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We are just getting started in 2026, which means it is the perfect time for the SavePoint Gaming team to look back at a stellar year of gaming in 2025 and reflect on what made it so special. From breakout indie hits like Dispatch to the seemingly inevitable domination of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, there was so much to play and even more to enjoy.
So much so that we came together, voted on our favourites, and after plenty of back and forth, here are the winners and notable mentions of the SavePoint Gaming Awards 2025:
SavePoint Gaming Awards 2025
SavePoint Gaming Game of the Year – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Notable mentions: Donkey Kong Bananza, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, Dispatch
Calling Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 our Game of the Year shouldn’t come as a surprise. It cleaned house at The Game Awards. The praise lavished on the game since its release has quickly turned Sandfall Interactive into the darling of the video game industry. It showed in full force how artistic merit and ingenuity can beat out towering AAA publishers that prioritise profit over artistry.
But I think that over the past year, people have forgotten just how good the game is. People have put Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on a pedestal as a lightning-in-a-bottle experience that can never be replicated. And don’t get me wrong, it’s good, but calling Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 a miracle undercuts just how much time, effort, sweat, and passion went into making the game as good as it is.
Each character has their own distinct combat mechanics that can be tweaked and fine-tuned to create some truly jaw-dropping synergies that obliterate any challenge the game throws at you. But you have to earn the right to be powerful. You have to understand each of the game’s eccentricities, master the game’s dodge and parry mechanics, and put in the time and effort to understand each unique enemy and boss.
You’ll want to keep playing not just for the gameplay, but also for the story. It speaks to the narrative’s quality, where even the prologue is enough to elicit tears. It hooks you in a way that few games do, and each scene and character has meaning and purpose, all culminating in an ending that, regardless of whichever one you choose, feels right.
But if I had to choose one thing I love most about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, it would be how it delivered a JRPG experience that truly feels classic. It’s a tightly constructed game that took lessons from some of the best JRPGs of all time. As a lover of PS1 and PS2-era JRPGs, seeing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 embrace, honour, iterate on, and, most importantly, respect the classics makes my soul smile.
So yes, awarding the SavePoint Gaming Game of the Year to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 may be predictable. It is the obvious choice. But sometimes, the obvious choice is obvious because it’s the right choice.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
SavePoint Gaming Best Indie of the Year – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Notable mentions: Dispatch, Blue Prince, Citizen Sleeper 2
Much has been written about whether Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 should be considered an indie game or not. This isn’t a new discussion. Every time a new up-and-coming but somewhat sizable studio rises to the top, this discourse returns from the grave, haunting the celebratory and critical posts and articles that actually have something meaningful to say about the distinguished title.
In the end, it all comes down to where you draw the line on what’s indie and what isn’t. Personally, using rough team sizes and/or production budgets as the defining factors always seemed too loose and prone to cyclical back-and-forths like this one. “Independent” ultimately means “not influenced or controlled in any way by other people, events, or things.” In the realm of video games and other art forms, it realistically translates to “a large entity hasn’t shaped the process behind the making of this game after putting down huge bags of cash.”
Of course, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is no underground development effort by a bunch of good friends working on a shoestring budget and/or putting in slow but steady work on a side project. Sandfall has had backing and support that other independent game studios could only dream of, but that doesn’t make the creative process — free from the shackles of corporate meddling — or the end result any less valid. It doesn’t work that way. Maybe we need subcategories inside the now-massive indie portion of the market. Maybe the medium as a whole is still in its infant years as we begin to examine the games and the people behind them more carefully. These discussions are just growing pains.
In any case, Expedition 33 (I’m certain the Clair Obscur brand will expand beyond it) remains a resounding success that will no doubt force AAA publishers to rethink a number of projects and consider if players have had enough of the “quantity over quality” approach that so many gigantic RPGs follow these days.
