{"id":41510,"date":"2026-04-03T18:45:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T10:45:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=41510"},"modified":"2026-04-03T18:45:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T10:45:39","slug":"best-games-of-2026-so-far-pokopia-marathon-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=41510","title":{"rendered":"Best games of 2026 so far: Pokopia, Marathon, and more"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

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<\/em>, Resident Evil Requiem<\/em>, and Marvel\u2019s Wolverine<\/em> alone seemed like a generation-defining trio in the making. But truly special gaming years aren\u2019t entirely defined by their biggest blockbusters; it\u2019s often the surprises between those tentpole moments that give us the best games of the year.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

<\/p>\n

That\u2019s certainly held true so far in 2026. Three months in and we\u2019ve 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\u2019t worry, we\u2019ll save that task for December. In the meantime, here are the best games of 2026 (so far), organized in reverse-chronological order.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

How we pick the best games of 2026.<\/strong> For consideration, a game has to be out for at least a month, 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.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

\n 1 <\/span>
\n
\n Marathon
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\"Two\n <\/picture>Image: Bungie<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Release date:<\/strong> March 5<\/p>\n

Where to play:<\/strong> PS5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X<\/p>\n

Marathon <\/em>is the kind of game that creeps up on you. Your first few play sessions are bound to be overwhelming as you\u2019re inundated with confusing loot, bizarre UI, and a bevy of underexplained systems. The more you stick with it, though, the more you\u2019ll discover an engrossing extraction shooter that puts all of Bungie\u2019s best qualities into one tense experience. \u201cIt\u2019s 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,\u201d Corey Plante wrote about its high-risk joy. \u201cYou have to pick your battles or else you run the risk of losing everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n 2 <\/span>
\n
\n Pok\u00e9mon Pokopia
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\"Pokemon\n <\/picture>Image: Omega Force\/Game Freak\/The\u00a0Pok\u00e9mon Company\/Nintendo<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Release date:<\/strong> March 5<\/p>\n

Where to play:<\/strong> Switch 2<\/p>\n

We always expected that Pok\u00e9mon Pokopia <\/em>would be a fun time. Who wouldn\u2019t trust the developers behind Dragon Quest Builders 2<\/em> to deliver a great sandbox? What we didn\u2019t 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\u2019t just want you to catch \u2018em all in a new way, but to think of Pok\u00e9mon as creatures you truly want to protect. As I wrote in my review, \u201cYou are collecting homes as much as you are collecting Pok\u00e9mon, and that significantly changes your relationship to monsters you\u2019ve caught hundreds of times.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n 3 <\/span>
\n
\n Resident Evil Requiem
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\"Leon\n <\/picture>Image: Capcom via Polygon<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Release date:<\/strong> February 27<\/p>\n

Where to play:<\/strong> PS5, Switch 2, Windows PC, Xbox Series X<\/p>\n

Resident Evil Requiem<\/em> is two excellent horror games in one. First, you have a return to the series\u2019 roots with Grace Ashford\u2019s 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: \u201cIt 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\u2019s guilt,\u201d I wrote in my review. It makes for a mournful but always exciting horror game about the different ways people confront trauma.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n 4 <\/span>
\n
\n Reanimal
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\"A\n <\/picture>Image: Tarsier Studios\/THQ Nordic<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Release date:<\/strong> February 13<\/p>\n

Where to play:<\/strong> PS5, Switch 2, Windows PC, Xbox Series X<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that Tarsier Studios\u2019 Reanimal <\/em>is doing anything too radically different from Little Nightmares, the small-scale horror series that the indie studio built its name on. It\u2019s more that it is fully realizing that idea\u2019s potential in extraordinary fashion. The co-op horror game is an atmospheric tour de force, taking players through a nightmarishly surreal journey that goes to some truly dark but magnificent places. \u201cHorror games have no business being this beautiful,\u201d Marloes Valentina Stella wrote in her review. \u201cNo, scratch that; horror games have every business being this beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n 5 <\/span>
\n
\n Mewgenics
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\"A\n <\/picture>Image: Edmund McMillen\/Tyler Glaiel<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Release date:<\/strong> February 10<\/p>\n

Where to play:<\/strong> Windows PC<\/p>\n

As far as passion projects go, Mewgenics <\/em>is one hell of a creative swing. The cat-breeding tactics-roguelike from Super Meat Boy<\/em> co-creator Edmund McMillen is so full of wacky ideas that you\u2019ll start to feel like there\u2019s no bottom to it. It\u2019s so easy to get mesmerized by it as a result. \u201cI\u2019ve found myself consumed by this game, dreaming about combat grids and sinking hours into trying to create the strongest cats this world has ever seen,\u201d Deven McClure wrote in her review. \u201cIt\u2019s a true feat for a game to walk the line between juvenile and complex, and Mewgenics <\/em>does it deftly.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n 6 <\/span>
\n
\n Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\"The\n <\/picture>Image: Square Enix\/HexaDrive<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Release date:<\/strong> February 5<\/p>\n

