For the first time in quite a few years, both Rachel and I were able to watch The Game Awards together. We generally enjoy the show, despite us having some common gripes about the format as a whole, but we do appreciate all of the effort and time that goes into the production. And, obviously, it’s all about celebrating video games – we can’t complain about that!

And, in true Double Jump fashion, we hadn’t played any of the nominated games! Mostly it’s because those games, as great as they look, we’re simply not interested in playing them. It’s no secret that we’re more Nintendo girlies, and we also play a lot of indie games. That said, I was pleased to see that we at least had some of the nominated games on our list to play. For example, Hades II. Except we still haven’t gotten around to playing through the first game, which is why we haven’t picked up the sequel yet.

There were very few games in all of the categories across the board that we’ve played, weren’t there? Mario Kart World won Best Sports/Racing Game, and I have played (and love) Baldur’s Gate 3, which won the award for Community Support. Rachel has played Absolum, which was a nominee for Best Independent Game, and we’ve played a bit of the demo of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds that was nominated for both the Family Game and Sports/Racing Game categories. We’ve also played a few minutes of Peak, which was in the Multiplayer Game category, but I got motion sickness, ha! I honestly think out of all of the nominations for this year, those five games were the only ones we played.

Honestly, I think that’s more than what we’ve played in previous years. We tend to play games a year or two after they come out. Our backlog is long and with the prices of video games only going up, it’s difficult for us to keep up with current games, unless they’re smaller indie titles. Even though we hadn’t played most of the games, we certainly heard the buzz around them when they released. It didn’t surprise me in the slightest that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won so many categories. It was great to see a debut game from an indie developer get the spotlight.

It was great to see that – I don’t think anyone who’s played that game was particularly surprised at how many awards Clair Obscur won! I was just pleased that we’ve at least heard of the majority of the games that were nominated. Aside from the awards themselves, the Game Awards obviously showcases new premieres and trailers for upcoming and anticipated games. These are always a hit or a miss for us. There were a decent handful of game titles that we wrote down but, admittedly, there were plenty of trailers that we also hit the mute button for, too.

Yes, some of the trailers are just too long, in my opinion. So many of the games are gory and way too violent for my tastes. I remember thoroughly enjoying the show in 2024 and this year, we found ourselves chit-chatting over some of the trailers. There were plenty of games that definitely look good, but not necessarily our cup of tea. Regardless, there are still some games that we’ll have on our radar for next year.

One of the first trailers that we saw was for The Free Shepherd, where you play as a very good dog that herds sheep throughout a gorgeous world. While I’m not sure about the plot just yet, it looks great and is slated to have a 2027 release date. Pragmata was another game we wrote down, about a man who looked to be a space explorer with a young girl trying to survive a hostile AI that was controlling the world around them. Coven of the Chicken Foot, Out of Words, and Order of the Sinking Star were a few others that we wrote down.

I do hope that waiting until 2027 will be enough time for us to dig through some of our backlog so we can actually play some of these games when they release. Anyway, we also added Exodus, a sci-fi RPG, to our list along with Warlock, a Dungeons & Dragons game, and Seven Deadly Sins Origin, an open-world RPG, that was probably one of the brightest-looking games announced. There were a lot of great trailers, but I certainly missed seeing cozy games.

I’m looking forward to more RPGs but, yes, I definitely also miss seeing cozy games. We’ll see how many of these games that we just listed actually end up on our shelves rather than just being relegated to our wish lists. Another highlight from the Game Awards to me was being amused at Miss Piggy’s and Rolf’s “duet,” and it was awesome seeing Evanescence up on the stage! I believe the music acts are my favorite part of the Game Awards every year.

I’ll admit, I was pleasantly surprised that we have some of the games I listed from the 2024 awards. There’s hope for us yet! The music acts are definitely my favorite parts, too. I discovered Evanescene’s “Afterlife” earlier in the year and had it on repeat during my commute, so it was so cool to watch them perform it live. Then, of course, you have the orchestra at the end performing a medley of all the Game of the Year nominees. That is my absolute favorite part of the show every single year.

Absolutely, the orchestra! AND FLUTE GUY! I was so pleased to see that Pedro Eustache had returned and was phenomenal with his musical skills as he has in previous years. The entire orchestra was amazing, as always, and it was a treat to also hear Jenny Kidd singing Breaking Through during the Donkey Kong Bananza part of the medley. Even hearing the performance of the Clair Obscur theme song at the beginning of the Game Awards was great! I didn’t know the music, but it was lovely to hear nonetheless.

The musical acts are always the best. They’re all so talented. Overall, I think the Game Awards 2025 was a success, as it often is, but I would have liked to see more cozy game premieres. I do hope that genre trend isn’t ending. I would have liked to see more music acts, too. I don’t think the show itself was as entertaining as it was the previous year. Then again, the trailers are supposed to be some of the more important parts of the show, but there wasn’t a lot of trailers I was interested in. Still, I enjoy getting to watch it with you. It’s a fun night regardless.

I agree – it’s always a treat to watch and hear the musical performances. I also agree that the Game Awards weren’t my favorite this year but, again, it could be due to the fact that not many trailers and premieres seemed to be our thing. It was great actually being able to be home and watch the Game Awards in full with you! I’m looking forward to seeing what next year brings for the video game world!

Kris

Kris is the older sister of the pair, and has been playing video games since she was able to read. She was introduced to the gaming world mainly by her uncles with the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 consoles.

As a child, she wanted to grow up to be a teenage mutant ninja turtle, but instead she works a typical 9 to 5 office job. Much of her other time is spent pet-sitting, writing, and role-playing shenanigans in tabletop RPGs.

Rachel

Often seen as the second player, Rachel grew up watching Kris play video games before she was old enough to pick up a Nintendo controller herself. Now she only sometimes gives Kris the hard bosses to defeat.

In real life, Rachel is a full-time pet sitter and part-time storyteller. She writes game reviews for Pure Nintendo Magazine, and is working on creating her own video game.