I didn't play that many new games this year because of lack of funds, but Silksong was an amazing game and I put it down for the categories it was available in.

No option for Monster Hunter Wilds as "Most Disappointing"?

I'd say that was one of the most notable examples this year of a big game not meeting player expectations, as can be seen from sales tanking after a strong launch.

Best Platformer: Shinobi: Art of Vengeance - I bought this game a couple of months ago and it turned out to be an incredible mix of Metroidvania, 2D Platformer, action, and great visuals.

Best  Action Bame: Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark - Very funny game, and a huge improvement over the previous title. I still need to beat it, but overall I found it more fun and with way more content than Demon Purge.

Best Fighting Game: Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves - That's probably one of the biggest comebacks I saw for a fighting franchise. Fatal Fury and Garou: Mark of the Wolves are back and in a explosive return.

Best Racing Game: Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds - Team Sonic Racing wasn't exactly the best racing game for Sonic, but look at what we have here: Even Spongebob Squarepants is on CrossWorlds. Too bad it doesn't have a lot of Single Player content, but we have even the Extreme Gears back.

Best RPG: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - I was already interested in this game due to it being a Turn-Based RPG with modern day graphics. And I wasn't disappointed. It's amazing how Sandfall managed to mix an old-school gameplay with current technology.

Best Remaster: Yooka-Replaylee - Yeah, the first Yooka-Laylee game wasn't very exciting, but this remaster does justice to it. Colorful and vibrant graphics with very acceptable performance. A must-play for old 3D platformers fans.

Best Art Direction: Death Stranding 2: On the Beach - It's no surprise that a Kojima game would be one of the most beautiful games of the year. When looking at Death Stranding 2 cutscenes, I feel like watching a movie. And a very good one.

Best Original Music Score: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - There are quite some memorable music in this game. I still spend some time listening to the soundtrack. Such a fine work of art. From characters themes to battle themes, everything is superb in Expedition 33.

Best Lead Performance: Charlie Cox as Gustave - Gustave was such a great character. He forges the path to everything that happens in the world of Lumiére. I feel like Charlie Cox deserves some love (Since Jennifer English got every award).

Best Narrative: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - The premise for Expedition 33 is something I never saw before in an RPG. But there's much more going on in that world than what the trailers shows us. And it's a story to be remembered for generations.

Most Disappointing Game: Nintendo Switch 2: Welcome Tour - Well, where to start... The game feels really shallow, and it still charges you to play it. If Nintendo wants to demonstrate how ther new system work, they could learn with Sony (Right, Astro's Playroom?)

Best Surprise of 2025: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - After the trailers, this game would be either a hit of a miss. Turn-based RPGs face a lot of prejudice those days, but Sandfall managed to bring what would be one of the greatest games ever for a lot of people.

Most Anticipated Game of 2026: Resident Evil Requiem - Resident Evil really found their way! Coming from two average episodes (5 and 6, even if I love 6), with 7 forging a new path for the series, and now Requiem feels like a dream coming true for me. A mix of Horror and Action that so far seems that it will work out.

Overall Game of 2025: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - Yeah, that's my Game of the Year. A mix of a beautiful world, insane plot, amazing soundtrack, gorgeous visuals, fun gameplay... Everything works. That's Expedition 33.

Just voted! That's weird exp33 isn't in the indie section lol

Hades II is now in Action. That seems to be the gaming community consensus.

Added! Although personally I consider it one of the better games of the year, I know a lot of folks, especially on PC, were disappointed, particularly after World and Rise.

Since Kepler Interactive published/funded the game, it doesn’t really fit the category.

Thank you for voting!

Ninja Gaiden II Black is missing from the action catagory and Xenoblade X and Raidou are missing from RPG. Metal Eden missing from indie games. Why are not all the games listed under GOTY? I can't select Ninja Gaiden II Black or NG4. 

Ninja Gaiden 4 added to the GOTY category. Thanks for this suggestion!

All remasters are restricted to two categories: best remaster and most disappointing. They're not eligible for other categories. Metal Eden was published by Deep Silver, so ineligible for Best Indie.

All told, I think we did a solid job in getting all worthwhile candidates to prelim voting ahead of time.