‘This is Why We Make Games’ Ghost of Yotei’s Erika Ishii Picks Their Game of the Year for 2025

In a recent interview with Game Rant, Ghost of Yotei‘s Erika Ishii shared that their personal game of the year for 2025 is Blue Prince, which may come as a surprise to those who recently watched Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 win in nine categories at The Game Awards for 2025. Ishii is an actor who portrays the character of Atsu in Ghost of Yotei, a woman seeking to avenge her murdered family by taking down everyone involved in their demise. It’s worth noting that Erika Ishii was nominated for Best Performance at The Game Awards 2025, but the award ultimately went to Jennifer English for her performance of Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

2025 has been packed with memorable experiences in both the AAA and indie spaces. In fact, for the first time, the actual Game of the Year nominees at The Game Awards were evenly split between indies and AAA titles. While the highly coveted Game of the Year award went to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the other nominees included Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Hades 2, Donkey Kong Bananza, and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. The first-person puzzle-adventure game Blue Prince was nominated for Best Independent Game and Best Debut Indie, but those awards also went to Expedition 33. Blue Prince is a fairly unique experience, as it blends an expertly crafted mystery with roguelike mechanics that keep players coming back for more. In fact, many fans have stated that the end of the mystery isn’t truly the end of the game, as there are many more secrets waiting to be discovered.

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Blue Prince Is Erika Ishii’s Game of the Year

In a recent appearance on Game Rant’s Character Select, Erika Ishii revealed that Blue Prince is their personal game of the year. While this may come as a surprise to those who know Ishii as the face of 2025’s Ghost of Yotei, the actor didn’t feel comfortable claiming the title as their game of the year, stating, “I’m not gonna say that it’s my game. I mean, obviously, you know, Ghost of Yotei will be my game of my life.” Ishii went on to claim that 2025 was an “all bangers” year for video games, stating that many titles that were up for awards (including Ghost of Yotei) could have won Game of the Year if not for the sheer amount of exceptional titles released in 2025. However, Ishii wants gamers to know that in a year filled with exceptional titles, Blue Prince (which reviewed incredibly well) has somehow managed to fly under the radar of many people.

When discussing what makes Blue Prince so special, Ishii compared it to Lucas Pope’s indie title Return of the Obra Dinn, which also tasked players with unraveling a unique mystery filled with twists and turns. They claimed that Blue Prince is the closest any other game has come to scratching the same itch as Return of the Obra Dinn, which makes sense. Both titles have pushed the puzzle genre in new directions, giving gamers an experience that isn’t easily replicated. While talking about Blue Prince‘s storytelling specifically, Ishii said, “This is why we make games. You could not tell this story or do these things or feel this way in any other medium.” It’s hard to imagine what an adaptation of Blue Prince would even look like, as so much of the story is perfectly blended into the gameplay and discovery.

As someone who appreciates storytelling across the board, Ishii went on to say that “My favorite pieces of media are pieces that I’m like, you cannot tell this story or do this in any other medium. It leverages the medium perfectly.” For Ishii, that’s part of what makes Blue Prince such a standout game of the year experience, and they’re hoping it won’t be forgotten in a year packed with other quality titles.

Systems

Released

October 2, 2025

ESRB

Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Language, Partial Nudity, Use of Alcohol

Publisher(s)

Sony Interactive Entertainment

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