There were no significant surprises: mainly, the games we expected to win in the categories ended up victorious.

You could start nominating games for the categories on Valve’s digital platform in November and then vote for them at the Winter Sale until January 5 (the voting ended earlier), so it’s fair to say that these games won the awards by popular vote on Gabe Newell’s platform. Most games could be nominated blindly, as there are no significant differences from, for example, the games that won at The Game Awards (except for those available only on console, of course, as Steam is PC-oriented…).

•     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 Game Soundtrack: Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade
•     Outstanding Story-Rich Game: God of War
•     Sit Back and Relax: Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
•     Best Game on the Go: Death Stranding Director’s Cut

Most games are also on sale until tomorrow so you can get them at bargain prices until January 5. It’s almost sure that Elden Ring was the game of the year for everyone, and Stray was the first game that came to mind for innovation. In the portable category, we wouldn’t have thought Hideo Kojima’s game would have won the award. Still, the expanded version of Death Stranding was likely popular with Steam Deck users.

We can finally put 2022 behind us, which at first looked like a return to pre-2020 regularities, but the Russian war against the Ukrainians has turned everything upside down. Let’s hope 2023 will not be as turbulent as the previous three years, but it’s good to prepare for the worst just out of habit. Then, there can be no disappointment…

Source: VG247