Making a top 10 list for any year kind of freaks me out.
Inevitably there are about 20-30 games any given year that I could have or should have played, and so many of those games (sometimes up to 28 or 29) I end up whiffing on. Did I play Expedition 33 this year? No. Would it have been on this list if I had? Almost certainly! Pathologic 3 came out on January 6 of 2026, thank God, or else I’d have to wonder if it should be on this list too.
And if that isn’t enough, I’m also a lazy connoisseur of games that simply never end. Gacha games? Well I’ve played a few. Final Fantasy XIV? Based on my “hours played,” I’m guessing it ate more than one game up this year. And I don’t apologize for that entirely, but in trying to cut back, I also end up playing and loving games I missed in previous years – Neon White and Yakuza 0 were masterpieces! That were released…a really long time ago.
So you can see my dilemma! And yet, here we are, and here I am having been asked to give a recap of the year in gaming a half month after its ignoble death. My one saving grace is that this is unlikely to be the worst thing you’ve read in 2026 so far. …probably. On to the races!
1. The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy
I’ve been pretty serious about this being my number one game of 2025 with a bullet, and I’m here to say, even having not finished every last ending, that it remains my number one with a bullet. Kaz Kodaka and Kotaro Uchikoshi have teamed up before, and World’s End Club had glimpses of what Hundred Line would become, but without a stuck landing. This game, this massive hunk of gaming experience and overwhelming scale, absolutely sticks that landing and more. I’m not entirely sure if it paid off monetarily for the studio, particularly as Kodaka and Uchikoshi are, effectively, their own studio, but if it didn’t that can easily be put down to the overwhelming and alienating style of the game. Anime, with weird sexualization of (legal god I swear they’re legal) teens, a strategy game with a VN shell, and 100 endings promised and delivered make for a game that not everyone is gonna pick up. That said, the quality and the care put into making this game work is beyond anything I could’ve expected. This is a form-defining piece of art, and if the boys are to be believed, it’s not even fully complete yet. Please dig in.
2. Blue Prince
If there was plausibly a challenger to Hundred Line for the top spot, this is it. If you had these swapped – as noted rabble rouser Sam Sheehan has in the past – I couldn’t blame you. Blue Prince is a masterpiece, and is so damned compelling and monumental, I couldn’t believe it was actually released not too long ago. The game takes up rent-free space in my head, and I can recall mysteries I bailed on and themes I left unfinished simply because the game was taking over my life. I ran through so, so, so many runs of this game and still am not remotely “complete” if rumors are to be believed. I never had Balatro become a life-ruiner for me, but I could see the vision with Blue Prince. It calls to me, with its many rooms and rogue-lite structure, like the Green Goblin mask. “COWARD. Consider the way the Boiler Room works again.”
3. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter
Yes, yes I hear you all. This isn’t new it’s a remake. And it failed to capture the spirit of the series! And you, Trevor, didn’t even finish it! BE THAT AS IT MAY. This is the game that finally clued me in to what everyone is so excited about with these Trails in the Sky games. I just stupidly decided to stream the whole thing, which made it tough to put 12 hours in and not sleep. Ultimately, the switch to 3D and active-passive dual combat made this game feel fresh and compelling while also keeping the feeling of the vast potential of the series intact. I can’t wait to finish it and continue on my journey, and it’s hard to say a remake can do better than that.
4. Hell Clock
A Brazilian Hades-like, Hell Clock is not perfect, and that’s ok. It’s clearly a labor of love from a smaller studio, it’s concepts in the narrative are fascinating, and it covers a period of time and place (late 19th century Brazil and its revolutionary struggle) that are rarely touched on by games in general. Ultimately, the game feels great to play, is a lot of fun to experience, features beautiful Portuguese voice acting, and is not the usual fare one would enjoy. Is it as good as Hades? Pretty unfair question dogg! It’s plenty good and plenty fun and let’s be honest if you’re already thinking of playing it you’ve put 400 hours into various Hades already, so a change might be good.
5. Umamusume: Pretty Derby
The horses are women! The women are horses! They’re kind of like if track stars were also racehorses! And they’re cute and there’s a kind of romantic dynamic a little bit but not much. And it’s wholesome! And there’s a school. And you’re a coach. And this should not work for me it should absolutely not work for me at all, but it absolutely flawlessly does. I didn’t play this as much as I could have, but it still left its mark on me and convinced me of the juice the Umamusume series has. There’s a clear reason this is a juggernaut in Japan and worldwide, and it’s because it has a hell of a good heart. The game itself is also very fun!
6. HORSES
Feel kind of bad ranking Horses this low, but the oft-banned, oft-talked about game is honestly kind of more than the sum of its parts and also less than the sum of its parts. A brilliant setup and execution in the Italian naturalist film approach, with truly terrifying visuals and a lot of surprising revelations, the game feels like a hellish delight while its being played. The effect fades a bit upon recollection, but it’s a game that goes for a particular and dramatic reading and lands it pretty damn well! It’s a fascinating piece, and I’ve thought about it way more than I thought I would after beating it. It’s not difficult and it’s not long and if you’re worried about either of those things, do not play it. But if you like extreme media, this is psychologically and visually chilling. Only on GOG for what it’s worth!
7. Split Fiction
Does this count even though I watched the game on YouTube and didn’t play it? Yes, obviously it does because watching people perform couch co-op is the best I can do at the moment. This game, a follow-up to the similar It Takes Two, is a really fun romp through the psyche of two writers, who each have to manage and navigate their own creative landscapes as well as their partner’s. It’s not going to blow your mind – consider this the anti-Horses that way – but it will make you rethink how games ought to work and it is fun as the dickens, even just watching it. Creative and colorful and effortlessly fun.
8. Unbeatable
This is only this low because I haven’t played the game itself yet, and I almost am in my “maybe this is honorable mention because I don’t know” bit. But the demo for this wonderful rhythm game that focuses on the trials and tribulations of a gang of misfits in a land where music has been banned got under my skin in a real way. The music is full of immediate earworms, the art is gorgeous and idiosyncratic, and the gameplay feels great. This latter point is a big deal since PC rhythm games often feel kind of chunky and bad. Unbeatable feels like it fits like a glove. Pick up the full game now!
9. Monster Hunter Wilds
Why isn’t this higher? Well, because it’s not like…a ton different than Monster Hunter World to me. It’s good though and it deserves a spot here and maybe this is the year I finally figure out how to play these games and love them, please someone help me figure out how to properly love these beautiful and difficult games!
10. Hollow Knight: Silksong
Low because I am cheating! I am cheating! I haven’t touched this game! But much like the other considered entry for this (Promise Mascot Agency), I’m absolutely thrilled this game exists. What a coup for Hollow Knight Nation that we got our sequel, and what a great and exciting thing it is that such a game – a sidescroller that is hard as hell – exists in such a pure way. It’s unique, it’s fun, it’s gripping, it satisfies. And when I do play it I’m probably gonna be mad I didn’t rank it at least third.
Dr. Trevor Strunk is host of the gaming interview podcast No Cartridge Audio as well as author of the book Story Mode. You can find him on Bluesky, on Twitter @hegelbon and support No Cartridge on Patreon.
