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.” For our final article, Matt is highlighting three games that don’t quite fit into the other categories, but deserve your attention nonetheless.
Games to Watch in 2026 - The Odd Ones Out
Mudang: Two Hearts
Of all the games coming out this year, Mudang seems to be one of the more interesting. A blend of stealth, action and drama, it comes across as something unique. I don’t want to put too high an expectation on it, but it has more than a hint of Kojima about it.
Set in a unified Korea after a terror attack, the game lets players take control of both a highly trained operative and a K-pop star. The gameplay for the two protagonists is obviously quite different (though a K-pop star killing highly trained soldiers with assault weapons does have some appeal), so there is undoubtedly going to be quite a bit of variety in the game. If the devs can pull it all together, I suspect this one could be a breakout hit. Mudang: Two Hearts will most likely land in the last part of the year.
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve
In a world severely lacking approachable flight combat games, one series continues to fly high. Ace Combat is the go-to franchise for anyone looking to shoot some baddies out of the sky without having to read a 700-page manual first. Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is coming this year and, as always, excited pilots everywhere are getting ready to strap in.
The Ace Combat games know their audience. People who want tight, approachable aerial combat and a splash of over-the-top drama have been addicted to Ace Combat for decades. I, myself, was late to the party (Ace Combat: Assault Horizon), but since that time, I have been a committed devotee. I expect more of the same, but prettier when 8 is released, but I am more than ok with that. Expect this one mid-year.
Masters of Albion
I am old. Old enough to remember when Peter Molyneux was considered a gaming visionary, not some sort of snake oil salesman. He made great games, games that I loved. Theme Park, Magic Carpet, Black and White and, yes, Fable. But since that time, his rep has been battered due to his own approach to the industry and a clear delusion as to what players want.
So I am putting his next, and reportedly last, game here as both a hope and expectation of a train crash. I hope that he discovers his lost mojo and we get a Black and White-level god game once again. I expect it will be a crash of epic proportions, and once again, Peter will be shown to be out of touch with the world he used to be a master of. Either way, it will be interesting to watch it all unfold when Masters of Albion releases on the 23rd of April.
