Expedition 33 Dominates at the 2025 Gaming Honors
The 43rd annual Golden Joystick Awards took place recently, and through an impressive display, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 emerged as the biggest winner. This breakout role-playing game from Sandfall Interactive won the prestigious Game of the Year award, along with accolades for Best Storytelling and Excellence in Visuals.
Enhancing the studio's achievements, its gifted performers also were honored with personal awards. Jennifer English won Best Lead Performer for her performance as Maelle, while Ben Starr took home Supporting Performance Award for his acting as Verso. Additionally, Sandfall Interactive itself received Best Development Team. Overall, Clair Obscur and its creative team won seven awards throughout the ceremony.
Additional standout winners included Ghost of Yōtei, which received Best Audio Design and Console Game of the Year, and Hollow Knight: Silksong, honored with Outstanding Independent Game and PC Game of the Year. Notably, the majority of Golden Joystick Awards are chosen by the audience, with only 4 special—Critics Choice, Breakthrough Award, Hall of Fame, and Streamer Selection—judged by reviewers.
Following is the full list of award recipients from the Golden Joystick Awards 2025:
- Top Story – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Excellence in Sound – Ghost of Yōtei
- Top Multiplayer Title – Peak
- Best Visuals – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Top DLC – Lies of P: Overture
- Best Self-Published Indie – Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Best Indie Game – Blue Prince
- Top Studio – Sandfall Interactive
- Best Early Access Game – REPO
- Best Soundtrack – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Best Trailer – Grand Theft Auto 6 Trailer 2
- Mobile Game Still Played – Pokémon Go
- Still Playing (Console/PC) – Minecraft
- Streamer Favorite – Peak
- Top Remake – The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered
- Breakthrough Award – Schedule I
- Best Hardware – AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
- Best Adaptation – Arcane Season 2
- Best Supporting Performer – Ben Starr, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Lead Performance Award – Jennifer English, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Hall of Fame Inductee – The Sims
- PC Game of the Year – Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Console Game of the Year – Ghost of Yōtei
- Critics’ Choice Award – Donkey Kong Bananza
- Most Wanted Game – Grand Theft Auto 6
- Ultimate Game – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
If you who missed the live show, the Golden Joystick Awards 2025 can be viewed online here.
