The third-party website SteamDB, or Steam Database, presents a wide range of data about Steam and how it's used. One feature of this website is that it presents a more accurate ranking of Steam games based on user reviews, utilizing a formula created by Reddit user tornmandate. Steam's default way of sorting games when a user selects "highest-rated" is simply showing them games with the highest percentage of positive reviews. This means that the more reviews a game has, the less likely it is to show up on Steam's "highest-rated" page.
Tornmandate's formula scales to accommodate when a game rises in popularity. The actual mathematics at play is fairly complex, but the important thing to know is that SteamDB's percentage rating for games factor in that the more reviews a game has, the more accurate the end result will be, and thus, it ranks those games higher than ones with fewer reviews. With that in mind, here are the five Steam games that are currently considered to be the best-reviewed games on the platform.
Portal 2
The puzzle-platformer Portal 2 stands at the top of SteamDB's ranking, with about 98% of its user reviews marked as positive. SteamDB gives the game a 97.59% rating after taking into account the game's popularity. Portal 2 is actually a fairly strong example of why SteamDB's way of ranking games based on user-reviews works so well, as what is arguably one of the best puzzle games ever made is nowhere near the top of Steam's default top-rated list.
Given that SteamDB's ranking system factors in popularity, it's no surprise that Portal 2 is so high. The game is incredibly easy to understand and was an extremely anticipated sequel. Almost anyone could sit down with Portal 2 and quickly understand how they're meant to use the portal gun within the context of the puzzles. The game's co-op mode also means there's a huge reason to encourage friends to buy the game, too.
Factorio
Factorio actually sits at a higher default Steam ranking than Portal 2, but since Portal 2 has more Steam reviews, it's given priority over Factorio. However, something that these two games share in common is that there's a huge gap between the number of positive reviews they have and the number of negative reviews. There's a 90,000+ difference between the two in Factorio's case. Factorio's popularity is certainly an amazing example of how addicting and wide-reaching a game can be, even if it has complex gameplay.
Hades
A game that many people think should have won The Game Awards' Game of the Year, Hades is the most recently released game in SteamDB's top five. This is an honest testament to Hades' quality and widespread appeal when it's noted that it only took two years for Hades to gain this popularity. Most of the games on SteamDB's list have been out for 5+ years, at least.
Hades's popularity may be due to how the game widened the appeal of the usually restrictive perma-death rogue-like genre. Well-written characters and gameplay that fits a wide range of playstyles help the game appeal to people who don't usually even consider themselves fans of rogue-likes. SteamDB's ranking of Hades shows just how popular the game really is.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Although CD Projekt Red's credibility may have been irreversibly damaged by Cyberpunk 2077's disastrous release and aftermath, there's no denying that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an exceptional title. SteamDB's charts reflect this, with the game having over double the number of total reviews as the number one game on their list, Portal 2. However, The Witcher 3 finds itself fourth due to a larger amount of negative reviews.
The Witcher 3 revived many people's faith in the genre of fantasy RPGs. With its incredibly deep story, well-written characters, complex combat system and monster-fighting mechanics, there was something in The Witcher 3 for everyone. The Witcher 3's status as an RPG that still holds up today may also contribute to its massive amount of positive reviews.
Terraria
A common theme with a lot of the highest-rated games on SteamDB's list is that they've all received continuous support and updates since their release or were early access games before seeing a full release. Terraria falls into the former category, having received its final content update last year, nine years after its initial release. At this point, Terraria is a massive game that's full of content that helps it still be incredibly enjoyable in 2021.
With these five titles topping SteamDB's popularity-focused rating list, there's a pretty distinctive pattern that may explain why they're so popular. If a game can appeal to a wide range of players and continue to be fun years after its release, it'll be able to maintain a strong and supportive fanbase. In a way, SteamDB highlights games that withstand the test of time.