In a year defined by heavy hitters and high-budget spectacles, the title for Best Action-Adventure Game of 2025 was ultimately claimed by a project that spent years in the shadows: Hollow Knight: Silksong. Following its massive victory at The Game Awards 2025, the sequel from Team Cherry has proven that it wasn’t just “the GTA VI of indie gaming”—it was a genre-defining evolution that outpaced even the biggest AAA rivals.
The Verdict: A Rare “Perfect” Sequel
While 2025 gave us breathtaking open worlds in Ghost of Yōtei and experimental narrative depth in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Silksong took the crown by perfecting the fundamental loop of the action-adventure genre. Critics and fans alike have hailed it for balancing punishingly precise combat with a world design that feels truly alive.
Unlike the somber, decaying tunnels of the first game, the new kingdom of Pharloom is a vibrant, vertical playground. Playing as Hornet, the “Princess-Protector,” changes the DNA of the game. Her agility—the ability to sprint, wall-climb, and grapple—transforms every encounter into a high-speed dance. This shift from the “slow burn” of the original to the “high-octane” flow of the sequel is exactly why it secured the top spot in its category.
A Commercial Juggernaut
The numbers behind Silksong are as impressive as its gameplay. By December 2025, Team Cherry revealed the game had moved 7 million copies in just a few months. To put that in perspective, it outsold every other Game of the Year nominee in unit sales, including the overall winner Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The demand was so intense at launch that it briefly crippled the Nintendo eShop and PlayStation Store, proving that the hunger for “Metroidvania” perfection has never been higher.
The 2025 Action-Adventure Honor Roll
While Silksong took the gold, the year was a feast for the genre. Here is how the top contenders stacked up:
| Game | Developer | Key Strength |
| Hollow Knight: Silksong | Team Cherry | Masterful combat and world-building. |
| Ghost of Yōtei | Sucker Punch | Stunning 17th-century Hokkaido open world. |
| Split Fiction | Hazelight Studios | Innovative co-op mechanics in parallel realities. |
| Death Stranding 2 | Kojima Productions | Unrivaled atmosphere and surrealist adventure. |
| Indiana Jones and the Great Circle | MachineGames | The ultimate first-person “Relic Hunter” fantasy. |
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Why the “Adventure” Matters
What separated Silksong from the pack was its commitment to the “Adventure” part of its label. In an era where many games rely on icons and maps to guide players, Silksong trusts you to get lost. Every secret area feels earned, and every boss—from the haunting Lace to the towering mechanical guardians—tells a story through action rather than exposition.
The game also benefited from its timing. Launching alongside the Nintendo Switch 2, it showcased how much “indie” games have grown, utilizing the new hardware to deliver seamless transitions and a level of detail in its hand-drawn art that was previously impossible.
Final Thought
As we look back on 2025, Hollow Knight: Silksong stands as a testament to the power of patience. Team Cherry didn’t just release a game; they released a masterpiece that reminds us why we fell in love with action-adventure titles in the first place: the thrill of the unknown and the satisfaction of overcoming the impossible.
In 2026, the legacy of Pharloom will continue to grow as players uncover every hidden secret within this stunning masterpiece.
