Reaction to Game Awards 2025 Nominees
Giving my impressions on the 2025 nominees
The nominees for the 2025 Game Awards have been revealed and it’s more telling than it looks on the surface. So let’s take a look at some quick reactions I have to it and the upcoming big show.
The Return of the King… I mean Expedition 33
The six nominees for the big prize of Game of the Year are almost exactly what I predicted. The last spot was tricky and I went with the safe option of Split Fiction, but Kingdom Come: Deliverance II proved to be much more popular than even I was willing to give it credit. It’s interesting that, despite being an early release for the year, it still kept momentum over many recent titles to get in. My personal opinion, based mostly on other nominations, is that the one that barely missed the spot was Ghost of Yotei. I think that Split Fiction was probably in the 8th spot, with Silent Hill f potentially coming after. I think Split Fiction is without a doubt a loved game, but I think the year was just too stacked for it to get in, compared to 2021’s It Takes Two, which got the advantage of being part of a much weaker year. I think Ghost of Yotei came close, showing just how much people loved the game, but ultimately, the stacked year was an issue for it as well, and the fact that it plays so similarly to its predecessor.
If I had to bet on it, I would argue Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is in the second spot on the majority of ballots before the obvious favorite. I think Hollow Knight: Silksong could end up as the award nominee that walks away with no awards. As for Donkey Kong Bananza, I believe it's much stronger than its detractors think, but I feel its big moment will be Best Family Game.
The Game Awards is about to have its Return of the King Oscars moment, or at least the closest it can come (more on that later). Expedition 33 is the clear favorite, as it set a record for nominations and is the first game everyone has brought up all year. It has the behind-the-scenes story, the critical darling effect, fan popularity, sales success, and a crazy (and at times a bit toxic) fandom. If you’re one of these people who can’t stand the love this game gets, I suggest you skip the show this year. For my part, I’ve been on record that while I really liked Expedition 33, I had some issues with its story, specifically the end. It’s not my favorite game of the year, but what I can root for is the story behind its creation. This game and its narrative of a group that decided to leave jobs at Ubisoft to take a risk, including a composer they found on Soundcloud, is almost like a Hollywood story. I expect the game to clean up nicely beyond just Game of the Year, including Best Performance (Jennifer English), Best Score / Music, Best Art Direction, Best Debut, Best Indie Game, and so on. This will be like Return of the King’s sweep, well… almost.
It’s Kojima’s Time
If there’s one category I can see Expedition 33 losing, it’s Best Game Direction. I have this feeling that the industry is going to want to give Hideo Kojima a moment after his decade-plus struggle with Konami and going independent. Plus, I do believe Death Stranding 2 is the second in many ballots. Also, just because I know it's coming, no, it won’t be due to being “Geoff’s friend”, I do think the industry wants to give him an award. Since his game won’t win Game of the Year, I can see voters choosing him for direction as a way to show appreciation for what he’s accomplished, similar to what Sam Lake pulled off in the 2023 show.
The Snubs and Some Criticism
I knew we were going to have a few snubs due to the stacked year that was 2025, but the more I look at the list of nominees, the more apparent it becomes. First, let’s talk about a major criticism I have, which is the number of nomination slots. It’s uneven and inconsistent. I think they should have a strict number of six spots, and for Game of the Year, they should go with eight spots. I like the idea of focusing on which games made the year. Make it into a celebration of video games beyond just winning and losing. Another criticism is the categories for Best Performance. I think it’s time to split it between male and female roles, and potentially add supporting performances. I think the rise of narrative-driven video games has reached a point where we can do this. Lastly, for now, while I like celebrating the Best Score / Music, we should also have an award for a singular piece of song/score, just like the Academy Awards. Let’s have Geoff use that orchestra to perform the nominated songs, rather than random musicians like Snoop Dogg (no offense to Snoop).
So what about the snubs? Well, let's start with Assassin's Creed: Shadows. Despite receiving critical acclaim, the game didn’t appear in any category. I don’t think it helped that it was released the same year as Ghost of Yotei, which most found to be the better of the two. Some are complaining that Arc Raiders belongs in the Game of the Year slot, and while I empathize with its fans, as someone who personally isn’t a fan of multiplayer games winning Game of the Year, it’s a little hard for me to come to bat for it. The one snub that I was kind of upset about was South of Midnight. Don’t get me wrong, I am fully aware I was higher on it than others, but I did feel it had enough to get nominations for Best Art Direction and, potentially, Best Performance for Adriyan Rae as Hazel Flood. I thought it was a shoe-in for Best Score / Music. I guess not giving it a nomination for at least its music is a major fumble and probably the biggest snub in the whole show. Lastly, while Troy Baker got a nomination again (He can’t keep getting away with this!), I personally disagree with the performance they picked. Don’t get me wrong, it's crazy how much he tricks you into thinking Harrison Ford was in the booth doing the lines, but for me, his performance as Higgs in Death Stranding 2 deserved a nomination at least. Again, I already talked about that category needing to expand.
It’s Not the End of the World
I’ll end the article on this, specifically with words for people who are upset with what didn’t get nominated and if they will agree with the eventual winners… Someone right now was just told they have terminal cancer, someone that is trans has been disowned by a beloved family member, a kid is scared he’s going either starve or in Gaza or Ukraine get a bomb dropped on them, someone was just dumped, and I can go on and on. In short, life is filled with crappy things, and a show about fictional polygonal characters isn’t the main thing to worry about right now. Plus, we all know we will come away angry about the same things as past shows from the constant trailers, random celebrity appearances, going through smaller awards like they don’t matter, and on and on. The Game Awards is best enjoyed as a celebration of the medium rather than an awards show (even if Geoff makes it hard to see it that way).