Expedition 33 Sweeps at the 2025 Gaming Honors
The forty-third annual Golden Joystick Awards unfolded recently, and in a stunning show, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was crowned the most decorated winner. This surprise role-playing game from Sandfall Interactive earned the prestigious Top Game award, along with prizes for Best Storytelling and Best Visual Design.
Adding to the studio's success, the skilled cast also were honored with individual awards. Jennifer English received Best Lead Performer for her role as Maelle, while Ben Starr earned Best Supporting Performer for his acting as Verso. Additionally, Sandfall Interactive itself received Top Studio. In total, Clair Obscur and its makers collected 7 awards during the event.
Other notable winners included Ghost of Yōtei, which was awarded Outstanding Audio and Best Console Game, and Hollow Knight: Silksong, winning Top Self-Published Indie and Premier PC Title. Worth mentioning, the lion's share of Golden Joystick Awards are chosen by the audience, with only four categories—Critics’ Choice, Breakthrough, Hall of Fame, and Streamer Selection—decided by reviewers.
Below is the entire list of award recipients from the Golden Joystick Awards 2025:
- Outstanding Narrative – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Excellence in Sound – Ghost of Yōtei
- Best Multiplayer Game – Peak
- Top Visual Design – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Best Game Expansion – Lies of P: Overture
- Best Self-Published Indie – Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Best Indie Game – Blue Prince
- Best Development Studio – Sandfall Interactive
- Best Early Access Game – REPO
- Best Soundtrack – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Best Game Trailer – Grand Theft Auto 6 Trailer 2
- Still Playing - Mobile – Pokémon Go
- Still Playing (Console/PC) – Minecraft
- Streamer Favorite – Peak
- Best Remake / Remaster – The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered
- Rising Star Award – Schedule I
- Best Hardware – AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
- Best Adaptation – Arcane Season 2
- Supporting Performance Award – Ben Starr, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Lead Performance Award – Jennifer English, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Hall of Fame – The Sims
- Top PC Title – Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Top Console Game – Ghost of Yōtei
- Critics' Choice – Donkey Kong Bananza
- Most Wanted Game – Grand Theft Auto 6
- Ultimate Game of the Year – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
If you missed out on the full show, the Golden Joystick Awards 2025 is available to watch online here.
