Golden Lance Award Moment of the Year Category
One word defined the best Moments in gaming in 2025: Epic. While in previous years, this category has been full of twists, shocking story beats, and intimate character moments. This year, the moments were the fist-bumping, pulse-pounding, eyes-widening kind. Games this year brought the heat over and over again. Scale is nothing new to video games. We have played games with world, galaxy, and universe-ending stakes. Games that feature gods and demons and everything in between. The moments featured here mix style with substance. Challenging gameplay with jaw-dropping audio-visual spectacles. With that said, here are the winners of Lords of Gaming’s 2025 Golden Lance Award for Moment of the Year.
Winner Moment of the Year – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Finding out the Origins of the Paintress and the World
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has many, many surprises in its story from each act. The first truly heartbreaking moment in the game can go to the end of Act 1(no spoilers, of course). The moment that truly cemented this game’s identity and ambition was the end of Act 2, or learning the origins of the game’s world. To preserve the surprise of this moment for people who have not played the game yet, this will be described in the best vague terms possible.
The end of Act 2 turns the entire story on its head. The narrative was simple, with many nuances that already set it apart from many other games. But at many points throughout the story, there are moments where the game’s cutscenes feature a more ominous touch in every single aspect that slowly builds up the mystery of this reveal in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It was a moment so beautifully executed that you could almost assume Remedy Entertainment lent a hand to Sandfall, and that is saying something if you have played Alan Wake 2.
Runner-Up Moment of the Year – Donkey Kong Bananza: Finding the Banadium Root
When playing Bananza, many wondered how much of Rareware’s DNA would be featured in the full experience. Donkey Kong Country is full of iconic elements, many of which appeared. The iconic minecarts, other Kong characters, and full-on references all appeared across DK’s adventure.
But just as Void Kong is ready for Round Two against DK and Pauline… The King returns.
While showing up to rumble in Smash Bros. Ultimate years ago, the iconic crocodile monarch graces gamers with his return, ready to remind Donkey Kong who his true rival is.
His appearance is epic, feeling like a celebration of the character’s history, and seeing him have one of the game’s best boss encounters and spearhead the fantastic challenge in the game, Donkey Kong Bananza wouldn’t have had the highs it offered if it weren’t for how skillfully Nintendo EAD handled Donkey Kong’s legendary villain.
