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Baldur's Gate 3 wins Game of the Year in the 2023 Steam Awards

By - | Views: 28,225

Not really a big surprise here and thoroughly deserved! The 2023 Steam Awards are over and Baldur's Gate 3 has won Game of the Year. Here's all the results for you.

Game of the Year: Baldur's Gate 3

VR Game of the Year: Labyrinthine

Labor of Love: Red Dead Redemption 2

Best Game on Steam Deck: Hogwarts Legacy

Better With Friends: Lethal Company

Outstanding Visual Style: Atomic Heart

Most Innovative Gameplay: Starfield

Best Game You Suck At: Sifu

Best Soundtrack: The Last of Us Part I

Outstanding Story-Rich Game: Baldur's Gate 3

Sit Back and Relax: DAVE THE DIVER

What are you thoughts on the winners this year?

See more on the Steam Awards page.

Just a reminder that the Steam Winter Sale still continues on until January 4th at 10am PT / 6pm UTC. Be sure to check out some fantastic co-op games contributor Scaine recently wrote up!

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Event, Misc, Steam, Valve
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About the author -
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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28 comments
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WorMzy Jan 3
I didn't vote in most of the categories as there was no Linux option as a candidate, so I'm equally as uninterested in the results.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Ehvis Jan 3
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BG3 could be fair. I have no opinion on this the VR games of this year. The couple of indie games could be fair as well. But the AAA games in there definitely don't deserve it.
Brokatt Jan 3
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I'm so happy Lethal Company won the co-op award. So much fun that game is with friends. Also easy to mod with r2modmanplus (appimage) so you can play with more than 4 people, plus a bunch of more stuff. I will eventually get around to play Dave the Diver. It sits waiting on my Steam Deck and feels like a perfect game for handheld play.
tfk Jan 3
Starfield is the first proper load screen simulator (LSS). So yes, very innovative!
Beamboom Jan 3
QuoteMost Innovative Gameplay: Starfield

That right there is the only documentation one need against user driven awards. It really is a general popularity contest. The more users, the more votes.

And that's not always the purpose of an award. Like here.


Last edited by Beamboom on 3 January 2024 at 3:58 pm UTC
Quoting: Beamboom
QuoteMost Innovative Gameplay: Starfield

That right there is the only documentation one need against user driven awards. It really is a general popularity contest. The more users, the more votes.

I think RDR2 getting "labour of love" even though Rockstar abandoned it the year prior is a better example. :D
Anza Jan 3
Quoting: Beamboom
QuoteMost Innovative Gameplay: Starfield

That right there is the only documentation one need against user driven awards. It really is a general popularity contest. The more users, the more votes.

And that's not always the purpose of an award. Like here.

Voting what you know is also easier. However if you get past the few baffling AAA wins, there's plenty of indies in the winners too. Which more or less means that indies have a chance, they need just enough publicity. And big publishers don't control all the media like they used to, so even the stranger indie games might get featured at least somewhere. I doubt something like Lethal Company has had big advertising budget.
hell0 Jan 3
QuoteLabor of Love: Red Dead Redemption 2

Love for money, maybe? A sad joke given that Deep Rock was also a finalist and actually deserving of the award.

QuoteBetter With Friends: Lethal Company

Only in that it is slightly less terrible with friends than without. However I guess it fits the description of the award and the other finalists weren't much better.

QuoteMost Innovative Gameplay: Starfield

Hahaha, no.


Overall, except for BG3's well deserved top spot, there really wasn't much worth in the finalists and even less in the winners.
I'm not very far in yet, but BG3 is the closest to D&D 5E tabletop that we're going to get. It monkeys with established Forgotten Realms lore a little, but BG1-2 did that as well. Not to the degree WotC did with 4th edition (aka PnP for the MMO generation). Thank goodness, grayer beards prevailed.

The story reminds me more of Demon Stone than any other Realms game, really. (A very good action game, oddly not an RPG. If you liked LotR: The Two Towers on the PS2/Xbox. Patrick Stewart voiced Blackstaff in that game. Michael Clark Duncan voiced Y'Gorl. Khelben sounded pretty good for ~900-1100!)

A few things I'm not happy about are the level cap not going to at least 16-18, as that's when you gain access to some of the most fun (read overpowered) abilities. Maybe we'll get another Throne of Bhaal?

No patron deity for Paladins? Drow pigeonholed into Lolth-worshipers and Seladrine syncophants? Svirfneblin without half their abilities? And that's just what I've noticed so far!

Spoiler, click me
Elminster's only here as a magical construct? What the Avernus! Obviously ruined forever!

I mean BG2:ToB let us break 20 and even implemented Wish if I remember correctly (I've never played a wizard PC in BG1-2.).

But it is easily the best CRPG released in the last couple of years. It's easily on par with DA:O, if not quite BG2, in my mind.
QuoteWhat are you thoughts on the winners this year?

This is fine.....
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