New Steam Game Is the #3 Highest-Rated Game of 2023 With 95 on Metacritic

A new Steam game released last week is currently the third highest-rated game of 2023, with a 95 on Metacritic. This is just one point shy of the two highest-rated games of the year, Baldur's Gate 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, both of which boast a score of 96. Better yet, the game is cheaper than both of these games at $19.49 -- thanks to a sale -- and it also supports the Steam Deck. In other words, Valve has verified that the game works as intended on the Steam Deck. 

The game in question comes from developer Eremite Games and publisher Hooded Horse, and was more specifically released on December 8. If these dots don't connect for you, the game is Against the Storm, a "dark fantasy city builder." And it is apparently very good. Not only does the game have a 95 on Metacritic, but an "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating on Steam thanks to 95 percent of 16,480 user reviews rating the game positively. 

It's worth noting that there are only eight critic reviews on Metacritic for the game, which is a small sample size. Of the eight reviews, the following scores have been awarded to the game: 100, 100, 95, 90, 90, and 89. There are also two unscored reviews for the game. Below, you can read more about it and check out a trailer for it as well:

"You are the Viceroy – a leader charged by the Scorched Queen to reclaim the wilderness and discover lost riches for the Smoldering City, civilization's last bastion against the Blightstorm that destroyed the old world," reads an official description of the game on Steam. "Unlike most survival city builders where your focus is on a single city, in Against the Storm you must build a vast, prosperous network of settlements populated by diverse fantasy races, each with their own specializations and needs."

The game's official Steam description continues: "The wilderness holds many hidden dangers, and never-ending storms will batter your population into submission. If your settlements should fall, then the expedition may end – but not the game. Against the Storm is a roguelite city builder, meaning you will carry forward the resources, upgrades, and experience of your past expeditions each time you set off for a new journey into the wild."

Of course, your mileage may vary with this game, but if you do check it out, be prepared for a game that has a ton of content. On average, players get anywhere from 90 to 180 hours out of the game, which is a lot for a game that is currently on sale for less than $20.