In this fan-voted event, which received nearly 1.5 million votes across 19 categories, Ghost of Yōtei earned Platinum (1st place) in Best PS5 Game.
It narrowly beat Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Gold/2nd),
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Silver/3rd), and
Arc Raiders (Bronze/4th), with the final order only settling in the last hours of voting.
The game, developed by Sucker Punch Productions as a sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, swept eight Platinum awards overall: Best PS5 Game, Best Graphical Showcase, Best Art Direction, Best Audio Design, Best Accessibility Features, Best Use of DualSense, Best New Character (Atsu), and more. Reviewers and players praised its improvements—stunning ray-traced visuals of 1600s Japan, immersive DualSense haptics/speaker (e.g., shamisen strings, sword clashes), deeper open-world exploration, refined combat with a new female protagonist (Atsu) on a revenge quest, and enhanced accessibility.
It holds a Metacritic score of 87 (higher than Tsushima's 83) and has been celebrated on X as a "masterpiece" and personal GOTY by many PS5 players.
While Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won overall Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2025 (among nominees like Death Stranding 2,
Hades II, and
Hollow Knight: Silksong) and IGN's Best PlayStation Game (for its turn-based RPG combat, story, and music),
Ghost of Yōtei stands out as the top PS5-specific pick from Sony's own awards.
Other strong 2025 PS5 contenders included
Death Stranding 2 (Silver in Best PS5 Game, Platinum Studio of the Year for Kojima Productions) and Hollow Knight: Silksong
(Platinum Best PS4 Game, but playable on PS5).
References
Here are the key sources supporting the information on the best PS5 games of 2025, focusing on the PlayStation Blog Game of the Year awards and comparisons to broader industry accolades:
- Official PlayStation Blog Game of the Year 2025 Winners Announcement:
(Confirms *Ghost of Yōtei* as Platinum winner in Best PS5 Game and multiple other categories, with nearly 1.5 million fan votes.)
- Ghost of Yōtei Wins Big in PS Blog's Game of the Year Awards:
- One Game Cleaned Up In The PlayStation Blog Awards:
(Details *Ghost of Yōtei* as the big winner for Best PS5 Game, beating *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33*.)
- PS Blog Game of the Year 2025 Winners Revealed:
- The Game Awards 2025 Winners (for contrast):
(Confirms Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as overall Game of the Year with a record 9 wins.)
- Game Release Details:
Ghost of Yōtei: Released October 2, 2025
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach: Released June 26, 2025
