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The Steam Awards winners have been revealed and they are boringThe banality of crowds
The banality of crowds
Image credit:FromSoftware/Bandai Namco Entertainment
Image credit:FromSoftware/Bandai Namco Entertainment
The problem with publicly voted video game awards is that a straight popularity contest overwhelmingly favours games with large marketing budgets and online communities. That’s why there are few surprises among the winners of this year’s Steam Awards, which were announced today.Here’s the complete list of winners:Game Of The Year:Elden RingVR Game Of The Year:Hitman 3Labor Of Love:Cyberpunk 2077Better With Friends:RaftOutstanding Visual Style:Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles MoralesMost Innovative Gameplay:StrayBest Game You Suck At:Elden RingBest Soundtrack:Final Fantasy VII Remake EntergradeOutstanding Story-Rich Game:God Of WarSit Back And Relax:Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker SagaBest Game On The Go:Death Stranding Director’s CutThis is, I think, the most boring list imaginable. It’s not that they’re bad games - they’re not! - but they’re the most obvious blockbusters imaginable. Four of them are former PlayStation exclusives! Only three of these 11 awards have gone to games first released in 2022! Was Stray’s “innovative gameplay” that it gave the cat a gun?I mean, IloveDeath Stranding, but the “on the go” category was added in respect of the Steam Deck’s launch. Is Death Stranding reallythe best “on the go” game for the Steam Deck, or is it just a good game that folks have heard of and popular Twitter accounts promoted the vote?The best end-of-year awards celebrate not just the blockbusters, but all the oddities, one-offs, and surprises that make PC gaming so exciting. Naturally I think RPS’sfavourite games of 2022do that. I reckon you could put together a public vote that does the same, either with careful editorialising of award categories or some weighting of votes. Alas!You can head over to theSteam Awards sitefor a list of winners that also includes some runners-up, in which you might find some slightly more interesting games.Scorn, Bendy And The Dark Revival, Cult Of The Lamb and Kena Bridge Of Spirits were all runners-up for the “outstanding visual style” category, for example. Alternatively you can check out Steam’s list of2022’s top selling games, which they have confusingly also called the “best of 2022”.Of course, publicly-voted awards can also produce more interesting results if you only polla small, specific, weirdo portion of the public.
The problem with publicly voted video game awards is that a straight popularity contest overwhelmingly favours games with large marketing budgets and online communities. That’s why there are few surprises among the winners of this year’s Steam Awards, which were announced today.Here’s the complete list of winners:Game Of The Year:Elden RingVR Game Of The Year:Hitman 3Labor Of Love:Cyberpunk 2077Better With Friends:RaftOutstanding Visual Style:Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles MoralesMost Innovative Gameplay:StrayBest Game You Suck At:Elden RingBest Soundtrack:Final Fantasy VII Remake EntergradeOutstanding Story-Rich Game:God Of WarSit Back And Relax:Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker SagaBest Game On The Go:Death Stranding Director’s CutThis is, I think, the most boring list imaginable. It’s not that they’re bad games - they’re not! - but they’re the most obvious blockbusters imaginable. Four of them are former PlayStation exclusives! Only three of these 11 awards have gone to games first released in 2022! Was Stray’s “innovative gameplay” that it gave the cat a gun?I mean, IloveDeath Stranding, but the “on the go” category was added in respect of the Steam Deck’s launch. Is Death Stranding reallythe best “on the go” game for the Steam Deck, or is it just a good game that folks have heard of and popular Twitter accounts promoted the vote?The best end-of-year awards celebrate not just the blockbusters, but all the oddities, one-offs, and surprises that make PC gaming so exciting. Naturally I think RPS’sfavourite games of 2022do that. I reckon you could put together a public vote that does the same, either with careful editorialising of award categories or some weighting of votes. Alas!You can head over to theSteam Awards sitefor a list of winners that also includes some runners-up, in which you might find some slightly more interesting games.Scorn, Bendy And The Dark Revival, Cult Of The Lamb and Kena Bridge Of Spirits were all runners-up for the “outstanding visual style” category, for example. Alternatively you can check out Steam’s list of2022’s top selling games, which they have confusingly also called the “best of 2022”.Of course, publicly-voted awards can also produce more interesting results if you only polla small, specific, weirdo portion of the public.
The problem with publicly voted video game awards is that a straight popularity contest overwhelmingly favours games with large marketing budgets and online communities. That’s why there are few surprises among the winners of this year’s Steam Awards, which were announced today.
Here’s the complete list of winners:
This is, I think, the most boring list imaginable. It’s not that they’re bad games - they’re not! - but they’re the most obvious blockbusters imaginable. Four of them are former PlayStation exclusives! Only three of these 11 awards have gone to games first released in 2022! Was Stray’s “innovative gameplay” that it gave the cat a gun?
I mean, IloveDeath Stranding, but the “on the go” category was added in respect of the Steam Deck’s launch. Is Death Stranding reallythe best “on the go” game for the Steam Deck, or is it just a good game that folks have heard of and popular Twitter accounts promoted the vote?
The best end-of-year awards celebrate not just the blockbusters, but all the oddities, one-offs, and surprises that make PC gaming so exciting. Naturally I think RPS’sfavourite games of 2022do that. I reckon you could put together a public vote that does the same, either with careful editorialising of award categories or some weighting of votes. Alas!
You can head over to theSteam Awards sitefor a list of winners that also includes some runners-up, in which you might find some slightly more interesting games.Scorn, Bendy And The Dark Revival, Cult Of The Lamb and Kena Bridge Of Spirits were all runners-up for the “outstanding visual style” category, for example. Alternatively you can check out Steam’s list of2022’s top selling games, which they have confusingly also called the “best of 2022”.
Of course, publicly-voted awards can also produce more interesting results if you only polla small, specific, weirdo portion of the public.
