Looking back at 2020 in the year of gaming, some releases largely failed players' expectations, while others far surpassed them. With regards to PC gaming, it's safe to say that Steam remains PC's most popular online game platform, and serves as a good measure of the games players are enjoying the most.
Recently, the team over at Steam 250 compiled a list of Steam's top 150 games released in 2020, according to gamer reviews. The rankings were determined by utilizing a precise algorithm that determines the order of each game relative to every other game, using the number of votes and the approval rating to assign a score.
After receiving an overwhelming 105,009 votes, Hades sits at the top of the list as Steam's best-reviewed game of 2020. With Game of the Year being one of the numerous nominations it received at The Game Awards 2020, it's not hard to see why players enjoy the dungeon crawler. As of now, the game maintains a rating of "Overwhelmingly Positive" on the Steam store and recently saw fan support to add its primary protagonist, Zagreus, to Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Hades puts players in the shoes of Zagreus, the son of the titular character, as he attempts to escape the Underworld to join the gods on Olympus. As a roguelike dungeon crawler, the gameplay loop revolves around players trekking through procedurally-generated chambers of the realm, growing stronger and gaining new weapons and keepsakes with each failed attempt. Combined with a deep and rewarding narrative that reaches deep into Greek mythos, Hades is considered to be the best in Supergiant Games' ten-year history.
Surprisingly, the top ten games on the list were devoid of any triple-A releases, and mainly included Indie games like Risk of Rain 2 and Phasmophobia. Bigger games, like Death Stranding and Outer Wilds, appear further down on the list. A majority of these games are discounted until January 5th as a part of Steam's Winter Sale, making it a great opportunity for any gamers holding out for good deals. Additionally, Steam is hosting its own Steam Awards, another event in which Hades serves as a possible GOTY winner.
Although Steam reviews can sometimes be the subject of meme material due to their tendency to be an inaccurate representation of the overall gameplay experience, it's clear that Hades' reception is a sentiment shared among many gamers. Despite missing out on GOTY at The Game Awards, Hades has a long road ahead as a successful game in the roguelike genre.
Hades is available now on PC and Nintendo Switch.
Source: Steam250