Game of the Year 2025 – Best Narrative

Why do we love games? The enjoyment is more than just the bright screens and the action taking place, thought that is usually a big part of it. Another is the story and narrative of games, which can go in all sorts of directions and be told in ways that are very different to books, film, or theatre. Many of the most lauded games are celebrated not just because of gameplay, but for the tales of their characters and the narrative we experience alongside them, the ones that draw us in until we’re eagerly reading messages sent between coworkers while hacking their computers. Which brings us nicely to our Game of the Year 2025 Best Narrative standouts.

Hundred Line Last Defense Academy is our winner of Best Narrative, or should that be Best Narratives? A story of 15 students having to survive 100 days while holding back monsters, and dealing with the different relationships between the characters while they fight to survive. It is a mammoth game with players able to work towards a staggering 100 different endings. Putting together one narrative is tough enough for most games, so doing it 100 times over and tying those into every single choice you make is work that should be rewarded.

I’m going to quote Miguel here who summed up Hundred Line Last Defense Academy by saying, “It’s this beautifully overwhelming web of stories and paths and branching events where, like, two people can spend dozens of hours playing the game and never have the same experience, or you can just pick it up any time and discover a new story and a new ending. It’s such an insane achievement.”

Dispatch – Runner Up

The expectations for Dispatch were high, just from knowing that it was coming from a team that had previously worked on Tales from the Borderlands and The Wolf Among Us. Where would they take their episodic storytelling next? Perhaps to offer a fresh perspective on the superhero genre, while also tapping into and succeeding at creating a heartfelt and funny adventure.

You are Robert Robertson, previously known as the hero Mecha Man, who after losing to his nemesis is taken off hero duties and becomes a superhero dispatcher instead, swapping punches for office politics. Office politics are tough enough to deal with, but even more so in Dispatch as you work with ex-supervillains to put them on the path of good. It is also a narrative the explores the themes of identity and learning about who you are as person, while dealing with problems from small issues in the office to life threatening ones that pile on the pressure. Dispatch is a game whose narrative is going to be remembered for a long time.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Runner Up

Death is hard enough to deal with as it is when it comes for a loved one. The confusion, the grief, the anger, the reflection, and finally the acceptance are all parts of the journey when it comes. But what if you knew when death was coming for you, and not just you but everyone the same age as you? That is the story Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, where a group of people head out to end the Paintress before she paints the number 33 and wipes out anyone of that age.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has a strong story supported by a cast of characters that are memorable, leading to you wanting to spend time with them. Behind it all though is the worry that the Expedition, like so many others before, will fail and the Paintress will live to come after the next age the following year. Alongside that fear and worry are moments of joy and wonder, with the world of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 providing a stunning playground in which to enjoy the expansive story that has touched so many this year and will do so for years to come. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not just a game for RPG fans, it is a game for those who love everything about stories.

Honourable Mentions (in alphabetical order)

• The Dark Queen of Mortholme
• Deltarune Chapter 3 & 4
• The Drifter

Come back tomorrow when we’ll have a different tale to tell about our Game of the Year awards.

Tags: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Dispatch, Game of the Year 2025, The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy