As in previous years, the Steam gaming platform had its community vote on the best games of the past year. The winners have now been recognized with the Steam Award 2022.
After first nominating and then voting in the past few weeks, the winners of the Steam Awards 2022 have now been determined. Looking across the list, there are few surprises – and a few disappointments.
That’s how the video games were chosen
Overall, 2022 was a rather mixed year for the games industry. Of course, there were still some highlights and Steam users were able to vote on them in the past few weeks. After a longer nomination phase, you could then vote once in each category between December 22, 2022 and January 3, 2023. A total of eleven categories were available:
- game of the year
- VR game of the year
- “Work of Love”
- “Better with friends”
- Outstanding visual style
- Innovative gameplay
- Best Game You’re Bad At
- Best Soundtrack
- Outstanding game with a deep story
- “Lean back and relax”
- Best Game On The Go (New Category)
In this context, it is important to emphasize again that this is a community vote and that Steam itself does not determine the winners of the 2022 Awards. The result was announced on January 3 at 7 p.m.
Winner of the Steam Awards 2022
Overall, there were honestly few surprises among the winners. Of course, it’s a pity that “Gof of War” was awarded to a title that was released in 2018; here the result is somewhat distorted by the new release on Steam.
game of the year
- Elden ring
- Dying Light 2: Stay Human
- Stray
- God of War
- Call of Duty Modern Warfare II
Unsurprisingly, and fully deserved, Elden Ring has been voted Game of the Year. The new game from the creators of Dark Souls lives up to the genre. In addition to the difficult battles and mean traps, “Elden Ring” also has a beautifully designed game world.
VR game of the year
- hit man 3
- Bonelab
- Green Hell VR
- Among Us VR
- Inside the Backrooms
The game “Hitman 3” was released in 2021, but the VR mode was only added in 2022. With the appropriate VR equipment, you can enjoy the assassin adventure in a completely new way and from a first-person perspective.
work of love
- Cyberpunk 2077
- dota 2
- Project Zomboid
- Deep Rock Galactic
- No Man’s Sky
“Cyberpunk 2077” owed its bumpy start mainly to the fact that the game was simply not finished when it was released. In the meantime, however, CD Projekt Red has made some improvements and eliminated many bugs. So you can finally really enjoy the great story and the beautifully designed game world.
Better with friends
- raft
- Ready or not
- Monster Hunter Rise
- MultiVersus
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
After a long Early Access phase, “Raft” 2022 has finally been officially released. The game was developed by three Swedish students over the years and you can tell – in the best sense of the word. Raft is all about collaboration, you’re literally stuck in the same boat or on the same raft.
Outstanding visual style
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- scorn
- Bendy and the Dark Revival
- Cult of the Lamb
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
In addition to its great graphics, for which it has now also been awarded at the Steam Awards 2022, the title, which was originally released for the PlayStation, also has an entertaining combat system and a beautiful open world. There you can also visit well-known locations such as the Avengers headquarters, while beating up villains as an alternative Spider-Man.
Most Innovative Game
- Stray
- Mount & Blade II: Banner Lord
- tear down
- Neon White
- dome keeper
Even if “Stray” didn’t win the main prize for best game at the Steam Awards 2022, luckily the game didn’t go away empty-handed. The game’s unusual perspective of exploring the game world from an animal’s point of view has won a lot of fans, as has the story of the red cat who uses the robot B-12 to find a way back to her own world.
Best game you’re bad at
- Elden ring
- GTFO
- Victoria 3
- Total War: Warhammer III
- FIFA 23
“Elden Ring” also won in this category. Since Soulslike titles are, by definition, designed to drive their players crazy, that’s no big surprise. A great game with even greater challenges in which you get caught up in a dispute between demigods.
Best Soundtrack
- Final Fantasy VII Remake Integrade
- Metal: Hellsinger
- Sonic Frontiers
- Persona 5 Royal
- Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix+
Aside from the truly stunning soundtrack, once again conceived by original composer Nobuo Uematsu, the Final Fantasy VII remake has great sound design in general.
Outstanding game with a deep story
- God of War
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection
- The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe
- Spinder-Man Remastered
Even if the majority of our editorial staff would have preferred to see a different winner, because “God of War” was actually released in 2018, the story in and of itself is of course an absolutely deserved winner of the Steam Awards 2022. The rough one we know Putting his son alongside the warrior of the previous parts and giving emotional depth makes the game more complex in general.
Lean back and relax
- Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- Power wash simulator
- Disney Dreamlight Valley
- village romance
- Slime ransher 2
Here, too, the majority of the TECHBOOK editorial staff would have wished for a different winner (read more about this in our “Dreamlight Valley” test), but of course “The Skywalker Saga” is also a good winner.
Best game for on the go
- Death Stranding Director’s Cut
- Yu-Gi-Oh! master duel
- Vampire Survivors
- Brotato
- Marvel snap
This winner is probably also related to the success of the Steam Deck. Because “Death Stranding” is really a lot of fun on the handheld console.
source
- Steam (accessed January 4, 2023)