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  1. Games
  2. Simulation Games

Stardew Valley is now Steam's top-rated game, with the farming sim dethroning Portal 2 after 14 years at the top

News
By Scott McCrae
Published 8 July 2025

Terraria hangs strong at number 3, while Schedule 1 has already appeared in the top 10 above the original Portal

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Stardew Valley
(Image credit: ConcernedApe)
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Portal 2 has been unseated from its throne as the best-rated game on Steam after 14 years, with Stardew Valley taking the crown.

Ever since Portal 2 was first released back in 2011, it's been heralded as a classic. Valve's first person puzzle game would turn out to be the last single-player focused release until Half-Life: Alyx released almost a decade later. Naturally, being arguably the best Valve game would make you a contender for the best game on Valve's own storefront, and Portal 2 held the title of the best rated Steam game from June 2, 2011 – around a month and a half after it launched.

However, 14 years later, Portal 2 has finally been dethroned as the best Steam game when it comes to player ratings, as ConcernedApe's Stardew Valley – probably the best farming game of all time – has taken down Valve's own game.

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According to Steam250 which curates the ranking (highlighted by LambdaGeneration on Twitter), Stardew Valley has a score of 8.87 with a 98% positive rating across 889,309 reviews, while Portal 2 is sitting at 8.85 with a 99% positive rating across 436,510 reviews. Considering Stardew Valley is among the best-selling games ever made, sitting at 41 million copies sold, it's pretty impressive that it's so overwhelmingly beloved by that many players.

Rounding out the top five is the ever-enduring Terraria (which has almost one million more reviews than Portal 2), People Playground, and Valve's Left 4 Dead 2. Plus the original Portal isn't too far behind, being the 10th best rated Steam game of all time. Perhaps the most impressive stat is Schedule 1, which is mere months old and has already cracked the top 10 at number nine.

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Stardew Valley creator ConcernedApe says the "world of Haunted Chocolatier" will somehow be even "larger" than his farming sim – the same one I already have over 1,000 hours in.

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Scott has been freelancing for over four years across a number of different gaming publications, first appearing on GamesRadar+ in 2024. He has also written for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, VG247, Play, TechRadar, and others. He's typically rambling about Metal Gear Solid, God Hand, or any other PS2-era titles that rarely (if ever) get sequels.

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