I like very little about Steam, though begrudgingly it has its benefits.

Chief of those, is the Half-Life and related games, often available at very cheap prices, and some are DRM-Free Lite.

A handful of other games not available at GOG, if you have to have them. These would be from series you are into, and not just any AAA or AA game, which Steam have in huge supply. This is a personal thing of course, and except for those, I ignore everything else at Steam, unless free.

And as others have said about reviews etc if you need them ... personally I have mostly not bothered. The exception might be for games not yet at GOG but might be coming to GOG. GOG game reviews are usually enough for me or getting a general sense at Wikipedia etc if I feel the need to research.

Also great to obtain the odd AAA or AA free game at Steam ... or a particularly good free Indie game.

Many games are certainly DRM-Free Lite at Steam, so there is that benefit ... if you can be bothered.

---------------------------------

What I don't like about Steam, obviously, is DRM.

Then there is bloat and clutter and their almost monopoly. And because of their size and impact, they get to dictate a lot of things in the Gaming industry.

This and that. Plus the Devs themselves camp there.

1. Team Fortress 2

2. Better Linux support, Valve/Steam really has invested a lot into Linux gaming, which apparently benefits even non-Steam Linux gamers. Valve is doing pretty good job proving Linux can be a viable gaming platform and just as easy to use as Windows for gaming (I personally don't feel any difference when playing e.g. Team Fortress 2 or Portal 2 on Linux vs Windows).

I could list "better selection of especially AAA games" as the obvious third one, but I don't because I don't tend to buy games on Steam. It would be meaningful to me only if I did.

STEAM - Things I like:
-> Steam Forums, Community & Activity Feed.
-> Steam Guides from the Community are awesome, great, and can help get old games going and/or fix games with info and links to get files; reminds me of PC Gaming Wiki's, in many ways. Sometimes, even more detailed too.
-> Steam Screenshots feature
-> Steam's Big Picture Mode
-> Steam Remote Play Mode
-> Steam WorkShop is seamless and easy to use.
-> Steam has excellent 3rd party controller support there.
-> New Steam Deck style UI
-> Really easy to update your game here. (My gosh, in the old days, collecting patches for retail NWN2 and COH and installing stuff in the correct order could be such a nightmare itself).

STEAM - Things I Dislike:
-> Steamworks' Multiplayer suite is proprietary...and so is a lot of Steam's features.
-> Not many games are doing LAN/TP-ICP anymore, so MP portions can often die or need to be replaced later.
-> Achievements here (and most places) act often as soft-DRM to get players to make sure to earn them, so you have to be online, since dev's don't build them into the game itself with offline profiles.
-> Sometimes Steam-version's Mods (from Workshop) work mostly with Steam-version, not others (such as GOG).
-> DRM and is allowed there, whether it's Steam itself's CEG/Stub DRM or other junk like Securom, Tages, Denuvo, and more.
-> Other client-app's are actually allowed on there (even if it's a Lite-version on there and they can't have the store-front for them there). Steam is enough for DRM, but most companies just build their own games around their own client from the ground-up w/ junk like EA Desktop App, UbiSoft Connect, etc.
-> No real offline way to install games yourself and no installers (unlike GOG).
-> Steam's offline mode has always been on and off like a light switch.
-> Steam's Bloated with features and can really be really slow (often a problem w/ many clients).
-> Steam client-app is NOT optional (unlike GOG in most instances).
-> Game updates for Steam are often forced and aren't optional, which is unlike GOG Galaxy client (at least w/ Galaxy, you can easily roll back to old versions or just not use Galaxy in most instances).
-> Steam versions w/ so much proprietary stuff can cause issues on GOG versions later....

