Clair Obscur Dominates at the 2025 Golden Joystick Ceremony
The forty-third annual Golden Joystick Awards took place recently, and in a stunning show, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 emerged as the top winner. This standout role-playing game from Sandfall Interactive secured the prestigious Top Game award, along with honors for Superb Storytelling and Excellence in Visuals.
Enhancing the developer's success, its skilled actors also were honored with individual awards. Jennifer English was named Best Lead Performer for her performance as Maelle, while Ben Starr took home Best Supporting Performer for his role as Verso. Moreover, Sandfall Interactive itself was honored as Top Studio. Altogether, Clair Obscur and its developers achieved seven awards during the event.
Additional notable winners included 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 bulk of Golden Joystick Awards are voted on by the gamers, with only 4 categories—Critics’ Choice, Breakthrough, Hall of Fame inductee, and Streamers’ Choice—judged by experts.
Here is the entire list of winners from the Golden Joystick Awards 2025:
- Outstanding Narrative – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Best Audio Design – Ghost of Yōtei
- Best Multiplayer Game – Peak
- Best Visual Design – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Best Expansion – Lies of P: Overture
- Best Indie Game Self Published – Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Best Independent Game – Blue Prince
- Studio of the Year – Sandfall Interactive
- Best Early Access – REPO
- Best Soundtrack – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Best Game Trailer – Grand Theft Auto 6 Trailer 2
- Still Playing - Mobile – Pokémon Go
- Still Playing - Consoles & PC – Minecraft
- Streamer Favorite – Peak
- Top Remake – The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered
- Breakthrough Award – Schedule I
- Best Hardware – AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
- Best Adaptation – Arcane Season 2
- Supporting Performance Award – Ben Starr, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Best Lead Actor – Jennifer English, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Hall of Fame – The Sims
- Top PC Title – Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Console Game of the Year – Ghost of Yōtei
- Critics Pick – Donkey Kong Bananza
- Most Anticipated – Grand Theft Auto 6
- Game of the Year – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
If you who missed the live show, the awards ceremony is available to watch online here.
