Predictable Triumph: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Won Seven Awards at the Golden Joystick Awards 2025

Art Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Source: Steam

The first major award ceremony for the best games of 2025 has taken place — the Golden Joystick Awards.

Many of its results were predictable, as an unusually large number of great games were released this year, but the leaders were obvious to everyone.

What is known

Immediately after the release of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 it was clear that this game would receive many prestigious awards and become one of the contenders for best release, and the Golden Joystick Awards 2025 proved it.

Sandfall Interactive's debut game won in all seven categories where it was presented, being named "Game of the Year", and also received awards in "Best Narrative", "Best Soundtrack", "Best Visual Design", "Best Lead Performance", "Best Supporting Performance", and "Studio of the Year".

Ghost of Yōtei was nominated for five awards but won only two, including “Console Game of the Year”, the same number of victories as Hollow Knight: Silksong. To the disappointment of many, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach did not receive any awards, although undoubtedly they are also top-class games.

Grand Theft Auto VI, which is a year away from release, managed to receive two awards — for Best Trailer and Most Anticipated Game.

This year, the professional jury chose winners in four categories and here is their verdict:

• "Critics' Choice Game" — Donkey Kong Bananza;
• "Breakthrough of the Year" — Schedule I;
• "Streamers' Choice Game" — PEAK;
• "Golden Joystick Awards Hall of Fame" — The Sims series.

Over 21 million people took part in the general voting, which determined the laureates of the Golden Joystick Awards 2025 (the winner in all categories is listed first, followed by games in random order).

Game of the Year

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33;
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II;
• Split Fiction;
• Hollow Knight: Silksong;
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach;
• Blue Prince;
• Donkey Kong Bananza;
• Ghost of Yōtei;
• Hades II;
• Hollow Knight: Silksong;
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle;
• PEAK;
• Silent Hill f.

Best Narrative

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33;
• Silent Hill f;
• Blue Prince;
• Mafia: The Old Country;
• Lost Records: Bloom Rage;
• The Hundred Line — Last Defense Academy.

Best Visual Design

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33;
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach;
• The Midnight Walk;
• Ghost of Yōtei;
• Sword of the Sea;
• Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Best Audio Design

• Ghost of Yōtei;
• Battlefield 6;
• Donkey Kong Bananza;
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach;
• Two Point Museum;
• Cronos: The New Dawn.

Best Soundtrack

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33;
• South of Midnight;
• Silent Hill f;
• Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream;
• Deltarune;
• Sword of the Sea.

PC Game of the Year

• Hollow Knight: Silksong;
• The Alters;
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II;
• PEAK;
• Abiotic Factor;
• Dune: Awakening.

Console Game of the Year

• Ghost of Yōtei;
• Donkey Kong Bananza;
• Monster Hunter Wilds;
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach;
• Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds;
• Mario Kart World.

Best Indie Game

• Blue Prince;
• Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector;
• Wanderstop;
• Skin Deep;
• despelote;
• Herdling;
• Abiotic Factor;
• Baby Steps;
• Caves of Qud;
• Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor.

Best Indie Game (Unpublished)

• Hollow Knight: Silksong;
• Hades II;
• Sword of the Sea;
• PEAK;
• Keep Driving;
• Spilled!;
• Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders;
• Deltarune;
• Promise Mascot Agency;
• Consume Me.

Best Remake or Remaster

• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered;
• Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater;
• Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter;
• The Talos Principle: Reawakened;
• Gears of War: Reloaded;
• Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4.

Best Expansion

• Lies of P: Overture;
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants;
• No Man’s Sky: Voyagers;
• Atomfall Story Expansion Pack: The Red Strain;
• Assassin’s Creed Shadows — Claws of Awaji;
• Still Wakes the Deep: Siren’s Rest.

Best Early Access Game

• R.E.P.O.;
• Grounded 2;
• Schedule I;
• 9 Kings;
• skate;
• White Knuckle.

Best Multiplayer

• PEAK;
• Battlefield 6;
• Elden Ring: Nightreign;
• Split Fiction;
• Mario Kart World;
• Rematch.

Best Support for Game on PC and Consoles

• Minecraft;
• Dead by Daylight;
• Helldivers 2;
• Naraka: Bladepoint;
• Satisfactory;
• Call of Duty: Warzone;
• Marvel Rivals;
• Fortnite;
• Apex Legends;
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege X;
• GTA Online;
• Warframe.

Best Mobile Game Support

• Pokémon GO;
• Call of Duty: Mobile;
• Subway Surfers;
• Clash Royale;
• Honkai: Star Rail;
• Genshin Impact;
• Zenless Zone Zero;
• Roblox;
• Free Fire;
• PUBG Mobile.

Best Performance

• Jennifer English — Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33;
• Troy Baker — Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle;
• Tom McKay — Henry in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II;
• Alex Jordan — Jan Dolski in The Alters;
• Erika Ishii — Atsu in Ghost of Yōtei;
• Adriyan Rae — Hazel in South of Midnight.

Best Supporting Performance

• Ben Starr — Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33;
• Troy Baker — Higgs in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach;
• Jim High — Erik in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II;
• Lucy Griffiths — Alva in Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream;
• Logan Cunningham — multiple roles in Hades II;
• Marios Gavrilis — Emmerich Voss in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

Studio of the Year

• Sandfall Interactive;
• Team Cherry;
• Aggro Crab and Landfall;
• Bloober Team;
• Sloclap;
• Rebellion.

Best Adaptation

• Second season of Arcane (Netflix);
• Devil May Cry (Netflix);
• Second season of The Last of Us (HBO);
• "Minecraft: The Movie" (Warner Bros. Pictures);
• Secret Level (Prime Video);
• Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Paramount Pictures).

Best Game Trailer

• Grand Theft Auto VI — Trailer 2;
• Battlefield 6 — Official Launch Live Action Trailer;
• Rhythm Doctor — Official Release Date Trailer;
• The Expanse: Osiris Reborn — Announcement Trailer;
• ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN — Announcement Trailer;
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II — Official CGI Trailer: Live a Life Medieval.

Best Hardware

• AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D;
• Nintendo Switch 2;
• Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller;
• WD_BLACK SN8100 NVMe SSD;
• Elgato Facecam 4K;
• Razer Blade 16.

Most Anticipated Game

• Grand Theft Auto VI;
• Resident Evil Requiem;
• The Witcher IV;
• Black Myth: Zhong Kui;
• LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Night;
• 007 First Light;
• EXODUS;
• Subnautica 2;
• Light No Fire;
• The Expanse: Osiris Reborn;
• Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet;
• SAROS;
• The Blood of Dawnwalker;
• Crimson Desert;
• Kingdom Hearts IV;
• Marvel’s Wolverine;
• Hell Let Loose: Vietnam;
• OD: KNOCK;
• Onimusha: Way of the Sword;
• Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy.

Source: Golden Joystick Awards 2025