Best games
Best Adventure games of 2012
The 11 best Adventure games released in 2012, ranked from 4,736 critic and player ratings.
The best Adventure game of 2012 is Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition, with a critic score of 91/100 — updated September 2026.
How this ranking is built
- Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
- A game only enters the ranking with at least 80 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
- Each game is ranked in one genre only, the one that defines it best, so the same title never tops two different genre charts.
- Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
- Release window covered: 2012.
- 11 games are listed on this page, carrying 4,736 ratings between them.
- Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 28 September 2026.
Top 11
01
Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition
91
/100
02
Yakuza 5
Yakuza 5 is an open-world action-adventure game and the fifth main title in the Yakuza series developed by Sega. For the first time in the series, it features five settings across Japan along with five playable main characters. The game also features a brand new graphics engine, unlike previous games in the series that have been re-utilizing the same engine since Yakuza 3.
83
/100
03
A
Assassin's Creed III
The American Colonies, 1775. A brave young warrior fights to save his homeland. But what begins as a struggle over territory turns into an extraordinary journey that will transform him into a Master Assassin—and will forever change the destiny of a nation. You are Connor, warrior son of a Native American mother and British father. As the colonies draw closer to revolution, you will dedicate your life to the freedom of your clan –becoming the spark that ignites the revolution into full blaze. Your crusade will take you through blood-soaked battlefields to crowded city streets, to perilous wilderness and beyond. You will not only witness history—you will make it. Welcome to an entirely new chapter in the Assassin’s Creed saga.
81
/100
Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition
91
/100
02
Yakuza 5
Yakuza 5 is an open-world action-adventure game and the fifth main title in the Yakuza series developed by Sega. For the first time in the series, it features five settings across Japan along with five playable main characters. The game also features a brand new graphics engine, unlike previous games in the series that have been re-utilizing the same engine since Yakuza 3.
83
/100
03
A
Assassin's Creed III
The American Colonies, 1775. A brave young warrior fights to save his homeland. But what begins as a struggle over territory turns into an extraordinary journey that will transform him into a Master Assassin—and will forever change the destiny of a nation. You are Connor, warrior son of a Native American mother and British father. As the colonies draw closer to revolution, you will dedicate your life to the freedom of your clan –becoming the spark that ignites the revolution into full blaze. Your crusade will take you through blood-soaked battlefields to crowded city streets, to perilous wilderness and beyond. You will not only witness history—you will make it. Welcome to an entirely new chapter in the Assassin’s Creed saga.
81
/100
04
LEGO The Lord of the Rings
Based on The Lord of the Rings motion picture trilogy, LEGO The Lord of the Rings follows the original storylines of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, taking players through the epic story events reimagined with the humor and endless variety of LEGO play. Trusted with the dangerous task to destroy an ancient magical ring that threatens all that is good, Frodo is forced to leave his peaceful home. But the ring wants to be found and the road to Mount Doom, the only place where it can be destroyed, will be perilous and riddled with Orcs and fouler things. To help Frodo, a Fellowship is formed —Aragorn the Ranger, Gandalf the Wizard, Legolas the Elf, Gimli the Dwarf, Boromir a Man of Gondor, and Frodo’s Hobbit friends Sam, Merry and Pippin. Players relive the legend through the LEGO minifigures, as they explore wonders, solve timeless riddles, and overcome endless foes in their quest to destroy the Ring.
80
/100
05
The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav
75
/100
06
Dear Esther
Two years in the making, the highly anticipated Indie remake of the cult mod Dear Esther arrives on PC. Dear Esther immerses you in a stunningly realised world, a remote and desolate island somewhere in the outer Hebrides. As you step forwards, a voice begins to read fragments of a letter: "Dear Esther..." - and so begins a journey through one of the most original first-person games of recent years. Abandoning traditional gameplay for a pure story-driven experience, Dear Esther fuses its beautiful environments with a breathtaking soundtrack to tell a powerful story of love, loss, guilt and redemption.
72
/100
07
A New Beginning - Final Cut
A New Beginning is a cinematic adventure-thriller done graphic novel-style.
72
/100
08
ASURA'S WRATH
The game follows the title character, the demigod Asura as he seeks revenge on the pantheon of other demigods who betrayed him. The story is presented in the style and format of an episodic series of cinematic shorts, including opening and closing credits, with the gameplay being integrated into the cinematic where players switch between third-person combat and interactive sequences with player input in the form of quick-time event button prompts. Because of its unique style, the game has been described in the media as an "interactive anime". According to the game's producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya, Asura's Wrath takes elements from Hinduism and Buddhism and blends them with science fiction, with the main character based on the ever combative and superiority-seeking beings of the same name that are part of the Hindu and Buddhist cosmology.
