Clair Obscur: Expedition 33will almost certainly be a contender for Game of the Year - but it just got some major competition. When it comes to awards potential,Clair Obscurhas it all: first and foremost, it’s just an excellent game that was very well-received by both general audiences and critics, receiving a9/10 inScreen Rant’s reviewand briefly topping the Metacritic charts for 2025. But besides that, there’s an excellent story behind it, featuring a small development team that got picked up by a big publisher and hit it big, bringing their singular vision to fans worldwide.
Game of the Year discussion was already underway shortly afterClair Obscur’s release, but many worried thatGrand Theft Auto 6’s release - originally scheduled for this fall - would basically obliterate any other game’s chances. However, shortly afterClair Obscurcame out,GTA 6was suddenly (if not unexpectedly) delayed to 2026, opening the way for other games to make a serious case for the award.Clair Obscurwas the first name on everyone’s lips, butanother major GOTY contender has emerged, and it has a few things going for it thatClair Obscurdoes not.
Death Stranding 2 Scores Big With Critics
90 On Metacritic
Reviews forDeath Stranding 2: On The Beachare out today, and they’re looking good: at the time of writing,Death Stranding 2is sitting pretty at an aggregated 90 onMetacritic, signifying universal acclaim. That could make it a serious contender at The Game Awards, possibly helping it steal the GOTY spotlight fromClair Obscur. Critics have praised its story, visuals, music, acting, and advancements from the first game.DS2builds on its predecessor in every conceivable way, and critics have taken notice.
Screen Rant’s review ofDS2is similarly glowing, hailing its development studio as among the best in the gaming industry today: “Kojima Productions is at the forefront of the gaming industrywhen it comes to presenting its games as the artistic pinnacle of the medium from a traditionally cinematic standpoint.” It’s not the highest-rated game of the year, but it’s certainly up there, and its star power - including creator Hideo Kojima and the multitude of actors, directors, and other assorted celebrities he’s scanned in - will certainly give it a boost.
2025’s Highest-Rated Game Is Still Clair Obscur
Although It’s Been Dethroned
That said,Clair Obscuris still the highest-rated 2025 video game release onMetacritic- at least, on a technicality. It’s got a 93, which is impressive in any regard, but notably put it at the top of Metacritic’s charts for a handful of weeks. However,Clair Obscurwas recently dethronedby the Switch 2 versions ofThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the WildandTears of the Kingdom, which have come in at 94 and 95, respectively.
But those can hardly be considered new releases. New content aside,BOTWandTOTKaren’t really new games. It’s never stopped The Game Awards before - last year’s GOTY nom forElden Ring’sShadow of the Erdtreeexpansion was controversial - but even so, I doubt they’ll make the shortlist. And if they do, I can’t imagine most of the jury voting for them.
The Game Awards 2025 Will Have Stiff Competition
Clair Obscur Still Has A Solid Chance
I still have faith inClair Obscur’s chances, though. Of course, Metacritic scores aren’t everything, but they are a good indicator of which games are reasonable GOTY contenders. Based on those scores, as well as their general popularity and name recognition,I predict we’ll seeClair Obscur,Death Stranding 2,Split Fiction,Monster Hunter Wilds, andBlue Princeamong the nominees.
Of course, there are several games to be released later this year that could also take their place among the nominees, but we don’t know enough about them yet to say for sure.
Of those,Clair Obscur,DS2, andSplit Fictionwill likely be the forerunners. Besides their great reviews,Clair Obscurhas its vocal fan base and powerful success story behind it.DS2has star power; Hideo Kojima himself, the series' creator, is a mainstay of The Game Awards and a good friend of founder Geoff Keighley, who appeared in the firstDeath Strandingas an NPC.Split Fictionhas previous GOTY winner Josef Fares, whoseIt Takes Twowon GOTY in 2021.
It may truly come down to the player vote this year. If that’s the case, though,Clair Obscurstill has a good chance.Death Strandingis divisive by nature, and, although the second game makes a lot of improvements to what many players found boring about the original, some of those same players will still dismiss it out of hand. Still, it andSplit Fictionwill make tough competition forClair Obscur: Expedition 33at this year’s Game Awards.
