In a recent interview with Game Rant, Ghost of YoteiErika Ishii shared that their personal game of the year is 2025 Blue Princewhich may come as a surprise to those who have watched recently Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to win in nine categories at The Game Awards for 2025. Ishii is the actor who portrays the character of Atsu Ghost of Yoteia woman who seeks to avenge her murdered family by defeating everyone involved in their demise. It's worth noting that Erika Ishii was nominated for Best Performance at The Game Awards 2025, but Jennifer English ended up winning the award for her performance in Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
The year 2025 was packed with unforgettable experiences in both AAA and indie spaces. In fact, for the first time ever, the actual Game of the Year nominees at The Game Awards were evenly split between indie and AAA titles. While he won the highly coveted Game of the Year award Clair Obscur: Expedition 33including other nominees Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Hades 2, Donkey Kong Bananaand Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. A first-person puzzle adventure game Blue Prince was nominated for Best Indie Game and Best Indie Debut, but won those awards as well Expedition 33. Blue Prince is quite a unique experience as it mixes an expertly crafted mystery with roguelike mechanics that keep players coming back for more. In fact, many fans have stated that the end of the mystery is not the true end of the game as there are many more secrets waiting to be revealed.
Generational Run – Every Award Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Won at The Game Awards 2025
Breakout indie RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was nominated for a whopping 12 awards at TGA 2025, including the coveted GOTY spot, and won most of them.
The Blue Prince is Erika Ishii's Game of the Year
Erika Ishii revealed this in a recent appearance on Game Rant's Character Select Blue Prince is their personal game of the year. Although this may come as a surprise to those who know Ishii as the face of 2025 Ghost of Yoteithe actor didn't feel comfortable claiming the title for his play of the year, stating, “I'm not going to say it's my play. Of course, you know Ghost of Yotei will be my game of my life.” Ishii went on to claim that 2025 was a “bang for the buck” year for video games, stating that many of the titles that were awarded (including Ghost of Yotei) could have won Game of the Year if it weren't for the sheer number of standout titles released in 2025. However, Ishii wants gamers to know that in a year full of standout titles Blue Prince (which he reviewed incredibly well) somehow managed to fly under many people's radar.
When discussing what constitutes Blue Prince so weird, Ishii compared it to Lucas Pope's indie title Return of the Obra Dinnwhich also tasked players with solving a unique mystery full of twists and turns. They claimed it Blue Prince is the closest any other game comes to scratching the same itch as Return of the Obra Dinnwhich makes sense. Both titles took the puzzle genre in new directions and gave players an experience that cannot be easily replicated. While talking about Blue PrinceOf storytelling in particular, Ishii said, “That's why we make games. In no other medium could you tell this story or do these things or feel this way.” It's hard to imagine what an adaptation is Blue Prince it would even seem as much of the story is perfectly woven into the gameplay and exploration.
As someone who appreciates storytelling across all mediums, Ishii went on to say that “My favorite mediums are the pieces where I'm like, you can't tell this story or do it in any other medium. He uses this medium perfectly.” For Ishii, it's part of what he does Blue Prince such an excellent game of the year, and they hope they won't forget it in a year full of other quality titles.
- Released
-
October 2, 2025
- ESRB
-
Mature 17+ / Blood and gore, drug references, intense violence, language, partial nudity, alcohol use
- Publishers
-
Sony Interactive Entertainment
