RPG Site Best of 2025 Awards: Our picks for the best of the year
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RPG Site Best of 2025 Awards: Our picks for the best of the year

by RPG Site Staff on 22 December, 2025

Every year, the role-playing game slate comes with both eagerly anticipated releases and out-of-nowhere surprises. We saw big sequels in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II and The Outer Worlds 2. New ideas in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy were released at the same time in April. Remakes were big with Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter and Dragon Quest I&II HD-2D Remake. Level-5 had not one, but two role-playing games in Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time and Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road. We had both a new Pokémon title and a new Digimon title in Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Digimon Story: Time Stranger. Add in indie surprises like Look Outside, and there was certainly quite a variety of role-playing games in consideration this year.

As has become site tradition, in mid-December the RPG Site staff got together to deliberate all of the RPG releases of 2025 for our RPG Site Best of 2025 Awards, our annual feature where we rank the best RPGs of the last year.

If you simply want a quick summary of our final results, click here.

How RPG Site's End-of-the-Year Awards Work

If you've followed RPG Site for any length of time, we've kept the way our end-of-year awards work largely the same. We want to commend some games that demonstrate some specific category of excellence, and then we deliberate in real-time to determine a winner from a list of nominees. We record this deliberation so that the final results can be listened to by anyone who is interested.

To list out and summarize how it works, here's the run-down:

  • First, we'll link a special edition of our Tetracast podcast, where we determine the winners of each category and the ultimate final RPG of the Year for the site. If there are any questions about why a game is (or isn't) present on the list, or how the final determinations came to be, we record it all so that all the discussions can be referred back to!
  • Second, there will be several Category Awards that platform specific games with specific strengths, such as art and music. These are most like the specific awards you'll find from other publications, but with an RPG-focused spin, of course. 
  • Thirdly, past the category awards, here's where things get a little different than a simply top ten list. We rank our Top Ten RPGs of the year, starting with five unordered runners-up. These are games that we recognize as some of the best of the year, but did not land into our Top Five. You can think of these like our Top-Ten-but-Not-Top-Five, though that's a bit of a mouthful. 
  • Then, naturally, we list our Top Five RPG releases of the year, specifically the four games outside of the overall winner, but remain RPG of the Year-caliber releases in their own right.
  • Finally, at the very end, we list out the official RPG Site RPG of the Year 2025.

A couple of final important notes to consider:

  • We operate on a schedule that goes from December through November. That means this year's list includes games released between December 2024 and November 2025. This is done to make sure December releases don't get completely snubbed due to lack of time to play. So titles released in December 2025 will be eligible in our 2026 deliberations, and games that released in December 2024 are in the running for this year's! 
  • As more and more games become worldwide releases, this has become less and less relevant, but only official English releases are eligible. Fan translations or imports might be discussed in passing during our podcast, but RPGs will only be in official contention with a formal English release.
  • Outside of our overall RPG of the Year, our list is unranked within the Top Five and Top Ten categories.
  • As typical of our coverage, we include some RPG-adjacent titles.

We also enjoy comparing our results with our readers! Through the month of December, we're hosting a 2025 Reader's Choice Poll via our social media pages to determine your favorite RPGs of the year, along with your most anticipated RPGs for 2025. Finally, we've also published our own staff list of RPG Site's most anticipated RPGs of 2026 to round out our end-of-the-year feature slate.

Contents

Tetracast - RPG of the Year 2025

This special episode of The Tetracast includes the deliberations of all of the winners shown on this list. As always, we started out by listing out 30 or so RPGs nominated by our staff and contributors that were released over the year - basically a complete listing of any game that our staff felt deserved to be in consideration. The goal is to first determine our Category winners, followed by our main RPG of the Year list as well.

Following the multiple hours of determining the winners for best Remaster or Re-Release, Design, Art, Music, and Writing, we all whittled the main list down to a list of about 15 contending games. From there, we narrowed it down to a final ten, then a final five, and finally a winner.

As we say every year, it's an incredibly grueling process with passionate discussions at practically every cut-off point about what games should remain in contention and which should be removed from the list. If there is a game that you feel should have been in the top ten, it was probably close! You'll have to listen to see what some of the "first out" RPGs ended up being. As we started doing last year, we included the Runner-Up in each of our categories.

Find that special Best of 2025 edition of the Tetracast embedded below or available via iTunes or Spotify! Also on YouTube!

