All Game of the Year 2025 Nominees, Ranked

The 2025 Game Awards season is right around the corner, and excitement is already building as fans rally behind their favorites. Voting is officially underway, and this year’s lineup is as stacked as it is diverse, with six standout titles earning nominations across major categories. From bold indie surprises to blockbuster hits, these games have captured players’ imaginations all year, and now they’re going head-to-head for top honors as the ceremony approaches. Let’s check out the nominees and see which one stands a chance to win the Game Of The Year award.  

7. Star Wars: Outlaws

Star Wars: Outlaws brings Ubisoft’s open-world formula to the galaxy far, far away, and surprisingly, it works better than many expected. The game nails the fantasy of being a small-time scoundrel caught in a big-time mess, blending cinematic story beats with exploration-heavy gameplay. Kay Vess is one of the year’s most memorable protagonists, and the world feels alive in that classic Star Wars way: bustling cantinas, dangerous syndicates, and planets packed with secrets.

So why seventh? Outlaws is incredibly polished and entertaining, but it doesn’t break new ground the way the top contenders do. It’s a fantastic adventure, but also a familiar one. Still, it earns its place on the nominee list for sheer craftsmanship and its strong worldbuilding.

6. Donkey Kong Bananza

Nintendo always finds a way to sneak at least one pure-fun experience into the Game Of The Year conversation. Donkey Kong Bananza is exactly that: a joyful explosion of colour, rhythm, bananas, and chaos. It’s the kind of game where players start smiling during the opening cutscene and don’t really stop until the credits roll.

Bananza feels like a celebration of everything Donkey Kong is good at: chunky platforming, goofy characters, great music, and levels that surprise you just enough to keep the momentum going. It’s not trying to be deep or revolutionary; it just wants to be fun, and it succeeds. However, in a stacked Game Of The Year lineup, that’s also the reason it sits in sixth place. The other contenders aim higher, take bigger risks, and push into deeper emotional or mechanical territory. 

5. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum sits Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, the most grounded and immersive game in the lineup. While Bananza wants you to bounce around collecting fruit, Deliverance II wants players to struggle with rusty swords, survive brutal battles, and navigate medieval life with realism. 

What makes Deliverance II special is how genuine it feels. The combat is tactical and weighty. The world is dense, believable, and filled with people who feel like actual human beings rather than quest-givers. The attention to detail is ridiculous, to the point where even small interactions, like sharpening a blade or sharing a drink with a villager, add to the atmosphere.

So why is it fifth? Well, for as impressive as the realism is, it also limits who the game appeals to. Deliverance II is for people who want that difficulty and that historical accuracy. It’s deeply satisfying, but not universally accessible. And in a Game of the Year race, accessibility and emotional reach matter. Still, as far as immersive RPGs go, this is one of the best in years.

4. Hollow Knight: Silksong

Silksong being fourth proves this is a ridiculously strong year. Team Cherry finally dropped the long-awaited sequel, and it delivers almost everything fans hoped for. It’s fast, graceful, beautifully animated, and full of that quiet melancholy that made Hollow Knight special. Hornet controls like a dream, and the boss fights? Absolutely vicious in the best way.

Silksong’s biggest achievement is how confident it feels. It doesn’t try to be Hollow Knight again. It has its own tone, rhythm, and identity. The world is livelier, the pacing is faster, and the exploration rewards aggressive, stylish play. Ultimately, Silksong is exceptional, but it perfects rather than transforms. And with how long the wait was, some players expected a bigger leap. Still, fourth place in a year like this is not small. Silksong is stunning from start to finish.

3. Hades II

Hades II feels like the kind of sequel that understands exactly what people loved about the first game and then confidently expands in every direction. The combat is smoother and more flexible, the world is richer, and the storytelling is more ambitious. Melinoë is an incredible protagonist, fierce, determined, and a perfect contrast to Zagreus’s more playful vibe.

What puts Hades II in the top three is how effortlessly it blends style, gameplay, and narrative. Every run feels meaningful, and every good interaction feels funny or touching in its own way. It’s a masterclass in repeatable design.

The only thing keeping it out of the top two is that it still follows the structure of a roguelike, which means it naturally doesn’t offer the sweeping, cinematic punch that the top contenders deliver. But as a game? It’s nearly flawless.

2. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Kojima returns to the rain-soaked, dreamlike world of Death Stranding with more confidence, more emotion, and somehow even stranger ideas than before. And honestly? It works. On the Beach is one of the most visually and emotionally striking games of the year. The traversal is smoother, the story hits harder, and the performances are some of the best of 2025. There’s a sense of scale and ambition here that few studios even attempt, let alone pull off.

Death Stranding 2 is not just a sequel; it’s a restatement of what Kojima does best: create worlds that feel like living metaphors and turn something as simple as walking into a meditative experience. Some people will bounce off the pacing, sure, but those who connect with it will connect deeply. 

1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

There’s no debate, Expedition 33 is the standout of 2025. Stylish and daring, this game pushed the industry forward. The game features one of the fastest turn-based combats, almost like an action game wearing JRPG clothing. Every encounter has intention, every animation has its own charm, and every boss fight feels super immersive.

What makes it stand a chance to win isn’t just the visuals or mechanics; it’s the emotional weight. Expedition 33 blends melancholy, hope, tragedy, and resilience in a deeply fantastic way. 

Now, here is the wildest part. This is Sandfall Interactive’s debut. A first game that lands with this much confidence, polish, and ambition is rare. Expedition 33 doesn’t just feel like a success; it feels like the arrival of a studio that will define the next decade of RPGs if they keep going at this level. Will it take the accolade home? Well, let’s wait for it.