
Review
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s my JRPG of the year
by Kevin Hofer

13 nominations, nine awards. As expected, "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33" wins at "The Game Awards" 2025. There were no big surprises.
The gaming industry celebrated for over four hours at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles. For many, the new trailers are the highlight of the show. But the awards were also presented.
The biggest triumph was celebrated by «Clair Obscur: Expedition 33». The game from Sandfall Interactive won the award in nine out of 13 categories. Both the 13 nominations and the nine wins are records in the twelve-year history of the Game Awards. This also includes the most important prize: Game of the Year. The record was previously held by «The Last of Us: Part II» with seven wins. With five awards each, «God of War: Ragnarok» and «Baldur's Gate 3» former big winners of the awards.
«Expedition 33» also completely won me over: gameplay, presentation and story are among the best I've ever played. Not only critics were enthusiastic, but also the gaming community: the game sold over five million copies. A huge success for the small studio from Montpellier.
Other nominees for Game of the Year included «Kingdom Come Deliverance 2», «Hollow Knight: Silksong», «Hades 2», «Death Stranding 2» and «Donkey Kong: Bananza».
In addition to «Expedition 33», other games also scooped prizes this year - even if it didn't feel like it during the show. These included «Hades 2», «Hollow Knight: Silksong», «Donkey Kong Bananza», «Battlefield 6», «Doom: The Dark Ages», «South of Midnight» and «Arc Raiders».
This meant that there were no big surprises. You didn't have to be a fortune teller to know that, for example, «GTA VI» would win the award for Most Anticipated Game or «The Last of Us: Season 2» would win Best Adaptation.
Following you will find all the winners of the individual categories:
What do you think? Did the right people win? Join the discussion in the comments.
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