Looking for the cream of the crop of the last 12 months of gaming? The BAFTA Games Awards took place last night (8th April), awarding the finest in interactive entertainment coveted shiny mask trophies.
Phil Wang, the comic who’s enthusiastic about games and tight yellow jump suits hosted the awards, whilst rocking an oversized collar and moustache in what can only be described as a tribute to Ryan Gosling in The Nice Guys.
Throughout the night, there was plenty of love for British-made games with winners Still Wakes The Deep, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, Tales of Kenzara: Zau, Vampire Survivors and Thank Goodness You’re Here! all from studios based in the UK. There were plenty of winners, all of them deserving, but here are the 7 biggest winners from BAFTA’s 2025 Games Awards.
1. Astro Bot
Astro Bot, the hit platforming game from PlayStation studio Team ASOBI, was the big winner of the night, winning five BAFTAs, including Animation, Audio Achievement, Family, Game Design, and the big one, Best Game.
This game has competed with Balatro during this awards season, and this time around, it has come out on top, and understandably so. The mascot platformer was a throwback to past games and took players on a charming jaunt through PlayStation history, highlighting many of the iconic franchises we’ve come to love.
2. Still Wakes The Deep
The other big winner was the psychological horror game Still Wakes The Deep, which received three awards: New Intellectual Property, Performer in a Leading Role for Alec Newman and Performer in a Supporting Role for Karen Dunbar. If you like a spooky game, then this nautically-themed one is for you and considering the awards it won on the night, the performances are clearly something to be admired.
3. Helldivers II
The multiplayer viral hit Helldivers II picked up two awards on the night after being one of last year’s surprise best sellers. The game picked up the awards for Multiplayer and Music, which will no doubt make developer Arrowhead Game Studios go on a bug-splatting celebratory rampage.
What makes the win even more impressive is it sees the game beating out iconic franchise Call of Duty to the Multiplayer award. However, it’s important to note that Marvel Rivals was not eligible for this year's awards as it was released after the eligibility cutoff — expect that one to do well next year.
4. Japanese composer Yoko Shimomura
It takes just five seconds to look through Yoko Shimomura’s body of work to realise the composer's impact on games has been massive. With her compositions beginning in the late 80s, she’s still knocking out bangers today. She’s worked on everything from Street Fighter II to Final Fantasy XV and is working on the next Kingdom Hearts game. She was recognised with BAFTA’s highest accolade, the Fellowship, with BAFTA recognising her illustrious career.
5. Surgent Studios’ Tales of Kenzara: Zau
Another notable win on the night was Tales of Kenzara: Zau from Surgent Studios. This game delivered a story about grief and the loss of a father interwoven with Bantu culture to offer a complete Metroidvania experience. It was a worthy winner of the Game Beyond Entertainment award in a competitive year and clearly meant a lot to the studio’s founder, Abubakar Salim, whose own grief inspired the game’s story.
6. Thank Goodness You’re Here!
British Game rightfully went to Thank Goodness You’re Here! a charming little comedy adventure that sees a small chap, who’s dead helpful, wander around a little town in the North of England helping the local villagers get out of various jams. It’s as charming as it is amusing and a must-play for anyone with a dry sense of humour. This is the type of game that the less you know, the better, but it’s well worth giving a go and a Shortlist favourite from 2024.
7. Balatro
The popular deck-building card game available on phones, tablets, PCs, and consoles may not have walked away with the big one at the awards, but it still won the Debut Game gong and continued to show its influence. Ben Starr, a popular voice actor who appeared in Final Fantasy XVI and the Balatro live-action trailer above, donned full face paint inspired by the game’s clownish make-up to show his support, further demonstrating the game's impact and accepted the award on behalf of the private developer.
The BAFTA Games Awards occur every year around this time, and next year's will no doubt be incredibly stacked, with this year already shaping up to be a special year for gamers. Expect to see Switch 2 titles in the running next year, as well as multiplayer hits like Split Fiction. Oh, and maybe something called Grand Theft Auto 6…
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