Best 2025 Video Games for facial animations

#1 Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
5.0

Facial animation evidence is uniformly positive, with reviewers highlighting detailed faces, capture, and rendered human contact.

Pros: animation quality, facial animations

Cons: quest design, AI behavior

#2 Donkey Kong Bananza
5.0

Facial animations were highlighted for giving DK strong personality and expressiveness.

Pros: gameplay mechanics, world interactivity

Cons: economy and resource balance, enemy variety

#3 Silent Hill f
5.0

Facial animations received a strong positive note for clearly representing character emotions in Unreal Engine 5.

Pros: voice acting, emotional impact

Cons: family friendliness, menu usability

#4 The Alters
5.0

Facial animation evidence was positive, with one reviewer specifically praising how faces reflect current attitude.

Pros: controls responsiveness, onboarding experience

Cons: crash stability, grind level

#5 South of Midnight
4.6

Facial animations were praised for expressive character detail that supported the performances.

Pros: atmosphere, voice acting

Cons: world interactivity, camera behavior

#6 Ghost of Yōtei
4.5

Facial animation is praised in cutscenes and Atsu’s expressions, with reviewers noting visible emotion and strong performance capture.

Pros: movement feel, environmental detail

Cons: puzzle design, age appropriateness

#7 Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
4.5

Facial work earned praise in one review as an unexpectedly strong visual element for Nintendo.

Pros: world-building, frame rate stability

Cons: companion AI, upgrade system

#8 Split Fiction
4.5

Facial animation/lip sync received specific praise from one reviewer.

Pros: puzzle design, level design

Cons: exploration quality, side character depth

#9 Monster Hunter Wilds
4.4

Facial animations were positively noted as more natural and helpful in grounding the more serious presentation.

Pros: art direction, cross-play support

Cons: dialogue quality, monetization fairness

#10 Pokémon Legends: Z-A
4.2

Facial animations received positive evidence when characters were described as more expressive than before.

Pros: crash stability, gameplay mechanics

Cons: AI behavior, monetization fairness

#11 Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
4.0

Facial animations are generally praised for adding nuance, though some reviewers found certain faces uncanny or off-angle.

Pros: world interactivity, sandbox freedom

Cons: crash stability, learning curve

#12 Doom: The Dark Ages
4.0

Facial animations received a positive single assessment as solid.

Pros: environmental detail, polish

Cons: camera behavior, value for money

#13 Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
3.8

Facial animations were mixed: one review praised expressive faces, another criticized lip syncing, and another praised facial animation effects.

Pros: character roster, animation quality

Cons: core gameplay loop, polish

#14 Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
3.8

Facial animation feedback was mixed: one reviewer noted lifeless dialogue faces, while another praised key character animations.

Pros: soundtrack quality, fun factor

Cons: checkpoint system, family friendliness

#15 Goodnight Universe
3.5

Facial animations had a minor caveat, with one reviewer noting occasional lip-sync issues.

Pros: side character depth, visual effects quality

Cons: user interface design, handheld play suitability

#16 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
3.3

Facial presentation was mixed because voice and scenes landed, but lip-sync problems appeared in minor scenes.

Pros: monetization fairness, microtransaction impact

Cons: platforming precision, menu usability

#17 Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter
2.9

Facial animations and lip sync were more mixed, with explicit criticism of off lip syncing and awkward presentation.

Pros: protagonist appeal, art direction

Cons: camera behavior, tutorial quality

#18 Avowed
2.8

Facial animations were criticized in later impressions as not matching next-generation expectations.

Pros: tutorial quality, level design

Cons: stealth mechanics, endgame content

#19 Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles
2.6

Facial and character animations were mixed to negative, with some appreciation for added animation but complaints about stiffness or awkward mouths.

Pros: emotional impact, polish

Cons: bug frequency, crash stability

#20 Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4
2.5

Facial or head rendering received limited criticism, mainly around underwhelming skater heads or NPC appearances.

Pros: core gameplay loop, controls responsiveness

Cons: crash stability, cross-save support

#21 Atomfall
2.0

Facial animations drew a negative review for rubbery, distorted faces during expression.

Pros: art direction, frame rate stability

Cons: boss design, camera behavior