#17
Change YoY: NEW! My Rating: 9.4 / 10
The big hit game everyone's talking about this year, and yes, it really is as good as people say it is. I can't say Clair Obscur came out of nowhere or anything because there was a ton of hype for it based on all the trailers and details we'd heard prior to its release, but I doubt anyone expected it to be quite as great as it turned out to be. From the moment the game begins, it creates an atmosphere all its own through clever use of music, visuals, and dialogue. The introduction alone is one of the most effective in all of video games, and from there the game just keeps getting better until the very final moments.
Not only was the story incredibly well-told and written, the characters were some of the most memorable I've seen in years in any video game, bolstered by exceptional voice acting by a cast of very talented people. The art design is gorgeous, the look and feel of the various locations found throughout the world of Clair Obscur are unlike any I can remember seeing before, and the musical score is among the finest of the last decade, if not more. On top of everything the game features an excellent turn-based battle system that takes inspiration from some of the finest examples from the past and adds its own unique style and flavour to it. The gameplay created some of the most satisfying gaming moments of this past year for me.
For my money, this is the best game of 2025, and in general one of the best games of this whole console generation. What minor issues the game does have (some of the minigames aren't all that fun, and if you do a lot of exploring later on it's easy to make some of the storyline bosses underwhelming in terms of challenge) do not in any way detract from what is an overall incredible game.