Where to play:<\/strong> PS5, Switch 2, Windows PC, Xbox Series X<\/p>\n

In an age where we\u2019re flooded with video game double-dips, few remakes are as delightful as Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined<\/em>. The new version of Square Enix\u2019s classic RPG isn\u2019t out to provide players with a faithful remake, but a completely new experience that puts the series\u2019 childlike heart at center stage. Joyful visuals and a breezier pace turn a daunting RPG into one that players of all ages can fall in love with. Michael McWhertor put it best in his review: \u201cWith an infectious enthusiasm, the game beckons a new generation of players to find their inner hero, to save the world through the eyes of those who long for adventure and aspire to make their own destiny.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n 7 <\/span>
\n
\n Cairn
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\"Aava\n <\/picture>Image: The Game Bakers<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Release date:<\/strong> January 29<\/p>\n

Where to play:<\/strong> PS5, Windows PC<\/p>\n

Cairn <\/em>is an incredibly challenging game, but maybe not in the way you\u2019re expecting. Yes, the free-climbing adventure can be traditionally hard as its protagonist, Aava, tries to scale slippery mountains while gusts of wind and sudden rainstorms try to thwart her journey. But Cairn<\/em>\u2019s challenge is more found in its tough lessons. \u201cThere\u2019s a gentle suggestion here that focus and determination come at a human cost, and that all ascents aren\u2019t inherently noble,\u201d Oli Welsh wrote in his review. \u201cThis is a survival game that\u2019s more about walking away from comfort and ease than trying to reclaim it. Cairn <\/em>is hypnotic and rewarding, but it can be tough and bitter, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n 8 <\/span>
\n
\n Perfect Tides: Station to Station
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\"Mara\n <\/picture>Image: Three Bees<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Release date:<\/strong> January 22<\/p>\n

Where to play:<\/strong> Windows PC<\/p>\n

Few video game creators today cut straight to the heart like Meredith Gran. Her latest game, Perfect Tides: Station to Station<\/em>, is a gorgeously meditative narrative adventure set against the backdrop of 2000s hipsterdom. \u201cA familiar college coming-of-age story puts its ear to a human heart that used to beat a little differently before the age of mass communication,\u201d I wrote in my review. \u201cIt\u2019s a return to a time when an indie rock record and a late-night AIM conversation with a crush were one and the same: precious sounds that belonged only to you.\u201d Even if you\u2019re not nostalgic for that era, Station to Station<\/em>\u2019s sincere memories of it will begin to feel like your own.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n 9 <\/span>
\n
\n TR-49
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\"A\n <\/picture>Image: Inkle<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Release date:<\/strong> January 21<\/p>\n

Where to play:<\/strong> iOS, Windows PC<\/p>\n

For my money, no studio working today is as creatively exciting as Inkle. You\u2019ll understand exactly why I feel that way when you play TR-49<\/em>. The inventive puzzle game turns codebreaking into an act of deduction, as players search an old computer\u2019s database to piece together truths obscured by fascism. \u201cTo solve TR-49<\/em> is to reconstruct a reality that was rewritten in real time,\u201d I wrote in my review. Through cryptic text logs and nods at the history of censorship, Inkle finds fierce political commentary in small-scale puzzles.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n 10 <\/span>
\n
\n Mio: Memories in Orbit
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\"A\n <\/picture>Image:\u00a0Douze Dixi\u00e8mes\/Focus Entertainment<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Release date:<\/strong> January 20<\/p>\n

Where to play:<\/strong> PS5, Switch, Windows PC, Xbox Series X<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not often that you play a game that nails its genre as well as Mio: Memories in Orbit<\/em>. The stylish Metroidvania does just about everything you\u2019d want from a game like it. It\u2019s full of secrets, gives you surprising traversal abilities, contains tons of challenging bosses, and features a striking art style that leaves you hungry to explore just so you can marvel at the world. \u201cIt is committed to the act of exploration to a surgical degree,\u201d I wrote in my review that praised its use of genre conventions. \u201cTo survive its ship full of rogue machines is to become a digital cadaver of a gorgeously intricate digital world.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


\n
Read Full Article At Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[321,2925,9198],"class_list":["post-41510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-gadgets-reviews","tag-games","tag-marathon","tag-pokopia","wpcat-32-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41510\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}