Clair Obscur Dominates at the 2025's Gaming Honors
The forty-third yearly Golden Joystick Awards took place recently, and through an impressive display, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 emerged as the top winner. This surprise role-playing game by Sandfall Interactive secured the esteemed Top Game award, along with accolades for Best Storytelling and Top Visual Design.
Enhancing the studio's achievements, its skilled cast also received personal awards. Jennifer English won Best Lead Performer for her performance as Maelle, while Ben Starr won Supporting Performance Award for his role as Verso. Moreover, Sandfall Interactive the studio was honored as Best Development Team. Altogether, Clair Obscur and its creative team achieved 7 awards throughout the ceremony.
Other major winners featured Ghost of Yōtei, which was awarded Top Sound Design and Console Game of the Year, and Hollow Knight: Silksong, receiving Top Self-Published Indie and Best PC Game. It is important to note, the lion's share of Golden Joystick Awards are voted on by the audience, with only four awards—Critics Choice, Breakthrough Award, Hall of Fame, and Streamers' Favorite—judged by experts.
Here is the full list of award recipients from the 2025 Golden Joystick Awards:
- Outstanding Narrative – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Best Audio Design – Ghost of Yōtei
- Best Multiplayer Game – Peak
- Best Visuals – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Best Game Expansion – Lies of P: Overture
- Best Self-Published Indie – Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Top Indie Title – Blue Prince
- Best Development Studio – Sandfall Interactive
- Best Early Access – REPO
- Best Soundtrack – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Top Game Trailer – Grand Theft Auto 6 Trailer 2
- Still Playing (Mobile) – Pokémon Go
- Still Playing (Console/PC) – Minecraft
- Streamers' Pick – Peak
- Top Remake – The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered
- Breakthrough – Schedule I
- Best Hardware – AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
- Best Game Adaptation – Arcane Season 2
- Best Supporting Performer – Ben Starr, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Lead Performance Award – Jennifer English, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Lifetime Achievement – The Sims
- PC Game of the Year – Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Top Console Game – Ghost of Yōtei
- Critics Pick – Donkey Kong Bananza
- Most Wanted Title – Grand Theft Auto 6
- Ultimate Game – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
For those missed out on the actual show, the 2025 Golden Joystick Awards can be viewed online here.
