My favorite game of 2025 wasn't even nominated for GOTY, but you absolutely have to play it.

The Game Awards has announced its 2025 Game of the Year nominees, and my personal GOTY is a first-person roguelike puzzle game. blue princeDidn't get nominated. The Game Awards 2025 nomination list is particularly stacked, and it's hard to argue that the six games nominated for the top prize aren't deserving.

Here are the six games nominated for Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2025: Claire Obsker: Expedition 33, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Donkey Kong Bananza, hades 2, Hollow Knight: Silksongand Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. Expedition 33 The critically acclaimed turn-based RPG is the frontrunner in many people's eyes, breaking the record for most nominations at a single Game Awards ceremony with 12. blue prince Although it wasn't nominated for Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2025, I think everyone should play it, even if you don't actually consider yourself a fan of puzzle games.

Game Award Candidates Consideration Withdrawal Game Rant Feature

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Game Awards nomination withdrawn from consideration

A One Game Awards nominee withdrew from consideration after determining that his or her game did not meet the criteria for the nomination category.

blue prince is a puzzle game where players explore a large space with the ultimate goal of reaching the elusive Room 46 through a limited number of stages. Importantly, the layout of the mansion changes daily and morphs depending on which rooms the player selects. While some rooms are dead ends and some have negative effects that make room 46 more difficult to get to, other rooms provide the player with perks and useful items to make the journey a little easier. On average, most people “win.” blue prince It's done in 15-20 hours, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. blue prince It's a normal length game and it's great because it feels satisfying, but there are enough puzzles and mysteries that it could easily be a massive 100+ hour adventure. It became the latter for me, and one of my most played games all year. I was completely fascinated. blue prince I recommend it to everyone I can.

Blue Prince received higher critic scores than some GOTY nominees.

I am definitely not alone in my love blue prince. blue prince It received an overall rating of 92 on review aggregation site Metacritic. This makes it the third highest-rated new game of the year when discounting re-releases like the Switch 2 version. breath of the wild and Tears of the Kingdom. hades 2 and Expedition 33 They are ahead with 95 and 92 points respectively. blue prince ahead DK Bananza (91), silk song (90) and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (88). personally scored blue prince A perfect 10. The Game Awards GOTY nominees are still not surprising, as they are not simply a list of the highest-rated games in a given year. blue prince Didn't get nominated.

Blue Prince wasn't nominated for Game of the Year, but it was nominated for other awards.

blue prince Although it didn't win a GOTY award, it was nominated for other awards at The Game Awards. blue prince It's nominated for Best Independent Game and Best Debut Indie Game, but the problem is Claire Obsker: Expedition 33 It was also nominated in that category. It's very likely Expedition 33 We'll sweep The Game Awards blue prince It may not win Best Independent Game or Best Debut Indie Game, but being nominated is still a testament to its quality. I personally think so too. blue prince It deserved the award for Best Art Direction.

blue prince It won Indie Game of the Year at the 2025 Golden Joystick Awards.

You don't even need to buy Blue Prince to play.

As of this writing, you don't have to purchase one until April 2026 or later. blue prince Play in full. The game normally sells for $29.99 and is worth every penny, but you can also easily play it with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PlayStation Plus Extra subscription. blue prince When it launched earlier this year, it was a rare game to be released simultaneously on both Game Pass and PS Plus, making it one of the best games to hit both subscription platforms in 2025. If you're already subscribed to one of these services, great, but if not, you can check out both by subscribing to Game Pass Ultimate for $29.99. blue prince And a GOTY candidate Claire Obsker: Expedition 33PS Plus Extra also has its fair share of heavy hitters.

Blue Prince is not a co-op game, but you should play it with a friend.

blue prince is a single player game, but I think playing it as a “co-op” game dramatically improves the experience. The way my wife and I do it is we take turns running, and the person who's not in turn works on the laptop. As we played, we filled notebooks full of clues, ideas, and reminders, and every time we had that “aha!” feeling, it felt incredibly satisfying. A moment together. reproduction blue prince Having a partner means you have someone to share the burden of figuring out the game's tricky puzzles and strategize with you as you plan to beat the game. Alternating helps alleviate the frustration of bad runs because you don't run the risk of having two bad runs in a row.

The Game Awards 2025 It will be held on Thursday, December 11th.