The tradition continues here at Gamer Malaya and Gamer Matters where we wrap up the year with a celebration of our favourite games we’ve played this year.
2025 is another strong year of video game releases, as long as you know what to look for. We even see the launch of a new system, the Nintendo Switch 2.
From a critical reception point of view, there’s a clear favourite among critics and established gaming media outlets. But expand the horizon beyond the obvious picks and you see a wealth of diversity in this year’s lineup of new games.
All this before GTA VI.
On our side, the lineup of games we’ve played unfortunately doesn’t cover much on the new Switch 2 (no members of the team have acquired the new console yet). But that leaves room for other games to get some room in the spotlight, and that’s something we’re proud of.
For 2025, we’re posting all the award winners in one go. Scroll below to see the winners and click the links to see how and why we picked them.
GM GOTY Awards 2025 Rules
Here are some ground rules that the Gamer Malaya and Gamer Matters Game Of The Year Awards 2025 adhere to. It hasn’t largely changed compared to the previous year, but it’s worth stating.
- The judging panel comprised of all the editorial team of Gamer Malaya and Gamer Matters (which currently consists of three people)
- The shortlisting of the Top 30/Best 30 games is done before deliberations start
- At least five other games, separate from the Top 30, are nominated for the Trashfire Award, highlighting the disappointing releases of the year
- The cut-off date for eligible games for this year is December 9, 2025. Games released on December 10 onwards will qualify for next year’s awards.
- Games must be released in full (no Early Access games)
- Games that made an impact during Early Access in previous years can get nominated after their full 1.0 release
- At least one panellist must vouch for a game that is in the Top 30
- Games that no panellists have played (but followed closely via streams/socials/community sites/etc.) are still eligible
- Each award can only have one winner and at most four runners-up, making a total of five nominations
- Deliberations for each category winner are done as part of an episode on dia.log – The Gamer Matters Podcast
- The shortlisted Top 30 games also get its own episode prior to the deliberations, justifying why the games made the list
- NOTE: While the podcast is on hiatus, the team have had the entire deliberation session recorded on tape which may be published in the future.
- Winners of awards are entirely subjective. Results are subject to the many biases and preferences of the individuals in the editorial team
- It reflects the overall sentiment of the game within Gamer Malaya and Gamer Matters. These are our favourite games of the year
- Review scores are entirely ignored during deliberations
GM GOTY Awards Game Of The Years
- 2024: Metaphor: ReFantazio
- 2023: Armored Core VI Fires Of Rubicon
- 2022: Need For Speed Unbound
- 2021: Psychonauts 2
- 2020: Yakuza: Like A Dragon
- 2019: Control
- 2018: Monster Hunter World
- 2017: Nier Automata
GM GOTY Awards 2025 Award Categories
For 2025, the Best Racing Game award returns. The only regular genre-based award that we have regularly is back in a year filled with good racing games, where some of them don’t even involve vehicles, just as there are vehicle-based non-racing games.
The wildcard category of the year is the Breathtaking Visuals Award. Inspired by the many visually pleasing landscapes we get to visit virtually this year, this is to celebrate the eye-candy that we’ve witnessed.
Here are all the award categories available for the GM GOTY Awards 2025:
- Best Game On A Game Sub
- Best Meme Generator
- Best Racing Game (returning)
- Breathtaking Visuals Award (Wildcard)
- Best Aesthetic
- Best Story
- Best Indie Game
- Trashfire Award
- Game Of The Year
Top 30 Games Of 2025
- #DRIVE Rally
- Assassin’s Creed Shadows
- Battlefield 6
- Blue Prince
- Borderlands 4
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2
- Deliver At All Costs
- Doom: The Dark Ages
- Easy Delivery Co.
- Elden Ring Nightreign
- Farthest Frontier
- Ghost of Yōtei
- JDM: Japanese Drift Masters
- Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii
- Mafia The Old Country
- Mars First Logistics
- Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
- NASCAR 25
- Skate Story
- Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
- Split Fiction
- Sword Of The Sea
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
- The Outer Worlds 2
- Tokyo Xtreme Racer (2025)
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4
- Umamusume: Pretty Derby
- Where Winds Meet
- Wuchang: Fallen Feathers
Best Game On A Game Sub
The best game we got to play thanks to our game subscription service.
- Blue Prince
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Doom: The Dark Ages
- Sword Of The Sea
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
Best Meme Generator
The best games that dominated our conversations, social media, and shitposts throughout the year.
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Elden Ring Nightreign
- Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
- Tokyo Xtreme Racer (2025)
- Umamusume: Pretty Derby
Best Racing Game
The only normal genre-based game award here and it is as it says.
- JDM: Japanese Drift Masters
- NASCAR 25
- Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
- Tokyo Xtreme Racer (2025)
- Umamusume: Pretty Derby
Breathtaking Visuals Award [Wildcard]
The Wildcard slot is reserved for special award categories that may only be feasible to have for only this year and deserve further deliberation. This year, we are celebrating the graphical eye-candy we witnessed in video games with the Breathtaking Visuals Award.
- Battlefield 6
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Death Stranding 2
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Where Winds Meet
Best Aesthetic
The best game to use a style, a combination of artstyle and sound design, that makes it stand out from the beige of normality
- #DRIVE Rally
- Blue Prince
- Easy Delivery Co.
- Mars First Logistics
- Skate Story
Best Story
The narratives that capture our hearts and minds delivered in video game form.
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Skate Story
- Split Fiction
- Umamusume: Pretty Derby
Best Indie Game
Games that don’t need the budget of a AAA blockbuster to be impactful, fun, or enthralling. Independent games can do what no big-budget game can do: be anything they want.
- Blue Prince
- Easy Delivery Co.
- Farthest Frontier
- Mars First Logistics
- Tokyo Xtreme Racer (2025)
Game Of The Year
The big one. As it says, the Gamer Malaya and Gamer Matters Game Of The Year 2024 award. The game we collectively believe to be the best released this year.
- Umamusume: Pretty Derby
- Blue Prince
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Ghost of Yōtei
- Split Fiction
- Tokyo Xtreme Racer (2025)
- Wuchang: Fallen Feathers
- Death Stranding 2
- Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
- Borderlands 4