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The Game Awards 2025 nominees have officially been announced and naturally, we have thoughts. First and foremost, however, is what a fantastic year for new releases. From Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach to Donkey Kong Bananza and Split Fiction, 2025 has seemingly had something exceptional for every type of player.
Among the most celebrated of these games are Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Death Stranding 2, Donkey Kong Bananza, Hades II, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, all of which have been nominated for Game of the Year. On top of earning that coveted nomination, Expedition 33 made The Game Award history this year with a record-breaking 12 nominations.
But while these games might have received the love and celebration they were due, we’d argue that there are a few games that were woefully overlooked. As such, we’ve rounded up a list of our favorite games from 2025 that we felt deserved a bigger presence at this year’s The Game Awards. Though some of these titles might have earned a couple of nominations, in each case we felt strongly that there was at least one other category they should have been included in.
