Opinion: The two picks for Game of the Year and why ‘Expedition 33’ should win

By Balen Allain

The annual Game Awards are happening tonight at 8p.m., and among a myriad of available awards, the most prestigious title – Game of the Year – has a few nominees: “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33,” “Death Stranding 2: On the Beach,” “Donkey Kong Bananza,” “Hades II,” “Hollow Knight: Silksong” and “Kingdom Come: Deliverance II.” 

This is a stacked lineup. “Silksong” has been the anticipated sequel to the acclaimed “Hollow Knight” for seven years, and it came out to roaring reviews. In fact, every game in this list is a sequel in some way, except for one: “Expedition 33”. That is NOT a bad thing, mind you, but a fresh game brings new material to the table and has an uphill battle for success. 

Sandfall Interactive’s first game, “Expedition 33,” released this spring and absolutely shattered the gaming space. The story, the music, the visuals, the gameplay, the systems, the audio – everything was nigh perfect. I have never seen such intense, constant and universal praise for a game on the internet before. But is it better than the other options for Game of the Year? In my opinion, Game of the Year comes down to a pick between “Expedition 33” and “Silksong”. 

I have not played the other four options, but there’s a general correlation between word-of-mouth and the level of a game’s quality. If a game is exceptionally bad (think “Black Ops 7”), it gets lambasted and mocked by players. If a game is exceptionally good, it gets raved about constantly. The other options did not make much of a splash. 

So, why “Silksong” and “Expedition 33”? 

“Silksong” is a fantastic game, one in which I have spent 84 hours exploring every nook and cranny and beating it multiple times.

“Silksong” left me begging for more bosses, areas and equipment to use, as well as more story. The combat is fluid and acrobatic, the movement is clean and intuitive and the game design of the map is fantastic. The music is S-tier, and the art is gorgeous. Plus, it only costs $20. Most great indie and AA games don’t come close to this level of quality. 

On the other hand, I could say all of the same things about “Expedition 33.” The combat is snappy and engaging, with deep buildcrafting potential among the pictos, skills, stats, weapons, items and characters. Parrying and dodging in a turn-based game is absolutely genius. The story is a masterclass in writing, the art direction is amazing and the soundtrack is EIGHT HOURS. 

So, what sets these two games apart, and why do I think “Expedition 33” should win? 

With both games being so good, you have to instead count the negatives. “Expedition 33” has potential for buildcrafting, but there are some imbalances among the characters. Maelle simply does a ton of damage with her skills, as well as Verso. They can both output incredible damage very quickly, while the others have to build damage over time. 

Fast travel is sorely lacking. Only having Esquie to get around is frustrating, especially if you want to backtrack in Act I or Act II. There is no way of telling if you’ve unlocked everything in an area (a picto and weapon codex in Act III would be amazing). Nevrons have elemental affinities and resistances, but there’s no way to check that outside of slapping a Danseus in fire stance with Immolation and accidentally healing it. There are maybe one or two enemies with difficult-to-read moves, and sometimes the camera will put Monoco’s giant torso in the way of the character being attacked. 

Ultimately, most of these issues are quality-of-life and pale in comparison to the core gameplay experience, which approaches perfection and calls you back for more playthroughs. My “Expedition 33” experience has been an upward trend from the start, rarely faltering.

My experience with “Silksong” was an upward trend too, but with massive spikes of “I hate this game” along the way. Fast travel is just as bad in “Silksong”, and this remains an issue from “Hollow Knight,” too – why can’t we travel between the benches? Metroidvanias can retain their essence of needing to backtrack without wasting the player’s time. Many secrets are hidden behind walls with zero indication of a secret behind them, and so many of those secret walls and spots give nothing more than 30 rosaries. Most bosses don’t give anything other than forward progress – “Hollow Knight” bosses gave geo, so why can’t these give shards and rosaries? Plus, having red tools rely on shards is a mistake. They’re already limited by needing to make more at benches, so why create an extra punishment for using them? 

By far, my biggest issue with “Silksong” was the two awful boss runbacks, for Last Judge and Groal the Great. A runback is the distance you have to cover and the enemies you have to deal with before reaching a boss from the nearest checkpoint. Boss runbacks have no excuse for being any longer than just a few seconds. If a boss is not balanced around the runback, it becomes unfair, frustrating and time-wasting. One of the worst things a game can do is waste a player’s time, and runbacks are utterly wasteful. The thing is, Crust King Khann had a great runback, because his bossfight was balanced around the existence of the gauntlets below him. Overall, “Silksong” suffers from not rewarding players properly and wasting their time with boss runbacks. Again, the game is still a fantastic experience. 

“Expedition 33” definitely takes the cake, and I think the broader internet agrees. Both are amazing games, but only one can be Game of the Year. We’ll find out for sure during the award show tonight. 

Balen Allain is a junior Broadcasting, Digital Media and Journalism major focusing on Audio and Journalism. He enjoys gaming, writing fiction and making music, and is working on a book.  

Images Courtesy of Sandfall Interactive and Team Cherry.