At the start of each year, our Editor sits down to work out the games that should be on everybody’s radar, but this time around, he is doing something different. This year, he is reducing his choices to three games for each genre. These might not be the most anticipated titles or the best releases, but they are games that have huge potential and a chance of doing something exciting or new within their genre. Welcome to “Games to Watch – 2026 Edition.” Let’s kick it off with the action genre.
Games to Watch in 2026 - Action
Saros
Saros is, for all intents and purposes, a follow-up to Housemarque’s excellent rogue-like, Returnal, and that alone is enough to earn a place on this list. Housemarque has always been about pure action, and with Saros, they are bringing that experience to what will hopefully be a new level. In comments from the developers, they have stated it won’t be as punishing as Returnal was, which is great for those who were put off by that game’s difficulty. This isn’t to say there won’t be significant challenge on offer, but Saros is letting players keep experience and upgrades after they die, allowing players to build to a style instead of trusting the RNG gods as to what will show up.
It will be interesting to see if this change alters the balance or makes a good thing even better. I guess we will all find out when Saros is released on the 30th of April for PS5 ( and presumably the PC at least 6 months later)
Control: Resonant
Barring a recent, ill-advised trip into live service, Remedy has never let me down. They make games that sing to me, and they do so in a way that is wholly unique to almost anything else out there. Control was my game of the year when it was released, and Alan Wake 2 is, in my humble opinion, one of the best games of all time, so I had to include Resonant on this list.
This time, players will be taking on the role of P6, otherwise known as Dylan, Jesse Faden’s brother, and the bad shit inside The Old House has gotten out into the streets of New York. Dylan, it seems, has overcome his… ahh… problems from the first game and is ready to save the day in the absence of his sister. The gameplay looks amazing from the trailers, and I am sure the lore will be next level. Seriously, I need this game now, but I expect it won’t get released until August or September at the earliest.
007: First Light
It has been so very long since we have had a good Bond game. In fact, I would say that Everything or Nothing was the last time we had a genuinely excellent video game adventure with the world’s most famous spy. That was still in the Pierce era of Bond, and since that time, we have had another Pierce movie and five Daniel Craig flicks, but no good video games.
So saying there is some pressure on IO Interactive to nail 007: First Light is a little bit of an understatement. Going with an origin story is probably a wise move, and it allows the team to tell their own version of Bond without stepping on any of the movies, and the gameplay looks to be bang on. The only worry I have is that it is one long set-piece after another and misses the open-world inventiveness that IO perfected in the Hitman games. Either way, to say this is a game to watch is selling it short, and I expect the world is eagerly awaiting the final verdict when the game launches on the 27th of May.
