Ranking by year

The best games of 2012.

199 games compete in this selection. Journey tops it with 1,869 points: the ranking comes from player votes alone, and moves with every duel settled.

  1. 1 Journey 2012 · Adventure 1,869
  2. 2 Spec Ops: The Line 2012 · Action-adventure 1,845
  3. 3 XCOM: Enemy Unknown 2012 · Strategy 1,821
  4. 4 Dishonored 2012 · Action-adventure 1,809
  5. 5 The Walking Dead 2012 · Point-and-click 1,806
  6. 6 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 2012 · FPS 1,788
  7. 7 Persona 4 Golden 2012 · JRPG 1,785
  8. 8 Borderlands 2 2012 · Action RPG 1,781
  9. 9 Far Cry 3 2012 · FPS 1,777
  10. 10 Sleeping Dogs 2012 · Action-adventure 1,770
  11. 11 Mass Effect 3 2012 · Action RPG 1,767
  12. 12 Hotline Miami 2012 · Shoot 'em up 1,767
  13. 13 Euro Truck Simulator 2 2012 · Simulation 1,754
  14. 14 Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair 2012 · Visual novel 1,731
  15. 15 Max Payne 3 2012 · TPS 1,723
  16. 16 Spelunky 2012 · Roguelite 1,719
  17. 17 Call of Duty: Black Ops II 2012 · FPS 1,711
  18. 18 Diablo III 2012 · Action RPG 1,699
  19. 19 Pokémon White Version 2 2012 · JRPG 1,683
  20. 20 Fire Emblem Awakening 2012 · Strategy 1,680
  21. 21 Animal Crossing: New Leaf 2012 · Simulation 1,674
  22. 22 Need for Speed: Most Wanted 2012 · Racing 1,666
  23. 23 FTL: Faster Than Light 2012 · Roguelite 1,664
  24. 24 Torchlight II 2012 · Action RPG 1,660
  25. 25 Dragon's Dogma 2012 · Action RPG 1,659
  26. 26 Hitman: Absolution 2012 · Action-adventure 1,648
  27. 27 The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - Enhanced Edition 2012 · Action RPG 1,642
  28. 28 New Super Mario Bros. 2 2012 · Platformer 1,628
  29. 29 Guild Wars 2 2012 · RPG 1,623
  30. 30 Game Dev Tycoon 2012 · Strategy 1,617
  31. 31 The Testament of Sherlock Holmes 2012 · Point-and-click 1,610
  32. 32 Plague Inc. 2012 · Strategy 1,604
  33. 33 Resident Evil: Revelations 2012 · Horror 1,596
  34. 34 Assassin's Creed III 2012 · Action-adventure 1,595
  35. 35 Skullgirls 2012 · Fighting 1,588
  36. 36 Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition 2012 · RPG 1,584
  37. 37 Dirt Showdown 2012 · Racing 1,574
  38. 38 Deadlight 2012 · Platformer 1,570
  39. 39 Fez 2012 · Platformer 1,569
  40. 40 Legend of Grimrock 2012 · RPG 1,568
  41. 41 Kid Icarus: Uprising 2012 · TPS 1,567
  42. 42 Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward 2012 · Visual novel 1,563
  43. 43 Ōkami HD 2012 · Action-adventure 1,563
  44. 44 Darksiders II 2012 · Action RPG 1,562
  45. 45 Mad Father 2012 · Horror 1,562
  46. 46 The Darkness II 2012 · FPS 1,557
  47. 47 Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning 2012 · Action RPG 1,557
  48. 48 Botanicula 2012 · Point-and-click 1,557
  49. 49 Crusader Kings II 2012 · Strategy 1,550
  50. 50 Prototype 2 2012 · Action-adventure 1,549
  51. 51 Paper Mario: Sticker Star 2012 · JRPG 1,545
  52. 52 Little Inferno 2012 · Action-adventure 1,543
  53. 53 New Super Mario Bros. U 2012 · Platformer 1,542
  54. 54 Clash of Clans 2012 · Strategy 1,541
  55. 55 Street Fighter X Tekken 2012 · Fighting 1,541
  56. 56 Awesomenauts 2012 · MOBA 1,537
  57. 57 The Unfinished Swan 2012 · Puzzle 1,537
  58. 58 Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge 2012 · Beat 'em up 1,535
  59. 59 Mark of the Ninja 2012 · Platformer 1,531
  60. 60 Silent Hill 2 2012 · Horror 1,529
  61. 61 My Singing Monsters 2012 · Rhythm 1,528
  62. 62 Super Hexagon 2012 · Rhythm 1,526
  63. 63 Scribblenauts Unlimited 2012 · Puzzle 1,523
  64. 64 LEGO The Lord of the Rings 2012 · Action-adventure 1,522
  65. 65 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD 2012 · Sports 1,521
  66. 66 Candy Crush Saga 2012 · Puzzle 1,520
  67. 67 Shadow of the Colossus 2012 · Adventure 1,519
  68. 68 Jet Set Radio 2012 · Platformer 1,518
  69. 69 Angry Birds Star Wars 2012 · Puzzle 1,515
  70. 70 Alan Wake's American Nightmare 2012 · TPS 1,514
  71. 71 Pokémon Black Version 2 2012 · JRPG 1,513
  72. 72 Rune Factory 4 2012 · Action RPG 1,513
  73. 73 Forza Horizon 2012 · Racing 1,510
  74. 74 Nintendo Land 2012 · Arcade 1,508
  75. 75 Halo 4 2012 · FPS 1,506
  76. 76 Lollipop Chainsaw 2012 · Beat 'em up 1,506
  77. 77 Thirty Flights of Loving 2012 · Puzzle 1,506
  78. 78 Subway Surfers 2012 · Platformer 1,505
  79. 79 Dear Esther 2012 · Adventure 1,503
  80. 80 Persona 4 Arena 2012 · Fighting 1,502
  81. 81 Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed 2012 · Racing 1,498
  82. 82 Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 2012 · Sports 1,498
  83. 83 McPixel 2012 · Point-and-click 1,495
  84. 84 Sonic the Fighters 2012 · Fighting 1,495
  85. 85 Asura's Wrath 2012 · Beat 'em up 1,494
  86. 86 Hay Day 2012 · Simulation 1,494
  87. 87 Dust: An Elysian Tail 2012 · Metroidvania 1,493
  88. 88 Orcs Must Die! 2 2012 · Strategy 1,491
  89. 89 The Cat Lady 2012 · Point-and-click 1,491
  90. 90 Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 2012 · Puzzle 1,491
  91. 91 Shank 2 2012 · Beat 'em up 1,489
  92. 92 Mario Party 9 2012 · Card & Board 1,489
  93. 93 Blade & Soul 2012 · RPG 1,489
  94. 94 Angry Birds Space 2012 · Puzzle 1,488
  95. 95 The Room 2012 · Point-and-click 1,487
  96. 96 Devil May Cry 2 2012 · Beat 'em up 1,487
  97. 97 Game of Thrones 2012 · Action RPG 1,485
  98. 98 Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations 2012 · Fighting 1,482
  99. 99 Lone Survivor 2012 · Horror 1,482
  100. 100 Thomas Was Alone 2012 · Platformer 1,481

