Steam players declare Resident Evil Village the best game of 2021

4.1

Sure, we have a Game of the Year pick. (It’s Deathloop.) The Game Awards has a pick. (It’s It Takes Two.) I have a pick. (They wouldn’t let me put Metroid Dread on the PCGN list, sadly.) You probably have a pick, too. (Please don’t email me about it.) But why listen to any of those sources when you can get your GOTY from the votes of millions of Steam users?

Well, according to Steam users, Resident Evil Village is the best game of 2021. Players voted it past the likes of Valheim, New World, Cyberpunk 2077, and Forza Horizon 5 for top honours in this year’s Steam Awards. I awarded an 8/10 in our Resident Evil Village review – it’s outstanding in its scares and action, though it’s let down a bit by a weak second half. Yet that’s true for basically every Resident Evil game, isn’t it?

It’s particularly notable to see Village take top honours from Steam users, given the early controversy over the game’s performance issues on PC. In the company of flawed megahits like New World and Cyberpunk 2077, maybe PC players in aggregate aren’t quite so unforgiving of technical flaws as we’d always imagined.

Here’s the full list of nominees, with winners in bold. You can check each game out over on Steam.

GAME OF THE YEAR
Valheim
New World
Cyberpunk 2077
Resident Evil Village
Forza Horizon 5

VR GAME OF THE YEAR
Sniper Elite VR
Cooking Simulator VR
Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond
I Expect You to Die 2
Blair Witch VR Edition

LABOR OF LOVE
Dota 2
Terraria
Rust
No Man’s Sky
Apex Legends

BETTER WITH FRIENDS
Valheim
Back 4 Blood
Halo Infinite
It Takes Two
Crab Game

OUTSTANDING VISUAL STYLE
Psychonauts 2
Subnautica: Below Zero
Little Nightmares II
Bright Memory: Infinite
Forza Horizon 5

MOST INNOVATIVE GAMEPLAY
Inscryption
Twelve Minutes
Moncage
Deathloop
Loop Hero

BEST GAME YOU SUCK AT
World War Z: Aftermath
Naraka Bladepoint
Nioh 2
Age of Empires IV
Battlefield 2042

BEST SOUNDTRACK
Guardians of the Galaxy
Nier Replicant
Persona 5 Strikers
Guilty Gear Strive
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles

OUTSTANDING STORY-RICH GAME
Life is Strange: True Colors
Cyberpunk 2077
Resident Evil Village
Days Gone
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition

SIT BACK AND RELAX
Unpacking
Potion Craft
Farming Simulator 22
Townscaper
Dorfromantik