PCs (and will also launch on consoles), full controller support and high resolutions, a welcome thing taking into account it can be hard to get the original Deus Ex (a game from the year 2000) running on modern systems… But even Aspyr saw fit to postpone the game’s release indefinitely, or at least until they could deliver a product that Deus Ex fans would approve. This means those who never played the classic original (and who may not care about the graphical differences between the remaster and the original game) will now have to wait for longer to play it, making all this one of the top video game controversies of the year no doubt.

Oblivion Remastered

Video game company Bethesda released a remaster of classic RPG The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion without prior announcement this year, even if everyone knew it was coming as the game’s existence had been leaked beforehand… But thanks to its brilliant graphical upgrade, gameplay tweaks and quality of life improvements, this was one of the top gaming experiences of the year. Oblivion Remastered did spark controversy, though, and this was not just about Bethesda selling horse armor DLC again…

You see, the fact that gender options were missing in the character creation screen rubbed some people the wrong way. There was a “body type” selection available instead of male or female options… Some thought maybe Bethesda should have left this as it was in the original game (and indeed a controversial mod restores this option for the PC version), even if this did not detract from the quality of Bethesda’s remaster of its classic RPG.

Another controversy had to do with the game’s music. The composer behind Oblivion’s fabulous soundtrack had been accused of sexual misconduct in the past. But even if he denied the allegations, some thought maybe Bethesda should have remixed or replaced the music in Oblivion Remastered. It’s hard to think of Oblivion without its iconic music though, which Bethesda is still selling as DLC too…