Best 2025 Nintendo Video Games for world-building

#1 Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
5.0

World-building was a strength in reviews that praised scanning, Lamorn history, and the way environments explained Viewros.

Pros: boss design, graphics quality

Cons: open-world design, side character depth

#2 Hades II
4.8

World-building is praised for Greek myth reinterpretation, relationship-driven lore, and the broader conflict around the Underworld and Olympus.

Pros: combat system, progression system

Cons: originality

#3 Mario Kart World Review
4.7

World-building was praised where reviewers felt the courses and regions fit together into a coherent interconnected continent.

Pros: content variety, soundtrack quality

Cons: open-world design, exploration quality

#4 Donkey Kong Bananza
4.6

World-building earned praise for strange underground societies, internal logic, and franchise-aware details.

Pros: fun factor, world interactivity

Cons: frame rate stability, boss design

#5 Kirby Air Riders
4.5

World-building was praised through Road Trip's cosmic tale spanning the Kirby universe.

Pros: battle mode quality, content variety

Cons: learning curve, competitive balance

#6 Pokémon Legends: Z-A
4.4

World-building was a strength for many reviewers, especially around Lumiose's civic tensions, coexistence themes, and wider Pokémon-world implications.

Pros: combat system, exploration quality

Cons: graphics quality, voice acting

#7 Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment
3.6

World-building was mixed, praised as meaningful Zelda history while some reviews said ancient Hyrule felt insufficiently distinct.

Pros: combat system, character roster

Cons: level design, mission design