2012 Steam-core

(not strictly for stuff from 2012 pls dont message me saying i put a game from 2013 here or i will strap a gibus and pyrovision goggles to your head and force you to go on tf2outpost)
(also you can probably turn up 90% of this list looking at old humble bundles or combing through totalbiscuit wtf is videos. yeah i brought that guy up but you have to admit those are a time capsule)

annual number of games released on steam worldwide:
2005: 79
2010: 309
2015: 2500
2020: 9635

there werent that many games on steam back then, so there was a console-like community around the ones that were. some popular games from back then - super meat boy, garry's mod, bastion. oh you still see people talk about those? cool! what about these?

AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!: A Reckless Disregard for Gravity
AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!: A Reckless Disregard for Gravity
its first here because its first in your library
Moonbase Alpha
Moonbase Alpha
aeiou
Natural Selection 2
Natural Selection 2
Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale
Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale
Beat Hazard
Beat Hazard
SpaceChem
SpaceChem
the games on this row (except amnesia) all have something in common. im sure you know
Poker Night at the Inventory
Poker Night at the Inventory
Alien Swarm
Alien Swarm
Spiral Knights
Spiral Knights
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
probably pushing it with this one idc
Day of Defeat: Source
Day of Defeat: Source
it's a valve game but im including it because i see literally no one talk about it now, when it wasnt obscure then lmao
Audiosurf
Audiosurf
World of Goo
World of Goo
i think this is still in everyone's brains but no one cares enough to talk about it.
Magicka
Magicka
also probably too big for this list but fuck if it wasnt inescapable
And Yet It Moves
And Yet It Moves
Bad Rats
Bad Rats
still notorious but i had to include it anyway
Killing Floor
Killing Floor
this ended up being so hilariously overshadowed by its sequel that thats still a thing today
Payday: The Heist
Payday: The Heist
see killing floor
APB Reloaded
APB Reloaded
wait its free? u dont have to pay for it? huh. im downloading it!
Cthulhu Saves the World
Cthulhu Saves the World
Cherry Tree High Comedy Club
Cherry Tree High Comedy Club
Crayon Physics Deluxe
Crayon Physics Deluxe
DLC Quest
DLC Quest
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
this and a few others here are more xbla but fuck it
Dust: An Elysian Tail
Dust: An Elysian Tail
English Country Tune
English Country Tune
maker of stephen's sausage roll!
Tribes: Ascend
Tribes: Ascend
when people talked about it as a fun game and not a citation for how much the dev sucks
eXceed 3rd: Jade Penetrate Black Package
eXceed 3rd: Jade Penetrate Black Package
1 and 2 as well. these felt like the only bullet hells on steam forever
Super Monday Night Combat
Super Monday Night Combat
lol i had no idea the GDPR killed this game. yes that. the fuck??
Frozen Synapse
Frozen Synapse
Man, I Hate That Indie Game!
Man, I Hate That Indie Game!
this is a placeholder for indie game: the movie because its not on igdb but needs to be mentioned. no clue what this actually is
A Virus Named Tom
A Virus Named Tom
no one played this but im including it because everyone used the default avatar from it
Trine
Trine
Guns of Icarus Online
Guns of Icarus Online
why did this feel so popular?
Half Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy
Half Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy
Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit
Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit
PlanetSide 2
PlanetSide 2
Realm of the Mad God
Realm of the Mad God
i think this still has an audience but ill include it anyway
Faerie Solitaire
Faerie Solitaire
Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony
Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony
i see this occasionally get talked about still but by shmup heads. including it anyway
Long Live the Queen
Long Live the Queen
Dungeon Defenders
Dungeon Defenders
Orcs Must Die!
Orcs Must Die!
Snuggle Truck
Snuggle Truck
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it was about immigration that makes s wait what
McPixel
McPixel
Awesomenauts
Awesomenauts
league of legends isnt on steam and no one has a dota 2 invite. youre getting this. cope

