Best games
Best Linux games of 2012
The 48 best Linux games released in 2012, ranked from 21,556 critic and player ratings.
The best Linux game of 2012 is Mark of the Ninja, 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.
- 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.
- 48 games are listed on this page, carrying 21,556 ratings between them.
- Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 28 September 2026.
Top 48
01
Mark of the Ninja
Mark of the Ninja is a side-scrolling action stealth video game developed by Klei Entertainment and published by Microsoft Studios. It was announced on February 28, 2012 and later released for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade on September 7, 2012. A Microsoft Windows version was released on October 16, 2012. It follows the story of a nameless ninja in the present day, and features a themed conflict between ancient ninja tradition and modern technology. Cutscenes for the game are rendered in Saturday morning cartoon animation style.
91
/100
02
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
XCOM: Enemy Unknown will place you in control of a secret paramilitary organization called XCOM. As the XCOM commander, you will defend against a terrifying global alien invasion by managing resources, advancing technologies, and overseeing combat strategies and individual unit tactics. The original XCOM is widely regarded as one of the best games ever made and has now been re-imagined by the strategy experts at Firaxis Games. XCOM: Enemy Unknown will expand on that legacy with an entirely new invasion story, enemies and technologies to fight aliens and defend Earth. You will control the fate of the human race through researching alien technologies, creating and managing a fully operational base, planning combat missions and controlling soldier movement in battle.
88
/100
03
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - Enhanced Edition
All existing owners of The Witcher 2 received free upgrades to the Enhanced Edition, and could pre-load the update starting 11 April 2012. All new copies on PC and Xbox 360 shipped with the additional content on board. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - Enhanced Edition added over 10GB of new content, including four hours of gameplay, arena mode, new tutorial, 36 minutes of cinematics including a new intro created by Platige Image and an outro, as well as a host of fixes to gameplay and the interface.
88
/100
Mark of the Ninja
Mark of the Ninja is a side-scrolling action stealth video game developed by Klei Entertainment and published by Microsoft Studios. It was announced on February 28, 2012 and later released for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade on September 7, 2012. A Microsoft Windows version was released on October 16, 2012. It follows the story of a nameless ninja in the present day, and features a themed conflict between ancient ninja tradition and modern technology. Cutscenes for the game are rendered in Saturday morning cartoon animation style.
91
/100
02
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
XCOM: Enemy Unknown will place you in control of a secret paramilitary organization called XCOM. As the XCOM commander, you will defend against a terrifying global alien invasion by managing resources, advancing technologies, and overseeing combat strategies and individual unit tactics. The original XCOM is widely regarded as one of the best games ever made and has now been re-imagined by the strategy experts at Firaxis Games. XCOM: Enemy Unknown will expand on that legacy with an entirely new invasion story, enemies and technologies to fight aliens and defend Earth. You will control the fate of the human race through researching alien technologies, creating and managing a fully operational base, planning combat missions and controlling soldier movement in battle.
88
/100
03
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - Enhanced Edition
All existing owners of The Witcher 2 received free upgrades to the Enhanced Edition, and could pre-load the update starting 11 April 2012. All new copies on PC and Xbox 360 shipped with the additional content on board. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - Enhanced Edition added over 10GB of new content, including four hours of gameplay, arena mode, new tutorial, 36 minutes of cinematics including a new intro created by Platige Image and an outro, as well as a host of fixes to gameplay and the interface.
88
/100
04
Thirty Flights of Loving
Explore the world of Thirty Flights of Loving through a first-person short story. In this sequel to Gravity Bone, take a deep dive with high-flying schemers, lovelorn criminals, and more stray kittens than you can shake a stick at. Saddle up, gunslinger.
88
/100
05
Warsow
Warsow is set in a futuristic cartoonish world where rocketlauncher-wielding pigs and lasergun-carrying cyberpunks roam the streets. It is a completely free, fast-paced first-person shooter without hard graphical violence. Red stars instead of blood indicate hits and colored cubes replace guts as gib effects.
88
/100
06
S
Euro Truck Simulator 2
Euro Truck Simulator 2 is a vehicle simulation game and a direct sequel to the 2008 game Euro Truck Simulator. Travel across Europe as king of the road, a trucker who delivers important cargo across impressive distances! With dozens of cities to explore from the UK, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and many more, your endurance, skill and speed will all be pushed to their limits. If you’ve got what it takes to be part of an elite trucking force, get behind the wheel and prove it!
88
/100
07
A
Hotline Miami
A top-down slasher/shooter with unlockable gameplay-altering masks and weapons, featuring a neon-flavoured electronic aesthetic, in which a hitman receives anonymous calls ordering him to travel to certain residences and crime dens and massacre those within, as he stumbles through unreal visions and inconsistencies without any answers to how, why or who.
86
/100
08
Torchlight II
Torchlight II features randomly generated dungeons and numerous types of monsters to fight for loot. Torchlight II is an action RPG as its predecessor, but features overland areas with multiple hub towns, and a longer campaign. Players are able to customize character appearance with choice of sex, face, hair style and hair color. Additionally, several elements from the first game return, such as pets and fishing. The game features four playable character classes. Each class has 3 skill trees to choose from which enable customization within each class.
86
/100
09
Fez
Gomez is a 2D creature living in a 2D world. Or is he? When the existence of a mysterious 3rd dimension is revealed to him, Gomez is sent out on a journey that will take him to the very end of time and space. Use your ability to navigate 3D structures from 4 distinct classic 2D perspectives. Explore a serene and beautiful open-ended world full of secrets, puzzles and hidden treasures. Unearth the mysteries of the past and discover the truth about reality and perception. Change your perspective and look at the world in a different way.
