There are so many more games to come in 2026, and I’d like to use this blog post to give you and me an overview of my plans. You see, how should I know what I’m thinking before I hear myself say it?

The following list reflects my preferences and what I’d spend my hard-earned money on. Not all titles are interesting from a performance perspective, as the chosen art style and overall tech likely do not require high-end systems to run. At the end, I’ll also explain why I haven’t been as active this year compared to last year.

But enough intro-talk, let’s start off with my hotly anticipated titles.

I also have a German version of this video.

Hotly Anticipated

If I’m being honest, only one of the three games I’ll mention in this section is one I cannot wait for. I’ll still talk about the others here since they don’t fit into any of the other categories I came up with. After all, this is not like a list of Metal subgenres with an insane amount of granularity.

Kena: Scars of Kasmora (PS5, PC)

The new Kena game is the one title that sits at the top of my list. Some of you may be surprised by this, but Ember Lab’s first Kena game ranked second in my Gaming Year 2022 list between the heavyweights Horizon Forbidden West and Cyberpunk 2077.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits impressed me a lot. It was the combination of art direction, gameplay, and especially the sound design that created a unique adventure. Don’t let the cute visuals and playful audio fool you. The combat is very challenging and has nothing adorable about it. Especially the boss fights are quite demanding. Not From Soft challenging, but not a walk in the park either.

Although Scars of Kosmora is essentially a must-buy for me, there’s one aspect that dampens my euphoria. The game will be “bigger and better”, which aren’t always two words that go well together. I can only hope that Ember Lab doesn’t go overboard with their ambitions and get carried away. As far as I know, they are using Unreal 5 for the sequel, and we all know what can happen when big ambitions are combined with Unreal 5. The predecessor uses Unreal 4 and was marred by the typical issues that can come with this engine. Let’s hope part two dodges that fate. But independent of that, bigger isn’t always better. Focus might get lost, and the game might drag on instead of being fun.

There’s no specific release date yet.

Titan Quest 2 1.0 (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC)

The interesting part about Titan Quest 2 is the release of the final version when the game exits its Early Access period. I already looked at the Diablo-like last year, and apparently, the final version is due this year (first impressions summary).

Since I completed the Early Access content, I haven’t touched the game. Apart from a few balancing issues and Unreal 5 performance woes, I thought it was a very fun game even in its early state. I hope the devs managed to tame the traversal stuttering a bit, as this was my biggest complaint about the game. In contrast, the gameplay and handcrafted world convinced me and made me want more.

No date is known yet.

Emberville Early Access (PC)

While Titan Quest 2 leaves Early Access, Emberville enters Early Access. In terms of performance, it’s most likely as interesting as Replaced. But who knows, maybe it has some oddities to find. Read my post about the Replaced Demo if you want to know what I’m talking about.

After my trip to the wall in Wall World and the Replaced Demo, I’m much more open to pixel-art games like this. On top of that, I’d like to deviate occasionally from my usual preferences, and it looks like Emberville is set up nicely for that.

No date is known yet.

Trust But Verify

Let’s now talk about a few titles for which I’m waiting for independent reviews and gameplay to be uploaded to YouTube. I’d like to have a more informed opinion before I pull the trigger.

Replaced (Xbox Series X|S, PC)

As I mentioned, I already have a post about the Replaced Demo on this channel. In that post, I mentioned that I’m a bit cautious about the state of the game. I’m totally sold on the setting, the style, and the combat. But how long will the game be, and will the gameplay become repetitive and boring? How much will it cost? These are the questions I’d like answered first.

Because of the pixelated graphics, performance wasn’t an issue. But at high frame rates, animation artifacts occurred that could ruin the fun. Therefore, the core game should hold up before I buy what they’re selling.

The 14th of April is when the game releases.

Forza Horizon 6 (Xbox Series X|S, PC)

If I think about it, the Forza Horizon games are made for me. Amazing, high-performance visuals, nice, high-performance cars, tuning, and an approachable game design. Unfortunately, the previous entries in this series failed to keep me motivated in the long run. It’s like driving on the German Autobahn, where nobody looks in the rearview mirror to make room for fast-approaching cars or pull out in front of them, slowing them down.

