Blue Prince, an engrossing puzzle sport about exploring a mysterious mansion that’s by no means the identical from sooner or later to the following, is the primary breakout indie sport of 2025. It’s additionally at present the best-reviewed sport of 2025 outright. You’d suppose that might put it in competition for Recreation of the Yr at The Recreation Awards, and you’ll most likely be proper, if it had been November and never April. However Blue Prince’s place among the many front-runners isn’t as safe as these of different video games, like Break up Fiction and Monster Hunter Wilds. As a result of at The Recreation Awards, all video video games are equal, however some are extra equal than others.
The primary predictor of success within the gaming awards race is broad vital consensus, as mirrored in a sport’s ranking on evaluation aggregator websites Metacritic and OpenCritic. (With a 92 Metascore, Blue Prince has this sewn up.) However some genres of sport, like racing or technique, are by no means nominated for Recreation of the Yr, irrespective of how nicely reviewed they’re — whereas others, like role-playing and action-adventure, are likely to dominate.
In between these sit indie video games, a category of sport outlined not by its style however (roughly) by the variety of folks it took to make it, and the way a lot it value to make. (How indie video games are outlined by The Recreation Awards is its personal can of worms, however suffice to say that no one can be arguing over Blue Prince’s indie credentials.) Indie video games are sometimes nicely represented among the many best-reviewed video games in any given yr, however within the 11-year historical past of The Recreation Awards, solely 5 indie video games have ever been nominated for Recreation of the Yr — and by no means greater than one after the other. No indie sport has received the coveted title but. For indie video games, the barrier for entry to gaming’s prime prize is simply that bit larger. And as soon as one has been anointed, the remainder usually appear out of luck.
Take final yr’s awards for instance. Balatro, the vastly well-liked card sport by solo developer LocalThunk, secured a GOTY nomination in addition to successful three different awards on the night time. However different good indie video games like UFO 50 and Animal Nicely had been handed over in the principle class, regardless of vital reputations that had been simply as sturdy as Balatro’s and far stronger than one of many different nominees, Black Fantasy: Wukong.
For an indie sport to be nominated for Recreation of the Yr, excessive evaluation scores and common acclaim are much more vital than for extra mainstream titles. However profile is vital, too. What separated Balatro from UFO 50 and Animal Nicely was the dimensions of its reputation amongst gamers and, significantly, among the many vital neighborhood. It offered very nicely on its debut in February 2024 and acquired a helpful bump from a well-timed cell launch in late September, simply weeks earlier than The Recreation Awards’ voting window. To place it merely, everybody was enjoying it.
The identical is true, to a better or lesser extent, of the 4 different indie video games which have succeeded in breaking by into Recreation of the Yr: Stray in 2022, Hades in 2020, Celeste in 2018, and Inside in 2016. All these video games had a form of virality, a second after they dominated the gaming dialog. Cat journey Stray’s second was so vital that it overcame a lukewarm Metascore of 83 to safe a nomination. (It helped that Stray additionally has lush manufacturing values, one thing that the Recreation Awards jury could be very drawn to, however that the majority indie video games understandably lack.)
It’s a little early to say, however Blue Prince definitely appears destined for such a second. Anecdotally, I do know extra folks within the video games media neighborhood enjoying this sport than another launch this yr — even Murderer’s Creed Shadows. Blue Prince’s mysterious narrative and sophisticated puzzles will maintain a protracted dialog about it, too. Like the opposite indie GOTY nominees, it feels very authored; you sense a robust voice behind it, on this case designer, author, and director Tonda Ros. And whereas its preliminary Steam numbers point out a modest hit, its prepared availability on each Recreation Go and the PlayStation Plus Recreation Catalog will assist enhance its profile.
There’s a giant caveat, nevertheless. If one other indie sport comes alongside that’s simply as nicely reviewed and much more well-liked, Blue Prince’s nomination is toast, even when it’s extra deserving than a few of its extra mainstream competitors. Hades 2 is the apparent candidate. Supergiant’s sequel to its 2020 GOTY nominee has already discovered an enormous viewers in its early entry model. It has the sheen and confidence of a sequel made on the again of an enormous vital and business hit. It’s additionally a extra approachable sport than the enigmatic Blue Prince. If it leaves early entry and launches in full on each PC and Nintendo Change 2 this yr, Hades 2 will certainly steal Blue Prince’s nomination — if one other indie sensation doesn’t come out of nowhere to do it first.
Perhaps each Blue Prince and Hades 2 will seem among the many ultimate six come the top of the yr, however that might be unprecedented. We must always stay in a world the place two strikingly artistic and well-executed indie video games may be acknowledged as among the many yr’s greatest, particularly contemplating how totally different these two are. We also needs to stay in a world the place certainly one of them would possibly truly win. However, for now, we don’t.
Why it issuesThe aim of Blue Prince is so simple as it’s paradoxical. Discover the forty sixth room in a house with 45 rooms. Deliver a notepad and a pen. Create a display seize folder, since you’ll be spamming F12. And completely discover a good friend to play alongside you, so somebody understands what you’re on about.
— Chris Plante, Editor-in-chief
