Ranking by year

The best games of 2012.

198 games compete in this selection. Journey tops it with 1,910 points: the ranking comes from player votes alone, and moves with every duel settled.

  1. 1 Journey 2012 · Adventure 1,910
  2. 2 Dishonored 2012 · Action-adventure 1,861
  3. 3 Fire Emblem Awakening 2012 · Strategy 1,853
  4. 4 Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair 2012 · Visual novel 1,797
  5. 5 Persona 4 Golden 2012 · JRPG 1,789
  6. 6 Resident Evil: Revelations 2012 · Horror 1,773
  7. 7 Sleeping Dogs 2012 · Action-adventure 1,761
  8. 8 Euro Truck Simulator 2 2012 · Simulation 1,758
  9. 9 Spec Ops: The Line 2012 · Action-adventure 1,754
  10. 10 XCOM: Enemy Unknown 2012 · Strategy 1,754
  11. 11 Mass Effect 3 2012 · Action RPG 1,753
  12. 12 Spelunky 2012 · Roguelite 1,746
  13. 13 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 2012 · FPS 1,744
  14. 14 Dragon's Dogma 2012 · Action RPG 1,733
  15. 15 Borderlands 2 2012 · Action RPG 1,722
  16. 16 The Walking Dead 2012 · Point-and-click 1,721
  17. 17 FTL: Faster Than Light 2012 · Roguelite 1,715
  18. 18 Hotline Miami 2012 · Shoot 'em up 1,712
  19. 19 Far Cry 3 2012 · FPS 1,693
  20. 20 Call of Duty: Black Ops II 2012 · FPS 1,680
  21. 21 New Super Mario Bros. U 2012 · Platformer 1,675
  22. 22 Torchlight II 2012 · Action RPG 1,674
  23. 23 Pokémon White Version 2 2012 · JRPG 1,665
  24. 24 Max Payne 3 2012 · TPS 1,662
  25. 25 New Super Mario Bros. 2 2012 · Platformer 1,653
  26. 26 Mark of the Ninja 2012 · Platformer 1,635
  27. 27 Plague Inc. 2012 · Strategy 1,633
  28. 28 Need for Speed: Most Wanted 2012 · Racing 1,632
  29. 29 Diablo III 2012 · Action RPG 1,621
  30. 30 Animal Crossing: New Leaf 2012 · Simulation 1,617
  31. 31 The Testament of Sherlock Holmes 2012 · Point-and-click 1,606
  32. 32 Hitman: Absolution 2012 · Action-adventure 1,600
  33. 33 Sniper Elite V2 2012 · TPS 1,599
  34. 34 Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning 2012 · Action RPG 1,594
  35. 35 Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed 2012 · Racing 1,594
  36. 36 The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - Enhanced Edition 2012 · Action RPG 1,589
  37. 37 Game Dev Tycoon 2012 · Strategy 1,578
  38. 38 Forza Horizon 2012 · Racing 1,576
  39. 39 Guild Wars 2 2012 · RPG 1,575
  40. 40 Pokémon Black Version 2 2012 · JRPG 1,574
  41. 41 Prototype 2 2012 · Action-adventure 1,573
  42. 42 Halo 4 2012 · FPS 1,572
  43. 43 Fez 2012 · Platformer 1,571
  44. 44 Lollipop Chainsaw 2012 · Beat 'em up 1,571
  45. 45 Angry Birds Star Wars 2012 · Puzzle 1,567
  46. 46 Little Inferno 2012 · Action-adventure 1,561
  47. 47 PlanetSide 2 2012 · FPS 1,560
  48. 48 Edna & Harvey: Harvey's New Eyes 2012 · Point-and-click 1,555
  49. 49 Kid Icarus: Uprising 2012 · TPS 1,553
  50. 50 Paper Mario: Sticker Star 2012 · JRPG 1,551
  51. 51 Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward 2012 · Visual novel 1,548
  52. 52 Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge 2012 · Beat 'em up 1,547
  53. 53 Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City 2012 · Horror 1,546
  54. 54 Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition 2012 · RPG 1,545
  55. 55 Persona 4 Arena 2012 · Fighting 1,545
  56. 56 Asura's Wrath 2012 · Beat 'em up 1,541
  57. 57 Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R 2012 · Fighting 1,539
  58. 58 Awesomenauts 2012 · MOBA 1,534
  59. 59 Resident Evil 6 2012 · Horror 1,531
  60. 60 Blades of Time 2012 · Action RPG 1,531
  61. 61 The Room 2012 · Point-and-click 1,530
  62. 62 Assassin's Creed III: Liberation 2012 · Action-adventure 1,528
  63. 63 The Amazing Spider-Man 2012 · Action-adventure 1,528
  64. 64 Mad Father 2012 · Horror 1,527
  65. 65 The Unfinished Swan 2012 · Puzzle 1,525
  66. 66 Crusader Kings II 2012 · Strategy 1,524
  67. 67 Dear Esther 2012 · Adventure 1,524
  68. 68 Deadlight 2012 · Platformer 1,521
  69. 69 Devil May Cry 2 2012 · Beat 'em up 1,521
  70. 70 Street Fighter X Tekken 2012 · Fighting 1,520
  71. 71 Alan Wake's American Nightmare 2012 · TPS 1,519
  72. 72 Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit 2012 · Metroidvania 1,519
  73. 73 Chivalry: Medieval Warfare 2012 · Beat 'em up 1,518
  74. 74 Ib 2012 · Horror 1,516
  75. 75 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD 2012 · Sports 1,516
  76. 76 PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale 2012 · Fighting 1,515
  77. 77 ZombiU 2012 · FPS 1,515
  78. 78 I Am Alive 2012 · Survival 1,514
  79. 79 Rune Factory 4 2012 · Action RPG 1,514
  80. 80 Clash of Clans 2012 · Strategy 1,513
  81. 81 Assassin's Creed III 2012 · Action-adventure 1,509
  82. 82 The Darkness II 2012 · FPS 1,507
  83. 83 Tekken Tag Tournament 2 2012 · Fighting 1,507
  84. 84 Thomas Was Alone 2012 · Platformer 1,504
  85. 85 Nintendo Land 2012 · Arcade 1,503
  86. 86 Subway Surfers 2012 · Platformer 1,503
  87. 87 Ōkami HD 2012 · Action-adventure 1,502
  88. 88 SoulCalibur V 2012 · Fighting 1,502
  89. 89 Mario Party 9 2012 · Card & Board 1,502
  90. 90 Ys: Memories of Celceta 2012 · Action RPG 1,502
  91. 91 Twisted Metal 2012 · Racing 1,501
  92. 92 Lucius 2012 · Horror 1,501
  93. 93 Deponia 2012 · Point-and-click 1,499
  94. 94 Silent Hill: Downpour 2012 · Horror 1,499
  95. 95 Long Live the Queen 2012 · Visual novel 1,498
  96. 96 Botanicula 2012 · Point-and-click 1,496
  97. 97 Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations 2012 · Fighting 1,496
  98. 98 LEGO The Lord of the Rings 2012 · Action-adventure 1,495
  99. 99 Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity 2012 · Roguelite 1,493
  100. 100 Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance 2012 · Action RPG 1,491