GOG - Stuff That I Like:
-> Installer files can be downloaded from the website via web browser and other app's programs. These are easy for installing when offline and or down the line, in case GOG goes out of business (please, don't do this, GOG!)
-> No DRM allowed here normally...No Securom, No Tages, No Starforce, No Denuvo.
-> No other client-app junk is allowed here - i.e. Uplay, Steam, Xbox PC Store, Games For Windows Live, etc.
-> Galaxy is optional, in most instances.
-> Galaxy does have roll-back feature to roll-back to older versions, which can be really useful if a game gets issues in new version (see System Shock 1: Enhanced - you can get stutters galore in the newer versions) and/or if you need to run an older version just to run older mods (i.e. WorldMerge Mod works only on older versions of Two Worlds 2, not the new ones that have more official DLC's).
-> Forums and Community here always have been awesome.

GOG - Stuff That I Dislike:
-> GOG Version might have less features than Steam version or other versions...b/c Dev's or Pub did a quick port here - i.e. see EYE Divine Cybermancy (Single-Player Edition) on GOG.
-> GOG Version might not get as updated as Steam-version or other versions.
-> Sometimes GOG Version has issues w/ DLC's, Extra Content, etc working offline and/or working when Galaxy ain't running - i.e. see No Man's Sky; and both Deus Ex MD and Dungeon Siege 3 at launch; at least the Square Enix games got fixed though.

I'm sure there's a lot more and I'll edit more in when I think of them, but that should start this up.

gtfo gaben

Gabe, Salvator Mundi.

Steam - Things I like
- It's got some games that GoG doesn't have (but it's not like I don't have so many games on here and free games that Amazon and Epic have given me that I actually would ever need to play any games on Steam)
- Err... That's it.

Steam - Things I don't like
- It's a DRM platform and has done more than anything else to "normalise" DRM across the industry (people were pushing back against limited and online activations before it launched)
- It's gated behind a client
- You can't download installers
- Steam Workshop - the worst thing ever to happen to modding

GoG - Things I like
- It's broadly DRM free (I am not having another discussion about cosmetics thank you very much)
- You get pretty much the same level of ownership as you did when games shipped on CD
- You can download installers and back them up easily
- Unless I want to play multiplayer (spoiler alert: I don't), I don't have to touch Galaxy or any other client
- Unless the developer has hard-coded them into the game (yes, I'm looking at you Haemimont Games), you don't get annoying pop-ups or notifications about so-called "achievements" if you stay away from the client
- There are more games here than I'll probably be able to play in a lifetime
- Forums are clean and clear - no text formatting, no pictures. It's a brilliant design from the outside (although the innards might need some work)
- GoG's aim is to keep old games working on modern systems

GoG - things that I don't like
- Offline installers sometimes fall behind the Galaxy build - and lazy devs don't always keep GoG up to date
- Regional Pricing eventually arrived here
- Creeping influence of Galaxy; could be the thin end of the DRM wedge (see Cyberpunk and Witcher 3 RTX)

I will say that while I don't have many games on steam itself, I keep an install of it on any machine I plan on gaming on due to it's robust controller optimization options.

In the words of Smeagol: "It burns! It burns us! It freezes! Nasty elves twisted it. Take it off us!"...

Okay, so I've historically been very anti-Steam for multiple reasons but I've found myself really enjoying Steam lately. The recent UI update really did help in a lot of ways but it's also just good timing.

GOG is still my home store, still my preference, but I've come to really appreciate Steam's community features. People can gripe about stuff such as achievements, the Steam Points Shop, profile badges and trading cards but all of them are fantastic. They encourage players to actually play the games they buy. They encourage socialization and trading in order to obtain all the cards needed for a badge. They give players the ability to effectively up- and down-vote posts and profiles but they do so in a way that isn't as toxic as what GOG's forums used to have with the rep system, since even if you want to troll someone with negative awards, they're still rewarded Steam Points for it. Steam Points give players greater customization of their profiles which can lead them to more interactions with the community.

Are any of those essential? Not by a long shot but in a world that is heavily online, it's fun to share your achievements, talk about your experiences and interact with other people who have likewise enjoyed the games you've enjoyed. It takes away much of that old stereotype about gamers having no friends. Granted, most people have moved off to Discord, sadly, but Steam's community features are fantastic. GOG's forum software is, IMHO, the better choice but Steam's overall community functionality is superior (and it's to be expected, given the DRM-free approach of GOG).