    MP3 Download

    Timestamps:

    • 0:00 - Introductions and Outline
    • 8:06 - Best Remaster or Re-release
    • 1:14:35 - Best Writing or Storytelling
    • 2:22:35 - Best Artwork
    • 3:07:39 - Best Design & Immersion
    • 4:18:40 - Best Music
    • 4:55:53 - RPG of the Year top Ten
    • 5:49:43 - RPG of the Year 2025
    • 6:26:14 - Thank You and Sign Off

    Music Links

    The following list is a selection of music for tracks discussed in the Best Music section of the podcast deliberations. Links veried to work as of December 2025

    Category Awards: Special Commendations for Specific Excellence

    Our category awards have slowly shifted over the years. The general idea is that while a game may not rank highly amongst our RPG of the Year listing, it might deserve mention for one specific thing that it does better than anything else. Additionally, by discussing broad excellence in Art, Design, Writing, and so on, it is a good way to talk about several games that often end up placing very highly in the main list as well. If during the category discussion we find that a game has both great design and great writing, it probably is going to be a strong contender for our Top Five list.

    One specific category, worth calling out ahead of time, is the Best Remaster or Re-Release. For this category, the RPG Site Staff picks the best remaster or re-release of the year to recognize, but with a caveat that the chosen title will not be found in our main Top Ten list. Ultimately, this category allows us to look at games that were originally released prior to 2025, but made newly available or refreshed in some way worth commending. We want to keep our Top Ten RPGs of 2025 list reserved for brand-new games released within that year, even though a remaster might be excellent. So, in short, re-releases are considered for the category award, but not among our Top Ten list itself. This way, we can highlight excellent games without crowding any out completely.

    Without further ado, the category award winners for RPG Site's Best of 2025 Awards are as follows:

    Best Remaster or Re-release - Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles

    We tend to think of remasters as ways to make a game that was once "stuck" on an older, possibly outmoded platform available on a newer one. Final Fantasy Tactics hasn't exactly been unavailable thanks to the mobile ports, but The Ivalice Chronicles goes much further by adding some welcome additions for the HD era, particularly in the form of an enhanced UI and localization, as well as a Classic Mode presentation option, making it the easiest way to play one of the greatest strategy RPGs ever. It also comes with one of the strongest collection of voice performances in an RPG this year.

    Runner-Up: Suikoden I&II HD Remaster Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars

    Meanwhile, the Suikoden I&II remasters also packaged two overlooked PS1 RPGs together as a single saga, adding a bit of extra graphical flair and a more polished localization while keeping almost all the little foibles that made the originals so beloved among fans. [Dave Francisco]

    Best Writing - Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

    Best Writing & Storytelling can mean different things to different people, and of all our RPG Site’s commendation categories, this one is often the most contentious. Acting a direct sequel to the original game, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II has an established goal for protagonist Henry of Skalitz as he aims to reclaim his father's sword and gain a chance to take revenge on Markvart von Aulitzthe. Boasting a wide swatch of characters across a lengthy adventure, the narrative here sees an intersection of many varying personalities, motivations, and social status. Unlike similar western-style RPGs where you are purely roleplaying as a blank slate character who acts purely at your whim, KCD2 manages to place players in the role of the likable Henry. Much of the game’s narrative fulfillment comes in seeing Henry’s journey come to an end after two lengthy titles, and while you still have some choice in how he goes about his adventure (and yes, who he may hook up with), it’s seeing Henry’s growth and interactions that propel KCD2’s writing into excellence. The end result is a satisfying mix of compelling drama and pathos, alongside plenty of lighthearted humor.

    Even off the main critical path, 15th-century Bohemia is full of people to meet, often with their own set of conflicts. Quest design in Kingdom Come Deliverance II is some of the strongest in the genre, not only due to the game’s multifaceted systems design and role-playing progression, but also because you’ll *want* to see what’s going on in the world, whether it’s compelling drama or silly hijinks. 

    Runner-Up: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

    Seemingly coming out of nowhere, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 captivated the hearts of millions of RPG players this year. Lead by standout voice performances across the cast with creativity bursting at the seams, few RPGs are as imaginative and as inspired as the world depicted in Expedition 33. Bold narrative decisions as the game’s themes come into focus leave a conclusion that will be discussed for years. [Adam Vitale]

    Best Art - Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

    Art or visuals in games aren't just about pushing tech, but the overall package. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II manages to look stunning in both gameplay and cinematics, while delivering some of the best-designed menus that fit its setting with lovely 2D art and animations. KCD2’s cinematic excellence in some of the best in games this year, knowing how to let scenes breathe in silence and body language, alongside well-executed shot composition, lighting, and camera direction. It does all of this while running brilliantly across consoles, high-end PCs, and even handhelds. 