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 1,910 ELO points, ahead of Dishonored and Fire Emblem Awakening. The 198 games competing in it have played 41,689 duels.

This selection in figures
Games competing in this selection 198
Duels played by those games 41,689
Game in the lead Journey (2012)
Score of the leading game, in ELO points 1,910
Point gap between 1st and 10th 156
Best represented genre Action RPG
Last reading November 3, 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 Dishonored 1,861 2,594
Strategy 11 Fire Emblem Awakening 1,853 266
Visual novel 5 Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair 1,797 217
JRPG 6 Persona 4 Golden 1,789 358
Horror 11 Resident Evil: Revelations 1,773 222
Simulation 5 Euro Truck Simulator 2 1,758 265
Action RPG 19 Mass Effect 3 1,753 3,224
FPS 18 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 1,744 636
Point-and-click 13 The Walking Dead 1,721 920
Platformer 18 New Super Mario Bros. U 1,675 187
TPS 8 Max Payne 3 1,662 480
Racing 10 Need for Speed: Most Wanted 1,632 321
RPG 5 Guild Wars 2 1,575 183
Beat 'em up 11 Lollipop Chainsaw 1,571 80
Puzzle 8 Angry Birds Star Wars 1,567 97
Fighting 11 Persona 4 Arena 1,545 110
Sports 7 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD 1,516 73

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
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity +99 1,493
PlanetSide 2 +72 1,560
Long Live the Queen +56 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 1,910 ELO points in the world ranking. It stands ahead of Dishonored and Fire Emblem Awakening, and its place is replayed with every duel.

How many games of 2012 are ranked?

198 games of this selection take part in the duels, and they have played 41,689 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?

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity is the strongest climb in this selection over the past seven days, with 99 ELO points gained. Over the same period, the score of 96 games in the selection moved.

Vote on a duel