With 12 nominations, the French video game and global phenomenon “Clair obscur: expedition 33” enters the Game Awards 2025 as the overwhelming favorite. But five titles, from "Hades II" to "Death Stranding 2", dream of stealing the crown for game of the year.

Published on: 07/12/2025 - 1:37 p.m.

It's the masterpiece that no one saw coming. Acclaimed by the public and the specialized press, "Clair obscur: expedition 33" has every chance of winning, on Thursday December 11, the title of game of the year at the Games Awards, the video game Oscars, and the most followed ceremony in the world with 154 million spectators online last year.

With its "fantasy" universe inspired by Paris in the 1900s, its unforgettable soundtrack oscillating between pop and baroque music, dynamic gameplay reinventing turn-based combat and a poignant story about mourning, the game from the French from Sandfall Interactive seems to be one step ahead.

Technically impeccable, “Clair obscur” also sounds like a slap in the face for the industry. Designed by a relatively small team and a modest budget, the game confirmed that the future did not lie in triple-A games, those blockbusters increasingly criticized for their lack of originality.

See also “Clair Obscur”, the video game that rocks Paris Games Week

Another element that speaks in its favor: “Clair obscur” is a single-player action adventure game integrating role-playing game mechanics, the most awarded profile since the first edition of the ceremony in 2014.

So can the title of GOTY (“Game of the Year” or “Game of the Year”) escape “Clair obscur”? According to the prediction market platform Polymarket, the epic tale of Gustave and Maëlle has a 95% chance of winning.

But as in any ceremony, an element of uncertainty persists and the public vote only weighs 10% in the final decision, the bulk of which falls to a jury made up of members of the specialized press. In 2024, the game “Astro Bot” surprised everyone by winning the supreme award against the Chinese favorite “Black Myth: Wukong”, causing incomprehension among the gaming community.

“Clair obscur” will also face high-quality competitors who could overshadow its announced triumph. Overview of the strengths and weaknesses of Sandfall's five game rivals.

"Death Stranding 2: on the beach"

With its host of stars (Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux, Elle Fanning...) and its cinematographic ambitions, the futuristic hiking game by Hideo Kojima, Japanese video game legend, was a notable milestone of the past year. More open to action than its previous part, criticized by some of the players for its extreme slowness, this second episode allows us to find the hero Sam Bridges, a package deliveryman responsible for reconnecting humanity in a postapocalyptic world.

With its panoramas of supernatural beauty and a scenario less mired in the metaphysical digressions of the first opus, “Death Stranding 2: on the beach” offers a unique experience. But this contemplative adventure also has the potential to leave some of the players by the wayside. With eight nominations, he could play spoilsport in certain major categories such as best direction, best narration or even best artistic direction.

To display this content, it is necessary to authorize audience measurement and advertising cookies.

"Donkey Kong Bananza"

With “Death Stranding 2”, it is the other triple A in the best game of the year category. The gondola head of Nintendo's new Switch 2, this supercharged platform game concentrates all the know-how of the Kyoto firm. In addition to the quality of its animation, "Donkey Kong Bananza" stands out by offering players the opportunity to venture into an almost entirely destructible universe.

Effective and entertaining, Nintendo's game however seems far from having what it takes to win the title of game of the year. Despite its successful artistic direction and its controlled chaos of neon colors, “Donkey Kong Bananza” suffers from somewhat repetitive gameplay and a scenario that is far too anecdotal to hope to make a difference.

"Hades II"

This is undoubtedly the most serious rival for “Clair obscur”. Available in early access for more than a year, the divine “Hades II” is the successful sequel to a first part released in 2020, already considered a monument of independent video games. In this new dive into Greek mythology, the player plays Melinoe, princess of the Underworld responsible for killing her titanic uncle Chronos – incidentally master of Time – who threatens not only her family, but all the gods of Olympus.

To accomplish this Herculean task, Persephone's daughter will have to gain new powers, fight hordes of enemies, deepen her relationships with the gods, die and then start again until she figures out how to stop Time itself. Visually breathtaking and equipped with dubbing and a high-quality soundtrack, “Hades II” could create a surprise, or at least walk away with the statuette for best independent game.

"Hollow Knight Silk Song"

A true Arlesian in the video game industry, awaited for more than seven years, the sequel to “Hollow Knight” takes and improves the formula of its predecessor. A critical and public success, Team Cherry's game brilliantly combines platforming, combat and exploration of a disturbing and labyrinthine underground world that the player will have to map out themselves.

Behind its “kawaii” artistic direction (or the aesthetic of “cute” in Japanese) hides a formidable difficulty that cannot be modulated. A radical approach, the opposite of that adopted by “Clair obscur”, whose adventure knows how to adapt to all player profiles, from beginners to experienced gamers.

The co-founders of the Australian studio, Ari Gibson and William Pellen, themselves recognized that this could penalize them at the Game Awards. In an interview with Bloomberg, they believe they have no chance against “Clair obscur” which he describes as “exceptional and widely accessible”.

“Kingdome Comes: Deliverance 2”

Less rough than its predecessor, “Kingdome Come: Deliverance 2” remains an atypical work in the world of open-world role-playing games. Focused on realism in its gameplay, the game from Czech studio Warhorse Studios is close to a life simulator in medieval times where you will have to, for example, remember to wash regularly to avoid derogatory remarks from NPCs (non-playable characters).

Set against the troubled backdrop of the Kingdom of Bohemia at the start of the 15th century, "Kingdome Come: Deliverance 2" puts the player in the shoes of Henry (Jindrich in Czech), the son of a blacksmith who escaped the massacre of his family and friends. Far from being an overpowered hero, the player will have to demonstrate cunning, eloquence or skill to brave dangers and rise to the rank of respected knight.

Impressive in its fidelity and historical coherence, the game can however be off-putting with its extreme realism. A divisive experience, a priori less likely to win the majority of jury votes.

Keywords associated with the article

The content you are trying to access does not exist or is no longer available.