    Over the years, many RPGs have delivered realistic takes on fantasy worlds with cutting-edge visuals and modern rendering, but few have managed to hit the highs in every visual aspect like Kingdom Come: Deliverance II has done. Not only does Kingdom Come: Deliverance II look brilliant and believable with its medieval Europe setting, but it punches above its weight and impresses with its menu and UI design that only add to the experience and immersion.

    Runner-Up: Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time

    Fantasy Life i consistently puts a smile on your face with its colorful yet meticulously designed character designs, animations, and varied locations. It is also the best realization of the 3DS-era visuals in modern times yet. [Mikhail Madnani]

    Best Music - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

    Sometimes, categories like this are a forgone conclusion before we even start recording. There's a lot to be said about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's storytelling, pacing, or even its menus, but the music is shockingly good throughout. When I think of soundtracks of this scale, the only others that come to mind are Genshin Impact and the Final Fantasy VII Remake project. The fact that Sandfall Interactive managed to reach those highs on its debut release is just mindblowing.

    I don't think anyone who played Expedition 33 will ever forget Lorien Testard's composition, Alice Duport-Percierr's vocals, Monoco's theme, and facing Goblu for the first time. While the game itself has some lows, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's soundtrack is consistently magnificent.

    Runner-Up: Promise Mascot Agency

    Promise Mascot Agency's score combines multiple genres, traditional Japanese instruments, vintage synths, electric guitars, and more to deliver memorable songs to fit the game's vibe and also stand out on their own to be worth listening to outside the game. It is unlike anything else in games right now. [Mikhail Madnani]

    Best Design and Immersion - Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

    As you will likely see throughout this article and in the Tetracast, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II comes up often, and while it excels in so many categories, nothing else hits as hard as it does when it comes to its design and immersion. It is a very dense numbers-driven RPG that itself is something I appreciate, but nothing else this year came close to it when it comes to immersive.

    Kingdom Come: Deliverance II's medieval Europe setting and locations feel real thanks to their many systems interacting with each other, deep mechanics-driven gameplay, and also the sheer variety in its characters and music. All of this comes together with the art direction and menu design to make it feel cohesive and confident.

    Runner-Up: Dynasty Warriors: Origins

    Dynasty Warriors: Origins is the first time a new Omega Force and Koei Tecmo Warriors game managed to hit the 1 vs 1000 scale and deliver it within a world you feel immersed in as the protagonist. This is the closest you can get to being an actual part of the Three Kingdoms story. [Mikhail Madnani]

    Best of 2025: Honorable Mentions

    When we were recording our Tetracast linked above, we were in two minds about how to slot two games that have RPG mechanics and elements, but they aren't the focus of the experience. We still think these games are worth highlighting, and that brings us to our Honorable Mentions for 2025.

    Hades II - Honorable Mention

    Hades II is Supergiant Games' first-ever sequel, and they knocked it out of the park with a follow-up that feels like two full games in one thanks to its stronger gameplay loop, varied narrative and story paths, brand-new mechanics, and perfectly building on the foundation laid by the original. 

    Having been very impressed by the initial early access version, I never thought Hades II would hit as hard as it did with a game I will keep going back to for years. Supergiant managed to surpass the original in so many ways with Hades II, and it joins Elden Ring Nightreign as our two honorable mentions for 2025.

    Elden Ring Nightreign - Honorable Mention

    With the popularity of the seamless co-op mod and generally how massive the co-op and pvp sides of FromSoftware games are, it is no surprise to see the developer itself try and do something interesting with its most successful IP yet in Elden Ring. Elden Ring Nightreign took a tried and tested formula and years of knowledge to deliver one of the most interesting and challenging multiplayer experiences of 2025. 