71
/100
09
Lollipop Chainsaw
Lollipop Chainsaw is the 'un-deadly' story of sweet and killer zombie hunter Juliet Starling and her quest to uncover the root of a colossal zombie outbreak. With her wickedly awesome chainsaw in hand, Juliet slices, dices and splits her way through hordes of the undead, but soon realizes the horde is only the opening act to a festival of zombie rock lords determined to kill the chainsaw wielding cheerleader.
68
/100
10
Silent Hill: Downpour
Silent Hill: Downpour is the eighth Silent Hill video game installment and the last fully-released video game in the series. Just like its predecessors, Downpour combines exploring abandoned surroundings, talking to characters, and solving puzzles, set against a slow, psychological horror theme. Different from the previous game Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is the return of combat. The player often has to fight off monsters using a variety of weapons, but he can carry only one melee and one ranged weapon who can deteriorate over time. Entirely new to the series is the introduction of a weather system: there is a full day and night cycle and rain often warns the player of danger that is approaching. It is possible to hide until the weather becomes better again.
66
/100
11
The Amazing Spider-Man
64
/100
LEGO The Lord of the Rings
Based on The Lord of the Rings motion picture trilogy, LEGO The Lord of the Rings follows the original storylines of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, taking players through the epic story events reimagined with the humor and endless variety of LEGO play. Trusted with the dangerous task to destroy an ancient magical ring that threatens all that is good, Frodo is forced to leave his peaceful home. But the ring wants to be found and the road to Mount Doom, the only place where it can be destroyed, will be perilous and riddled with Orcs and fouler things. To help Frodo, a Fellowship is formed —Aragorn the Ranger, Gandalf the Wizard, Legolas the Elf, Gimli the Dwarf, Boromir a Man of Gondor, and Frodo’s Hobbit friends Sam, Merry and Pippin. Players relive the legend through the LEGO minifigures, as they explore wonders, solve timeless riddles, and overcome endless foes in their quest to destroy the Ring.
80
/100
05
The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav
75
/100
06
Dear Esther
Two years in the making, the highly anticipated Indie remake of the cult mod Dear Esther arrives on PC. Dear Esther immerses you in a stunningly realised world, a remote and desolate island somewhere in the outer Hebrides. As you step forwards, a voice begins to read fragments of a letter: "Dear Esther..." - and so begins a journey through one of the most original first-person games of recent years. Abandoning traditional gameplay for a pure story-driven experience, Dear Esther fuses its beautiful environments with a breathtaking soundtrack to tell a powerful story of love, loss, guilt and redemption.
72
/100
07
A New Beginning - Final Cut
A New Beginning is a cinematic adventure-thriller done graphic novel-style.
72
/100
08
ASURA'S WRATH
The game follows the title character, the demigod Asura as he seeks revenge on the pantheon of other demigods who betrayed him. The story is presented in the style and format of an episodic series of cinematic shorts, including opening and closing credits, with the gameplay being integrated into the cinematic where players switch between third-person combat and interactive sequences with player input in the form of quick-time event button prompts. Because of its unique style, the game has been described in the media as an "interactive anime". According to the game's producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya, Asura's Wrath takes elements from Hinduism and Buddhism and blends them with science fiction, with the main character based on the ever combative and superiority-seeking beings of the same name that are part of the Hindu and Buddhist cosmology.
71
/100
09
Lollipop Chainsaw
Lollipop Chainsaw is the 'un-deadly' story of sweet and killer zombie hunter Juliet Starling and her quest to uncover the root of a colossal zombie outbreak. With her wickedly awesome chainsaw in hand, Juliet slices, dices and splits her way through hordes of the undead, but soon realizes the horde is only the opening act to a festival of zombie rock lords determined to kill the chainsaw wielding cheerleader.
68
/100
10
Silent Hill: Downpour
Silent Hill: Downpour is the eighth Silent Hill video game installment and the last fully-released video game in the series. Just like its predecessors, Downpour combines exploring abandoned surroundings, talking to characters, and solving puzzles, set against a slow, psychological horror theme. Different from the previous game Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is the return of combat. The player often has to fight off monsters using a variety of weapons, but he can carry only one melee and one ranged weapon who can deteriorate over time. Entirely new to the series is the introduction of a weather system: there is a full day and night cycle and rain often warns the player of danger that is approaching. It is possible to hide until the weather becomes better again.
66
/100
11
The Amazing Spider-Man
64
/100
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Adventure game of 2012?
Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition currently tops the ranking with a score of 91/100 across 1,467 ratings. Ranking updated September 2026.
How is this ranking built?
Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.