Expedition 33 tops winners list

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was named game of the year for a record number of awards at this year's Game Awards.

The French-developed role-playing game (RPG) topped nine of the ten categories in which it was up for grabs, with further wins in the categories of best narrative, best music and best performance.

For the main prize, it withstood competition from Death Stranding 2, the Nintendo platformer Donkey Kong Bananza, indie games Hollow Knight: Silksong and Hades 2, as well as the medieval adventure Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

During the ceremony in Los Angeles, players also got their first look at two new Tomb Raider games, a sequel to Control Resonant and a new Star Wars RPG.

Clair Obscur takes place in a world where a supernatural being known as the Artist prevents the population from growing up past a certain age.

The game, which tells the story of a group of adventurers seeking to destroy the Artist, was praised for its emotional storytelling and use of old-school turn-based combat.

Players were also captivated by the story of the developer Sandfall Interactive, created by a group of employees. who left gaming giant Ubisoft to create their dream project.

Receiving the Game of the Year award, director Guillaume Broche wore a red beret and striped T-shirt, a nod to the game's flamboyant French style. – said that this year has been a “strange schedule” for the studio, and thanked his team.

He also expressed gratitude to the industry's “unsung heroes” – “the people who make tutorials on YouTube about how to make games, because before we had no idea how to make them.”

Clair Obscur was a hot favorite at the awards and the most nominated game in the ceremony's history, winning a total of 12 awards.

Composer Lorien Testard received the award for best score and music.

This was the musician's debut project, which became known after he posted a collection of homemade music from video games on his SoundCloud account.

Clair Obscur also took home wins in the Best Role-Playing Game, Best Independent Game and Best Indie Debut Game categories.

Three of his nominations were in the same category – best actress – and actress Jennifer English took the prize over co-stars Charlie Cox and Ben Starr for her role as Mael.

The actress, who has often spoken about having ADHD, dedicated the award to “every neurodivergent person who is watching.”

Claire Obscurus did not receive only two awards for which he applied.

Battlefield 6 took home the award for Best Sound Design, while open-world RPG Wuthering Waves was a surprise winner in the fan-voted Voice of the Player category.

Best gaming rival Donkey Kong Bananza took home the award for family game, while online shooter Arc Raiders took home the award for best multiplayer.

Sequel Hollow Knight: Silksong was named best action-adventure game, while anime-inspired horse racing game Umamusume: Pretty Derby was named best mobile game.

And the second Game Changer honor, first presented last year, went to Girls Make Games.

The nonprofit group encourages girls and young women to pursue careers in video games and runs summer camps to teach programming and design skills.

No Game Awards ceremony would be complete without an appearance from the odd A-lister, and this year was no exception.

Stranger Things star David Harbor took to the stage to announce the new strategy game Total War: Warhammer 40K, while American singer Lenny Kravitz officially revealed his villainous role in the upcoming James Bond game 007: First Light.

Despite being called the “Oscars of Games,” the Game Awards are a mix of a traditional ceremony and a trailer reveal.

Some of the gaming industry's biggest developers will get their first look at upcoming major games during the show, and it is believed that this is one of the main reasons why many fans are paying attention to them.

One of the biggest announcements of the evening was the role-playing game Divinity from Larian Studios, creators of the 2023 game Baldur's Gate 3.

The developer presented a mysterious statue that first appeared in the Californian desert.

A remake of the original Tomb Raider has also leaked online, but the announcement of a second, all-new game starring Lara Croft was a surprise.

Star Wars fans were treated to two new games – Fate of the Old Republic, the long-awaited successor to 2004's beloved Knights of the Old Republic, and Galactic Racer, developed by British studio Fuse Games.

The cast of the new film adaptation of Street Fighter, with the exception of rapper 50 Cent, presented the first trailer.

Fans also saw new footage from the upcoming Resident Evil 9, confirming the appearance of fan-favorite character Leon Kennedy and PS5 shooter Saros.

In the past, the Game Awards have been criticized for prioritizing advertising over awards, with winners' speeches cut short and stage performances missing in some categories.

The 2024 show has been praised for going some way to responding to criticism, but producers continue to urge organizer Geoff Keighley to be more aware of issues in the industry, such as the high number of job losses in recent years.

This year there were complaints that the award had abandoned its Future Class scheme, an initiative founded in 2020 to highlight “rising stars” in video games.

It was last held in 2023, when current and former members of the group signed an open letter calling for awards in response to the war between Israel and Gaza.

Ahead of this year's nominations, after it was confirmed that Future Class would not return, alumni accused the scheme of tokenism and a lack of effort at networking.

Last year, the ceremony presented a new award to Amir Satvat for his work helping laid-off developers find work.

BBC Newsbeat has contacted organizers for comment.

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