    While the RPG elements aren't the focus, Elden Ring Nightreign is a game that will absolutely resonate for FromSoftware fans looking for something familiar yet different enough to be its own thing. With all of its updates and the new DLC, Elden Ring Nightreign is even better than it was at launch, and it deserves to be highlighted. Hopefully, this isn't the last we see of the Lands Between.  [Mikhail Madnani]

    Best of 2025: The Near Misses, aka the Runner-Up Five

    These next five titles made their way into our Top Ten RPGs of 2025, but did not quite reach our Top Five. Either they had one specific minor shortcoming, or they were simply beaten out by later games on this list. However, they remain excellent games and are all titles we would highly recommend as some of the best of the year. In no particular order, our Runners-Up for RPG of the Year 2025 are as follows:

    Dynasty Warriors: Origins - Top Ten of 2025

    Whenever Koei Tecmo and Omega Force announce a new Warriors game, they try to show off the scale with hundreds of enemies on screen in a battlefield. In most cases, the actual games never manage to look or feel the same. With Dynasty Warriors: Origins, they finally delivered on their 1 vs 1000 vision, and having more powerful target hardware meant they could fully realize the scope and vision of a massive Warriors game with thousands of enemies. 

    This is all elevated by the incredible storytelling and how Origins is the most RPG the series has been yet with its character progression system. Origins doesn't just make you experience the same famous battles in Romance of the Three Kingdoms in a Warriors setting. It goes the extra mile to have you seeing it all unfold as initially unnamed playable character making you feel like you're literally in the world and on the battlefield. 

    Dynasty Warriors: Origins will no doubt disappoint some longtime fans who expect a large playable cast of characters, but I'm more for how it reinvented what we expect from a Dynasty Warriors game with its focus on story, progression, and also incredible scale that felt unlike anything else we had seen from the series. [Mikhail Madnani]

    Digimon Story: Time Stranger - Top Ten of 2025

    The Digimon franchise enjoyed a strong resurgence this year, and a good chunk of that was thanks to an excellent new entry in the Digimon Story series. Time Stranger excels in bringing forth a comfortable JRPG experience reminiscent of how they were designed and structured during the PS2 era. An extremely large roster of playable Digimon party members allows players to spend hours digging into its numerous Digivolution options per Digimon.

    Plus, Time Stranger takes advantage of current generation hardware as it allowed the developers to fully flesh out the Digital World Illiad. Each of the locales in it is littered with Digimon communities from top to bottom, which makes it a joy to just simply explore which Digimon were selected for each of its themed environments.

    Sometimes, it’s easy to tell when a game is a passion project from top to bottom; Time Stranger is a game loved by its developers, and it shows. [Josh Torres]

    Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter - Top Ten of 2025

    Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter was one of the most anticipated remakes in the series. Although I wasn’t the reviewer who covered the game for RPG Site, I’m a long-time veteran of the franchise and have primarily written guides for the series elsewhere. The series has traditionally been difficult to recommend to newcomers due to its interconnected narrative and the continuation through sequels, and that is where Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter came into the picture as a remake of the original The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky.

    While I think the remake sticks the landing and does many things right like its aesthetic and characterization, I don’t believe the remake completely outshines the original, especially in its localization. This is largely because it feels very similar overall, more of a faithful remake rather than a full reimagining. There are also many modern quality of life features thrown into the game that ruin some sense of discovery. That said, if you’ve never played the series before, this remake is a very safe recommendation. It also finally provides an accessible starting point for players looking to get invested in the Trails universe. [Chao Min Wu]

    Lies of P: Overture - Top Ten of 2025

    There's a funny trend when it comes to DLC expansions for "Soulslike" titles, in that they tend to skew towards being the best elements of their individual games. The same rings true for Lies of P: Overture, and if anything, it showcases a level of confidence that is almost impossible not to make you excited for the game's eventual sequel.

    New and inventive weapons, challenging and creative bosses, beautiful and striking new areas, and a much more confident and focused story; every single element of Overture improves upon what was already present in the original game. Lies of P was already a great game, but it merits stressing that it's Overture that cements it as a truly fantastic one; a true classic of the genre that anyone should play. 

    While it didn't quite make our Top Five, make no mistake - Lies of P: Overture is a DLC well worth playing. If you haven't yet gotten around to Lies of P, this DLC is the perfect excuse. [James Galizio]

    Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road - Top Ten of 2025

    Level-5 had a spectacular year as both of their RPG releases made the Top 10 on this site. Both Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road and Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time felt like “doomed” projects due to their extensive, and troubled, development cycles. Somehow, the long wait for each of them was extremely worth it.

    Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road doesn’t require a love for soccer to appreciate. It tells an earnest tale of how a crestfallen individual reconnects with the sport, despite an illness that disables his ability to play it himself. There are compelling stories of tragedy and triumph that surprisingly punches above its weight.

