This Xbox Game Studios Adventure Deserved More Nominations At The Game Awards 2025

Soundtrack/art I fully agree.

GoTY, it’s at a sub 80 on metacritic, sub 7 on user scores. It just couldn’t be included there.

@FraserG
Yes, Keeper is gorgeous: thanks for mentioning it.
I bought it on Steam.

A very good game with a lot of unique aspects to it definitely deserved some sort of recognition in my opinion!
Nice to see something new and original coming out rather than the same sort of thing done a dozen different ways!
This game and keeper where two of the best I've played this year!

Fantastic game. If it was on PS5 it would have gotten more nominations.

@Megabeenz Agreed. Split Fiction is an orders better experience than South of Midnight.

Does that fact that the players rejected it wholeheartedly really not even make you pause for a moment and reconsider?

@FrenchVaniIIuxe How was it rejected??
It's obviously not an amazing timeless classic but it was received positively!

@Chip-Douglas

It lost 9 figures.

I tried it but the basic gameplay loop didn't do it for me

I agree, the story and art direction are absolutely fantastic. The thing that would hold it back from GOTY nominations would be the repetitive and uninspired combat.

I loved it! I share that opinion: it deserved more love.

@M20B25 yeah it was really unique and there's only really Xbox trying new things recently (I can see Keeper already mentioned in the forum), feel like if it was on ps5 it'd be in the mind sphere more and be included in the awards a lot more

I agree 100%. great game and narrative but combat was a drag outside of bossfights.

@FrenchVaniIIuxe where did you get that figure from? Tried searching and i dont see any sales figures or anything stating how much it lost.

@FatGuyInLilCoat

It’s an estimate based on its poor player count and budget. And it’s generous.

I've just started playing this recently and so far the story is fantastic and the music is great as well. Looking forward to seeing how it all goes, just freed the catfish and gator is next

@FrenchVaniIIuxe So, vibes?

@Cvantez

No. We know the player counts for similar games like veilguard and AC: Shadows. SoM did far far worse and both of those games killed their companies

One of my favs from this past year! It's probably not a "game of the year" for me, but boy was the art, story, world, characters, and music great! The only thing I didn't think was great, was the combat/action. That got a bit repetitive by the end of the game.

I also just finished Keeper. Great art and interesting story. At one point early in the game, I questioned what I was playing, but it did quietly suck me in and keep me wanting to play up to the end. It's a cool experience.

South of Midnight is a perfect "game for impact". I can understand how art and music could move somebody, but at the same time the game underneath it is nothing unique. I'm aware of the irony, yes.
I wanted to like it more than I did, and realistically it's decent. Just nowhere near GOTY category.

@FrenchVaniIIuxe Those games would of had a much higher expectations on them than this game would of had on itself especially considering it didn't launch on playstation and this is a new fresh IP with no established fans or previous games like the two you a mentioning.
Did you not like the game yourself??

@Cikajovazmaj I think your post is perfect! That's my feelings about it too.

South of Midnight was solid. But I think out of the XGS games Doom The Dark Ages and The Outer Worlds 2 are far superior. Loved those games and definitely top my top of 2025 games. Also Arc Raiders getting snubbed, but that is expected because solely MP games always do, much like Helldivers 2 last year.

South of Midnight at least deserved nominees for music and art direction. The fact that it didn’t get either is absolutely absurd.

@FrenchVaniIIuxe Curious how you see Veilguard and AC Shadows as being “similar games” to a $40, 8-10 hour niche new IP like SoM. It’s similar to Pentiment in that regard - an artistic statement with a very specific angle versus a mass market play. Seems more like you are picking out games that got a certain kind of press.

Ok game let down by dreadful combat

I get why it didn't get nominated for GOTY. It doesn't play well.. the combat feels like something from early Xbox 360 / PS3 (Prototype/ Infamous 1) and the platforming was just okay.

I personally liked the art style but can also understand people not liking it.

I would say it should have deserved a nomination for best music / soundtrack.

@Blastfemur ironically, that's the case for Mafia 3 and Old Country as well

The Game Awards isn't really an Awards show - its more an Advertisement for the Games industry. The games aren't selected on merit by a professional jury so I don't take the 'Awards' part seriously and, if anything, its the worst part about the 'Game Awards' Shows which are really about showing off upcoming games in a 'celebratory' way and giving some of the industry a 'pat on the back'.

