Hey all.

We teased the nominees a couple weeks back, and today we've unveiled the winners of the inaugural Hotshot Awards!

https://adventuregamehotspot.com/feature...hot-awards

I honestly can't recall a more competitive field, even dating back to my many years at the Aggies, so congrats to any and all devs who made the final list, whether a winner, runner-up, or deserving honorable mention, because 2025 was an outstanding year for adventure games.

Did we get our "Hotshots" right, get 'em wrong, or some combination of the two? Would love to hear other people's impressions before we turn our sights to 2026 and beyond for good!

I have not played through a single one of the games mentioned, so I’ll say good job, you got it exactly right! Seriously, I appreciate all of the thought and effort that went into this, and you have inspired me to buy The Drifter based solely on that one screenshot. “Mr. Wet Ponytail?” Who doesn’t know that guy IRL?

Congratulations to all the winners all all the nominees! What a packed field!
Thanks to all at AGH for creating this!

I can see a lot of work went into it but for me it's not worth it. A "best game of the year " award with a few runners up would really be enough. I understand that the point of this type of awards is to single out specific criteria for recognition within an industry but as a consumer I won't be wondering who won "best setting", for example, when considering what to play.

I didn't play many games in 2025 but I'm very happy that Hotspot showed so much love for Blue Prince, my GotY. I also loved the Drifter and the Roottrees, so yes, you got it right.

I somewhat agree with what Piero says. To me, the Best Game of the Year Is the award that really matters. Perhaps followed in desending order by Best Story, Best Gameplay and Best Graphics. All the rest, again, to me, are af little consequence. I grant that the origin of these awards is the Aggies, which seemed to have had an award for every niche category you might think of. But, even though the same person is/was responsible for both, this is not the Aggies. Nor should it be! These are the AAGHAs. (Annual Adventure Game Hotspot Awards.) Feel free to choose another name!

Personally, I would have chosen what I assume is the 1st runner up to be the Best Game of the Year. But that is simply a difference in taste or style. Drifter was a worthy candidate.

This is great - a celebration of different aspects that make the genre great, a spotlight on the many different games that made 2025 a good year for the genre and a fun read to boot!

Honestly, you could add a couple of categories - best supporting role, funniest one-liner, greatest cutscene, most original inventory item, smoothest character animation... or don't, I'm half kidding, but that means I'm half serious as well.

The goal of the awards – or at least, any awards that I've overseen – isn't ultimately to pit games against each other as a competition, it's to celebrate great games for all the ways they individually contribute in their own way.

I mean, yeah, we pick nominees and winners to help generate a little fun and suspense, but to me that's secondary to giving devs a pat on the back for jobs well done, and to give readers/players a list of great games to check out, and why. Because we all like different games, and different things about games. How limiting it would be to think that one size fits all.

I've already heard from a dev whose game didn't win but was absolutely thrilled to be nominated for a particular award, and that's exactly the sort of motivation we're going for.

Yeah, the point of an award for me has never been the horse-race aspect of it, but to spread the word about games that are worth celebrating for a variety of reasons, not just which one deserves to be at the very top of a given pile. There's no way to "accurately" or "objectively" evaluate art according to a strict, mathematical rubric, and we don't try; all we can ultimately do is tell you what we think is worth experiencing, and trust you to know and accept that you might personally disagree with us. That's the point of the awards if you ask me: a way to say "Here's what we think was worth paying attention to, and why."

Separately, this is also why I never liked the "Reader Awards" at Adventure Gamers, even (and especially) when I was solely a reader. The readers should be allowed to grade on whatever curve they want, and not have their conclusions awkwardly smushed into the same mold that the reviewers decide on. A reader award should be entirely in the readers' hands, and that means being separate from the site's efforts and the parameters it decides for itself. (And if organizing that seems like too much work, imagine how Jack must feel!)

These are the AAGHAs. (Annual Adventure Game Hotspot Awards.) Feel free to choose another name!

We very much already did! These are the Adventure Game Hotshot Awards!

Random aside, but forgot to mention earlier that Best Setting is probably my favourite category. A well-conceived setting (or settings) adds SO much to any game’s distinct personality and provides the foundation for everything else.

Anyway, the Table of Contents is there precisely to make it easy for people to skip to the parts they’re most interested in.