I also really do like Steam's storefront. Endless variety, loads of great information on what I'm looking at, it shows me which friends of mine have specific games (and even highlights their reviews of those games), an actual filtering object so I can keep the "adult game" trash off of my storefront and so forth.

Additionally, as much as I love GOG Galaxy, Steam's client is far less buggy and far more feature-rich. Again, this is to be expected given the two different focuses of the companies, but it's still nice that Steam's client offers so many features. Plus, their mobile apps are all pretty solid. Whether it's the main Steam app that increases account security, or apps like Steam Link that let me play my library anywhere in the house without a Steam Deck, it's all quite great.

Now, like I said, GOG is still my preference overall and that's because I actually own what I buy here. All that Steam does right, that means nothing if they shut down tomorrow because I'd be locked out of a library of close to 900 games. Meanwhile, that's not a concern on GOG for any games I have backed up (I'm gradually backing all of it up). Not only this but GOG has a much higher ratio of games with extras due to GOG's goodies concept (though, lamentably, this is less and less common these days). I also like the fact that I don't have to use a client whatsoever, with very minor caveats; I love Galaxy but I firmly believe clients should be optional, experience-enhancing products rather than a requirement.

Steam accentuates convenience and feature-rich usability. GOG does a commendable job for both of those but that's not their focus. GOG is focused on player freedom. We own what we buy here, we can back up our games to offline storage, we choose how we install our games, we choose how we play our games, we decide how we enjoy our experience here. That's something that Steam simply cannot do unless they suddenly went DRM-free which just isn't going to happen. Neither GOG nor Steam are perfect and both of them have some great upsides, but I opt for GOG whenever possible due to ownership and freedom. Steam may be growing on me, but I still remember how it DRMed the PC games industry and led to a lot of the crap that PC gaming has to deal with. GOG is still king, and will continue to be, so long as DRM-free and player freedom/choice remain the focus of the company.

It's not something to like about the store, but it is an advantage. When it comes to that platform, you don't have to worry if a game will come there or not. Also soundtracks are usually available there and devs keep the games up to data. That's the advantage you get when you have a monopol.

The one thing I do like is that they started selling "some" soundtracks without the need of owning the game as well.

... and that's what I can say in a positive way about Steam.
When it was fresh, I was all up for it, liked that I could get some older games there. But by now I am completely fed up with it, only use it, when there is no other option and I really want to have a game. Luckily that I could reduce as well, since Epic came along.

I wish this would aply for all games there. But it's not. :(

Steam positives

+ Linux support
+ Workshop that helps users that can't download a simple file from nexus
+ workshop also works with linux
+ there are also games without DRM
+ Conrtroller support
+ Steam Link

Negatives

- DRM
- No quality controll there are a lot of trash games
- Workshop is also DRM and you have to own the game on steam in order to download the mod file
- I can't give money to the modders like on Nexus
- many games also require a second launcher like the rockstar social club, or Uplay
- Quality of life improvements makes the people more incompetent
- the forums are toxic and not as nice as GOG users ;-)

Well, at least for most of them.
But I am intrigued that there are devs that update games on other platforms but not on the main money maker.


Here's some more negative points: Constant tracking. Everything you do gets logged and it can not be deactivated, only hidden from friends.
And also the controller override which is active by default, has to be deactivated manually for each controller. This gets especially annoying when you play a non-steam game and Steam is active.

I already wrote what I appreciate in Steam, but for GOG my appreciation comes from e.g.:

1. DRM-free installers which don't rely on any official online clients. You can even download said installers with any generic web browser; as I mentioned elsewhere, I did that a month ago with my phone, downloading a GOG game offline installer into my phone's free storage place. Whee!

2. This occurred to me yesterday: GOG.com is a Polish company.

"Why would that matter?", you may ask. Well, let me explain you my dearest friend. Poland is probably the strongest supporter and ally of Ukraine, so buying a game from a Polish gaming store feels almost like supporting Ukraine too.

I admit the same could be claimed about Valve for being an US-based company, but with Poland it is more profound due to the close proximity and all, they are near the action and directly taking heat from it too right now.