Clair Obscur vs. Silksong: The Definitive 2025 Showdown

I still remember April 2025 like it was yesterday. That’s when Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 dropped, seemingly out of nowhere, and turned the gaming world on its head. Then, in September, the long-awaited Hollow Knight: Silksong finally emerged from its cocoon and broke the internet—literally. As I sit here in 2026, looking back at the dust that’s settled, it’s clear that these two indie titans defined an entire year of gaming. The big question everyone still debates: which one truly conquered 2025?

Two Very Different Roads to Glory

Clair Obscur was the ultimate underdog. A debut from a tiny French studio called Sandfall Interactive, it had zero expectations and ended up earning a 97% Open Critic score while selling over 5 million copies. No joke, I’ve rarely seen a game come out of left field and punch so far above its weight. Hollow Knight: Silksong, on the other hand, was the sequel to one of the most beloved Metroidvanias ever. Fans had been drooling for years, and when Team Cherry finally launched it across every platform imaginable—PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X—it steamrolled digital stores everywhere. Let’s be real, I’d never seen a simultaneous digital meltdown like that, with Steam itself buckling under the load.

If we talk exposure, Silksong had the bigger launch window audience, which is why it became an overnight phenomenon almost instantly. Expedition 33 launched on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X alongside Game Pass, which definitely helped it spread, but Silksong crashed onto the scene like an avalanche. The sheer weight of expectation almost crushed the game, yet it still delivered.

The Money Battle: Copies Sold vs. Dollars Earned

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