Calling this an 'Award' Show is a misnomer as its not really about Awards, but celebrating the past year and looking ahead to the future of the Games industry. The Awards and Nominations are just the games that some people mentioned more than others in their 'top 5' or so in any category. Its more a popularity contest than anything else...

@Megabeenz Hazelight have mastered their craft. Their next game is a day-1-purchase for me.

@FraserG I thought critics were exaggarating when they called it one of the best ending sequences ever but after having finished it twice with my buddy I wholeheartedly agree, everybody should experience that ending for themselves, it's bonkers!

Donkey Kong Bananza, what a crap game. I don't get it, why so many people love this game. 🙄
I'm still on the fence with South of Midnight and it's on sale right now. But I'm so full with games, it has to wait yet another time.

No way, South of Midnight deserves GOTY. Combat was so repetitive and tedious. I played through to the end only because I had progressed far enough that I needed to see if it got better at the end, it didn't... Although, perfect GPU rental game... Never want to own it or play it again, so can't be GOTY.

@FrenchVaniIIuxe If you consider some of the outwardly hostile reviews on Xbox about it being “woke” then you’ll understand why using that as a metric isn’t exactly a great idea. If this game had released on PS5, it would have faired far better as most games of this ilk usually do.

I wouldn’t say GOTY but it certainly deserves some kind of award. The visual style is striking and the music is absolutely killer. I wish it would release on PS5, I can all but guarantee more would have paid attention to it there.

@JD83

It doesn’t matter why it got bad reviews and no players. Also being on PS5 didn’t save Ghost of Yōtei.

Death stranding 2 soundtrack is sublime

@FrenchVaniIIuxe People are going crazy for ghost of yotei they love it??
Do you have something against south of midnight because you seem determined to put it down why such negativity??
Did you actually try the game?

I enjoyed South of Midnight but its not a GOTY contender by a long shot imo.

@FrenchVaniIIuxe

You mean the Ghost of Yotei selling millions and winning rewards? yeah, being on the ps5 really didnt work out for them............

So are people finally realizing mainstream games media simply hates Xbox?

That's it. That's the reason. It doesn't matter what Xbox do, the media will never value anything created by Microsoft.

Opencritic/Metacritic scores are not in 90s because of the same reason, scored by the same media outlets that won't ever nominate an Xbox title because it is an Xbox title.

Given the sociopolitical climate worldwide, then it comes as no surprise why this game didn’t receive more weightier nominations… Sad state of affairs. A great title with outstanding storytelling and refreshing art direction.

Beat the game in 2 days. Was really looking forward to the game and played it in 2 big chunks. Looks great but the story was not that good and the gameplay was very basic. Beautiful game though. Was up for one of the categories so I voted for it there so claire obscure doesn't sweep the show but most definitely not goty. Split fiction is my least favorite game the company has put out. It takes two, a way out and brothers are all better then split fiction. Keeper definitely deserves something. Hopefully it will be like indiana jones and be up for something next year because keeper is very good. Expedition 33 is the clear winner this year.

@mac_da_man

Oh I forgot a sequel to a massively popular game selling barely better than half as well is a success.

South of Midnight had fantastic art direction and a kickass soundtrack. The level design, while absolutely beautiful, was simple as hell, and the combat was bad. I liked the game a lot, but it was not GOTY material.

That said, I absolutely think it should have gotten recognition for art and sound.

@Chip-Douglas

I want Xbox to succeed, but being borderline toxic Lou positive about a game with p*** poor numbers isn’t helping.

There are plenty of underperforming games I’ve enjoyed like Forza Motorsport and Modern Warfare 3. But they still underperformed and can’t be counted as a success.

Heck if MS can’t even make Doom work anymore there’s a huge problem.

@Megabeenz

It’s underperforming.

@FrenchVaniIIuxe Numbers don't really come into weather I enjoy a game I enjoyed the game I don't know what else to say and I loved the new doom it was definitely one of the best games this year for me easily!

