Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been named game of the year at this year's Game Awards.
The French-developed role-playing game (RPG) cleaned up in 9 of the 10 categories it was up for, with further wins in best narrative, best music and best performance.
It fended off competition from Death Stranding 2, Nintendo platformer Donkey Kong Bananza, indie games Hollow Knight: Silksong and Hades 2, and medieval adventure Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 to claim the top prize.
During the ceremony in Los Angeles, players also got their first glimpses of two new Tomb Raider games, sequel Control Resonant and a new Star Wars role-playing game.
Clair Obscur is set in a world where a supernatural being known as The Paintress prevents the population from growing past a certain age.
The game, which tells the story of a group of adventurers on a quest to destroy The Paintress, was praised for its emotional narrative and use of old-school turn-based battles.
Players were also won over by the story of developer Sandfall Interactive, formed by a group of employees who left gaming giant Ubisoft to make their dream project.
Accepting the game of the year award, director Guillaume Broche - wearing a red beret and striped t-shirt - said the year had been a weird timeline for the studio as he thanked his team.
He also extended thanks to the unsung heroes of the industry - the people who make tutorials on YouTube on how to make a game, because we had no idea how to make one before.
Clair Obscur was the hot favourite going into the awards, and the most-nominated game in the ceremony's history with a total of 12 nods.
Its composer Lorien Testard won the award for best score and music, despite it being his debut project after being discovered for his work on SoundCloud.
The title also clinched wins in best role-playing game, best independent game, and best debut indie game categories.
Three nominations in the best performance category led to actress Jennifer English winning, who dedicated her award to neurodivergent viewers, emphasizing representation in gaming.
Clair Obscur narrowly missed out on two awards, with Battlefield 6 winning best audio design and Wuthering Waves surprising fans with a win in the fan-voted Player's Voice category.
Despite past criticisms of the Game Awards leaning toward advertising over true celebration, this year's ceremony made strides in balancing both aspects while introducing exciting reveals like a new RPG from Larian Studios.
In a time when the industry faces challenges such as job losses, the conversation on recognizing issues alongside celebrating achievements continues to evolve.
