Game The Year Is finally Over with praises and Hype in the beginning to a mediocre ending

Welcome To The Arcade, the gaming world’s biggest night The Game Awards 2025 has wrapped up, and what a rollercoaster it was. Held on December 11 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, the show kicked off with the kind of electric hype that had us all glued to our screens. Trailers for long awaited gems like the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic spiritual successor, a new Tomb Raider, Resident Evil 9, Control 2, and even a Total War: Warhammer 40K had fans losing their minds. Geoff Keighley delivered on the promises of massive reveals, orchestral performances, and celebrity cameos, making the first half feel like the pinnacle of gaming celebration. It was pure adrenaline proof that 2025 was an absolute banger of a year for games and more to follow soon.
And then… the awards. Oh man, the sweep was real. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from debut studio Sandfall Interactive didn’t just win Game of the Year, it dominated, claiming a record breaking nine awards in total. We’re talking GOTY, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score & Music (shoutout to Lorien Testard), Best Performance (Jennifer English as Maelle), Best RPG, Best Independent Game, and Best Debut Indie Game. They beat all other GOTY nominees including  Hideo Kojimas Death Stranding 2 (which hasn’t his won a single award). The GOTY was developed by a French indie turn based RPG, blending stunning visuals inspired by Belle Époque art with deep storytelling and innovative combat, beat out heavy hitters like Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Hades II, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Donkey Kong Bananza. Critics and fans alike are calling it a masterpiece that redefined what a small team can achieve historic moment that had the crowd roaring and set social media ablaze.
Other highlights? Hades II snagged Best Action Game, Mario Kart World took Best Sports/Racing, and Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Bananza won Best Family Game. No Man’s Sky finally got its flowers with Best Ongoing Game from that rough day 1 release, and esports categories went to Counter-Strike 2 staples like Team Vitality and player Chovy. It was a night of praises, proving once again why these awards matter they spotlight the art and innovation pushing gaming forward.

But here’s where it all went south: the disappointing end. After hours of buildup, Geoff teased “one last announcement” for the grand finale. Expectations were high maybe a bombshell like Kingdom Hearts 4, Super Smash Reborn, Half Life 3 Star Wars 1313 or a Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3? Nope. We got Highguard, a basic looking free-to-play PvP raid shooter from ex-Respawn devs (the Apex Legends and Titanfall crew). Ride mounts (pretty much inspired by paladins), raid bases, hero shooter vibes it’s… already been done before. Several times that it’s not anything redefining even. But as the closing reveal? A generic live-service hero shooter that no one was clamoring for?

The trailer racked up 8.8k dislikes and only a few likes from the supposed fans that are somehow hyped to play this doa game as they were for concord on YouTube within hours, and X erupted with “this is the most disappointing ‘one last thing’ ever” and “game no one asked for.”
Look, kudos to Wildlight Entertainment for the polish, and launching January 26, 2026, isn’t a bad thing. But slotting a big paycheck to market this as the mic-drop moment after rivaling the hype like Divinity: Original Sin 4 teases and Star Wars The Old Republic? It felt like watching the famous avengers assemble build up scene in endgame to cutting to the end of the battle without witnessing anything at all. The show nosedived from triumphant to “that’s it?” a mediocre whimper when we deserved a bang considering they did a hell of a fine work earlier.
Still, 2025’s awards will be remembered for Clair Obscur’s triumph and the killer lineup of nominees. Hype delivered early, but next year, Geoff? Build excitement to what fans really want to see.