We’re still in the outer fringes of our Most Wanted Games of 2026, so you can still expect a little bit of everything to appear. We’ve got indie takes on classic genres, we’ve got a bit of musical hotel renovation, sci-fi horror, and ambitious multiplayer games within this crop of five…. so what are we waiting for?
45 – Mars Tactics
PC – May 2026
Who doesn’t love a bit of turn-based tactics? The XCOM-alike Mars Tactics has a simple story, with Labor Revolutionaries looking to usurp the domineering Capital army, and there’s the traditional back and forth of this genre… except there’s also environmental destruction!
No good cover within walking distance? Just chuck a grenade to “dig” a whole. Enemies raining down first from a rooftop? How about you blow up half the building? And with a suppressing fire system as well, there’s plenty of new and fresh tactical options to take advantage of.
44 – There Are No Ghosts at the Grand
XSX|S, PC – 2026
While it might start off as a quirky hotel renovation game, There Are No Ghosts at the Grand soon reveals its true colours, whipping up a story about strange supernatural terrors that haunt much more than just the hotel you’ve inherited.
There’s a lovely musical lilt to this as well, so story beats and cutscenes don’t just play out in raw emotion, but instead see characters breaking out into song, often with a bit of reggae, and with the ability to shape the story through choosing a verse for your protagonist to reply with. I can’t wait!
Catch our preview of There Are No Ghosts at the Grand here.
43 – Directive 8020
PS5, XSX|S, PC – Q1 2026
Where Supermassive spun out the first series of The Dark Pictures anthology games in rapid succession, the wait for the new generation of the studio’s horror games is extending into 2026. Yet we’re still very keen to see how Directive 8020 comes together.
Directive 8020 also looks to be the most ambitious game in Supermassive’s series to date, starring Lashana Lynch as the lead in a frantic battle for survival against an alien organism that is able to mimic and disguise itself through the crew of a colony ship. The game is really pushing Supermassive’s breed of horror into action game territory, the sci-fi setting, the tight third person control and needing to stealthily sneak and evade the alien monster that’s hunting you.
42 – Highguard
PS5, XSX|S, PC – 26th January 2026
There’s some mixed feelings out there about Highguard, and I reckon that an awful lot of it is simply from the fact that a free-to-play mythic fantasy hero shooter was the game that closed out The Game Awards last month with its reveal. When you ideally want to save the best until last (especially for the time zone suffering incurred on anyone outside the Americas), this wasn’t it. But… when you mention that this is coming from some of the creators of Apex Legends and Titanfall? Well, that should be pretty intriguing, so why do people seem to want to see it fail? Not us!
So, what is Highguard? Well, they themselves describe it as “a PvP raid shooter where players will ride, fight, and raid as Wardens, arcane gunslingers sent to battle for control of a mythical continent. There they’ll clash against rival Warden crews for possession of the Shieldbreaker, then break into and destroy the enemy base to secure territory in this all-new breed of shooter.”
41 – Dragon Quest VII Reimagined
PS5, XSX|S, NSW2, NSW, PC – 5th February 2026
Square Enix know a thing or seventy-two about remastering their classics, and it feels like every remake and remaster takes a different approach to the visuals and gameplay changes. Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is sitting somewhere between the HD-2D remakes of the original Dragon Quest trilogy and the wholesale reinvention of Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy.
One of the most striking things here is the art style, with Square Enix creating all of the characters as real-life dolls and then 3D scanning them into the game to capture the look that they want. However, there’s plenty of other modernising touches, from doing away with the tiresome random battles, to full embracing party automation and battle speed settings, and then there’s some parts of the story that are being reconsidered too. Absolutely one to watch for classic JRPG fans.
Would you like to know more? Catch our Dragon Quest VII Reimagined preview here.
Another five in the bag. We’re going to keep things rolling through the weekend, so expect five more of our Most Wanted games of 2026 to be discussed tomorrow!