86
/100
10
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
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
11
S
The Walking Dead
84
/100
12
FTL: Faster Than Light
84
/100
13
Crusader Kings II
84
/100
14
Super Hexagon
83
/100
15
Legend of Grimrock
82
/100
16
Botanicula
82
/100
17
Dust: An Elysian Tail
82
/100
18
Joe Danger 2: The Movie
82
/100
19
C
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
81
/100
20
The Cat Lady
81
/100
21
Borderlands 2
81
/100
22
Game Dev Tycoon
80
/100
23
Natural Selection 2
80
/100
24
Chaos on Deponia
80
/100
25
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
79
/100
26
Cook, Serve, Delicious!
79
/100
27
Skullgirls
79
/100
28
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition
78
/100
29
Awesomenauts
78
/100
30
Thomas Was Alone
77
/100
31
Katawa Shoujo
76
/100
32
D
Spec Ops: The Line
76
/100
33
McPixel
76
/100
34
Nihilumbra
75
/100
35
Deponia
74
/100
36
DiRT Showdown
74
/100
37
They Bleed Pixels
74
/100
38
Organ Trail: Director's Cut
73
/100
39
Titan Attacks!
73
/100
40
Dear Esther
72
/100
41
King Oddball
71
/100
42
Papo & Yo
70
/100
43
Home
69
/100
44
Receiver
69
/100
45
Long Live The Queen
67
/100
46
Little Inferno
65
/100
47
Guns of Icarus Online
64
/100
48
Painkiller Hell & Damnation
64
/100
Thirty Flights of Loving
Explore the world of Thirty Flights of Loving through a first-person short story. In this sequel to Gravity Bone, take a deep dive with high-flying schemers, lovelorn criminals, and more stray kittens than you can shake a stick at. Saddle up, gunslinger.
88
/100
05
Warsow
Warsow is set in a futuristic cartoonish world where rocketlauncher-wielding pigs and lasergun-carrying cyberpunks roam the streets. It is a completely free, fast-paced first-person shooter without hard graphical violence. Red stars instead of blood indicate hits and colored cubes replace guts as gib effects.
88
/100
06
S
Euro Truck Simulator 2
Euro Truck Simulator 2 is a vehicle simulation game and a direct sequel to the 2008 game Euro Truck Simulator. Travel across Europe as king of the road, a trucker who delivers important cargo across impressive distances! With dozens of cities to explore from the UK, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and many more, your endurance, skill and speed will all be pushed to their limits. If you’ve got what it takes to be part of an elite trucking force, get behind the wheel and prove it!
88
/100
07
A
Hotline Miami
A top-down slasher/shooter with unlockable gameplay-altering masks and weapons, featuring a neon-flavoured electronic aesthetic, in which a hitman receives anonymous calls ordering him to travel to certain residences and crime dens and massacre those within, as he stumbles through unreal visions and inconsistencies without any answers to how, why or who.
86
/100
08
Torchlight II
Torchlight II features randomly generated dungeons and numerous types of monsters to fight for loot. Torchlight II is an action RPG as its predecessor, but features overland areas with multiple hub towns, and a longer campaign. Players are able to customize character appearance with choice of sex, face, hair style and hair color. Additionally, several elements from the first game return, such as pets and fishing. The game features four playable character classes. Each class has 3 skill trees to choose from which enable customization within each class.
86
/100
09
Fez
Gomez is a 2D creature living in a 2D world. Or is he? When the existence of a mysterious 3rd dimension is revealed to him, Gomez is sent out on a journey that will take him to the very end of time and space. Use your ability to navigate 3D structures from 4 distinct classic 2D perspectives. Explore a serene and beautiful open-ended world full of secrets, puzzles and hidden treasures. Unearth the mysteries of the past and discover the truth about reality and perception. Change your perspective and look at the world in a different way.
86
/100
10
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
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
11
S
The Walking Dead
84
/100
12
FTL: Faster Than Light
84
/100
13
Crusader Kings II
84
/100
14
Super Hexagon
83
/100
15
Legend of Grimrock
82
/100
16
Botanicula
82
/100
17
Dust: An Elysian Tail
82
/100
18
Joe Danger 2: The Movie
82
/100
19
C
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
81
/100
20
The Cat Lady
81
/100
21
Borderlands 2
81
/100
22
Game Dev Tycoon
80
/100
23
Natural Selection 2
80
/100
24
Chaos on Deponia
80
/100
25
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
79
/100
26
Cook, Serve, Delicious!
79
/100
27
Skullgirls
79
/100
28
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition
78
/100
29
Awesomenauts
78
/100
30
Thomas Was Alone
77
/100
31
Katawa Shoujo
76
/100
32
D
Spec Ops: The Line
76
/100
33
McPixel
76
/100
34
Nihilumbra
75
/100
35
Deponia
74
/100
36
DiRT Showdown
74
/100
37
They Bleed Pixels
74
/100
38
Organ Trail: Director's Cut
73
/100
39
Titan Attacks!
73
/100
40
Dear Esther
72
/100
41
King Oddball
71
/100
42
Papo & Yo
70
/100
43
Home
69
/100
44
Receiver
69
/100
45
Long Live The Queen
67
/100
46
Little Inferno
65
/100
47
Guns of Icarus Online
64
/100
48
Painkiller Hell & Damnation
64
/100
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Linux game of 2012?
Mark of the Ninja currently tops the ranking with a score of 91/100 across 308 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.