Valve’s AAA VR adventure is Valve’s number one pick for best VR game of 2020.
Valve has unveiled the official winners of its 2020 Steam Awards, an annual ceremony highlighting the absolute best games released on the companies Steam platform according to the players. Introduced back in 2018, the “VR Game of the Year” award has previously gone to standout immersive experiences including Skyrim VR and Beat Saber.
This year Valve indulged in a bit of self-congratulation, bestowing the 2020 award to its own release, Half-Life: Alyx. To be fair, Valve’s AAA VR shooter is nothing short of incredible. A culmination of years of planning and tireless research, this roughly 15-hour adventure features a ridiculous of amount of detail, from the unique character design and carefully-crafted environments to the captivating story and revolutionary gameplay.
HL:A was up against several impressive games this year, including Phasmophobia, a co-op survival horror game popular among lives streamers; The Room VR: A Dark Matter, a mind-bending VR puzzler composed of various cryptic challenges; Thief Simulator VR, a humorous immersive experience simulating the life of a common burglar; and Star Wars: Squadrons, a first-person multiplayer dogfighting simulator set within the Star Wars universe.
You can find full list of this year’s winners and nominees below:
- Best Game You Suck At: Apex Legends (Crusader Kings 3, Ghostrunner, FIFA 21, GTFO)
- Best Soundtrack: DOOM Eternal (Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Helltaker, Need for Speed Heat, Persona 4 Golden)
- Better With Friends: Fall Guys (Sea of Thieves, Borderlands 3, Deep Rock Galactic, Risk of Rain 2)
- Game of the Year: Red Dead Redemption 2 (Hades, DOOM Eternal, Fall Guys, Death Stranding)
- Labor of Love: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Among Us, Terraria, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, No Man’s Sky)
- Most Innovative Gameplay: Death Stranding (Control, Superliminal, Noita, Teardown)
- Outstanding Story-Rich Game: Red Dead Redemption 2 (Detroit: Become Human, Mafia Definitive Edition, Metro Exodus, Horizon Zero Dawn)
- Outstanding Visual Style: Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Battlefield 5, There is No Game, Marvel’s Avengers, Black Mesa)
- Sit Back and Relax: The Sims 4 (Microsoft Flight Simulator, Satisfactory, Untitled Goose Game, Factorio)
- VR Game of the Year: Half-Life: Alyx (Phasmophobia, The Room VR: A Dark Matter, Thief Simulator VR, Star Wars Squadrons)
For more information on this year’s selections visit store.steampowered.com/steamawards. Half-Life: Alyx is currently on sale for 25% off ($44.99).
Image Credit: Valve