@FrenchVaniIIuxe

Whatever, call it a failure if you want. Must be hard for a game to be successful in your world with standards like that

Each to their own of course, but I vastly preferred Keeper. Both have relatively simplistic gameplay so that wasn’t my issue with SOM. I found it had a very repetitive formula, whereas Keeper was better at keeping the gameplay feeling fresh despite the simplicity. Additionally, the story of SOM underwhelmed me. The best character (Catfish) was majorly sidelined in the last quarter or so of the game. I guess they wanted to tell a more human story overall and focus on the adoptive grandma’s trauma, whereas I was enjoying the fantastical folklore side of things and simply wanted much more catfish. Keeper also has superior art direction and music in my opinion. Again, each to their own of course.

@mac_da_man

Did game make money? If yes success, if no then failure.

@FrenchVaniIIuxe

Huh? Then reconsider

Yes, Ghost of Yōtei has almost certainly made its developer money already. Here’s why:

Sales Performance: The game sold over 3.3 million copies in its first month after launching on October 2, 2025. At a standard price of $69.99 (with higher-priced deluxe and collector’s editions also available), that translates to roughly $230 million in revenue from standard editions alone, not counting deluxe/collector editions and regional variations. [ign.com], [techradar.com]

Development Budget: According to interviews with Sucker Punch leadership, Ghost of Yōtei’s development budget was similar to Ghost of Tsushima, which cost about $60 million to make. Even if marketing costs were substantial, the game had already generated over $140 million in revenue just three days after launch, meaning it had likely recouped its development budget twice over by then.

100% this game should have been recognised more. It’s a brilliant game, but I guess it’s just not on a fashionable label 🤷‍♂️

I voted for South of Midnight for Games for impact. I'm genuinely surprised it wasn't nominated for best sound design or musical score, or even artistic vision or something like that. The game is really good if given a proper chance.

South of Midnight was something I wasn't sure I was going to try. My wife ended up beating it and told me it's an absolute gem, so I decided to give South of Midnight a go and I'm glad I did!

The Southern Gothic Folklore, magical realism, and stop motion artistry gave South of Midnight an extremely surreal vibe. It's not sime big open world but its unique world is very artistic and fun to explore.

The storyline was surprisingly DEEP as hell. It captured the emotions of characters, each struggling through their own life's choices. They way the game shows different characters lives through their lenses was really cool and very impactful.

The game did a GREAT job exploring the South haunted by it's history. The game acknowledges that the region’s beauty is inseparable from its painful past. Slavery, poverty, and generational trauma. These themes seep into the atmosphere, making the haunting feel intellectual rather than purely spectral. The gothic monsters and creatures are metaphors that embody cultural anxieties that turn folklore in allegory. (Unfortunately I've come across reviews written on the Microsoft store that are beyond disgusting, teeming with racism and bigotry. Condemning the game for having a female lead that's mixed race, which is a shame).

The ONLY downside to the game itself was the combat gets a little bit repetitive. Other than that, South of Midnight was a joy to play and I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested and open minded enough to enjoy a game like this. Happy gaming ✌️

South Of Midnight was an average game and had a 77 Metacrititc, hardly worthy of a GOTY nod or anything really.
The game reminded me of an Xbox 360 game, and in 2025 that's not exactly a good thing.

@ILuvGames Overwatch 1 won two years in a row. Exception to the rule, I guess.

@BernieGores And there it is.

@Jark Overwatch won once way back in 2016. That is almost a decade ago and the backlash that ensued from that will probably make sure it never happens again.

Hard disagree. Of course an Xbox fan/writer will make a case for South of Midnight but the REAL Xbox Game Studios game that was overlooked was Indiana Jones; heck, even GameSpot reckoned that it should've been nominated for GOTY.

https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/the-game-awards-2025s-biggest-snubs/2900-7272/

@ILuvGames Overwatch won in 2016 and then won Best Recurring Game in 2017 (or something named similarly). For the applicability of my statements about something"nearly a decade ago" (I don't round up 8 or 9 years to a whole ten, as even just one year is a long time), I purposely do not consider whether it is relevant, worthy, pertinent or even eligible for winning something now.

Gaming awards shows need a category for something like "Best PS2/OG Xbox era-style game on current gen platforms." I feel like South of Midnight and Keeper would both be in contention for that. Honestly, they're 2 of about a dozen highlights for me this year precisely because they remind me of that era. I'm over 8000 sq mile open world slogfests that take 120 hours to complete (except Square RPGs obviously). Give me great, unique, and even quirky stuff that I can spend 6-8 hours in and just enjoy