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Ghost of Yōtei was PlayStation Blog readers’ choice for the best PS5 game of 2025, earning Platinum in the blog’s player-voted awards. That is the clearest answer if you mean the PlayStation-specific award—not a universal verdict: broader industry awards and critic scores point to different leaders.
What won PlayStation’s Best PS5 Game of 2025?
Ghost of Yōtei took Platinum in PlayStation Blog’s Best PS5 Game category. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 placed Gold, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach took Silver, and ARC Raiders earned Bronze. PlayStation Blog said nearly 1.5 million votes were cast across 19 categories, and that player votes alone determined the awards. PlayStation Blog’s 2025 winners announcement
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Ghost of Yōtei PS5 | $53.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Ghost of Yotei (PS5) | $52.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Riders Republic PlayStation 5 Standard Edition | $25.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Perp The Persistence Enhanced Amélioré(e) Anglais PlayStation 5 | $18.18 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut | $43.80 | Buy on Amazon |
The category covered games newly released during 2025, not older games that received updates. PlayStation Blog set a November 30 nomination cutoff; games released after it were eligible the following year. These results therefore represent a calendar-year, player-voted award for PS5 games, rather than a critics’ ranking or a judgment about every PlayStation platform. PlayStation Blog
Why do other 2025 Game of the Year lists name different games?
“Best” depends on the measure. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has the stronger case if you mean broad industry award recognition: Metacritic’s tracker lists it as a winner at The Game Awards, BAFTA, D.I.C.E., the Game Developers Choice Awards, and the New York Game Awards. The same tracker names Hades II as Metacritic’s own Game of the Year selection, based on the highest Metascore shown there. Metacritic’s 2025 Game of the Year tracker
#1 Best Overall
- Stunning graphics and gameplay, explore the wild and striking lands around Mount Yotei on foot or horseback. Travel picturesque parts of northern Japan through grasslands, snowy ridges, fields of wildflowers, and more.
- Discover renegade combat, engage in lawless katana combat and battles with adversaires. Train with various sensei as you find and learn to use each new weapon.
- An unconventional story and journey, take in the cultural beauty of Japan, bathe in an onsen, visit shrines to pray, try Sumi-e painting, and so much more.
- Choose your weapon, battle Atsu's opponents as you see fit, with levelled-up dual katanas, odachi, kusarigama and other new weapons.
Those awards are not interchangeable. PlayStation Blog records player preference in a PS5-specific category; industry awards reflect their respective award processes; and Metascore aggregates professional reviews. None establishes a single formula for deciding which game every player will enjoy most.
How did the leading PlayStation games compare?
| Game | What the cited 2025 evidence says | Best fit if you value… |
|---|---|---|
| Ghost of Yōtei | Platinum, PlayStation Blog Best PS5 Game; 86 Metascore in Metacritic’s accessed 2025 list. The list requires at least seven professional reviews for inclusion. Metacritic’s PS5 list | A PlayStation-specific player-voted winner and an action-adventure game. |
| Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | Gold in PlayStation Blog’s Best PS5 Game category; Platinum in Best Independent Game and Best Soundtrack. Metacritic’s tracker shows a 92 Metascore and lists wins at The Game Awards, BAFTA, D.I.C.E., GDC, and the New York Game Awards. Metacritic’s tracker | Broader industry award recognition. |
| Death Stranding 2: On the Beach | Silver in PlayStation Blog’s Best PS5 Game category. PlayStation Blog | A top-three finish in that player-voted category. |
| ARC Raiders | Bronze in PlayStation Blog’s Best PS5 Game category. PlayStation Blog | A recognized finalist in the category. |
| Hades II | Metacritic’s own 2025 Game of the Year selection; its tracker shows a 95 Metascore. This is not the PlayStation Blog Best PS5 Game winner. Metacritic’s tracker | Metacritic’s top-score GOTY designation. |
Metacritic describes its PS5 list as covering releases from January 1 through December 31, 2025, ranked by Metascore, and requires at least seven scored professional reviews. Its accessed entry for Ghost of Yōtei calls it a PS5-exclusive action-adventure sequel set in 1603, following Atsu in Ezo, present-day Hokkaido. The entry praises its visuals and combat while noting that some reviewers felt it leaned too heavily on the open-world formula. The 86 score is the figure shown in that accessed listing; review aggregates can change as listings are updated. Metacritic’s 2025 PS5 list
Rank #2
- Discover a bold, new story of a warrior in Japan who is on her own mission of vengeance.
- Set 300 years after the critically acclaimed Ghost of Tsushima, Ghost of Yōtei is a standalone experience set in 1600s rural Japan. The story follows a haunted, lone mercenary named Atsu. Thirsty for revenge, she travels through the beautiful, rugged landscapes of northern Japan, hunting those who killed her family many years earlier.
- Sixteen years after her family’s death, Atsu’s quest across Ezo brings her to unexplored lands in search of a gang of six outlaws, but she finds much more than vengeance. Throughout her journey, Atsu will discover unlikely allies, and greater bonds than she could have imagined.
Which game should you choose?
- For the PlayStation Blog’s player-voted winner: choose Ghost of Yōtei.
- For the strongest broad-awards record among these contenders: look to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
- If you mean Metacritic’s top-rated GOTY selection: that is Hades II, not the PlayStation Blog winner.
These distinctions answer different questions. The awards and review figures are useful signals, but they do not settle personal fit: consider which kind of game you want to play, rather than treating any single trophy or score as a guarantee.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Beyond war, ancient beauty endures: Roam vast countryside and expansive terrain to encounter rich characters, discover ancient landmarks and uncover the hidden beauty of Tsushima.
- The rise of the Ghost: Seek support from old friends and new unlikely allies to reclaim Tsushima.
- Mud, Blood and steel: challenge opponents with your katana for an immersive Samurai combat experience.
- Become legends together: play with friends or via online matchmaking in a series of two-player story missions or four-player wave-based survival missions in the legends online co-op
- A whole new island to explore: Travel to Iki Island to investigate rumors of a Mongol presence in a brand-new story with deeply personal stakes.
Rank #4
- PS5 Features include raytracing modes and immersive haptic feedback for DualSense
- Use darkness and cover to avoid being overwhelmed by the ship's deadly new inhabitants
- Seek out the weapon fabricators to increase your firepower as you journey deeper, into the dark and terrifying depths, but beware ammo is limited
- Gather materials & schematics for weapon upgrades and suit customizations with buffs
- Harvest DNA material to improve health, toughness and defensive capabilities.Survive an ever changing labyrinth. Each and every expedition into The Persistence will be disorienting and different.Death is just the beginning. Fatal encounters will result in Zimri's consciousness being uploaded into a new cloned body, ready to try again, with any upgraded stats, suits & weapon schematics kept to aid the next attempt to save the ship
Rank #3
- Battle against over 50 players simultaneously in a massive multiplayer playground.
- Compete in an all-out mass start race—collide, grind, and fight your way to the finish
- Customize your character to show off your style to your friends or show up the competition.
- Bike, ski, snowboard, or wingsuit through a seamless open world in Career mode or multiplayer events.
- Go wild on the heights of iconic US national parks like Yosemite, Zion, and Bryce Canyon.
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