Months before 2026 even began, there was a palpable feeling in the air that it was going to be a significant year for games. Grand Theft Auto 6, Resident Evil Requiem, and Marvel’s Wolverine alone seemed like a generation-defining trio in the making. But truly special gaming years aren’t entirely defined by their biggest blockbusters; it’s often the surprises between those tentpole moments that give us the best games of the year.
That’s certainly held true so far in 2026. Three months in and we’ve already had so many gems, big and small, that we could put together a pretty killer year-end list today and be happy with it. Don’t worry, we’ll save that task for December. In the meantime, here are the best games of 2026 (so far), organized in reverse-chronological order.
How we pick the best games of 2026. For consideration, a game has to be out for at least three weeks, so we know it’s not just a flash in the pan. We also select games that are beloved not just by their reviewer but also widely across the team. We’ll update this article periodically throughout 2026.
1
Mina the Hollower
Release date: May 29
Where to play: PS5, Switch, Windows PC, Xbox Series X
Mina the Hollower, Yacht Club Games’ ode to the top-down Zelda era, pulls off something remarkable. Rather than settling for easy Game Boy nostalgia, it reinvents a retro adventure format in so many notable ways. Its perfectly-implemented Bloodborne inspiration, for instance, could have felt forced and frustrating in less capable hands, but Yacht Club pulls it off with finesse by understanding where 40 years of video game history naturally intersects. “FromSoftware’s games draw on foundational game design principles that powered ‘80s adventure games,” I wrote in my review. “Mina the Hollower is just the link between worlds.”
2
007 First Light
Release date: May 27
Where to play: PS5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X
It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten a great James Bond video game, but IO Interactive has ended a long drought in spectacular fashion. 007 First Light nails the assignment, combining the cinematic highs of Uncharted with Hitman’s immersive sim brilliance. That’s all anchored by Patrick Gibson’s strong take on a young Bond that sells First Light’s origin story premise. “He’s exactly as you’d expect a younger, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed Bond to be,” Ford James wrote in his review. “Far more talkative than his jaded, older self, but with the perfect amount of defiance for authority, back-chat, and quick-wittedness, alongside enviable levels of suavity.”
3
Forza Horizon 6
Release date: May 19
Where to play: Windows PC, Xbox Series X
The Forza Horizon series is about as reliable as it gets in gaming. Playground Games’ open-world racing games never cease to impress, even if they’re not trying to do anything particularly new. That’s true for Forza Horizon 6, which doesn’t mess with an excellent formula. “Forza Horizon 6 is excellent, because of course it is,” Oli Welsh wrote in his review. “It’s polished, welcoming, huge, sensible, gorgeous, flexible, intense, relaxing, lavish, detailed, tasteful, dorky, glamorous, and upbeat, because of course it is.” Even if it’s more of the same, the gorgeous Japanese scenery and some much-needed progression tweaks make Forza Horizon 6 another victory for a series that’s all gas, no brakes.
4
Titanium Court
Release date: April 23
Where to play: Windows PC
The less you know about Titanium Court before playing it, the better. This year’s Seumas McNally Grand Prize winner is at its best when it’s delivering unpredictable absurdism within its genre-fusing match-three roguelike tower defense strategy gameplay. “It might seem like it’s just screwing with you at first, testing your game design literacy,” I wrote in my Titanium Court review, “but play along with it and you’ll discover an inventive work of comedy that’s a joy to outwit.” All I’ll tell you is that Titanium Court is what would happen if Shakespeare got really into Candy Crush while writing A Midsummer Night’s Dream. How’s that for a pitch?
5
Pragmata
Release date: April 17
Where to play: PS5, Switch 2, Windows PC, Xbox Series X
No one is having a better 2026 than Capcom, and Pragmata is proof of that. What looks like a generic sci-fi shooter at a distance is actually a delightfully inventive take on the genre with a heart of gold. Its main draw is its unique bot-hacking twist, where you need to complete a quick maze puzzle while aiming before you can do any real damage to enemies. Austin Manchester praised the system and how it comes together with Pragmata’s weighty shooting in his review: “While these two elements may seem trite on their own, together, in the flow and intensity of combat, they make Pragmata feel like nothing I’ve ever played before.”
6
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream
Release date: April 16
Where to play: Switch
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream shines when you approach it less like Animal Crossing and more like a reality TV show. Nintendo’s wacky life sim gives you a wealth of creative tools that let you turn anybody you want into a Mii and toss them into a living Mad Lib. An absurd joy arises from drawing a pack of Marlboros and slotting them into the simulation, watching in delight as your newborn baby starts waving around a pack of cigs. “Tomodachi Life is a program to be outsmarted, not controlled,” I wrote about the game’s filterless fun. “Every funny screenshot you can snap is a point scored against the machine.”
7
Marathon
Release date: March 5
Where to play: PS5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X
Marathon is the kind of game that creeps up on you. Your first few play sessions are bound to be overwhelming as you’re inundated with confusing loot, bizarre UI, and a bevy of underexplained systems. The more you stick with it, though, the more you’ll discover an engrossing extraction shooter that puts all of Bungie’s best qualities into one tense experience. “It’s not about rushing your goals, but about pushing outward into the boundaries of the playable space around you in tactical ways that guarantee your survival,” Corey Plante wrote about its high-risk joy. “You have to pick your battles or else you run the risk of losing everything.”
8
Pokémon Pokopia
Release date: March 5
Where to play: Switch 2
We always expected that Pokémon Pokopia would be a fun time. Who wouldn’t trust the developers behind Dragon Quest Builders 2 to deliver a great sandbox? What we didn’t anticipate was just how much it would take over our lives. The cozy life sim has a way of winning you over by being very sincere. It doesn’t just want you to catch ‘em all in a new way, but to think of Pokémon as creatures you truly want to protect. As I wrote in my review, “You are collecting homes as much as you are collecting Pokémon, and that significantly changes your relationship to monsters you’ve caught hundreds of times.”
9
Esoteric Ebb
Release date: March 3
Where to play: Windows PC
Capturing the essence of a tabletop RPG in a video game can be tricky, but Esoteric Ebb nails the assignment. The narrative-driven CRPG fuses the fundamentals of Disco Elysium and Dungeons and Dragons to create a dense adventure where your actions have serious consequences. “Esoteric Ebb feels like the closest D&D experience I’ve had in a video game, perhaps ever,” Francesco Cacciatore wrote, praising the RPG’s tabletop connection. “One big reason is the deep, expansive lore created by Bodegård, which is based on his ‘homebrew’ D&D campaign… The Esoteric Coast is one of the most fascinating fantasy settings I’ve had the pleasure of exploring.” On top of all that, it’s pretty hysterical, capturing the ridiculous humor and sly wit of a Douglas Adams novel.
10
Resident Evil Requiem
Release date: February 27
Where to play: PS5, Switch 2, Windows PC, Xbox Series X
Resident Evil Requiem is two excellent horror games in one. First, you have a return to the series’ roots with Grace Ashford’s terrifying escape from a creepy Care Center. Then, you have Leon S. Kennedy returning to the ruins of Raccoon City to face his past and slay hordes of zombies in the process. That divide is a meaningful one: “It returns to the Raccoon City incident, both in its classic survival horror gameplay and story, to allow its characters to finally unpack decades of grief, regret, and survivor’s guilt,” I wrote in my review. It makes for a mournful but always exciting horror game about the different ways people confront trauma.
