Golden Lance 2025 – Game of the Year Category
This is it. The Game of the Year was a two-horse race from the moment voting opened. You’ll see why in the write-ups below. The amount of passion that was felt by the staff about games this year was unmatched in the six years of Lords of Gaming’s history. It is a testament to the grandeur of the experiences that came out this year. More than that, it spoke to something deep within us about what we love about games. Choice, well-realized worlds, dramatic set-pieces, and stunning visuals. These games are some of the best in history at what they do. They will be remembered far beyond this year. With that said, here are the winners of Lords of Gaming’s 2025 Golden Lance Award for Game of the Year.
Winner – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
To anyone who knows about the modern online discourse surrounding gaming, this one is for you. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a triumph in every sense of the word. A game that not only has pristine art direction and graphical fidelity at its back. But it also has one of the best stories in gaming right now, with a stacked voice cast to boot. It is everything you should expect from the triple-A industry, but with a modest price tag and buttery smooth performance.
However, seeing as it is the “Game” of the year, it achieved so much on the game side of the package. With nostalgic turn-based combat that uses modern age advances, a slick UI, and ways to defend yourself outside of overcomplicated equipment and numbers that can sometimes just not feel like they’re working. It has a deep customization system, characters with unique skills and quirks in combat. Sandfall did not skimp out on any part of the experience, and they deserve to take home the gold (lance). Just as they did at The Game Awards.
Game of the Year Runner-Up – Donkey Kong Bananza: Breaking Through the Core
The idea that the follow-up to Super Mario Odyssey would be a Donkey Kong 3D platformer is something few expected ever to happen. But yet, here we are with Donkey Kong Bananaza. This game, out of everything I played at the Nintendo Experience event when I went hands-on with the Nintendo Switch 2, impressed me the most.
The raw destructive power of Donkey Kong got me hyped for the full adventure. And after playing nearly sixty hours of DK and Paluine’s adventure, it’s one of my favorite Nintendo games in decades.
It’s an experience that has the spirit of Mario’s 3D adventures, the ambition of Rareware’s efforts with the big ape, and the creative soul of Nintendo itself, all coming together to create something that was an unforgettable experience. If any Nintendo release in 2025 justified the launch of Nintendo’s newest console, it’s this one.
