As we’ve noticed earlier than, indie video games, regardless of how effectively reviewed they’re, are likely to get brief shrift within the Sport of the 12 months class at The Sport Awards. An indie recreation has by no means gained GOTY — until you rely Larian’s self-published, however lavishly made, Baldur’s Gate 3 (which the jury clearly didn’t, as a result of it wasn’t nominated for the Greatest Unbiased Sport award). In 2020, Hades was considerably controversially overwhelmed by The Final of Us Half 2.
Extra telling than the eventual winners, maybe, is the shortage of indie-game nominees for TGA’s large prize. Within the awards’ historical past, there have solely been 5 situations of video games nominated in each Sport of the 12 months and Greatest Unbiased Sport: Inside, Celeste, Hades, Stray, and Balatro. And there have by no means been greater than two such video games in a single yr.
That streak is, certainly, going to be damaged in 2025 by Hades 2 and Hole Knight: Silksong.
Hades 2 has simply emerged from early entry to wild acclaim from most quarters (if not ours). Its combination rating ranking on Metacritic and OpenCritic is settling round 93, very near the unique Hades. What it would lack in novelty worth — it has been accessible in early entry for over a yr — it makes up for within the unanimity of its help amongst critics. The primary recreation’s nomination offers it inarguable legitimacy within the class; it’s additionally potential that some jury members will likely be eager to right the perceived snub suffered by that recreation in 2020.
Silksong has had a extra combined reception, however solely barely. Although its notorious issue would possibly maintain it again, its sensational launch after seven years of fan-made hype means it looms giant within the dialog, and its evaluate ranking of 92 is hardly shabby. Developer Staff Cherry has not introduced gross sales numbers, however we do have analyst estimates claiming it’s offered 3.2 million copies on Steam alone. Nonetheless the exact numbers shake out, it’s clear that Silksong is a large hit. Its peak concurrents on Steam, at 587,150, dwarf these of all its probably (and even unlikely) GOTY rivals save Monster Hunter Wilds. (Odds-on favourite Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 peaked at 145,000.) Recognition isn’t every part at The Sport Awards, however, with regard to earlier winners like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Elden Ring, it actually helps.
These are at present two of the three best-reviewed video games of the yr, alongside Clair Obscur. They’ve pedigree and scale. There is no such thing as a method that they’re not each being nominated. So it appears to be a useless cert that The Sport Awards jury’s longstanding psychological block relating to indie video games will likely be damaged down, and two nominees will get by way of.
That stated, it’s essential to remember that this probably double-nomination would be the results of a particularly uncommon confluence, to not name it a fluke: that two massively anticipated indie mega-sequels ought to land not simply in the identical yr however the identical month. Given the recognition and acclaim heaped on their predecessors, these two video games are arguably much more probably GOTY contenders than any of the earlier 5 indie nominees. You may nearly say that they’ve been grandfathered into the class.
It’s even questionable whether or not the jury really regards these two as impartial video games, though their bonafides are impeccable: Each are self-published by comparatively small improvement groups, and each adhere strongly to the favored notion of the indie ethos and aesthetic. It appears extremely unlikely that they gained’t each be nominated within the Greatest Unbiased Sport class. However, a real signal of braveness from the jury, and of the adventurousness of its style, can be a 3rd GOTY nomination for a much less well-known however extremely acclaimed recreation like Blue Prince. That’s in all probability an excessive amount of to ask for.
All caveats apart, it’s notable and welcome that the times are numbered for The Sport Awards’ lack of ability to think about a couple of indie recreation GOTY-worthy. Certainly, when you think about the larger image, which incorporates Clair Obscur because the runaway favourite — an authentic AA recreation from a first-time developer, and a decidedly non-mainstream, even “indie” writer — the 2025 Sport Awards could possibly be a watershed second. With AAA manufacturing at an all-time low, different builders and publishers are filling the hole, and players are discovering their totems elsewhere. On this world, indie video games could be blockbusters — even at The Sport Awards.