    Beyond its great story mode, there are a myriad of other modes including one that recaps the events of every single Inazuma Eleven game and anime which allows players to continually recruit, upgrade, and customize from a pool of over 5400 playable characters. This title alone is secretly, and unironically, the super game of 2025. [Josh Torres]

    Top Five RPGs of 2025

    Finally, we have our Top Five RPGs of 2025. These are the cream of the crop, and all RPG of the Year contenders. If our discussions were held again, any one of these titles could have genuinely been our RPG of the Year for 2025. With the exception of our Winner listed at the very end, the following are RPG Site's Top Five RPGs of 2025:

    Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time  - Top Five of 2025

    Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time still feels like a game that should not exist. Not only did Level-5 manage to deliver a superlative RPG when Fantasy Life i launched earlier in the year, but the developer shipped it with full cross platform online play and cross progression. I'd be lying if I said Fantasy Life i wasn't the game that brought me the most joy this year across the hundreds of hours I've spent with it both on my own and with friends, some of whom even played the original Fantasy Life on 3DS with me ages ago.

    Instead of trying to aim for a wider audience or whatever by forgetting why fans loved the original, Level-5 stuck to what everyone loved about the original Fantasy Life, and built on it with colorful menus, charming writing, the best transition of 3DS aesthetics to modern platforms, and more.

    I also appreciate how Level-5 managed to deliver a superb RPG that lived up to my nostalgia for the original while pushing the series forward with modern touches. Fantasy Life i isn't a new entry that tries to capitalize on the name, but a massive project that feels like a blend of multiple games with mechanics all working together to keep you obsessed with it for hours.

    Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time? More like Fantasy Life i, the game that will steal all your free time. [Mikhail Madnani]

    Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake - Top Five of 2025

    Fresh off last year's successful revival of Dragon Quest III, Square Enix and Artdink reached further back into the RPG genre's roots to touch the first two games in the legendary series with the HD-2D Remake wand. All things considered, remaking two of the most influential games ever made was a risk, given that their foundational nature might not have been all that compatible with the features typically demanded by contemporary tastes. And yet, Artdink made Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake successful not by attempting to recapture the breezy nature of Dragon Quest I or the overambition of Dragon Quest I but by reconfiguring them to serve as quasi-sequels to Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake.

    Repositioned as the continuation and capstone of the "Erdrick Saga," Dragon Quest I and II take on new significance that allows them to benefit from the customary growth in scope and scale, while still retaining some of their originals' vibe and challenging aura. The HD-2D aesthetic also suits the games' now-distinctive art style, making the inimitable monster and character designs pop in battle while evoking the relatively low-fi charm of a classical, now-bygone era of game development. While Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake feel a bit different from a straight attempt to bring the original games to modern screens, they do feel like interesting new onboarding points for a series that's considered required playing for any RPG enthusiast. [Dave Francisco]

    Look Outside - Top Five of 2025

    Look Outside is the special sort of game that only comes around every now and again; combining the best elements of Survival Horror like Silent Hill or classic Resident Evil, along with the best of turn-based RPGs such as SaGa, Dragon Quest or Earthbound, it's a bit unlike everything else you've ever played.

    The game's concept is simple; something Wrong is in the sky outside, and those who gaze upon its visage become irrevocably changed into eldritch beasts. You, Sam, are stuck in your apartment and are forced to watch as your neighbors in your apartment complex become changed; some maintaining their senses, while others succumbing to their new base instincts. In 15 days, whatever is up there in the sky will be gone, but the scars left by its presence will remain. What can you do, should you do, in this situation? Just find the bare minimum food to hunker down and stay locked up alone in your apartment - or to try and figure out what exactly has been going on, and to try - perhaps fail - to fix it?

    Look Outside is the type of brisk RPG that you'll never play only once; much like the horror games that inspired it, the idea is clear, that you are meant to learn from your prior experiences to see what you can manage the next time. Yet at the same time, the core of what makes Look Outside special is the acknowledgement of the humanity at the core of such an inhuman situation; who do you trust, how do you cope with your actions, and is being human something that only shows skin deep? For a certain player, Look Outside won't just be one of your favorite RPGs of 2025, but a new all-time favorite for the years ahead. [James Galizio]

    Kingdom Come: Deliverance II - Top Five of 2025

    We don't officially rank our Top Five RPGS for any given year here at RPG Site. But make no mistake, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is our very, very, close runner-up to our winning RPG of the Year for 2025. If you don't believe us, listen to our Tetracast deliberations linked in this feature to see how agonizingly close the decision was! Kingdom Come: Deliverance II also won three commendation awards. If we recorded our deliberations on a different day of the week or during a different phase of the moon, we could have seen Kingdom Come: Deliverance II win our RPG of the Year top position outright; it was that close.

