The game awards logo {The game awards press kit}

By Mya McPhee

It’s that time of year again. Gamers from around the world have the chance to make their voices heard as the voting for The Game Awards begins.

The category everyone’s talking about is game of the year.

It’s a divisive time in the gaming community while debates rage on about which games deserved to be nominated, and which game to vote for.

This year has brought so many incredible new titles to gamers worldwide, but only six made the cut for game of the year. Here’s everything you need to know about them:

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

On the day of release, 24 April 2025, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, developed by Landfall Interactive, sold over 500,000 copies and has a 10/10 rating on steam.

The game follows Gustave as he embarks on the 33rd expedition to stop the Paintress, a being who has caused a catastrophic event that results in people of a certain age being erased from existence.

The player controls the entire party of characters from a third person perspective while you explore the world and engage in combat. The battle system is turn based and includes quick time events and timed actions to make the combat more challenging and visually interesting to the player.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is currently available for around £30 from most major retailers, which is surprisingly cheap considering the average cost of games similar to Clair Obscur which can sometimes cost more than £70.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (DS2) was developed by Kojima Productions and released 24 June 2025, six years after the release of Death Stranding 1. Currently DS2 has a 9/10 rating from IGN.

Kicking off 11 months after the end of the first game, DS2 follows Sam Porther Bridges on his expedition to connect isolated colonies to a wireless communication network to help save humanity from extinction.

DS2 takes place in a large open world that the player is able to fully explore. The main gameplay involves the player traversing increasingly difficult terrain while carrying cargo stacked cartoonishly on your back. As the game progresses you breathe life back into the desolate terrain by constructing roads and monorails to connect communities.

Currently Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is available from most major retailers for between £40-£60.

Donkey Kong Bananza

Nintendo’s newest addition to the Donkey Kong franchise, Donkey Kong Bananza (DKB) was released 17 July 2025. Currently DKB has a 4.7/5 review on Amazon.

In DKB, the player controls Donkey Kong as he and a younger version of Pauline journey underground to find a magical wish-granting object and the core of the planet.

The world you traverse is “fully destroyable” and the player is encouraged to forge new paths and destroy obstacles to solve puzzles. Pauline also has unique musical abilities that are essential to the players journey to the centre of the planet.

Donkey Kong Bananza is currently available from major retailers for between £50-£60.

HADES II

The sequel to the beloved HADES, HADES II released on 6 May 2025. It was developed by Supergiant Games and currently has a 10/10 rating on Steam.

You play as Melinoë, the princess of the underworld and the sister of Zagreus who is the protagonist of the first game. Melinoë is trying to defeat Chronos as he threatens to enact revenge on all gods and mortals, to aid her in her quest, she is granted boons by many other Olympians to aid her journey.

HADES II is a rogue-like dungeon crawler, where the player fights their way through randomly generated dungeons, using different weapons, spells and abilities. The fact that each level is unique means every play through will feel fresh and engaging for the player.

HADES II is yet to receive a physical release and can be purchased on the Nintendo store and on steam for between £20-£30.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

On 4 September 2025 the highly anticipated Hollow Knight sequel released after many years of delay. Hollow Knight: Silksong was developed by Team Cherry and currently has a rating of 9/10 on Steam.

You play as Hornet, a former princess protecter as she is kidnapped and transported to an unknown land called Pharloom. Hornet must journey through the haunted kingdom, helping the inhabitants and restoring the kingdom to its formal glory.

Hollow Knight: Silksong is a 2D platformer, in which the player must solve puzzles and defeat enemies to progress. There are different tools that the player must switch between to progress through the game.

Hollow Knight: Silksong is available to purchase digitally for around £20.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

Screenshot from Kingdom Come: Deliverance II {Kingdom Come: Deliverance II}

Releasing on 4 February 2025, Kingdom Come deliverance II received a 9/10 rating on steam and was developed by Warhorse Studios.

Kingdom Come 2 continues the story of Henry seeking revenge for the death of his father and the other people in his hometown. This sequel sees Henry getting involved in a civil war, as he navigates combat and political intrigue.

Kingdom come is a first-person open-world RPG. The map is significantly larger than that of the first game, allowing the player more unique areas to explore and side quests to complete.

It is available for digital purchase on PlayStation and Xbox for around £60.

You can participate in the vote here.

What you need to know before voting for game of the year