The Witcher legend Doug Cockle agrees "there's so many great games this year," but Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the highlight: "It's such a beautifully written game, and beautifully conceived and achieved"

A screenshot from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, showing a man named Verso covered in dirt and blood, looking into the camera. — (Image credit: Sandfall Interactive)

We've been blessed with an excess of great games this year, like House Flipper 2 - Scooby-Doo DLC, or Cheese Rolling, CheeseCatToe, and Cheese Racer. Oh yeah, and there was Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which you might have heard of. The Witcher's Geralt actor Doug Cockle certainly has.

I'm deflecting with cheese because 2025 has undeniably been the year of Sandfall Interactive's oui, oui, French JRPG Clair Obscur, which has just amassed a record-breaking number of nominations at The Game Awards. The game was inescapable. If you listened to all the chatter, you'd think Clair Obscur single-handedly brought back turn-based combat and invented the AA game. Well, these accolades are at least partly true, which is why Cockle says Clair Obscur is "a highlight of the year."

"It's such a beautifully written game," he continues, "and beautifully conceived, and achieved, as well. So, yeah – I wouldn't be surprised if Clair Obscur is a big winner." Indeed Sandfall's game nabbed the big ticket Ultimate Game of the Year prize at today's Golden Joystick Awards, as well as other laurels like Best Soundtrack.