Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 continues its remarkable run of accolades. The RPG has secured yet another Game of the Year title after a leading Japanese magazine crowned Sandfall Interactive’s release at the top of its annual rankings, ahead of Ghost of Yotei and Urban Myth: Dissolution Center.
With only a week remaining until the end of 2025, the video game industry is once again looking back on the past twelve months, weighing the highs and lows. As usual, major outlets publish their Game of the Year lists, often sparking debate. This time, however, there was an unusual level of agreement: the Japanese magazine Famitsu selected Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as its Game of the Year for 2025, despite exceptionally strong competition.
Following its long-standing tradition, the magazine surveyed 191 developers and industry figures across Japan, asking them to vote for their favorite game they played in 2025, regardless of whether it was released decades ago or only recently. Previous winners include heavyweight titles such as Dragon Quest 3: HD-2D Remake, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Elden Ring, and Death Stranding. While some years had clear frontrunners, 2025 stood out for its fierce competition, making Sandfall Interactive’s achievement even more notable.
Famitsu’s Top 5 Games of 2025
After a closely contested vote, Expedition 33 claimed yet another Game of the Year trophy. Ghost of Yotei finished second, followed by Urban Myth: Dissolution Center in third, a mystery title still relatively unknown to many players. Nintendo also placed two games in the top five, with Donkey Kong Bananza in fourth and Mario Kart World in fifth, underscoring the company’s consistent presence in such rankings.
Interestingly, Expedition 33 holds the second-lowest review score among the top five based on Famitsu’s assessments, earning 36/40. Above it, Sucker Punch Productions’ open-world game scored 39/40, while Bananza received 38/40. Mario Kart World also earned a 36/40. In this case, however, these scores have no bearing on the outcome, as the votes are cast by external contributors rather than the magazine’s editors.
This raises the question of who actually votes in Famitsu’s poll. Few publications can boast such a prominent lineup of voters. Participants include figures such as Hideki Kamiya (Devil May Cry), Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill), Takayuki Nakayama (Street Fighter 6), and Katsuhiro Harada, the legendary creator of Tekken. While individual ballots are rarely published at the time of the announcement, they often surface later.
Among these are so-called “self-referential” votes. In 2024, for example, Final Fantasy XIV producer Naoki Yoshida voted exclusively for his own game, or more precisely, its Dawntrail expansion. Another notable case involved veteran Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi, who selected Castlevania Dominus Collection, a compilation of titles he originally directed.
Looking specifically at Japan, the victory of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 represents a milestone for an RPG inspired by the greatest classics of the genre. That said, the game has not been without controversy: due to the use of generative AI during one stage of development, the Indie Game Awards ultimately withdrew the Game of the Year title from Guillaume Broche’s project.
Source: 3djuegos
