Death Stranding 2 to Hollow Knight: Silksong: All the games nominated for Game of the Year 2025

The Game Awards 2025 nominations are here, and the competition for Game of the Year (GOTY) is nothing short of incredible. This year’s lineup blends emotional storytelling, painterly worlds, inventive combat, nostalgic reinventions, and a return to deeply reactive RPG design. It is also one of the strongest years for indie studio representation, with three out of the six nominees coming from independent developers.

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Whether you lean towards cinematic adventures, tightly tuned platformers, or thought-provoking RPGs, these six games are the ones that defined 2025, and are nominated for the prestigious Game of the Year 2025 Award:

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Hideo Kojima’s haunting world returns more confident, emotional, and visually spectacular than ever. Death Stranding 2 builds on its predecessor’s foundation but adds richer traversal tools, new shelter systems, and a stronger human core. It retains its eerie sci-fi identity while making the world feel more alive, deliberate, and emotionally grounded.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

A long-awaited sequel that more than delivers, Silksong elevates the Hollow Knight formula with tighter combat, deeper travel mechanics, and handcrafted environments that reward curiosity. With Hornet’s acrobatic moves and a sharper difficulty curve, it blends elegance with challenge, becoming a new benchmark for modern platformers.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

The sequel doubles down on realism, consequence, and grounded storytelling. Medieval Bohemia feels authentically lived in, with choices that carry tangible consequences. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II has heavier combat, smarter dialogue, and its slow-burn narrative rewards those who pay attention. It’s role-playing at its most human.

Hades II

Supergiant Games returns with a polished, emotionally layered sequel that expands both gameplay and narrative depth. Hades II introduces more tools, creative build approaches, sharper writing, and an atmosphere that balances myth, humour, and heartbreak. It’s still fast and frantic, but now even more thoughtful.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

The sleeper hit turned awards frontrunner, Clair Obscur, mesmerises with turn-based combat that relies on positioning, timing, and precision. Its painterly world feels dreamlike yet uneasy, with characters evolving through natural, emotionally resonant conversations. A rare blend of visual storytelling, musical craft, and mechanical innovation, and it is the most nominated game of 2025!

Donkey Kong Bananza

Donkey Kong returns in a vibrant platformer that balances nostalgia with smart reinvention. There’s dynamic level design, new momentum-based movement, and energetic co-op play that make it stand out far beyond a classic revival. Dong Kong Bananza is confident, colourful, and unapologetically fun.

All other The Game Awards 2025 nominees

Best Art Direction
– Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
– Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
– Ghost of Yōtei
– Hades II
– Hollow Knight: Silksong

Best Audio Design
– Battlefield 6
– Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
– Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
– Ghost of Yōtei
– Silent Hill F

Best Game Direction
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Ghost of Yōtei
Hades II
Split Fiction

Best Multiplayer
– Arc Raiders
– Battlefield 6
– Elden Ring: Nightreign
– Peak
– Split Fiction

Best Narrative
– Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
– Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
– Ghost of Yōtei
– Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
– Silent Hill F

Best Performance
– Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Jennifer English
– Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Ben Starr
– Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Charlie Cox
– Ghost of Yōtei – Erika Ishii
– Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – Troy Baker
– Silent Hill F – Konatsu Kato

Best Score & Music
– Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
– Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
– Ghost of Yōtei
– Hades II
– Hollow Knight: Silksong

Best Action
– Battlefield 6
– Doom: The Dark Ages
– Hades II
– Ninja Gaiden 4
– Shinobi: Art of Vengeance

Best Action/Adventure Game
– Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
– Ghost of Yōtei
– Hollow Knight: Silksong
– Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
– Split Fiction

Best Family Game
– Donkey Kong Bananza
– Lego Party
– Lego Voyagers
– Mario Kart World
– Sonic Racing Crossworlds
– Split Fiction

Best Fighting Game
– 2XKO
– Capcom Fighting Collection 2
– Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
– Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection
– Virtua Fighter 5 REVO

Best Independent Game
– Absolum
– Ball X Pit
– Blue Prince
– Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
– Hades II
– Hollow Knight: Silksong

Best Mobile Game
– Destiny Rising
– Persona 5: The Phantom X
– Sonic Rumble
– Umamusume: Pretty Derby
– Wuthering Waves

Best Ongoing Game
– Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail
– Fortnite
– Helldivers 2
– Marvel Rivals
– No Man’s Sky

Best RPG
– Avowed
– Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
– Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
– Monster Hunter Wilds
– The Outer Worlds 2

Best Sports/Racing Game
– EA Sports FC 26
– F1 25
– Mario Kart World
– Rematch
– Sonic Racing Crossworlds

Best Strategy/Sim Game
– Civilization 7
– Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles
– Jurassic World Evolution 3
– The Alters
– Tempest Rising
– Two Point Museum

Best VR/AR Game
– Alien: Rogue Incursion
– Arken Age
– Deadpool VR
– Ghost Town
– The Midnight Walk

Best Adaptation
– A Minecraft Movie
– Devil May Cry
– Splinter Cell Deathwatch
– The Last of Us season 2
– Until Dawn

Community Support
– Baldur’s Gate 3
– Final Fantasy 14
– Fortnite
– Helldivers 2
– No Man’s Sky

Debut Indie Game
– Blue Prince
– Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
– Despelote
– Dispatch
– Megabonk

Games for Impact
– Consume Me
– Despelote
– Lost Records: Bloom and Rage
– South of Midnight
– Wanderstop

Best Esports Game
– Counter-Strike 2
– Dota 2
– League of Legends
– Mobile Legends Bang Bang
– Valorant

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Best Esports Athlete
– Brawk
– Chovy
– Forsaken
– Kakeru
– Menard
– Zywoo

Best Esports Team
– Gen.G (League of Legends)
– NRG (Valorant)
– Team Falcons (Dota 2)
– Team Liquid PH (Mobile Legends Bang Bang)
– Team Vitality (Counter-Strike 2)

Content Creator of the Year
– Caedrel
– Kai Cenat
– MoistCr1tikal
– Sakura Miko
– The Burnt Peanut

Most Anticipated Game
– 007 First Light
– Grand Theft Auto 6
– Marvel’s Wolverine
– Resident Evil Requiem
– The Witcher 4

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leads the entire show with 12 nominations across 10 categories, including Game of the Year, Best Art Direction, Best Independent Game, and three separate Best Performance slots, making it the breakout darling of 2025. Death Stranding 2 and Ghost of Yōtei follow close behind with seven nominations each, cementing their place as cinematic and narrative heavyweights.

It’s also a standout year for independent games, with Hades II and Hollow Knight: Silksong both scoring multiple major-category nominations, including GOTY, Best Score, and Best Game Direction. Which game are you rooting for? Drop a comment to let us know!