Skip to Content
Tier
Tier Your gaming journal
Get
Best games

Best Casual games of 2012

The 10 best Casual games released in 2012, ranked from 1,871 critic and player ratings.

The best Casual game of 2012 is Animal Crossing: New Leaf, with a critic score of 88/100 — updated November 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.
  • 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.
  • 10 games are listed on this page, carrying 1,871 ratings between them.
  • Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 13 November 2026.

Top 10

Played them? Give your tier with the + next to each game. No account needed to try — create one to keep your tiers.

01 Animal Crossing: New Leaf B Animal Crossing: New Leaf 2012 · 261 ratings · 2 Tier votes The charming community-building franchise returns for with Animal Crossing: New Leaf. The Nintendo 3DS entry into this popular franchise introduces a number of options new to Animal Crossing, including the ability to become the head of the village and boost its development, a way to install certain items in the village to make its characteristics more personalized for each player, and the ability to view homes of other players who are tagged through StreetPass connections. 88 /100
02 Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair 2012 · 267 ratings · finished by 27% The follow up to Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. The main character, Hajime Hinata, a new 'Ultimate' student at Hope's Peak Academy. On their first day, Hajime and all of his classmates are taken on a field trip to the mysterious Jabberwock island by their anthropomorphic rabbit teacher, Usami. Usami explains that on this island the students are to have fun together and become friends to gather Hope Fragments. Usami's field trip does not go as planned when Monokuma appears and begins a new Killing Game. Anyone that wants to leave the island must commit a murder and get away with it. If the murderer is successful, he/she is allowed to leave the island, while everyone else is killed. When a murder occurs, the player investigates. After the investigations, a trial commences to determine who the culprit is. 85 /100
03 Super Hexagon Super Hexagon 2012 · 139 ratings · finished by 7% Super Hexagon is a minimal action game by Terry Cavanagh, with music by Chipzel. 83 /100
04 Botanicula Botanicula 2012 · 135 ratings · finished by 14% Humor-filled indie adventure game created by the makers of Machinarium. Like the previous games from Amanita Design, in Botanicula the player controls a protagonist (or multiple protagonists) while exploring the environment, solving puzzles and collecting items that are required for the obstacles that come in their way. The player is able to interact with other creatures and find easter eggs that are present in the lush environment. Like Machinarium, the game has no spoken or written dialogue. 82 /100
05 Dear Esther Dear Esther 2012 · 182 ratings · finished by 15% 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
06 Scribblenauts Unlimited Scribblenauts Unlimited 2012 · 134 ratings · finished by 7% Venture into a wide-open world where the most powerful tool is your imagination. Help Maxwell solve robust puzzles in seamless, free-roaming levels by summoning any object you can think of. Create your own original objects, assign unique properties, and share them with friends online using Steam Workshop – to be used in game or further modified as you like! 72 /100
07 Subway Surfers Subway Surfers 2012 · 143 ratings DASH as fast as you can! DODGE the oncoming trains! Help Jake, Tricky & Fresh escape from the grumpy Inspector and his dog. 71 /100
08 Home Home 2012 · 111 ratings · finished by 5% 69 /100
09 Game Dev Tycoon Game Dev Tycoon 2012 · 341 ratings · finished by 19% In Game Dev Tycoon you replay the history of the gaming industry by starting your own video game development company in the 80s. Create best selling games. Research new technologies and invent new game types. Become the leader of the market and gain worldwide fans. 68 /100
10 Little Inferno Little Inferno 2012 · 158 ratings · finished by 15% Congratulations on your new Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace! Throw your toys into your fire, and play with them as they burn. Stay warm in there. It's getting cold outside! Burn flaming logs, screaming robots, credit cards, batteries, exploding fish, unstable nuclear devices, and tiny galaxies. An adventure that takes place almost entirely in front of a fireplace - about looking up up up out of the chimney, and the cold world just on the other side of the wall. 65 /100
Browse all Casual games

Other years

Best Casual games of 2024Best Casual games of 2023Best Casual games of 2022Best Casual games of 2021Best Casual games of 2020Best Casual games of 2019Best Casual games of 2018Best Casual games of 2017Best Casual games of 2016Best Casual games of 2015Best Casual games of 2014Best Casual games of 2013

Same year, other platforms

Best PC games of 2012Best Xbox 360 games of 2012Best PlayStation 3 games of 2012Best Mac games of 2012Best Linux games of 2012Best iOS games of 2012Best Android games of 2012Best PS Vita games of 2012Best Wii U games of 2012Best Nintendo 3DS games of 2012Best Wii games of 2012

Nearby rankings

Best Casual games of 2011Best Casual games of 2013Best Action games of 2012Best Adventure games of 2012Best Arcade games of 2012Best Fighting games of 2012Best Indie games of 2012

Catalog statistics

Most abandoned gamesMost completed games

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Casual game of 2012?

Animal Crossing: New Leaf currently tops the ranking with a score of 88/100 across 261 ratings. Ranking updated November 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.