My votes on Golden Joystick Awards 2025

Best Storytelling

Love. Revenge. Happiness. Jealousy. Camaraderie. Great stories do more than move the player from A to B. The Best Storytelling award celebrates the games that engage our emotions with deft scripting and technical brilliance.

Best Multiplayer Game

Best Multiplayer Game celebrates the finest competitive and co-op experiences released in the last 12 months. Be they local split-screen, or massively multiplayer online experiences, these are games best-played with friends, enemies - or both.

Best Visual Design

Best Visual Design rewards technical brilliance and artistic flair. These are the games that push the limits of console or PC hardware, or that create coherent, immersive, worlds that we never want to leave, which burn bright in the memory long after we've finished playing.

Best Indie Game

Best Indie Game celebrates independent games from small-to-midsize developers spanning genres including puzzlers, tactical RPGs, adventure games, shooters… as well as those games that defy description. The best indie games unite imagination, style, and innovation with inventive, rewarding controls to reinvigorate your love of gaming.

Best Indie Game - Self-Published

Best Indie Game - Self Published is a new category for games that have been developed and published by a small team or developer. The award recognises the increasingly broad definition of 'indie' games, with a special focus on teams without the financial or technical support of a larger games publisher; and titles entering markets less well served by traditional publishing.

Still Playing (PC & Console)

Shooters. MMORPGs. Sports. Racing. Strategy. Still Playing - PC & Console celebrates games from all genres that we just can't stop playing, be they ever-popular online communities or games that receive frequent updates. This award recognises vibrant online worlds and ongoing games that are dedicated to delighting both newcomers and long-standing players.

Pick your three favorite games from the list below in order of preference, your first pick being #1, second being #2 etc. Don't worry! You can scroll further down and adjust your order if you change your mind. Once happy, click 'Submit Your Answers' and you will move onto the next category.

Still Playing (Mobile)

Still Playing - Mobile celebrates games from all genres that we just can't stop playing, be they ever-popular online communities or games that receive frequent updates. This category celebrates the biggest and best Android, iOS and mobile games, from F2P titles to premium releases and those available via subscription services.

Pick your three favorite games from the list below in order of preference, your first pick being #1, second being #2 etc. Don't worry! You can scroll further down and adjust your order if you change your mind. Once happy, click 'Submit Your Answers' and you will move onto the next category.

Best Remake / Remaster

A new category for 2025, Best Remake / Remaster recognises the challenge of recreating treasured video game experiences, balancing updated visuals and mechanics with nostalgic accuracy. The best remakes and remasters enliven the memories of nostalgic fans and introduce legendary stories to a new generation of players.

Studio of the Year

Our Studio of the Year award celebrates the development team or studio of any scale that has produced exceptional titles or updates over the last 12 months, setting the bar for technical best-practice, community management and studio culture.

Best Game Expansion

Best Game Expansion recognises a major game update or DLC expansion released in the last 12 months that significantly enhances the existing game experience and deserves adulation in its own right.

Best Audio Design

Best Audio Design recognises games with outstanding sound design that elevate the playing experience to leave a lasting impression.

Best Soundtrack

Best Soundtrack recognises the games that gave us earworms thanks to an impeccable suite of tracks that carefully sidekick the adventure, whether it was spooky, cosy or even a bit of both.

Best Lead Performer

Our Best Lead Performer award recognises the talented actors who delivered standout performances in video games over the past 12 months.

Best Supporting Performer

Our Best Supporting Performer award recognises the talented actors who delivered emphatic supporting roles in video games over the past 12 months.

PC Game of the Year

PC Game of the Year recognises games that were released exclusively on PC hardware, offered significant PC upgrades, or felt like PC-focused experiences, and were released in the last 12 months.

Console Game of the Year

Console Game of the Year shines a spotlight on the finest PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo titles of the last 12 months, with a special focus on exclusive games from first-party and third-party studios.

Best Early Access Game

The Best Early Access Game award recognises games that launched into early access in the last 12 months and made a significant impact.

Best Gaming Hardware

Best Gaming Hardware spans consoles, PC components, accessories, controllers and more, recognising the tech that made class-leading enhancements in the last 12 months or created new ways to play. Which piece of hardware hit that sweet spot of design, functionality and desirability for you?

Best Game Adaptation

Best Game Adaptation recognises the most successful and innovative adaptations of video game stories that have debuted in cinemas or on streaming services in the last 12 months. Whether they stay faithful to the source material or expand upon it with bold new visions and alternate mythologies, our nominees reflect the growing scope of productions based on video game properties.

Best Game Trailer

Our Best Game Trailer award celebrates the impactful, technically excellent or just downright surprising trailers of the past 12 months. In the age of digital showcases, the art of the game trailer is more important than ever, and we wish to cherish it.

Most Wanted Game

Most Wanted Game is one of our most-coveted awards that recognises the game that you're looking forward to playing more than any other in the next 12 months and beyond. This could be a sequel, remake or original title… any game that sets your heart racing in anticipation.

Pick your three favorite games from the list below in order of preference, your first pick being #1, second being #2 etc. Don't worry! You can scroll further down and adjust your order if you change your mind. Once happy, click 'Submit Your Answers' and you will move onto the next category.