The nominations for the Golden Joystick Awards 2025 are now live, with players being able to vote across 21 categories, and while some years are tight races between the games that have made the most impact before the end of the year, this year has a clear frontrunner in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
Sandfall Interactive's debut title has six total nominations, including a nomination for best studio, but interestingly, Clair Obscur misses out on some bigger categories, including Console Game of the Year. It is however, up for Best Storytelling, Best Visual Design, Best Soundtrack, Best Leading Performer for Jennifer English as Maelle, and Best Supporting Performer with Ben Starr getting the nomination for his role as Verso.
Other big titles with multiple nominations include Hollow Knight Silksong, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and Ghost of Yotei. Ghost of Yotei, Death Stranding 2, and Kingdom Come: Delieverance 2 are all tied for second place behind Clair Obscur in the nominations race with four nominations each.
The Ultimate Game of the Year category is still to come, so it's possible that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and some of the titles behind it will each add another tally to their nominations, but we'll have to wait until November 3, 2025, for that nominations list to be revealed.
When Wccftech reviewed Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 earlier this year, we said it had "a gripping story, a beautifully written cast of characters, and engaging gameplay that breathes new life into familiar mechanics."
While the nominees for the Golden Joysticks Awards 2025, and every year, are selected by a judging panel, the voting and the winners are all decided by public votes, making them a pretty fair representation of what players really consider to be the best-of-the-best in videogames each year. Last year, Black Myth: Wukong took home the prize for Ultimate Game of the Year.
You can check out the full list of nominations, per Gamesradar, below.
Golden Joystick Awards 2025 Nominees List
Best Storytelling
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- SILENT HILL f
- Blue Prince
- Mafia: The Old Country
- Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
- The Hundred Line - Last Defense Academy
Best Multiplayer Game
- Battlefield 6
- PEAK
- ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN
- Split Fiction
- Mario Kart World
- REMATCH
Best Visual Design
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- The Midnight Walk
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Sword of the Sea
- Assassin’s Creed Shadows
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 - Self Published
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Hades II
- Sword of the Sea
- PEAK
- Keep Driving
- Spilled!
- Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders
- DELTARUNE
- Promise Mascot Agency
- Consume Me
Still Playing Award - PC and Console
- 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
Still Playing Award - Mobile
- Call of Duty: Mobile
- Pokémon GO
- Subway Surfers
- Clash Royale
- Honkai: Star Rail
- Genshin Impact
- Zenless Zone Zero
- Roblox
- Free Fire
- PUBG MOBILE
Best Remake / Remaster
- METAL GEAR SOLID Δ: SNAKE EATER
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
- Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter
- The Talos Principle: Reawakened
- Gears of War: Reloaded
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4
Studio of the Year
- Team Cherry
- Sandfall Interactive
- Aggro Crab and Landfall
- Bloober Team
- Sloclap
- Rebellion
Best Game Expansion
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants
- Lies of P: Overture
- 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 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
Best Lead Performer
- 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 Performer
- Troy Baker - Higgs Monaghan in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Jim High - Erik in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
- Ben Starr - Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Lucy Griffiths - Alva in Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream
- Logan Cunningham - Hades II
- Marios Gavrilis - Emmerich Voss in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
PC Game of the Year
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- The Alters
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
- PEAK
- Abiotic Factor
- Dune: Awakening
Console Game of the Year
- Donkey Kong Bananza
- Monster Hunter Wilds
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
- Mario Kart World
Best Early Access Game
- Grounded 2
- Schedule I
- 9 Kings
- R.E.P.O.
- skate.
- White Knuckle
Best Gaming Hardware
- Nintendo Switch 2
- Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller
- WD_BLACK SN8100 NVMe SSD
- Elgato Facecam 4K
- Razer Blade 16
- AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
Best Game Adaptation
- Devil May Cry (Netflix)
- Arcane Season 2 (Netflix)
- The Last of Us Season 2 (HBO)
- A Minecraft 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
Most Wanted Game
- Grand Theft Auto VI
- Resident Evil Requiem
- The Witcher 4
- 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
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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