Portal 2has long enjoyed a spot at the top of Steam’s totem pole, but that time has come to an end. Valve’s ownPortal 2is no longer the site’s highest-rated game, and the indie title that’s now succeeded it reflects a number of shifts in the industry at large.
Not long after its release in 2011,Portal 2became the highest-rated gameon Steam—and it’s held onto that position for some time. ThePortalseries is absolutely legendary in the medium; not only are both mainline titles renowned for their tight puzzle gameplay, but they can both lay claim to some of gaming’s most iconic characters (from GLaDOS to Cave Johnson) and a great sense of humor. Much of the series' comedy greatly influenced the gaming community of the 2000s and the early 2010s, and that legacy continues today—alongside the legacy of its game design and strong core mechanics. However, this dynamic has just been turned on its head.
Portal 2 Losing Its Top Spot To Stardew Valley Reflects A Shift In Gamer Preferences
Stardew Valleyis now the highest-rated Steam game, surpassingPortal 2. During this year’s Steam Summer Sale,Portal 2’s average score of 8.85 was overtaken byStardew Valley’s 8.87—a historic win for the indie darling. While some will be disappointed to see such a streak brought low, there’s a great deal of goodwill on both sides, with manyPortal 2fans respecting Stardew’s achievement.
Thesuccess ofStardew Valley, both critically and financially, makes it easy to see its path to such a coveted position. Being a high-quality indie game, one with a pixel-art style and sandbox gameplay oriented towards both casual and hardcore audiences,Stardew Valleyis a sure fit for the tastes of many gaming fans. It shares many of these traits withTerraria, the game that still sits in third place on this ranking, but with a bigger focus on a loop of cozy systems and nuanced NPC relationships than survival mechanics and combat, granting it wider appeal.
Stardew Valley and Terraria Show A Preference Towards Evolving Games With Sandbox Potential, But Not Necessarily Live Services
Given the growth of PC gaming, and just how much PC gaming is still composed of the medium’s most involved participants, the games rising to the top of Steam are an important signal of where most players are finding common ground.Portal 2is now sandwiched between two games that, though incredibly different across most metrics, share a number of key similarities.TerrariaandStardew Valleyare both indie sandboxes that are widely enjoyed as singleplayer experiences, even though they have multiplayer options.
Their biggest similarity, however, is the continued support they receive;Terraria’s next big updateis signposted for this year, andStardew Valleyalso continues to see major content expansions with some regularity. Both of these games give players a sandbox that’s constantly getting bigger, all while keeping their overarching gameplay systems tight. Furthermore, both manage to do this without being always-online live services, especially in regard to their pricing; both games retail for far less than the average AAA title, and offer swathes of content without microtransactions or paid DLC.
In contrast,Portal 2has mostly laid dormant since its release, as has the franchise itself, more-or-less. That’s not a bad thing in the slightest, with the whole series standing as a testament to concise experiences that don’t outstay their welcome. However, it seems that gamers want similar singleplayer tightness while enjoying more non-linear, ever-expanding titles. That doesn’t mean that there’s not a place for games likePortal 2(it still maintains second place, after all), but it does show that this change has been a long time coming given evolving tastes.
ThePortalfranchise has added some spin-offs likeAperture Desk Job, butPortal 2has yet to get a direct sequel.
