As we are 3 months into 2025, let us look back to the not so calm year of 2025. Me and DCA crew like to reflex on the game that really had our tongues wagging.
Major’s Game: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
This has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to write. It’s not because I had a tough time figuring out what game deserved the top honors in my opinion. In fact, this game held the title in its first act. What makes writing this so hard is giving it its due for what it is. I have consumed a lot of content while on this planet, but few things have purely defined who I am as a person by name. Normally, I’ll say that I like this genre of music, TV, movies, or games. But it has to be something special for me to name a specific work. The likes of Ghost in the Shell series, the Metal Gear Solid series, Watch_Dogs 2, and Gundam Wing have molded not only my childhood, but my entire life. Quotes that have turned into mantras and creeds. Characters that have informed attitudes and styles. Philosophical discussions that have shaped how I view the world. But none of these have had the profound impact like Clair Obscur Expedition 33.
If the question of “Are games art?” ever come up again, I will point to this game and only this game. Not only do I consider it art, it literally uses art to tell its story. Clair Obscur is an art term. And, just like art, it has a way in touching your soul, to find meaning in things that aren’t truly apparent. To seek deeper truths than what’s at the surface. As you go further into the story of this game, layers get removed until you reach what was truly at the beginning, that blank canvas that gave birth to this world and its characters, their motivations, fears, and desires.
As I’ve said before, there are things that I can use to identify myself as a person. Yet, I feel those are only skin deep. It’s what I want people to see if they want to get to know me. Expedition 33, however, is different. This lives in my heart and soul. It is something that has consumed me from the inside out. This isn’t something that I can merely explain, but has to be experienced in order to truly be appreciated.
And this is why my 2025 Game of the Year is Clair Obscur Expedition 33.
Kevin’s Game: Two Point Museum
I have always had a love/adore relationship with the Two Point games. After playing Campus (a game that racked up over a 100 hours in) I thought it can’t get no better! Enter Museum, a game that made museum management seem fun and exciting. Not only does it add new features like zone management (something that was sorely lacking from Hospital/Campus) and crafting. Not only did it add a bunch of free DLC, collaboration content (see the Digiverse) as well as paid DLC. It also listened to its community feedback and gave us much needed quality of life tweaks and balancing updates. Two Point really listened to what the players wanted and continues to listen. That’s the kind thing that I will always give devs props for. Caring about the community and not seeing them as a piggybank to be exploited. Though I have played a lot of games in 2025 (and 2026 is shaping out to be the same) my mind always calls back to Two Point Museum. So with that said, that is why Two Point Museum is my GOTY 2025.
Conclusion
2025 was indeed another banner year in the gaming space. Indie game developers, big indies and scrappy upstarts told the big players: I don’t need a seat, I’ll make my own damn table. Thank you for your time and patience and here to hoping I get 2026’s article out in time, lol.
