The Steam Awards 2023 nominees sure seem weird to me

The nominees for the public-voted Steam Awards have been announced and they are, perhaps more than ever before, baffling to me. If I was being uncharitable, I’d say that’s because the list is overrun by games with large multiplayer communities that can be encouraged to vote for them – but who would want to be uncharitable? Let’s instead say that the list is certainly not boring, even if Starfield gets a nod for “most innovative gameplay”.

Here’s the full list of nominees:

Game Of The Year award

Resident Evil 4
Hogwarts Legacy
Lethal Company
Baldur’s Gate 3
EA Sports FC 24

VR Game Of The Year award

Gorilla Tag
I Expect You To Die 3
Labyrinthine
F1 23
Ghosts Of Tabor

Labor Of Love award

Red Dead Redemption 2
Dota 2
Deep Rock Galactic
Rust
Apex Legends

Best Game On Steam Deck award

The Outlast Trials
Dredge
Diablo 4
Brotato
Hogwarts Legacy

Better With Friends award

Warhammer 40K: Darktide
Lethal Company
Party Animals
Sunkenland
Sons Of The Forest

Outstanding Visual Style award

Atomic Heart
High On Life
Cocoon
Darkest Dungeon 2
Inward

Most Innovative Gameplay award

Your Only Move Is Hustle
Remnant 2
Shadows Of Doubt
Contraband Police
Starfield

Best Game You Suck At award

Sifu
Lords Of The Fallen
Overwatch
EA Sports FC 24
Street Fighter 6

Best soundtrack award

Pizza Tower
The Last Of Us: Part One
Hi-Fi Rush
Persona 5 Tactica
Chants Of Sennaar

Outstanding Story-Rich Game award

Resident Evil 4
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Love Is All Around
Baldur’s Gate 3
Lies Of P

Sit Back And Relax award

Train Sim World 4
Coral Island
Dave The Diver
Cities Skylines 2
Portion Craft

Are those big, pretty battery-drainers really better on Steam Deck than, say, Dave The Diver? Is EA Sports FC 24 really the best game “you suck at”, over and above any difficult platformer or roguelike or another of this year’s many Soulslikes? I’m unconvinced.

You can see more of all the nominees over at the Steam Awards site. Voting opens on December 21st and coincides with the beginning of the Steam winter sale. Voting closes on January 2nd while the sale will continue until January 4th, according to its recent trailer.