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?

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
Bad Rats
Bad Rats
still notorious but i had to include it anyway
Revelations 2012
Revelations 2012
(snak)
APB Reloaded
APB Reloaded
wait its free? u dont have to pay for it? huh. im downloading it!
The Political Machine 2012
The Political Machine 2012
Snuggle Truck
Snuggle Truck
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it was about immigration that makes s wait what
Go! Go! Nippon!: My First Trip to Japan
Go! Go! Nippon!: My First Trip to Japan
(snak)
DLC Quest
DLC Quest
McPixel
McPixel
A Virus Named Tom
A Virus Named Tom
no one played this but im including it because everyone used the default avatar from it
Moonbase Alpha
Moonbase Alpha
aeiou
Super Monday Night Combat
Super Monday Night Combat
lol i had no idea the GDPR killed this game. yes that. the fuck??
AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!: A Reckless Disregard for Gravity
AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!: A Reckless Disregard for Gravity
its first here because its first in your library
Spiral Knights
Spiral Knights
And Yet It Moves
And Yet It Moves
Crayon Physics Deluxe
Crayon Physics Deluxe
Realm of the Mad God
Realm of the Mad God
i think this still has an audience but ill include it anyway
Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit
Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit
PlanetSide 2
PlanetSide 2
Sanctum
Sanctum
Guns of Icarus Online
Guns of Icarus Online
why did this feel so popular?
Blocks That Matter
Blocks That Matter
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...
Cthulhu Saves the World
Cthulhu Saves the World
They Bleed Pixels
They Bleed Pixels
Cortex Command
Cortex Command
(chandler)
Faerie Solitaire
Faerie Solitaire
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
(zn0)
Alien Swarm
Alien Swarm
Payday: The Heist
Payday: The Heist
see killing floor
Atom Zombie Smasher
Atom Zombie Smasher
Shank
Shank
Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine
Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine
(jobosno)
Super Crate Box
Super Crate Box
(zn0)
Beat Hazard
Beat Hazard
Cherry Tree High Comedy Club
Cherry Tree High Comedy Club
Bit.Trip Runner
Bit.Trip Runner
(snak)
Frozen Synapse
Frozen Synapse
Organ Trail: Director's Cut
Organ Trail: Director's Cut
i didnt even know what the oregon trail was
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
Poker Night at the Inventory
Poker Night at the Inventory
Orcs Must Die!
Orcs Must Die!
Natural Selection 2
Natural Selection 2
Trine
Trine
Audiosurf
Audiosurf
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
English Country Tune
English Country Tune
maker of stephen's sausage roll!
Tiny and Big: Grandpa's Leftovers
Tiny and Big: Grandpa's Leftovers
Magicka
Magicka
also probably too big for this list but fuck if it wasnt inescapable
Torchlight II
Torchlight II
(zn0)
Killing Floor
Killing Floor
this ended up being so hilariously overshadowed by its sequel that thats still a thing today
Half Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy
Half Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy
NeoTokyo
NeoTokyo
(snak)
Dungeon Defenders
Dungeon Defenders
Supreme Commander 2
Supreme Commander 2
(jobosno)
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
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
Long Live the Queen
Long Live the Queen
Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad
Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad
Arma II: DayZ
Arma II: DayZ
Thomas Was Alone
Thomas Was Alone
E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy
E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy
(snak)
Dust: An Elysian Tail
Dust: An Elysian Tail
World of Goo
World of Goo
i think this is still in everyone's brains but no one cares enough to talk about it.
Tribes: Ascend
Tribes: Ascend
when people talked about it as a fun game and not a citation for how much the dev sucks
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
this and a few others here are more xbla but fuck it
SpaceChem
SpaceChem
the games on this row (except amnesia) all have something in common. im sure you know
Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale
Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
probably pushing it with this one idc
Botanicula
Botanicula
(zn0)
TrackMania Nations Forever
TrackMania Nations Forever
(snak)

20 Comments


1 year 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?

1 year ago

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

1 year ago

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

1 year ago

faerie solitaire goes hard

1 year ago

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

1 year ago

cortex command

1 year ago

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

1 year 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...?

1 year ago

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

1 year 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.

1 year 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

1 year 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

1 year 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

1 year ago

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

1 year ago

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

1 year 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

1 year ago

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

1 year ago

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

11 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)

10 months ago

Why do I feel so nostalgic for this list


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