There don't seem to be a huge number of steampunk RPGs out there. Amongst the big names there's GURPS Steampunk, because there's GURPS everything, and there are steampunk settings for D&D and Pathfinder. But I've never played any of those. What I have played is two very different steampunk games, and they make an interesting comparison.
Victoriana (Cubicle 7)
If you want to run games set in the Victorian era, you could do a lot worse than picking up Victoriana. When it comes to period flavour I've never seen anything that compares. It's full of interesting details, and also has a set of excellent supplements that are worth picking up even if you aren't running the core system.
The game is set in an alternate history 1856, in a world filled with both technology and magic. Airships and steam carriages abound, while elves, dwarves and trolls walk the streets. If it's sounding like a Victorian version of Shadowrun, that's because that's exactly how it started out - the steampunk to Shadowrun's take on cyberpunk.
If you've read my post on Shadowrun you won't be surprised that I'm not a fan of the elves part. Fortunately that's actually pretty easy to ditch if that's not what you're into. I was in the GM's chair for this game, and briefed the players that I was going for a style of game closer to the Robert Downey Jr Sherlock Holmes movies, except where magic is still real. If they wanted the special abilities of the various non-human options they could still have them - they'd just be unusually tall/short humans.
All this worked for me as the Victorian era is full of tales of magic, fairies, monsters and ghosts, but with thoroughly human protagonists. I could relate to this, even with the added steam tech elements.
And even if you're playing stock Victoriana, elves and all, species is a pretty insignificant element compared with what really mattered in Victorian Britain - class. The game does a decent job of explaining why some upper class lord is hanging out with a lower class guttersnipe, and giving reasons why the former can't just endlessly bankroll the latter.
Character creation (at least in 2nd ed, the one I've played) is a fairly standard affair of attributes, skills and special abilities, plus the ever-enjoyable option of taking disadvantages for extra points. One player in the group made up a dodgy lower class hustler type, and took the 'good twin' disadvantage, meaning I had a lovely time coming up with an NPC who looked a lot like him, had a very similar name, and kept going around doing good deeds and being philanthropic in a way that was constantly causing trouble for the PC.
The wide range of options meant we got a good selection of interesting characters. One player chose to play one of the pre-gens from the book, but still managed to tie it in to another PC (I have fond memories of Aunty and Nephipoos). Another player sunk a bunch of points into being good at art, which seemed like an odd choice at first, but it rapidly turned out that having a pre-Raphaelite artist on the team was immensely valuable. So much so that when I ran the second campaign, and Mr Waterhouse's player was no longer available, I kept him around as an NPC for all those occasions when the players urgently needed his skills.
My only non-elf-based criticism of Victoriana is that I found the rules generally, and the combat system in particular, a bit clunky. I'm used to the smooth running combat of D&D and Pathfinder, and the weird way Victoriana handled it didn't gel for me. In terms of rules they might have done better to use something simpler and more cinematic - I can see something like Fate, or even Shadowrun being a solid choice. I know there's a third edition out now, so I can hope that they've made improvements. (And I'm glad to see 3rd ed is compatible with the 2nd ed supplements I already own, should I decide to pick it up some time. Those supplements are really good.)
And at the other end of the scale...
The Code of Steam and Steel (Simon Burley Productions)
I've only played this game once, at a convention, but it's rather fresher in my memory than Victoriana.
Where Victoriana does a bunch of work creating a complex and coherent setting and detailed character creation, this rules-light game assumes you already know what steampunk looks like. You simply decide which particular flavour of steampunk you're playing (hard sci-fi, science fantasy, etc.), come up with a character concept, assign a few numbers and you're good to go. Combat is fast and cinematic, and uncomplicated enough that all the important rules fit down the side of the character sheet.
(The same ruleset also has superhero, sci-fi and fantasy variants, because fundamentally it's an action adventure system and the setting you put on top is just the flavour.)
What it doesn't have is the vast breadth of setting information and inspiration. If the players all know steampunk and Victorian Britain well that's not a problem, but I can't imagine my Victoriana players coming up with the same incredible bunch of characters using this system as they did with the Victoriana character creation rules.
Conclusion
I recommend both these games. They do different things, and they do those things well.
For a convention one-shot I'd pick The Code of Steam and Steel every
time. It's fast, easy to understand, and allows for people creating
their own characters at the table in a way I'd never want to attempt
with Victoriana, although I'd miss the kind of inspired characters you get with Victoriana.
If I run a steampunk campaign some time it's probably going to be in Victoriana, because of the wealth of background information and detailed character creation, although I'll be complaining about the combat system the whole time.
Maybe there's some way I can combine the two?
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