It’s not a brave little indie project. Still, its impact, born of passion and hope, shouldn’t be downplayed because of the resources behind it, the number of contractors who chipped in, or the presence of leftover AI-generated placeholders the team promptly removed and apologised for. You’re free to disagree, though; the SavePoint Gaming team did, but ultimately, this made sense.
SavePoint Gaming Biggest Surprise of the Year – Dispatch
Notable mentions: Blue Prince, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Silent Hill f
If I had a nickel for every time a game in 2025 has gone under my radar and turned out to be a big surprise for me, I would have two. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it’s happened twice. Or maybe it’s a sign I need more gamer cred. The indie episodic adventure game Dispatch is one of those games where you play as Robert, a superhero-turned-dispatcher for a group of reformed villains.
I only knew about the game because of its connection to Critical Role and the SavePoint Gaming team talking about it. However, its initial release escaped me, and my little gay heart only came alive when I saw the clip of Phenomaman (Travis Willingham) kissing Robert (Aaron Paul). I knew then that I had to play it. Despite the, ahem, unorthodox incentive to play this game, what ultimately hooked me was how excellent it was.
The characters feel lived-in, shaped by backstories that add texture rather than contrivance, and it’s hard not to root for them as their personal stakes unfold. The strength of the narrative is clearest in Episode 2, where a pivotal choice leaves you hating yourself no matter which path you take – a rare, uncomfortable triumph when you realise how attached you’ve become to the misfits in the short span of time.
Then there’s the humour, which is completely unhinged in the best way. Robert, in particular, delivers some of the sharpest, most devastating takedowns in the game – so good he honestly deserves a guest spot on RuPaul’s Drag Race. More than once, I had to pause the game entirely because I was laughing too hard to continue.
Visually, Dispatch is just as compelling. The animation is fluid and slick, powering adrenaline-pumping action sequences that pull you in so completely you forget you’re even engaging with quick time events. Player input melts into the spectacle, creating a cinematic flow that feels instinctive rather than mechanical.
The core gameplay is another standout. It’s strategic, cerebral, and dangerously addictive, rewarding careful decision-making while gradually uncovering deeper connections between its ‘heroes’. Each successful sequence feels earned, reinforcing the game’s thematic focus on control, consequence, and coordination.
With only eight episodes, the finale does feel slightly rushed, and certain characters – Blonde Blazer especially – could have benefitted from more screen time. Still, Dispatch’s redemption arc lands where it counts, tugging at the heartstrings with a sincerity that’s cheesy in exactly the right ways.
That said, I do wish the romance options were more varied, as it’s giving Twilight for straight men.
The full season of Dispatch is now available for PlayStation 5 and PC.
SavePoint Gaming Most Anticipated Game for 2026 – Resident Evil Requiem
Notable mentions: GTA VI, 007 First Light, Marvel’s Wolverine
Few developers have maintained consistency in recent years as Capcom has. Their catalogue has consisted of excellent remakes, imaginative new entries into their legacy franchises, and a few new ideas that continue to show how they’re always looking forward, much to the delight of everyone at SavePoint Gaming. Nowhere is any of this more prevalent than with Resident Evil.
A franchise that seemed lost some 10 years ago is back from the dead and stronger than ever. It’s hard not to get excited about Resident Evil Requiem, not just as the final piece of the modern Resident Evil trilogy, but also as a celebration of the franchise’s roots. Returning locations and legacy characters, alongside what’s shaping up to be a fresh new gameplay experience, look set to be a landmark event in survival horror.
Perhaps most tantalising of all is how little we know about Resident Evil Requiem, given its imminent release. While Capcom is usually forthcoming with gameplay details and plot elements, its tight-lipped approach to Requiem’s marketing suggests there’s much more to this title than meets the eye.
In some ways, it feels like it’s building up to be the zenith of Resident Evil, an ode to stories past and present that’s sure to surprise and scare when it launches next month. The SavePoint Gaming team simply cannot wait.
