Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 took home the top honors for Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2025 tonight. Check out the full list of winners in every category at The Game Awards website.
Winning the big award beat out a crowded field of stellar nominees such as Death Stranding 2: On The Beach from Kojima Productions and Sony Interactive Entertainment, Donkey Kong Bananza from Nintendo, Hades II from Supergiant Games, Hollow Knight: Silksong from Team Cherry, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II from Warhorse Studios and Deep Silver.
Sandfall Interactive’s debut game, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, blends turn-based combat with real-time mechanics, wrapped in a striking Belle Époque-inspired fantasy world. Built around a cyclical apocalypse narrative, the game stands out for its cinematic presentation, experimental combat pacing, and thematic ambition. Backed by Kepler Interactive, Clair Obscur represents one of the strongest new-IP showings of the year, demonstrating how mid-sized studios can deliver premium narrative experiences.
Kojima Productions’ sequel, Death Stranding 2, expands on the original’s unconventional traversal-focused design with a broader scope, deeper systems, and more traditional action elements. Set in a surreal post-apocalyptic world, Death Stranding 2 refines its predecessor’s themes of connection and isolation while pushing cinematic storytelling further.
Nintendo reimagined one of their oldest characters with Donkey Kong Bananza, a kinetic, puzzle-driven platformer that blends classic arcade sensibilities with modern level design. Bananza emphasizes momentum-based movement, creative environmental interactions, and tightly constructed challenges, marking a confident return for one of Nintendo’s oldest franchises.
Supergiant Games builds on the runaway success of Hades with a sequel in Hades II that expands its roguelike foundation through new protagonists, deeper narrative branching, and more complex combat systems.
Team Cherry’s long-awaited follow-up, Hollow Knight: Silksong, shifts focus to Hornet, delivering faster, more aggressive combat within a meticulously crafted Metroidvania world. Silksong retains the hand-drawn aesthetic and environmental storytelling that defined the original while introducing new traversal tools and combat depth.
And finally, Warhorse Studios continues its historically grounded RPG series with Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, a sequel that doubles down on realism, systemic simulation, and player-driven storytelling. The game stands out for offering a large-scale RPG experience without fantasy elements, carving a unique niche in the genre.
It was a big night for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the most-nominated game in the history of The Game Awards. Jennifer English won best performance for her role as Maelle in the game, and the game also won best art direction, best RPG, best score and music, best independent game, and more.