There are so many thousands of games on Steam that it's nearly impossible to keep up. For all the effort Valve puts into its different charts - top selling, new and trending, most-wishlisted, and many more - there will always be beloved titles that pass you by entirely, and January 2023 proved no exception to that rule.
Steam250 ranks games not by sales or the whims of Valve's algorithm but directly based on player reviews. The overall percentage of positive reviews is weighed against the number of reviews a game has received, to generate a score out of ten - the higher the score, the better the game, and the higher up the list it appears.
We're not far into 2023, but the top five games (give or take) on that list are genuinely a fascinating look at the breadth of what's available on PC. Right at the top is 'A Summer in the Northeast of China', a free visual novel that doesn't offer English Language support, highlighting the importance of China's tenuous relationship with Steam's grey market.
Directly underneath that, there's Hi-Fi Rush, last week's bolt-from-the-blue shadow drop that was a massive departure from its developer's traditional horror chops. Just below that is Pizza Tower, a Wario Land-inspired platformer that I'd only heard of because it's (sort of) my job to at least be aware of these things. Beneath that is Handshakes, a free Sokoban-style puzzle game featuring two cheerful fellows trying to shake hands.
In fifth place is perhaps my favourite title on the list. I Commissioned Some Bees is a Where's Wally-style game that sees its developer pay some artists to hide bees in their work. The game? Find those bees. It's a charming, if silly, premise, but it's the name that really sells it for me. Finally, I'm including a sixth game in my top-five roundup, because A Space for the Unbound is said to be absolutely lovely, and because I doubt I'll ever have the grasp of Mandarin needed to give that previously mentioned visual novel the attention it deserves.
The all-time list is another fun way to look at what works on Steam, but there's a little less to say about how beloved games like Portal 2, Terraria, and Stardew Valley are. Looking at the 2023 list, though, I get a much better idea of what people really love, and the stuff that I - an avid PC fan trapped in an endless war with League of Legends - could be playing instead of clenching my fists over Summoner's Rift.
Here's our own list of the best games 2023, so far.
