Death Stranding 2: On the Beachhas overtakenClair Obscur: Expedition 33’s top spot as the highest-rated game on PlayStation’s storefront. Sandfall Interactive’s very first game,Clair Obscur: Expedition 33,quickly became perhaps the most widely celebrated game of 2025 when it was released back in April, thanks in part to its turn-based combat and incredible storytelling.
It wasn’t just massive praise that fell into Sandfall’s lap, but record-breaking accolades as well.Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s Metacritic user score is the highest of any game ever, with a 9.7 based on over 17,200 reviews. The game’s critic score on the site is one of the highest of the year, too, sitting at a 93, a few points above Hazelight Studios' latest co-op adventureSplit Fictionandindie puzzle masterpieceBlue Prince. Recently, however,Clair Obscur’s 93 was overtaken by the Switch 2 release ofThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which boasts a 96. Even so, many gamers agree that, sinceTears of the Kingdomis a 2023 game,Clair Obscurstill holds the top Metacritic score for bonafide 2025 releases.
Another big game has come along and snatched another one ofClair Obscur’s accolades. Kojima Productions’Death Stranding 2: On the Beach,which was released just a week ago, has become the highest-rated game of all time on the PlayStation Store, topplingExpedition 33from the top spot. TheDeath Strandingsequel sports a 4.93 rating on the platform compared toExpedition 33’s 4.91, with 97% of its user ratings giving the sequel a full five stars.Clair Obscurstill remains the highest-rated 2025 game on Metacritic, three points higher thanDeath Stranding 2’s 90.
Death Stranding 2 Dethrones Expedition 33 on the PlayStation Store
2025’s Game of the Year race just got a lot more interesting now withDeath Stranding 2: On the Beachmaking waveswith critics and gamers. Prior to its release, it could be said thatClair Obscurwas nearly a unanimous pick among most gamers for the prize, but it looks likeDeath Stranding 2will join it as a top frontrunner. Of course, other big games likeKingdom Come: Deliverance 2andMonster Hunter Wildswill surely still be in the mix. There are also some smaller games likeSplit FictionandBlue Princethat could still end up in the conversation at the end of the year as well, following massively successful releases earlier this year.
With six months left in 2025, there are still a number of promising games set to release throughout the remainder of the year that seem poised to make a run at GOTY. For one,Hollow Knight: Silksong, which has recently been confirmed to be aiming for a release this year, will most likely be a big contender, as could thefull 1.0 launch ofHades 2, which is also aiming for later this year. There are also bigger AAA games that could make a run too, likeThe Outer Worlds 2orGhost of Yotei, both of them having predecessors that earned GOTY nominations in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
