5 Upcoming Games I’m Looking Forward to in 2026

Five upcoming 2026 games I’m looking forward to playing the most!

Well, it’s almost time to say goodbye to another year and of course there were so many things I didn’t get around to doing. It stinks when games you’re looking forward to get released so close together and towards the end of the year. Maybe next year I’ll do even better. Well, before I get into the games I’m looking forward to, let’s take a look back onto last year’s post. All five games ended up releasing (three years in a row, woo!) and all of them were pretty early in the year. However, I ended up not playing any of them this time around. Technically I played the demo for two of them, but I only liked one and didn’t like the other (and actually picked up a different game in the series that came out this year haha). I do still want to play three of them, though one is more of a maybe, but while I may not have played them this year I’ll play them eventually. Like, I bought Metaphor ReFantazio this year for my birthday and that was on my list two years ago.

Well, now it’s time to get into the top five games I’m looking forward to in 2026. I do aim to put games that are more or less guaranteed to release the next year and these aren’t listed in any particular order.

Pragmata

This is one that I didn’t know about until this year and man, I really like the premise and how the game looks. I especially love the decision for Hugh to be carrying Diane on his back for the whole game and how long her hair is. The gameplay also looks pretty interesting. I just hope the demo comes to the PS5 cause I want to try the game out! I’m so glad I caught myself when I almost skipped past this trailer in June’s State of Play. I can tell this one is going to be an emotional rollercoaster already. Pragmata is coming out on April 24, 2025.

Beastro

A cooking game? Hell yeah. Beastro looks really good, colorful, and it does seem like it would be fun making dishes here both in selecting ingredients and playing the minigames. It also kind of reminds me of Wanderstop, but if it was more fantastical and wasn’t just brewing tea. The dish we saw also looked delicious too and I’m looking forward to seeing how all the different dishes look like. The only aspect that I’m not too sure about is the deckbuilder part since I am bad at deckbuilding card games, but I really love how they’re framed as a cute puppet show.

Over RequiemZ

My one otome visual novel game I allotted myself to mention is Over RequiemZ! I had a hard time choosing and almost put two otome VNs on this list. This one is basically a dark reimagining of the Wizard of Oz story where Yuhiru, the protagonist, finds herself not only in Oz but also sentenced for death due to those in Oz thinking you’re a demon. I’m so excited and interested in seeing where the story will go, the artwork looks good, and personally my favorite love interest purely based on their looks is the undertaker Molly = Woodland (I’m not really sure why most of the characters have this naming convention). The OP is also *chef’s kiss*. Also it seems there’ll be some yandere here based on the “Dark” side CGs and like yes please. Give me that yandere goodness. This is set to come out in Summer 2026.

Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement

I really liked Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and when I saw the announcement trailer for Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement I was sold. Heck, I knew it was a castlevania game before the title came up. This game looks so good and looks like it would be so fun. I won’t be able to play this in co-op, but hey at least this means I’ll be able to switch which character I want to play as I can’t decide which one I want to main. I’m so glad I thought to look when this one was coming out since I forgot it’s slated for 2026.

The Witch’s Bakery

Last, but not least, is another cooking game! Don’t worry, it’s pretty different from the other one that I’m also looking forward to. I’ve been following development for The Witch’s Bakery for a while now and I’m so excited. I sadly wasn’t able to support the Kickstarter (it came at the worst time), but this is so up my alley. A cooking game where you play a witch baker who moves to Paris and opens her own bakery! Where she not only manages it, but also bakes everything with love, care, and a little bit of magic. I’m so excited to decorate the bakery, play the minigames, explore Paris, and get to know the characters here. I’ll probably grab this one on the Switch as it seems like the perfect platform to play this on.