Filter, combine and travel back in time in the full ranking

Other rankings

Best games of 2010 The best games of 2011 Ranking of 2013 games Greatest games of 2014 Ranking of 2015 games Best games of 2016 Best games of 2017 Best games of 2018 Ranking of 2019 games

In detail

The best games of 2012, what this ranking says

Journey leads this selection with 1,869 ELO points, ahead of Spec Ops: The Line and XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The 199 games competing in it have played 36,219 duels.

This selection in figures
Games competing in this selection 199
Duels played by those games 36,219
Game in the lead Journey (2012)
Score of the leading game, in ELO points 1,869
Point gap between 1st and 10th 99
Best represented genre FPS
Last reading September 18, 2026

The best game of every genre in 2012

A selection is not read in one block: here is what leads each of its brackets.

The best game of every genre in 2012
Genre Games competing In the lead ELO score Duels played
Action-adventure 12 Spec Ops: The Line 1,845 421
Strategy 11 XCOM: Enemy Unknown 1,821 347
Point-and-click 13 The Walking Dead 1,806 868
FPS 18 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 1,788 610
JRPG 6 Persona 4 Golden 1,785 321
Action RPG 18 Borderlands 2 1,781 2,703
Simulation 6 Euro Truck Simulator 2 1,754 238
Visual novel 5 Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair 1,731 175
TPS 8 Max Payne 3 1,723 456
Racing 10 Need for Speed: Most Wanted 1,666 287
Platformer 18 New Super Mario Bros. 2 1,628 147
RPG 5 Guild Wars 2 1,623 162
Horror 11 Resident Evil: Revelations 1,596 185
Fighting 11 Skullgirls 1,588 88
Puzzle 8 The Unfinished Swan 1,537 70
Beat 'em up 11 Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge 1,535 60
Rhythm 5 My Singing Monsters 1,528 12
Sports 7 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD 1,521 57

What moved this week

The ranking changes with every duel settled. Over the past seven days, the score of 96 games in this selection moved.

What moved this week
Game Points gained in 7 days ELO score
Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward +79 1,563
Candy Crush Saga +77 1,520
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed +76 1,498

The most contested match-ups

These pairs of games have faced each other more than any others in this selection.

The most contested match-ups
Wins Against Duels played Win rate
Far Cry 3 Borderlands 2 69 62%
Dishonored Mass Effect 3 43 65%
Far Cry 3 Mass Effect 3 40 55%
Mass Effect 3 Borderlands 2 37 68%
Dishonored Far Cry 3 30 60%

How this ranking is established

No jury, no press score, no sales figures: two games face off, players vote, and every vote updates an ELO score. This page is a view of the world ranking, never a standing kept apart.

Understand the method in detail →

FAQ

What players ask

What is the best game of 2012?

According to community votes, the best game of 2012 is Journey, with 1,869 ELO points in the world ranking. It stands ahead of Spec Ops: The Line and XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and its place is replayed with every duel.

How many games of 2012 are ranked?

199 games of this selection take part in the duels, and they have played 36,219 of them so far. The full site catalogue is much wider: only games kept for their fame enter the running.

Which game of 2012 is climbing right now?

Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward is the strongest climb in this selection over the past seven days, with 79 ELO points gained. Over the same period, the score of 96 games in the selection moved.

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