i had over 700 hours in this game...
Tiny and Big: Grandpa's Leftovers
Tiny and Big: Grandpa's Leftovers
Organ Trail: Director's Cut
Organ Trail: Director's Cut
i didnt even know what the oregon trail was
The Political Machine 2012
The Political Machine 2012
Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad
Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad
Sanctum
Sanctum
SpeedRunners
SpeedRunners
ok it ""came out"" in 2016 but everyone was playing it in early access in 2013. barely makes the cut off i dont make the rules. was the shit
Arma II: DayZ
Arma II: DayZ
They Bleed Pixels
They Bleed Pixels
Thomas Was Alone
Thomas Was Alone
Shank
Shank
Atom Zombie Smasher
Atom Zombie Smasher
Blocks That Matter
Blocks That Matter
Cortex Command
Cortex Command
(chandler)
Torchlight II
Torchlight II
(zn0)
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
(zn0)
Super Crate Box
Super Crate Box
(zn0)
Botanicula
Botanicula
(zn0)
Revelations 2012
Revelations 2012
(snak)
TrackMania Nations Forever
TrackMania Nations Forever
(snak)
E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy
E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy
(snak)
Bit.Trip Runner
Bit.Trip Runner
(snak)
NeoTokyo
NeoTokyo
(snak)
Go! Go! Nippon!: My First Trip to Japan
Go! Go! Nippon!: My First Trip to Japan
(snak)
Supreme Commander 2
Supreme Commander 2
(jobosno)
Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine
Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine
(jobosno)

20 Comments


10 months ago

just felt my bones turn to dust as I scrolled through my entire steam purchase history and saw all of these turn up in 2011-2012.

do the kids remember PC Gamer Episode 1?

10 months ago

thats a good one, tbh a lot of the tf2 promo stuff is

10 months ago

God I got so many of these free in humble bundles and have yet to play them lol

10 months ago

faerie solitaire goes hard

10 months ago

yea i played that for a few hours back then, its solid

10 months ago

cortex command

10 months ago

hadnt heard of it but its the sort of thing thatd fit the list so sure

10 months ago

torchlight 2 for sure, i'd say, but especially because the first game was kind of a big deal in the earlier steam days. amnesia is absolutely not pushing it imo. maybe super crate box, ftl, hotline miami, botanicula, to the moon, chivalry...?

10 months ago

This is giving me horrendous flashbacks to when I created my steam account on my hand grenade HP pavillion Laptop ten years ago.

10 months ago

Man, I miss playing Speedrunners. That shit actually went super hard despite it just being 4P Genesis Sonic racing. I loved the shark guy, lmao.

10 months ago

@zn0 yeah these are all perfect picks i mostly blanked on. i tried to leave hotline miami in particular off since it got really big

10 months ago

torn between including ftl and to the moon too since theyre also still really big and talked about, but its def undeniable how big ftl actually was back then

10 months ago

Revelations 2012 ia a must, wasn't really popular but it was one of those bad games that made it onto Steam before Greenlight launched
Codename: Gordon is probably too old for this list but whatever
TrackMania Nations Forever
These Bit Trip games like Bit Trip Runner and Beat
EYE Divine Cybermancy
Neotokyo

10 months ago

Also Go Go Nippon lmfao I think this was the first VN on Steam

10 months ago

firing up the mafia 2 demo or supreme commander 2 and immediately receiving a message asking me to play Monaco or APB

10 months ago

Included some more of these, thanks all.

Codename: Gordon is a weird one, I don't remember it but apparently it was made private on Steam in 2008? Before this list's time though yeah. I'd include Gang Garrison 2 but that's not actually on Steam

10 months ago

Thanks for reminding me about tribes: ascend. Great game when it was still supported by the devs.

10 months ago

Damn, Tribes ascend, they dont really make them how they used to

10 months ago

Dungeons of Dredmor and Antichamber both feel like they were in this same vein
that and maybe some of the not-currently-present Potato Sack games (especially Cogs)

9 months ago

Why do I feel so nostalgic for this list


Last updated: