Expedition 33 Dominates at the 2025 Golden Joystick Awards
The 43rd yearly Golden Joystick Awards took place recently, and through an impressive performance, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was crowned the top winner. The standout role-playing game by Sandfall Interactive won the esteemed Game of the Year award, along with prizes for Outstanding Narrative and Top Visual Design.
Complementing the developer's success, its skilled actors also received individual awards. Jennifer English received Top Lead Actor for her performance as Maelle, while Ben Starr won Best Supporting Performer for his role as Verso. Furthermore, Sandfall Interactive the studio was honored as Best Development Team. Altogether, Clair Obscur and its makers won 7 awards throughout the event.
Other notable winners featured Ghost of Yōtei, which received Best Audio Design and Console Game of the Year, and Hollow Knight: Silksong, honored with Top Self-Published Indie and PC Game of the Year. Notably, the majority of Golden Joystick Awards are chosen by the gamers, with only 4 categories—Critics’ Choice, Breakthrough, Lifetime Achievement, and Streamers’ Choice—decided by critics.
Below is the full list of award recipients from the Golden Joystick Awards 2025:
- Outstanding Narrative – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Top Audio – Ghost of Yōtei
- Best Multiplayer Game – Peak
- Top Visual Design – 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
- Top Game Trailer – Grand Theft Auto 6 Trailer 2
- Mobile Game Still Played – Pokémon Go
- Console/PC Game Still Played – Minecraft
- Streamers’ Choice – Peak
- Top Remake – The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered
- Breakthrough Award – Schedule I
- Best Hardware – AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
- Best Game Adaptation – Arcane Season 2
- Best Supporting Actor – Ben Starr, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Best Lead Actor – Jennifer English, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Hall of Fame Inductee – The Sims
- Best PC Game – Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Console Game of the Year – Ghost of Yōtei
- Critics' Choice – Donkey Kong Bananza
- Most Wanted Game – Grand Theft Auto 6
- Game of the Year – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
If you who missed the actual ceremony, the awards ceremony can be viewed via video here.