    Warhorse Studio's follow-up title ticks every single box for what we want out of an expansive open-world RPG. It ended up winning our categories for Design & Immersion, Writing, and Art for a reason. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II absolutely understood the assignment, delivering an experience that was immersive, enthralling, and endlessly fascinating. It's not easy for a title to feel so expansive and massive and yet rarely ever feel like a chore, to have every narrative beat feel intimate and so carefully constructed. We play a lot of long games here at RPG Site, and it's so easy for longer titles in this genre to pad their run time with bloated features or dull, grindy content that loses its luster far before reaching the credits. The fact that Kingdom Come: Deliverance II manages to avoid this is a testament to the amount of care that goes into the design of its moment-to-moment gameplay, the crafting of such a varied cast of interesting characters, and the creation of such a beautiful and authentic-feeling world that is so easy to get lost in.

    I think one of the most interesting aspects of Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is how it manages to be so expansive and yet so focused at the same time. The narrative begins in earnest following the events of the original game, following the personal mission of Henry of Skalitz and the seeking of his lost sword and revenge against his parents' killers. From there, the narrative manages to twist, turn, and escalate, but at a deft cadence that few games manage to accomplish well. There are no world-ending stakes at play here, just the intricate weaving of the protagonist's personal motivation and how he finds himself entangled in something much larger than himself, but in a grounded and very believable way. Even the rough edges of the first game were rounded out just enough to help polish the rags-to-riches power fantasy without resulting in feeling too weak in the early going of the game.

    Kingdom Come: Deliverance II also manages to be an incredibly deep RPG with systems that account for how your character dresses, their aptitude with a bow, horse, or a smith's hammer, their reputation with each city, and of course -- their ability to use a weapon. Quests are varied and make use of all of these systems. Characters are well-acted both in voice and motion capture, environments are gorgeous without looking fantastical or otherworldly, and even technical performance is incredibly solid, especially when considering how detailed so many of the city environments can be. Put simply, there's little that Kingdom Come: Deliverance II doesn't do exceptionally well. [Bryan Vitale]

    Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - RPG of the Year 2025

    The imagery of the stone monolith, adorned with the number "33" from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, has become an iconic symbol of 2025 in video games. Little did we realize when it was released early this year, that this was almost prophetic too, with Expedition 33 standing tall and proud among the sea of other RPGs this year. Even back in our initial preview of the game, we knew there was something special about E33, but we had no idea just how special it would turn out to be.

    Inspired by many of the same Japanese RPGs that formed the genesis of this very website, Expedition 33's is an emotional tale of struggling and working through grief, backed by astounding performances, all wrapped up in a visually striking world with an endearing cast. So much of this resonated with many on our staff, and many others who played through it, leaving us reflecting back on moments and debating outcomes ever since we first rolled credits. Even with its faults and some questionable, though bold, narrative decisions, it still manages to result in an end product that has left players debating not only who was in the right, but if there was a right decision at all.

    A great story, however, will only get you so far, and it won't net you Game of the Year; it also needs to be backed up by gameplay. Inspired by both traditional RPGs and modern action games, Expedition's interactive approach to turn-based combat felt fresh and classic at the same time, thanks to the precise timing of the parrying and defending systems. Pictos and Lumina also provided min-maxing fans with avenues in which to dial in and tailor their characters to bring out their full potential, or simply to play around and discover what unintended overpowered combos could be discovered. It didn't reinvent the turn-based RPG wheel, but it certainly proves that these tires still have miles left in them.

    What Sandfall Interactive has managed to do with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a testament to what can happen when even a brand new team, fueled by passion, can do. With baguettes on our backs and red berets on our heads, we salute Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as our RPG Site Game of the Year, and anxiously await news on what comes next. For those who come after. [Scott White]

    RPG Site's RPG of the Year 2025 Summary

    Award Winners:

    • Best Remaster or Re-release - Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles
    • Best Writing - Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
    • Best Art - Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
    • Best Music - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
    • Best Design and Immersion - Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

    RPG of the Year 2025 - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

    RPG of the Year 2025 - Top Five

    • Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
    • Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time
    • Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake
    • Look Outside

    RPG of the Year 2025 - Top Ten

    • Dynasty Warriors: Origins
    • Digimon Story: Time Stranger
    • Lies of P: Overture
    • Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter
    • Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road

    Honorable Mentions 2025

    • Hades II
    • Elden Ring Nightreign