Even though 2025 has quite possibly the most stacked Game of the Year line-ups since, well, 2024, a lot of people seem to have locked in their choice very early this year, and for good reason.
Alright, I know my silly intro joke may have implied otherwise, but 2025 really has been an incredible year for games (it’s just that you can also say the exact same thing for 2024).
I think whatever your choice of GOTY is, you’re probably correct, because each month has seen a new frontrunner enter the race.
Hollow Knight: Silksong, Split Fiction, Blue Prince, Ghost of YĹŤtei, Donkey Kong Bananza, Hades 2, Death Stranding 2, and, of course, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. All potential winners, and all justifiable ones at that.
However, over on Reddit’s r/playstation subreddit, a lot of fans are backing one of this year’s dark horses– one that isn’t cropping up in the conversation as much as the others.
So, it’s the PlayStation subreddit, which means surely their pick is either Ghost of Yōtei or Death Stranding 2, right? No? Well then, it must be Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, because that seems to be the prevailing choice so far.
Nope! A large majority of PlayStation fans actually seem to be backing Kingdom Come: Deliverance II this year, which is handy considering a bundle deal for the game is available on Steam right this second.
“Expedition 33 followed closely by Kingdom Come Deliverance 2”, commented user New_Paramedic_3354.
“KCD2 for me. Yotei is great though”, replied user TG082588.
“For me KCD2 takes everything I loved from those older Bethesda titles (Fun exploration, great side quests, bandit camp/hideouts, hidden loot, fun story, etc.) and brought it all to 2025. It was a nostalgic punch to the face. As matter of fact, KCD2 out Bethesda’d Bethesda. It’s way better than recent titles like Starfield was. It’s just so good.”
“KCD2 got a ton of praise and coverage and discussion when it dropped, but it had the misfortune of being an early february release in a crazy stacked year”, commented user Soupjam_Stevens.
“It would be a very serious GOTY front runner in any year that didn’t also have E33, Yotei, Split Fiction, Silksong, Hades 2, and the first party games of a Nintendo console launch all dropping more recently than it.”
I think that last comment kind of hit the nail on the head, because, much like the Oscars, GOTY winners tend to games that dropped closer to the end of the year, as they’re a bit fresher in voters’ minds.
Still, I do think Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is a fair pick. It wouldn’t be my pick, but hey, BALL x PIT will probably sweep all the other categories anyway.
