Since the event was introduced in 2016, the Steam Awards have given players the opportunity to vote for games across a range of categories on the popular sales platform. Along with the coveted Game of the Year award, 10 other categories celebrate aspects of gaming like soundtracks, visual style, innovation, and developer commitment. Millions of gamers participate in the entire process from the initial nominations to the final winners, which provides valuable insight into the thoughts of regular consumers instead of leaving the choice up to a small committee of critics.
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Unsurprisingly, Steam users decided that FromSoftware’s Elden Ring was the Game of the Year, beating out other nominees Dying Light 2, God of War, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and the viral hit indie game Stray. Elden Ring also claimed victory in the category Best Game You Suck At, also not surprising to anyone that spent many hours last year getting stomped by the game’s challenging bosses. Another notable selection was Cyberpunk 2077 as the winner for the Labor of Love category, with players impressed by CD Projekt Red’s continued support of the game with major updates and bug fixes post-release. Cyberpunk 2077 was also the winner of the Outstanding Story-Rich Game category in 2021’s Steam Awards.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga’s gameplay earned it a win for the Sit Back And Relax category as it provided many gamers with some relaxing, low-pressure puzzle solving in a galaxy far, far away. The category saw some stiff competition, with games like Slime Rancher 2 and Disney Dreamlight Valley appealing to players for much the same reason. Despite the games originally being released prior to 2022, the PC ports of Death Stranding and God of War took home the awards for Best Game On The Go and Outstanding Story-Rich Game, respectively.
Many of these award-winning games including Elden Ring and Death Stranding along with thousands of others are still available at impressive discounts thanks to the Steam Winter Sale which will continue until January 5, so there’s still some time to see what all the fuss is about.
Full list of Steam Awards 2022 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 7 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
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Source: Steam
