2024-01-03 08:58:07
Valve has revealed the results of the 2023 Steam Awards following several weeks of voting by players. Looking at the results, it’s hard not to believe it’s a troll.
A dialogue scene from the game Starfield
The end of the year is always an opportunity to name the best games that marked the year. At Steam, we allow ourselves to go slightly over the following year to really wait for a complete closure. It was therefore on the evening of Tuesday, January 2 that Valve revealed the results of the votes for the 2023 Steam Awards. The whole world was able to discover the big winners, and the least we can say is that they surprised a lot of people. To the point of believing in a large-scale troll.
Starfield : « gameplay le plus innovant »
Two games in particular surprised with their prices. First, the RPG Starfield from Bethesda which wins the award for the most innovative gameplay of 2023 with description “ The creative team behind this game is at the forefront of experimentation, combining new perspectives and mind-blowing surprises. Enthusiasm, inspiration and entertainment were there thanks to the unique originality and freshness of this game ».
Be careful, this is not regarding trampling Starfield. The game is one of the biggest sellers on Steam in 2023, and it was able to impress many players. But it is totally impossible that he might have marked them with “ l’innovation de son gameplay ” or his ” originality “. Bethesda almost claims this lack of innovation: it is a 100% Bethesda game with the same DNA as Fallout or The Elder Scrolls Skyrim, but 10 years later. This was also pointed out by the majority of the press. This does not necessarily make it a flaw in the game otherwise. This was also the case for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 released the same year. A game that doesn’t really innovate, but is very pleasant to play. The case of Starfield was still a little more divided. On Steam, the game has “average” ratings and recent reviews are “mostly negative.” A very rare severity for a game of this caliber.
In short no, even if you like the game, it is impossible to objectively say that it is a game ” innovative » in its gameplay.
Red Dead Redemption 2: a long-lasting game?
Red Dead Redemption 2 also won an award despite being released in 2019. And for good reason, it won the “ unwavering love “, a name that can be found poorly translated from the original ” labor of love ” which means ” this game has been out for a while. He took his first steps a long time ago, but, like a good mother, the team continues to mother and support his creation. This game, to this day, is still getting new content following all these years “. In other words, it is a game supported by its developers over time. The French version of the price suggests that we are talking regarding a game released a long time ago that we continue to play with pleasure. The original version, in English, places much more emphasis on the efforts of the developers to follow their title.
Here once more, it’s hard not to think of a troll. Red Dead Redemption 2 is rather known for having an online mode which was quickly left aside by Rockstar Games who preferred to favor the development of GTA Online, and undoubtedly of GTA VI.
We are therefore very far from the efforts of a development team like that of No Man’s Sky, or among the Steam Awards finalists, games like Deep Rock Galactic, Rust or Apex Legends. It almost feels like players have denounced a game known for its shortcomings in the designated category.
No surprises for the rest
In fact, we wouldn’t really be surprised to discover that a community on Reddit, Discord, or an online forum has jointly decided to hijack votes. Let’s remember if it wasn’t clear that it was Steam players who voted for several weeks to designate the winners of these prizes. A reminder also that designating the year’s prizes solely by public vote is probably not the right approach to adopt.
The rest of the prices are less shocking. The game of the year is no surprise Baldur’s Gate 3. The best game « better together ” East Lethal Companyand other notable games of the year like Dave the Diver won their awards.
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