Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was already considered Game of the Year by RPG fans, thanks to its reactive turn-based battle system and epic story. Other gamers were waiting to see if the release of GTA 6 would change that, since it’s easily the most anticipated video game ever.
With GTA 6’s delay, it’s clear that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 should win the 2025 Game of the Year award. Granted, the year isn’t over, and plenty of games might deserve it more, but Sandfall Interactive’s beautiful game looks pretty unstoppable right now.
Now that Rockstar Games has delayed their massive project, the other GOTY contenders might not stand a chance. Assassin’s Creed Shadows is easily the best open-world title in the series, but it’s not innovative or original. Ghost of Yotei should be a worthy sequel to Tsushima, but it doesn’t look drastically different visually or gameplay-wise. Monster Hunter Wilds is on a similar boat, since it’s a great installment in this long-running franchise, and not much else.
Maybe it’s just recency bias, but Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 mops the floor with these games thus far. Fans are already in love with this mature cast of characters, and the story is a unique one. We already mentioned the battle system, but adding last-minute parries and dodges to turn-based combat is a pretty inspired move.
GTA 6 will be a good game at release, but we’re not sure it can do anything that the open-world genre hasn’t already done. Having multiple playable characters is cool, but that was already a feature in GTA 5. The graphics will be nice, but fans won’t be buying an artbook for something that’s going for modern realism. We’re sure shooting people and stealing their cars will be fun, but that’s not an innovative mechanic anymore.
Regardless, we’re sure Geoff Keighley would have given that game the GOTY award in a heartbeat. Now they have to consider giving it to a beautiful French adventure inspired by JRPGs of the past. It’s also on Xbox Game Pass, making it readily available to anyone who still has that subscription.
It will be interesting to see how much more acclaim Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is going to get in the coming years. The RPG has already sold well, and more people will be able to buy it in the future, thanks to various sales and potential ports. We sure hope this game comes to the Switch 2, because that would be an amazing experience.
Expect GTA 6 to win the GOTY award next year. Until then, 2025 belongs to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
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