this post was submitted on 03 Jan 2026
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Normally the steam awards winners are real stinkers, but the voters had shockingly good taste this year.

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[–] scott_the_sloth@lemmy.today 4 points 1 day ago

I was a little sad that Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 didn't win anything. That was my personal GOTY

[–] Coelacanth@feddit.nu 120 points 3 days ago (6 children)

Okay listen. I know I haven't played it myself but... Isn't Arc Raiders just another fucking extraction shooter? How the fuck does it beat Blue Prince for most innovative gameplay?

[–] warm@kbin.earth 85 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Steam Awards is a popularity contest.

[–] HarkMahlberg@kbin.earth 28 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Arc is definitely the "yep, steam voters have shit taste" one of the bunch.

[–] warm@kbin.earth 10 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, the rest I can understand, Arc Raiders is anything but innovative.

[–] TORFdot0@lemmy.world 14 points 3 days ago

It’s innovated in that it’s an extraction shooter that has mass appeal and isn’t a total drag to play but it’s not exactly game breaking mechanics-wise.

I think it’s the multiplayer game of the year. Wouldn’t call it the most innovative game of the year

[–] P1nkman@lemmy.world 49 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Because people have no idea what innovative means. Nor does Valve, since Arc Raiders was in the category.

[–] popcar2@piefed.ca 52 points 3 days ago (9 children)

Nor does Valve, since Arc Raiders was in the category.

Valve doesn't decide anything, the whole Steam awards are voted by the community. It's a popularity contest.

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[–] PlzGivHugs@sh.itjust.works 24 points 3 days ago (1 children)

While I don't think it deserves the win over Blue Prince, it does have some interesting gameplay innovations compared to others in the genre, as well as some interesting tech.

In particular, the included PvE element, as well as the sorter session and decreased death penalty makes the game much more accessible. It also helps offer an incentive to not shoot-on-sight, as the bots serve as a common enemy and shared threat. Its a difference between games like PUBG where games are tense, hour-long affair, and something like Fortnite where its colourful, easy to get into, and despite still being competitve, filled with other diversions for those who won't win.

[–] jonathan@piefed.social 26 points 3 days ago

It also sold way better than Blue Prince did. The Steam awards are always going to be weighed heavily in favour of the better selling games.

[–] LettyWhiterock@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

Steam awards are pretty much always like this. Popularity over the actual category itself.

[–] JakoJakoJako13@piefed.social 5 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Isn't Blue Prince just Betrayal at House on the Hill the video game?

[–] Coelacanth@feddit.nu 8 points 2 days ago

Well... kinda but not really. The room-placement is only a small part of Blue Prince though and I think turning it into a roguelite was pretty innovative.

Funny story, Tonda Ros actually hadn't heard of Betrayal until Blue Prince was well into beta testing. These things happen. The true inspiration for it was a choose-your-own-adventure/puzzle book by Christopher Manson called "The Maze". Manson actually contributed with the art for the paintings in the Gallery in Blue Prince.

[–] HarkMahlberg@kbin.earth 3 points 2 days ago

This is the first time anyone has described Blue Prince in a way that made me want to play it lol. Not knocking the game, I just figured it would never be up my alley. But I'm a big fan of Betrayal.

[–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago

"Innovative" means "hey, I think I've heard of this title!".

[–] LuizaMarns@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Honestly, this whole debate feels familiar. Arc Raiders looks like yet another extraction shooter riding hype, while Blue Prince actually tried something weird and different. Sure, you can compare it to Betrayal at House on the Hill, but remixing that idea into a roguelite puzzle experience is bold. Steam Awards almost always crown popularity, not real innovation. Still, Blue Prince suddenly sounds way more tempting.

[–] radiouser@crazypeople.online 2 points 2 days ago

I've been having a blast with Arc, especially as a newcomer to the genre. The PvE aspects (where you work together to defeat massive robots) is incredibly fun. My only complaint so far is that the inventory system can be a bit of a pain.

[–] orb360@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 days ago

Blue Prince is way deeper than I was expecting... It seems beating the game is only scratching the surface.

[–] Deestan@lemmy.world 24 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

The awards are fun when I compare my vote list with my friends' vote list, but the actual awards are just annoyingly pointless.

The winner of each category is predictable immediately. It will only ever be the game with the highest number of players and the category doesn't matter.

If GTA6 comes out in 2026 and posts "we are hoping to win the Emotional Indie Platformer Award", it's going to win the Emotional Indie Platformer Award.

[–] Wahots@pawb.social 8 points 2 days ago

Silksong winning GOTY and BGYSA is great. Seeing Peak up there was nice too. I was a little surprised to see BG3- great game, but I thought it was EOLed in 2024 after native steam deck support.

[–] absquatulate@lemmy.world 39 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Damn, they did my boy The Alters dirty. Not a single win.

Also, Arc Raiders most innovative? Isn't it just an (admittedly improved) extraction shooter?

[–] CommanderCloon@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 days ago

The arc are ectremely impressive enemies and feel like nothing I've ever fought in a game, and the matchmaking system puts you in matvhes with people that have the same level of aggression. So it's not your regular extraction shooter where NPCs are a sidenote and everyone plays kill on sight and that's extremely refreshing

[–] Gerudo@lemmy.zip 14 points 3 days ago (2 children)

My one issue with Alters was if you make certain decisions with what to produce or work on, at certain points, I had to roll back pretty far to undo them to just survive upcoming events. Really cool game otherwise.

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[–] LettyWhiterock@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

Main thing I'm sad about is deltarune not winning the soundtrack category.

[–] ieGod@lemmy.zip 21 points 3 days ago (3 children)

RV There Yet isn't really that chill. It's also highly frustrating at times.

[–] riquisimo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 days ago

It winning was really surprising to me. It was fun for like 15 minutes. I guess... people like it? It's a meme? Idk.

It's also trying to ride the success of Peak

[–] bookmeat@lemmynsfw.com 5 points 3 days ago

I am very disappointed that this game promotes smoking. So it's an instant non-starter for me.

[–] Hylactor@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 days ago

I really wish Baby Steps had won something.

[–] Sharkticon@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 days ago

I got three right.

[–] who@feddit.org 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

It's refreshing to see Expedition 33 winning a category it deserves, and only that category.

[–] witness_me@lemmy.ml 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

That would be your opinion. It deserved game of the year in my personal opinion, in addition to the music award.

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