Or, in short: The Horizon games lacked long-term motivation because hot cars and crazy tuning options were available way too early and way too easily. The games took the foot off the gas and put it onto the brakes way too quickly. If the Horizon 6 campaign is more challenging and unlocks happen more slowly depending on progress, it could convince me to give it another chance. As an ol’ Need for Speed Undergrounder, I’m waiting for another racing/tuning game to test my driving skills.

Car enthusiasts can start hooning through Japan on May 19th.

Beast of Reincarnation (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC)

The Pokémon-makers of Game Freak do, in fact, work on a (quote-on-quote) “real” game that caught my attention. And yet, I’m not exactly clear on what the gameplay will be like. It’s undoubtedly an Action-Adventure with a furry companion. Combat also looks challenging, and it’s taking place in a post-apocalyptic world. This alone and the furry friend fighting by your side are always a good thing. All I need to say is Mabari.

I remain open and curious about this one.

We’ll know more on August 4th.

He’s Plays It, He’s Plays It Not

The final two games fall into the “I’m not sure yet” category. Generally, I think both are highly anticipated by many gamers and intriguing in their own ways. For me, it depends on how much time I have and how well both titles are received. I don’t need to increase my pile of shame any further.

007 First Light (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, PC)

At this point, I must make a confession: I have never played any of the Hitman games, and I don’t intend to. Depending on how handholdy or open and sandboxy the First Light gameplay is, I might take an interest or not. A gaming sandbox with countless ways to achieve a goal intimidates me more than it motivates me, and that’s what IO Interactive’s previous games were, from what I know. I prefer it when a game gives me a gentle nudge in the right direction every now and then.

Starting May 27th, we can hunt down bad guys and charm the ladies as a young James Bond.

Control Resonant (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC)

I don’t think I need to say much about Remedy games. The Finnish Studio has a reputation for fantastic storytelling and crazy but compelling game design. And all of that is built on their own in-house engine, which makes it even more interesting to tech-enthusiasts.

Control Resonant looks to be a Character-Action-Game, which isn’t really up my alley. The reason for that is a skill issue on my part. Games like this usually have a lot of skills and button combinations to remember, and that’s something I struggle with. I don’t play enough for this to become muscle memory.

Therefore, this is a “wait and see” type of game for me. It definitely looks absolutely crazy and interesting.

No exact release date yet.

Famous Last Words

There are even more blockbuster games coming in 2026. GTA 6, the new Fable, the Halo Remake, a Tomb Raider Remake, and others I forgot. Maybe that’s material for another video. However, I doubt this content sparks much engagement on this channel.

Which brings us to the topic of making videos/writing blog posts.

I must admit, this is sort of a stopgap just to make something. Playing and recording Steelrising for my German channel took way longer than expected. I didn’t have much time to run performance tests alongside it. But that wasn’t the only reason. YouTube is just a hobby and a valve for my mildly developed creativity, so time is limited. Working out and being active have taken on a much more important role recently, almost back to the levels I used to train not so long ago.

The biggest impact comes from somewhere else, though. After all, I do need to rest from training, so that should free up some time. But I sit in front of a computer every single workday and get irritated by things that do relate to my profession but aren’t necessarily programmer tasks. Work can sometimes wear me down to the point where I’m not interested in spending more time on a PC in my free time. While playing Steelrising, I took roughly a three-week break from anything gaming-related because of that. The 30-minute Replaced demo and its video/post were the only exception, if I recall correctly. At the moment, I’m still looking for that golden chest to refill my motivation meter. As a result, my video/post output has dropped dramatically. Even this blog post is already taking way too long to finish.

Long story short: I haven’t given up yet, and that’s the message I wanted to convey with this blog post. Performance tests, benchmarks, and reviews will be far and few between for the moment while I work my way through this state of mind. I don’t even have a game that has its hooks into me right now. Baldur’s Gate 3 gets some playtime here and then, and it’s kinda fun, but honestly, I have to convince myself to sit down and play.

Now that this channel update is behind us, I have a question: Are you interested in any of the games I mentioned? Are you waiting for something else? Why? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for indulging me. I hope you have a wonderful day, wherever you are.