The downside with publicly voted video game awards is {that a} straight reputation contest overwhelmingly favours games with giant advertising budgets and on-line communities. That’s why there are few surprises among the many winners of this 12 months’s Steam Awards, which had been introduced as we speak.
Here’s the entire listing of winners:
- Game Of The Year: Elden Ring
- VR Game Of The Year: Hitman 3
- Labor Of Love: Cyberpunk 2077
- Better With Friends: Raft
- Outstanding Visual Style: Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Most Innovative Gameplay: Stray
- Best Game You Suck At: Elden Ring
- Best Soundtrack: Final Fantasy VII Remake Entergrade
- Outstanding Story-Rich Game: God Of War
- Sit Back And Relax: Leg Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- Best Game On The Go: Death Stranding Director’s Cut
This is, I believe, essentially the most boring listing conceivable. It’s not that they are dangerous games – they don’t seem to be! – however they’re the obvious blockbusters conceivable. Four of them are former PlayStation exclusives! Only three of those 11 awards have gone to games first launched in 2022! Was Stray’s “progressive gameplay” that it gave the cat a gun?
I imply, I love Death Stranding, however the “on the go” class was added in respect of the Steam Deck’s launch. Is Death Stranding actually one of the best “on the go” game for the Steam Deck, or is it only a good game that folk have heard of and well-liked Twitter accounts promoted the vote?
The finest end-of-year awards have fun not simply the blockbusters, however all the eccentricities, one-offs, and surprises that make PC gaming so thrilling. Naturally I believe RPS’s favorite games of 2022 do this. I reckon you possibly can put collectively a public vote that does the identical, both with cautious editorialising of award classes or some weighting of votes. Alas!
You can head over to the Steam Awards site for an inventory of winners that additionally consists of some runners-up, through which you may discover some barely extra fascinating games. Scorn, Bendy And The Dark Revival, Cult Of The Lamb and Kena Bridge Of Spirits had been all runners-up for the “excellent visible type” class, for instance. Alternatively you may take a look at Steam’s listing of 2022’s top selling games, which they’ve confusingly additionally known as the “better of 2022”.
Of course, publicly-voted awards can even produce extra fascinating outcomes when you solely ballot a small, particular, weirdo portion of the general public.