Stardew Valley Just Overthrew the Reigning Top Rated Game on Steam

Arguably the most beloved farming sim of all time, Stardew Valley will turn 10 years old next year. While some older games fade into nostalgic memory, Stardew is still very much alive and well. This is partly due to developer Concerned Ape’s dedication to adding new content via updates. The game’s lore goes deep, and players can sink hours upon hours into their saves. And now, Stardew Valley has another trophy to add to its shelf.

Over the years, Stardew Valley has released across a wide variety of platforms. But it got its start on PC, and that’s where many gamers still prefer to enjoy the sim today. That’s partly because of the popularity of mods, which are easier to enjoy on PC. The big 1.6 update also arrived on Steam well before it came to consoles. And it’s on Steam that Stardew has claimed its latest accolade.

Gamers love to leave a Steam review, and often, the Steam rating can make or break a game’s career on the platform. Early Mixed or Mostly Negative reviews can turn gamers away, while the coveted Overwhelmingly Positive tier can sell skeptical players on a title. Stardew Valley, perhaps unsurprisingly, falls into that Overwhelmingly Positive range. But thanks to recent reviews, the game has accomplished a new high – becoming the top rated game on Steam.

Stardew Valley Snags Top Spot from Portal 2

Steam sets games into their review feedback tiers based on percentages. If a certain percentage of reviews are positive, the overall rating hits Very Positive, etc. But you can also use those percentages to see which games are the highest rated on the entire platform.

For many years, the honor of the highest ratio of positive reviews belonged to Portal 2. This beloved platformer sequel comes from Valve itself, the very same folks behind the Steam platform. According to Dexerto, the 2011 release reigned as the highest-rated game on the platform for 14 years. While that may look like Valve keeping their virtual finger on the scale, it seems that wasn’t the case. Because today, Stardew Valley usurped the reigning king of the charts.

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Portal 2 is a beloved puzzle platformer game with a bit of dark humor. It has an Overwhelming Positive rating, with 98% positive reviews. According to review aggregator Steam250.com, that comes out to an overall score of 8.85. Recently, Stardew Valley hit that 98% positive margin as well, but with a slightly higher overall score of 8.97. This narrowly beats out Portal 2, at least for now. If I know gamers, I suspect we might see an influx of diehard Portal 2 fans running to help their favorite game reclaim the top slot.

Interestingly, Portal 2 is still on top according to some other Steam review aggregators, including SteamDB. That database puts both ratings lower, with Stardew Valley at 97.66% and Portal 2 at 97.71%. Clearly, the margins between the two are incredibly narrow, showing the love for both iconic games that have withstood the test of time.

Whether or not Stardew Valley retains its spot at the top, it’s clear that gamers are still loving this farming sim. It remains one of the most popular titles for the Steam Deck, and has likely gained a few new fans thanks to its Steam Summer Sale discount.

[H/T: Dexerto]