Steam Awards 2025

[Pifanjr]

Share and discuss your nominations for the Steam Awards 2025 here!

 

[Pifanjr]

Game of the Year
None, I haven't played any games released in 2025 that I feel deserve to be nominated.

VR Game of the Year
I haven't played any VR games

Labor of Love
Baldur's Gate 3. I got several recommendations, but I don't really consider it a Labor of Love if developers are releasing DLCs instead of free updates. So Total War: Warhammer 3 and Rimworld for example don't deserve it (as much).

Best Game on Steam Deck Award
I don't own a Steam Deck and none of the suggestions it gave me seemed deserving.

Better With Friends Award
I picked R.E.P.O., but I might change my mind if I get around to playing PEAK before the end of the deadline.

Outstanding Visual Style Award
None of the suggestions seemed particularly outstanding.

Most Innovative Gameplay Award
Bioprototype. It isn't a particularly good game, but I did really enjoy the way you had to combine the upgrades you got.

Best Game You Suck At Award
None. I haven't played any difficult games released in 2025.

Best Soundtrack Award
Oblivion Remastered. I haven't played the remastered version, but since it wasn't changed from the original I can endorse it 100%.

Outstanding Story-Rich Game Award
None. I haven't played any story-rich games released in 2025.

Sit Back and Relax Award
None. Again, I haven't played any relaxing games released in 2025.

 

[dxchase]

Game of the Year-- Arc Raiders

VR Game of The Year-- Pavlov. I dont play VR but ive seen this, looks good, also needed all categories filled

Labor of Love-- Helldivers 2. Even if i dont play much anymore, this game deserves some nomination

Best Game on Steamdeck-- Path of Exile

Better With Friends-- Arc Raiders

Outstanding Visual Style-- Doom The Dark Ages

Most Innovative Gameplay-- Arc Raiders

Best Game You Suck At-- Ninja Gaiden 4

Best Soundtrack- Once Upon A Katamari

Outstanding Story-Rich Game-- Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon

Sit Back and Relax-- Ropukas Idol Island




Why Arc Raiders as GOTY?

Well, you can clearly see Arc Raiders has had an influence over me lol. Arc Raiders is fun, its easy for me to pick up for 1 quick round, avoid Raiders, get quests done but also easy to get right into some Raider on Raider action! The game runs really well, the sounds of the game (guns, arc enemies, explosions) all sound really good and its backdrop of the maps is breathtaking. The Replayability of the game is really high considering every single run is a different adventure.

Even if i die with great loot, the chance of having the next round mount you even better loot is also high. Plenty of times i go in with a minigun and lose it then the next match i extract with a Volcano and Hullcraker (rare pink weapons).

The studio behind the game (Embark) only has 1 other title (THE FINALS) so a new developer dropping this type of banger is what i like to see, just like Clair Obscur and Sandfall Interactive.

Embark has done an excellent job bringing the extraction-shooter genre to mainstream players. They have a 10 year plan for the game and have released a new map and several in-game cosmetics and patches since launch which is great to see personally.

Tarkov doesnt come close imo.

 

[Zloth]

Game of the Year: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
Why? Because it was that, Skin Deep, or something I never played.

Labor of Love: No Man's Sky.
This one was tough. X4 Foundations is always tempting. They are getting paid via DLC, but they give a TON of free updates alongside those DLCs. No Man's Sky got a huge pile of money with some help from some <ahem> questionable marketing, but that was a very long time ago now. Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children never got a huge pile of money and continues to give free updates, but they have gotten tiny as they devote their time to the next game in the series. In the end, I voted for the one that actually has a remotely possible chance of at least getting nominated.

Most Innovative: Skin Deep.
It sure wasn't going to be FF7R.

Best Game I Suck At: Stellar Blade.
Actually, the demo, though I got better with practice. They play the game off as a sexy game, and it is, but it's also challenging.

Best Soundtrack: Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Even if I had played every game released this year, I bet FF7R still would have taken the top pick for me. Those songs have been by my side since the 90's, and the way they weaved hints of FF10's music in there was really fun. I don't know if it was intentional, but it was still fun.

Story Rich: FF7R again
Same reason as Game of the Year

The rest of them are No Vote. So far. Write any suggestions you have on a $20 bill and send it to my home address.