2026 is almost half done, and while we do have some major big releases lined up in the next few months of the year, the quality of games that we have had the good fortune of playing in the first 6 months of the year means that there are already more than enough contenders for the coveted Game of the Year. So, to get a head start on this, we thought we would put up games (ranked, of course) that we here at GamesHorizon had a blast playing this year. And yes, while some of these may not eventually make it to the end-of-the-year list, we have a feeling that quite a few will survive the second half of the release calendar.
11. Nioh 3
| Platforms | PS5, PC |
| Developer | Team Ninja |
| Publisher | Koei Tecmo |
| Metacritic Score | 86 |
Nioh 3 marked a return to form for Team Ninja, learning from their work on Rise of the Ronin and Wo Long; and combining all of those to successfully transfer the Nioh formula into an open world. The studio needed a hit, the fans needed a game worthy of the Nioh franchise; and with Nioh 3, Team Ninja ticked both the boxes perfectly well. Little surprise, then, that the game sold more than 1 million copies within 2 weeks of its release.
10. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced
| Platforms | PS5, Xbox Series S/X, PC |
| Developer | Ubisoft |
| Publisher | Ubisoft |
| Metacritic Score | 84 |
The story for Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is remarkably similar to what I just talked about for Nioh 3. Ubisoft needed a big hit after AC Mirage & Shadows, and Black Flag was one of the most loved games by fans of the franchise. And Ubisoft landed this perfectly, tweaking the gameplay just enough, along with major visual overhauls, to deliver, what, in it’s early days looks like the commercial success Ubisoft was gunning for.
9. Crimson Desert
| Platforms | PS5, Xbox Series S/X, PC |
| Developer | Pearl Abyss |
| Publisher | Pearl Abyss |
| Metacritic Score | 77 |
For a game surrounding which hype grew with each trailer and discussions that revealed the ambition and scope of the open world that Pearl Abyss promised, it was a relief that when the game finally launched, it did deliver quite substantially on almost all of those promises. Sure, there were flaws that held the game back – particularly the story, the early part of the game- but its wins were quite handsome: fun exploration, a lot of ways you could react to the world around you (and how it reacted back), and a dizzying number of options to shape your character.
8. Esoteric Ebb
| Platforms | PC |
| Developer | Christoffer Bodegard |
| Publisher | Raw Fury |
| Metacritic Score | 85 |
A game that successfully transplanted the dialogue-heavy addictive gameplay of Disco Elysium onto well-established D&D tropes (or was it the other way round?); Esoteric Ebb is exactly the kind of indie game that you root for – not afraid to swing for the fences by mixing genres and delivering the kind of world-building and moment to moment gameplay that you would be hard-pressed to find in several big ticket projects.
7. Monster Hunter Stories 3 – Twisted Reflection
| Platforms | PS5, Xbox Series S/X, PC, Switch 2 |
| Developer | CAPCOM |
| Publisher | CAPCOM |
| Metacritic Score | 86 |
The first entry by CAPCOM in this list is on the back of one of their most storied franchises – taking the core Monster Hunter experience, and serving it up in a story-first, turn-based RPG with some of the most vibrant environments and some truly over-the-top, dazzling animation, this one, like many games on this list, is a delightful mishmash of genres; and what’s more – delivers a solid 80-90+ hours of rich gameplay that stays with you long after the credits roll.
6. 007 First Light
| Platforms | PS5, Xbox Series S/X, PC, Switch 2 |
| Developer | IO Interactive |
| Publisher | IO Interactive |
| Metacritic Score | 87 |
The moment the trailer for 007 First Light was put up – it felt a natural fit – IO Interactive bringing the skills sharpened over years of Hitman, to the world of James Bond. The only question marks were probably if they would be able to match the scale, and bring an engaging story with all the classic Bond elements. Turns out IO Interactive absolutely knew what was required, and stepped up to deliver one of the best games of the year, and one of the best Bond stories in the franchise.
5. Mewgenics
| Platforms | PC |
| Developer | Edmund McMillen, Tyler Glaiel |
| Publisher | Edmund McMillen, Tyler Glaiel |
| Metacritic Score | 88 |
The mind behind The Binding of Isaac is the mind that has worked out how to make a critically and commercially successful game about breeding cats so that you can defeat some tough (and I mean really tough) bosses and areas to then get back to a hub area, progress and grow stronger, to, well, defeat even tougher bosses. So much so, that the sales within the first three hours of the game launch were enough to plough back all the development costs, with the game crossing the one million sales mark in the launch week itself.
4. Pokopia
| Platforms | Switch 2 |
| Developer | Game Freak |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Metacritic Score | 89 |
The idea behind this spin-off came from Shigeru Ohmori (he has been working on the Pokémon series since 10+ years); about how players would absolutely adore the chance to get their own Pokémon habitats. And surprise, surprise – he was right on the money with it. On it’s release, players and critics accepted the game with open arms, and it went on to become the fourth-best selling game for Switch 2.
3. Mina the Hollower
| Platforms | PS5, PC, Switch 2 |
| Developer | Yacht Club Games |
| Publisher | Yacht Club Games |
| Metacritic Score | 90 |
The tale behind the making of Mina The Hollower is almost as fascinating as the game. What started as a fun project without any commercial leanings soon got the attention of the company the dev worked for and the gaming community with crowdfunding, eventually made it to a Must-Play status for the game on Metacritic, and crossed 500k in sales within a fortnight of launch. The mechanic of the protagonist diving into the ground (hence the ‘Hollower’) was something different but fit in perfectly with the overall 8-bit pixel graphics and world-building. And like the other indie hit on this list, this was a great mishmash of genres … from the Legend of Zelda like puzzle solving to throwing in a bit of souls-likes for good measure.
2. Pragmata
| Platforms | PS5, Xbox Series S/X, PC, Switch 2 |
| Developer | CAPCOM |
| Publisher | CAPCOM |
| Metacritic Score | 85 |
As if to prove a point, and feeling that getting games from existing franchises into a top 10 list was not enough, CAPCOM decided to do this with a new IP, and, to make it that much more challenging, base the core gameplay mechanic for that game on a mix of shooting and puzzle solving. And, yes, if it was not clear enough yet, they nailed it. Along with the story, characters and world-building too. An absolute must-play, and a game that we strongly suspect will be in this list irrespective of how many games come through in the second half of the year.
1. Resident Evil Requiem
| Platforms | PS5, Xbox Series S/X, PC, Switch 2 |
| Developer | CAPCOM |
| Publisher | CAPCOM |
| Metacritic Score | 89 |
In what is turning out to be a purple patch for CAPCOM, they have owned the first half of the year like no one else, raking in not just the numbers, but also the best positions in the top games of 2026 list. Rounding off the list so far, sits Resident Evil 9 – Requiem. A series that has seen consistently good entries in Village, the RE4 Remake, and now, what fans and the overall gaming community believe (so do we!), the best entry in this much beloved franchise.
